Whisky Reviews

Whisky: An exquisite distilled spirit crafted from fermented grains, aged to perfection in barrels, delivering a complex blend of aromas, flavours, and a warm, lingering finish.

The water of life; the king of the spirit world. Flavours from the wood, from the terroir and even from the fire.

Just don't add ice to it.

Sláinte!

We also have a whisky list which lists every whisky review on the site, broken down by country, region and distillery.

Red Stag Black Cherry

Distillery:	Jim Beam
Region:	Kentucky
Country:	USA
Abv:	35.0%
Rating:

Red Stag is a range of "spirit drinks" produced by Jim Beam. Essentially, they are flavoured versions of their regular bourbon, but the fact that the bottle is careful to avoid calling the drink "bourbon" – presumably for legal purposes – makes me briefly hesitate about including them in a Whisky Wednesday. However, it's my ...

Jim Beam Bourbon

Distillery:	Jim Beam
Region:	Kentucky
Country:	USA
Abv:	40%
Rating:

As I've mentioned before, my first exposure to bourbon was Jim Beam, courtesy of a fresher's pack at university. I didn't exactly give it my full attention back then, and to be honest my tastes were still more aligned to Hooch than spirits so it's fair to say I didn't fall in love with ...

Balcones Twitter Tasting

Distillery:	Balcones
Region:	Texas
Country:	USA

When I think of American whisky (or whiskey – the jury would seem to be out on this one), I generally think of Kentucky and Tennessee, and maybe a few other states in that middle band of the country. Where I certainly do not think of is Texas. Surely they're too busy pumping ...

Basil Hayden's Kentucky Bourbon

Distillery:	Basil Hayden
Region:	Kentucky
Country:	USA
Abv:	40.0%
Rating:

It's always nice to get a phone call from your beloved. It's especially nice when she's calling from the airport at the end of a business trip to let you know she's about to come home to you. The only thing that makes it better is when she's calling you up to ask ...

Feis Ile 2013

Country:	Scotland
Region:	Islay

As you may have noticed from the flurry of whisky posts, the end of May saw Feis Ile, the music and whisky festival on the sparkling Hebridean island of Islay. A small island with eight distilleries squeezed onto it, all flinging their doors open and welcoming the hoards inside. I blogged each open day ...

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Distillery:	Jameson
Country:	Ireland
Abv:	40.0%
Rating:

With the approach of St Patrick's Day on Sunday, it seems appropriate to go for an Irish Whiskey this week! This is the standard Jameson Irish Whisky, albeit in a slightly fancier label than normal. It's pretty widely available in supermarkets everywhere, and very keenly priced at a shade under £20 a bottle. Despite only ...

Bruichladdich Twitter Tasting

Distillery:	Bruichladdich
Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland

I've been lucky enough to have taken part in two twitter tastings before, and they have been excellent fun. When The Whisky Wire announced that they were doing one with Bruichladdich, I leapt at the chance to be involved. Bruichladdich is an Islay distillery, but their style is generally less peat-heavy than other distilleries there (although ...

Suntory Royal

Distillery:	Suntory
Country:	Japan
Abv:	43%
Rating:

As memories of Japan fade, this week sees the last of my collection of miniatures I picked up when visiting the Yamazaki distillery last year. This is Suntory Royal, a blended whisky that seems to have a varied past. I've come across mentions of Royal bottlings with age statements ranging from 12 to 60 years, ...

Bowmore Twitter Tasting

Distillery:	Bowmore
Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland

Bowmore is one of the eight active distilleries to be found on Islay, the Hebridean whisky heaven. Not only do they make some rather special whisky, they also have a very pretty looking distillery at sunset. I'm quite a fan of Bowmore – we even stayed in one of their cottages when we were last ...

Hibiki 12 Year Old

Distillery:	Suntory
Country:	Japan
Abv:	43.0%
Rating:

I came back from our Japan trip last year with a fairly decent haul of Suntory whisky, so you'll have noticed a theme in my whisky tasting lately! This is Hibiki 12 Year Old, from Suntory's blended range. I've previously been impressed by the Hibiki range, so I'm curious to see how the ...