Advent Posts

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old

Back to Speyside for today's whisky - more specifically, Dufftown. I've watched far too much Simpsons in my life, so whenever I hear "Dufftown", I can't help thinking it must be where Duff Beer comes from. Someone really needs to set up a brewery there. Glenfiddich 18 Year Old is finished in Oloroso casks, ...

Glen Garioch 1797 Founders Reserve

Glen Garioch (which is pronounced "Geery") claims to be one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland (but then, who doesn't?!) and the most easterly (which is probably less debatable!) As such, I'm assuming that the 1797 in the name of this particular dram is a reference to the date of their founding, rather ...

Dalmore 15 Year Old

Dalmore is one of those distilleries whose name I have always known, but I'd never actually tried any of their whisky. They're a Highland distillery, and have a very distinctive deer head motif on their bottles. They always seem exceptionally well represented in duty free shops; it may be that my natural suspicion of ...

Glenfarclas 10 Year Old

Back to Scotland today, and a first visit to Speyside - the home of over 50% of scotch distilleries! Rather confusingly, Glenfarclas call themselves a Highland whisky rather than Speyside. While technically true (as the Scotch Whisky Association map shows, Speyside is a subregion of Highland) it's a confusing position to take. I have also managed ...

Spirit of Hven Seven Stars No. 2 Merak

This is the first Swedish whisky on the calendar, and indeed the first Swedish whisky I've ever tried. Although I’ve known for years that Swedes love drinking whisky, it’s only relatively recently I realised that they make it too. It's also not something you often find - even the most well-stocked whisky bars rarely ...

Bowmore 12 Year Old

I'm very happy to say that we've reached the magical island of Islay, and it's only day 5! Bowmore 12 is the one of the distillery's entry level whiskies, competing with Legend to steal the crown of cheapest - and arguably best value - Bowmore. The nose is pure Bowmore; gentle peat smoke ...

Jura Diurachs' Own

Today we head back to Scotland, and off to the islands - specifically, the Isle of Jura on the west coast (just next to my favourite of them all, Islay). This is another whisky I've enjoyed before, this time as part of Jura's Tastival. Jura Diurach's Own is a 16 year old dram. It's ...

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2003

It's nice to see that this Advent Calendar isn't just about Scotch; three days in and we're into our third country already! Evan Williams Single Barrel 2003 is a Kentucky Bourbon - bottled in 2013, making it 10 years old. It's a gloriously rich, copper coloured spirit bottled at a moderate 43.3% ABV. The aroma ...

Teeling Small Batch

Today's Advent Whisky is one that I've enjoyed before. I'm always slightly nervous about writing tasting notes about whiskies I've reviewed previously, because there's always the fear that I end up saying completely different things - so please, like me, resist the temptation to read my last review before reading this one! Teeling Small Batch ...

Haig Club

When I was growing up, advent calendars were simple affairs - some sort of Christmas scene with stealthily hidden doors which were, from memory, shaped to blend into the background and really well hidden rather than the easy-to-spot grid of squares you get these days. Behind each of those doors was a "prize" of ...