Whisky Ramblings on YouTube

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 134: Tamdhu 2008 for MMM - We have just released our second bottling for MMM - Mark & Manny’s Malts. This time around, it is a candy-like Tamdhu at drinking strength, matured on an ex-bourbon cask. It is again limited to only 50 bottles. It turned out to be a very honest Tamdhu, if you catch my meaning. WYSIWYG whisky. The video can be found here: youtu.be/5eako56LSRE.

Rambling 135: Dutch single malt? That is not something you see every day. DenHool is triple distilled from summer barley grown by a Dutch famer who has now installed his own equipment. The whisky matured on bourbon casks and PX sherry casks and is a surprising treat. The video can be found here: youtu.be/8Fh4HIqcm6Y.

Happy 4th of July! Elijah Craig is one of the few brands produced by the family owned Heaven Hill Distillery in the States. Bottled at 94 proof, which translates into 47% ABV, the 12 Year Old is one of the bestselling bourbons they put out. Those 12 years on casks have turned this entry level bourbon into a round and rich drink. This is value for money. The video can be found here: youtu.be/jkWQ_IyVX04.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 137: 77 New York Wheat Whiskey. I travelled to New York for the Christmas Holidays and discovered a local spirit. The 77 New York Wheat Whiskey is made from wheat grown in New York and it was distilled and matured in Brooklyn. The video can be found here: youtu.be/SPlNcjL8h7Q.

After the two successful releases of single cask single malt whisky’s – a Craigellachie and Tamdhu – the hunt is open for a third worthy cask. But we will not be resting on our laurels in the meantime. With the summer just around the corner, we felt the time was right for something completely different to ease the wait. So here we are with our very own artisanal Interludium Gin, a lovely malternative. The first batch – limited to 50 bottles – takes us back to the origin of gin: Holland. It was distilled after a MMM-approved recipe by a friendly distiller in Deventer. As the gin was not subject to chill-filtration, we were able to contain all the texture and flavors. According to our palate, 44% is the ideal drinking strength. Quite humble, aren’t we? The video can be found here: youtu.be/LwPkY1BjDiY.

Rambling 139: Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label is said to contain some very exclusive whisky, even some from closed distilleries. That should give us the feeling that it is indeed very old whisky, of course. How else can you ask between 125 and 175 EUR for a no age statement blend? Or am I too harsh now? Is there more going on than just packaging (in every sense of the word)? Let us find out. The video can be found here: youtu.be/ANO44UKfkbs.

@markjedi1 , you just ask. :)

And if people pay, then you asked the right question!

