There have been numerous bottlings of the Solist on bourbon casks, all at cask strength. Mine has reference B080616095 and yielded 203 bottles at 57,8%. The nose is rife with vanilla, coconut and over…

This is the second whisky under the Kavalan label, from 2009, and it was finished on Portugese port casks, both Ruby, Tawny and Vintage Port. No spirit caramel for this Concertmaster. The port casks gave…

I was given a sample of this Coal Ila at the Festival of Independent Bottlers in Belgium, by a member of the Whisky Friends of Tongeren, a relatively young whisky club. They share this bottle – from the…

As you probably know, Caol Ila is my favourite Islay distillery. I have yet to try a Caol Ila that I did not like. I found an older sample in my cabinet from the Belgian bottler QV.ID, a Coal Ila from…

I have tried quite a few offerings from the British bottler Chester and bar one exception (a 16 Year Old Bunna on sherry) they were all good to excellent. So in combination with my love for Caol Ila, I…

I had not yet gotten round to writing notes for this Caol Ila from Asta Morris. Now that my bottled is almost empty, time to rectify that situation, before I have to beg Crazy Bert for a sample. It was…

Ardbeg Day, launched in 2012 for the first time, is a new holiday for peatfreaks. Or is it? Because while Ardbeg Day is a great whisky, the Galileo (a mix of bourbon and marsala casks) was received with…

It is hard to discover the identity of the distillery in the new range by Malts of Scotland, named Images. The Kildalton Cross clearly referred to (and tasted like) Ardbeg, but this Clock Tower from…

This young Laddie was bottled by Malts of Scotland in April 2013. It is only their second Laddie, which comes a bit as a surprise. The first was a sherry cask from 1988, a totally different beast.The…

I have not tried that many Ben Nevis (this is only my seventh), but with only one exception they have all been fantastic. The distillery lies at the foot of a mountain with the same name in quite an…