Bunnahabhain 12 Review: Ian MacMillan's Unpeated Islay at 46.3%
— Bunnahabhain 12 (46.3% ABV, non-chill filtered, ~2 ppm phenol) is Islay's unpeated flagship. Ian MacMillan's 2010 decision to stop chill-filtering and adding E150a, in one bottle.
Tasting — curated bottles with reasoning
Bottle curation that always carries the person story and the technical reason behind the dram.
Glenlivet 12 vs Glenfiddich 12: Speyside's Two Founding Families
— Glenlivet 12 vs Glenfiddich 12 review: George Smith's 1824 Speyside licence vs William Grant's 1886 second-hand stills. Same region, different fruit.
Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask Review: Ian Chang's Yilan Subtropical Maturation at 58% ABV
— Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask review: Ian Chang's cask-strength ex-oloroso single cask, matured around four years in Yilan where the angel's share runs 12% a year.
Lagavulin 16 vs Talisker 10 Review: Islay Peat, Skye Worm Tubs
— Lagavulin 16 review against Talisker 10: 35 ppm Islay peat with refill sherry versus 18-20 ppm Skye peat through worm tubs. Two Diageo flagships compared.
Lagavulin 16 Review: 35 ppm Peat, 43% Refill
— Lagavulin 16 review: 35 ppm phenol malt from Port Ellen Maltings, refill sherry butts + hogsheads, 43% ABV, unchanged since 1988.
Clynelish 14 Review: The Wax Jim Beveridge Kept in Gold
— Clynelish 14 review: the 46% non-chill-filtered Highland malt whose wax mouthfeel Jim Beveridge kept at the heart of Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve.
Bowmore 12 Review: 25 ppm Peat and Eddie MacAffer's Malt Floor
— Bowmore 12 review: Islay's lightest peated malt at 25 ppm, floor-malted for 37% of the mash, matured below sea level in the 1779 No.1 Vaults.
Ardbeg 10 vs Laphroaig 10: 55 vs 40 ppm Peat
— Ardbeg 10 (55 ppm, purifier, 46% ABV) vs Laphroaig 10 (40 ppm, no purifier, 40%). Same Port Ellen malt, opposite stills — which peaty Islay to pick, and why.
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 Review: Triple-Distilled Malt Meets Oloroso
— 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% Sherry
— GlenDronach 15 Revival: 46% ABV, full-term PX + oloroso sherry casks. Billy Walker 2009 relaunch, Rachel Barrie 2018 revival.
Amrut Fusion Review: Bangalore Heat and Two Barleys at 50% ABV
— Amrut Fusion marries 25% peated Scottish barley with 75% Indian six-row barley, matured four years in Bangalore where the angel's share runs 11-12% a year.
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: Harold Currie's 1995 Bet
— Arran 10 review: 46% ABV non-chill filtered single malt, ~£40. Harold Currie's 1995 bet on Lochranza — Arran's first legal distillery in 158 years — shaped since 2007 by ex-Bowmore James MacTaggart.
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's Campbeltown Malt
— 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 Peat at Islay's Largest Distillery
— Caol Ila 12 review: Islay's largest distillery at 35 ppm peat, with tall spirit stills that yield a lighter smoke than Lagavulin or Laphroaig. Billy Stitchell's fourth-generation Islay malt.
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: Hobbister Moor Peat, Gordon Motion's 80/20
— Highland Park 12 uses Hobbister Moor heather peat, not Islay. Gordon Motion's 80/20 malt blend gives heather smoke and honey, not iodine.