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.

Talisker 57 North

Distillery:	Talisker
Region:	Island
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	57%

This week sees another island whisky, this time from Skye – situated off the west coast of Scotland, a little north of Islay. Talisker 57° North is named for the latitude of the distillery, but it's also bottled at a robust 57% ABV. It's a nice golden colour in the glass. Unsurprisingly, the ...

Caol Ila 17 Year Old 1990

Distillery:	Caol Ila
Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	52.5%

Caol Ila is, as I've probably said too often here, one of my favourite distilleries. Not only do they have the prettiest distillery on the island (on the inside, anyway!), but I think their whisky sums up the Islay style perfectly – sweet, smokey, powerful. Here we have an independent bottling from Murray McDavid; ...

Master of Malt Caol Ila 30 Year Old Single Cask

Distillery:	Caol Ila
Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	57.4%

Following on from last week's partly anonymous bottling, here we have a whisky which doesn't hide it's origins at all. This is the Caol Ila 30 Year Old Single Cask, bottled at cask strength – a fairly robust 57.4% ABV – and obviously a fairly limited edition, being all from the one cask. The nose ...

Master of Malt Caol Ila 30 Year Old Single Cask

Master of Malt Islay

Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	40.0%

Not satisfied with being a great whisky retailer, Master of Malt also produce a number of their own bottlings – often from anonymous distilleries, with only a regional hint to their origins. This is their Islay bottling, produced with no age statement and only a hint of a "south coast style" – my money ...

Kilchoman Spring 2010 Release

Distillery:	Kilchoman
Region:	Islay
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	46.0%

This week, the Feis Ile festival on Islay is in full swing – a week of whisky, music, dancing and general merriment. All the distilleries throw their doors open and welcome eager whisky lovers and you can (with planning!) visit a distillery open day every day of the week. I am, as you may ...

Whisky Mac

I wasn't sure if I'd manage to get a post up this week; summer has finally arrived in the UK and with it, rather perversely, a very sore throat and a head cold. The arrival of a Jubilee bottle of Stones Ginger Wine, however, suggested a solution in the form of that most ...

The Balvenie DoubleWood

Distillery:	The Balvenie
Region:	Speyside
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	40.0%

This week's whisky is from The Balvenie Distillery, in Speyside. They are very proud of their crafted nature – growing their own barley, malting it on site and even having a team of coopers to care for their barrels. Here we have their entry level whisky, the DoubleWood. Aged 12 years, part of that time ...

Miyagikyo 12 Year Old

Distillery:	Miyagikyo
Country:	Japan
Abv:	45.0%

This week continues the Japanese theme, sticking with Nikka Whisky. Here, we go back to the Miyagikyo distillery. This is the Miyagikyo 12 Year Old, the middle of the three vintages normally available (between the 10 and the 15). As you can see above, it's a glorious golden colour in the glass. The initial impression ...

Yoichi 20 Year Old

Distillery:	Nikka
Country:	Japan
Abv:	52%

Yoichi is one of two distilleries owned by Nikka. I’ve previously tried their Pure Malt Red, which is primarily taken from the other distillery, Miyagikyo. Here we have their 20 Year Old, the oldest single malt expression regularly produced. It’s a deep rich amber in colour, looking almost like a dessert wine. The nose is sweet; ...

Tomintoul 10 Year Old

Distillery:	Tomintoul
Region:	Speyside
Country:	Scotland
Abv:	40.0%

I have to confess that I don't think I'd heard of Tomintoul before now; if I'd seen it in a shop, I'd have wondered if it was one of those 'invented' distilleries that certain shops use to disguise their own brands. But it's a real distillery, in Speyside. It's nice to find that it's ...