Redbreast 12 Review: Barry Crockett's Pot Still
— Redbreast 12 review: Barry Crockett pot still, unmalted-barley mash from Ireland's 1785 Malt Tax, bourbon and oloroso, 40% ABV.
Tasting — curated bottles with reasoning
Bottle curation that always carries the person story and the technical reason behind the dram.
Balvenie 12 DoubleWood Review: 9-Month Oloroso
— Balvenie 12 DoubleWood Review: 12 yrs ex-bourbon American oak + 9 months oloroso sherry butt. David Stewart's 1993 two-cask design, 40% UK / 43% US.
Aberfeldy 12 vs 21: MacLeod's Sherry Bill, 40%
— Aberfeldy 12 vs 21 review: same 40% ABV, wider ex-sherry share at 21. Stephanie Macleod has held the flagship steady since 2006.
Bunnahabhain 12 Review: 2 ppm Unpeated Islay
— Bunnahabhain 12 Review: Islay's 2 ppm unpeated flagship at 46.3%, non-chill filtered since 2010. Ian MacMillan's clean break.
Glenlivet 12 vs Glenfiddich 12: Citrus or Pear
— Glenlivet 12 is drier citrus-almond, Glenfiddich 12 sweeter pear-vanilla. Both 40%, same ¥5-6K. Which to pour first, by use case.
Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask Review: Taiwan 58%
— Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask: 58% Oloroso, Ian Chang Yilan 4-year ≈ 12 Scotch years — subtropical sherry chemistry.
Lagavulin 16 vs Talisker 10: 35 vs 20 ppm Peat
— Lagavulin 16 vs Talisker 10 — 35 ppm Islay sherry vs 20 ppm Skye worm tubs, 43% vs 45.8% ABV. Iain McArthur vs the MacAskills, what to pour first.
Lagavulin 16 Review: 35 ppm Islay, 43% ABV
— Lagavulin 16 review: 35 ppm Islay peat at 43% ABV. Classic Malts spec unchanged since 1988 — Iain McArthur's 50-year warehouse decisions.
Clynelish 14 Review: Wax Mouthfeel at 46%
— Clynelish 14 review: waxy mouthfeel from refill bourbon casks at 46% non-chill-filtered. Core malt of Johnnie Walker Gold.
Bowmore 12 Review: 25 ppm, 1779 No.1 Vaults
— Bowmore 12 at 25 ppm malt (~10 ppm in glass). Aged below sea level in the 1779 No.1 Vaults, Scotland's oldest warehouse. £30 / ¥4,500 entry Islay.
Ardbeg 10 vs Laphroaig 10 Review: 55 vs 40 ppm
— Ardbeg 10 (55 ppm, purifier, 46%) vs Laphroaig 10 (40 ppm, no purifier, 40%): why Laphroaig tastes heavier despite less peat.
Ben Nevis 10 Review: Nikka's Heavy-Bodied Highland Malt at 46%
— Ben Nevis 10 tasted against Highland Park 12 and Glenlivet 12: a 46% non-chill-filtered Highland malt from stills Nikka has left unchanged since 1989.
Bushmills Black Bush 40%: Oloroso Finish Review
— Bushmills Black Bush tasted next to Redbreast 12: triple-distilled malt at about 80% of the blend, Oloroso and bourbon casks, 40% ABV, around £25-32 in the UK.
GlenDronach 15 Revival Review: 46% PX Sherry
— GlenDronach 15 Revival: 46% ABV, full-term PX + oloroso. Billy Walker's 2009 recipe, Rachel Barrie's 2018 rebuild after sherry gap.
Amrut Fusion Review: 4-Year Bangalore, 50% ABV
— Amrut Fusion: 4 years in Bangalore ≈ 12 in Scotland. 25% peated Scottish + 75% Indian barley, 50% ABV, 11-12% angel's share.
Glenmorangie Original 10 Review: Tall Stills, Peach and Citrus
— Glenmorangie Original (10 Year, 40% ABV): 5.14m stills — Scotland's tallest — strip heavy oils, leaving peach and citrus. First-fill bourbon adds the vanilla.
Ardbeg 10 Review: The Purifier Behind Islay's Clean Citrus Smoke
— Ardbeg 10 review: 55 ppm phenol — Islay's highest — yet lighter and more citric than its neighbours. Mickey Heads kept the purifier pipe running for 13 years.
The Other Distillery: How Masataka Taketsuru Built Miyagikyo as the Opposite of Yoichi
— Miyagikyo Single Malt beside Yoichi: one man, two distilleries, two opposite engineering decisions. Steam instead of fire, soft water, the tallest pot stills in Japan, and why the spirit comes out pear instead of driftwood.
Arran 10 Review: 46% ABV, First in 158 Years
— Arran 10 Review: 46% ABV non-chill filtered, ~£40. Lochranza 1995 — Isle of Arran's first legal distillery in 158 years.
Benromach 10: How Gordon & MacPhail Reverse-Engineered the Speyside the 1960s Threw Away
— Benromach 10: a lightly peated Speyside that Gordon & MacPhail reverse-engineered to rebuild a flavour spec the 1960s threw away, with the Urquhart family and a manager who started as sweeper.
Glen Scotia 15 Review: Iain McAlister 46%
— Glen Scotia 15 review: 46% ABV Campbeltown single malt from Iain McAlister, bourbon-led with an oloroso finish, non-chill-filtered.
Aberfeldy 12 Review: Heather Honey, 40% ABV
— Aberfeldy 12 review: heather honey, baked apple, 40% ABV, from a 72-88 hour Perthshire fermentation. Signed by Stephanie Macleod.
Kilkerran 12, Hedley Wright, and the Glengyle Distillery That Waited 79 Years to Bottle Its Own Single Malt
— Kilkerran 12 against Springbank 10: the Mitchell-family chairman who bought back a distillery silent since 1925, then waited twelve more years to bottle its own twelve-year single malt.
Caol Ila 12 Review: 35 ppm Islay, Citric Peat
— Caol Ila 12 review: 35 ppm peat, 43% ABV. Tall stills at Diageo's largest Islay strip sulfur — citric smoke, not oily.
The Speyside That Stayed Heavy: Cragganmore 12, John Smith's 1869 Choke, and Why the Worm Tubs Are Still There
— Cragganmore 12 and its worm tubs: a 22-stone distiller who ran six distilleries before building his own in 1869, and a cooling-and-lyne-arm decision four corporate owners declined to undo.
Talisker 10 Review: Worm Tubs, Five Stills and the 1960 Fire
— Talisker 10 at 45.8% beside Oban 14 and Clynelish 14: five stills in a 2:3 ratio left from triple distillation, and worm tubs that survived the 1960 fire.
Highland Park 12 Review: 4-6ppm Hobbister Peat
— Highland Park 12 review: 4-6 ppm heather peat from Hobbister Moor (not Islay), 80/20 in-house/commercial malt, 40% ABV, Orkney honey over cool smoke.