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 140: Armorik 2008 for MMM. Armorik 2008 for MMM – we have just released our third bottling for MMM – Mark & Manny’s Malts. This is something special as it is the first ever independently released whisky from the Warenghem Distillery in Lannion, France, famous for their Armorik single malt. It is again limited to only 50 bottles. The Armorik 2008 for MMM is a port cask finished single malt at 49%.The video can be found here: youtu.be/KUurc53sqKQ.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 141: Braunstain Danica Whisky 14:1 Library Collection. During my summer holidays in Denmark, I visited the Braunstein Distillery in Koge (45 minutes south of Copenhagen) and discovered their Danica single malt. They have both an unpeated and a peated whisky. Obviously I had to try them both. Let me start with an unpeated version from their so-called Library Collection. The 14:1 whisky is the first release from 2014 and is a 7 years old whisky that matured on sherry casks and got a finish in a cognac cask. The video can be found here: youtu.be/qWq_SxEU5ks.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 142: Braunstein Danica Peated Whisky. During my visit to the Braunstein Distillery in Koge (near Copenhagen), the owner offered me a free miniature of the peated version of this Danish single malt. They actually import barley that is peated at the famous Port Ellen maltings. It turns out to be one of the best NAS-whiskies I have tried in a very long time. The video can be found here: youtu.be/z0OiVi4hL78.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 143: Shelter Point 2016 Inaugural Run. On Vancouver Island, the utmost west Canada, you can visit the new Shelter Point Distillery. This is a beautiful distillery in which the owners have clearly invested a tremendous amount of money. And in June 2016 the released their very first bottling: Shelter Point 2016 Inaugural Run. This whisky was produced from two row barley that grows on the farm, double distilled in copper pot stills from the Scottish company Forsyth’s and matured for 5 years on American oak. The video can be found here: youtu.be/xsqy9ppSrqc.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 144: Mackmyra Svensk Ek vs Vinterrök. Mackmyra in Sweden currently has two working distilleries, the second one being a hypermodern ‘gravity distillery’. They have quite a few releases already and this seems as good a time as any to put two very different expressions head-to-head. Svensk Ek – or Swedish Oak – on the one hand versus the Vinterrök – or Winter’s Smoke – on the other. The video can be found here: youtu.be/5WIlt6PEJM4.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 145: Kavalan Podium. Kavalan has released a virgin oak expression called Podium. Mixed with some refill bourbon and sherry casks to keep the strong influence of the new oak under control, the Podium turned out to be a very summery dram, quite straight forward but very pleasant indeed. The video can be found here: youtu.be/H5V-7ECv0GA.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 146: Auchentoshan 24 Year Old 1991 Asta Morris. The Belgian bottler Asta Morris found a beautiful single sherry cask of my favorite Lowlander. The Auchentoshan spirit went to sleep in 1991 and was bottled at the age of 24 years, cut to a drinking strength of 50%. Meant for the Japanese company Gaia Flow, I feel lucky to have been able to secure a few bottles. It is a grand Auchentoshan! The video can be found here: youtu.be/KAkvP-1IjnE.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 147: Auchentoshan 18 Year Old 1978 Signatory. An 18 Year Old Auchentoshan distilled in 1978 and bottled in 1996. This means it has spent 20 years in the bottle, which is longer than it did on the cask. Might this be a golden oldie from Signatory? Oh, yes indeed! The video can be found here: youtu.be/OQ9lu_p5Fmc.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 148: Caol Ila 9 Year Old 2006 for MMM. MMM - short for Mark & Manny's Malts - launched their fourth and final bottling in the Animal Series. It was dubbed The Elephant because this Caol Ila truly is a mighty animal with its cask strength of 59,8% ABV. Mark and Imanuel are quite happy with the discovery (and acquisition!) of this cask. You should have seen their faces when they first tried it. Without a word they looked at each other and immediately had a big smile on their faces. 'Sold!' they shouted in unison, followed by a huge guffaw and a high five. The video can be found here: youtu.be/mFUul2QmMQI.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 149: Linkwood 2008 Signatory The Linkwood distillery was founded in 1821 in Elgin, not too far from the BenRiach en Longmorn distilleries. In 1840 it was run by James Walker, today it is owned by Diageo. Not many official releases can be found, so let us turn to the independent bottlers. I tried a very young single cask Linkwood by Signatory, bottled for a Belgian whisky restaurant. The video can be found here: youtu.be/OOhKo4ySKKo.

@markjedi1 Good to see the YouTube embed working

Ballechin is the peated whisky from Edradour, distilled after a recipe from the lost Ballechin Distillery that operated near Pitlochry. Andrew Symington thought it a good idea to recreated this heavily peated Highland malt and started production in 2004. This oloroso sherry cask, that was put to sleep in 2004 with some of the very first spirit, was discovered by several Flemish enthusiast who decided on the spot to bottle part of this cask. Hence The Flemish Tour. And it turns out, this is the best Ballechin I have ever tried.

Wonderfull review! The description reminds me of Bowmore 15 Laimrig, one of my favourite sweet/peat bottles.

@markjedi1 Even better than that special Manzanilla-matured I recall you'd raved about...?

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 151: Mortlach 19 Year Old 1997 Brachadair Brachadair is a Belgian bottler that took its name from the Gaelic word for brewer or maltman. They recently bottled a single cask of Mortlach 1997 – of which official bottlings have become all but unaffordable – at cask strength. Yes, this is the Beast of Dufftown alright!

Smoking Buffalo is a label from a Belgian bottler under which they release peated whisky to honor the local football club AA Gent. For this 8th edition, they bottled a feisty Caol Ila 2010 at cask strength, a whopping 60,5% ABV. It turns out this is the ideal winter dram. The video was shot at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 153: Arran 20 Year Old 1996 for MMM MMM has just released their 5th bottling: an Arran 20 Year Old 1996 at cask strength, a whopping 54,1%. This is one of the first Arran 20 years old ever released and Mark & Manny are very proud of that fact. And wouldn’t you know? It’s a beauty – if I say so myself.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 154: Vote Mark for Whisky Ambassador Belgium 2017 I want your vote! That's right, I need your help. I have just been nominated for Whisky Ambassador for Belgium 2017 at the Belgian Whisky Awards. So please be so kind as to visit whiskyawards.be and cast your vote. You will find that you need to go through only 4 screens - very easy - and vote for four categories, including Whisky Ambassador. Check out this video to find out how to do just that and let's get that much coveted title! Much appreciated!

@markjedi1 DONE! Good Luck!

@markjedi1,

another vote for you. Good luck!

advice on the other votes please - would not want to vote for a place that is not worthy...thanks...jr

@JayRain I would suggest Cuvee Idee, Inge Lanckacker and Maltclan Halle. Cheers!

Voted. Good luck!

Also, do you have any recommendations for Belgian grain whiskies? I'm partial to rye, but curious to try any non-malts

I suppose I should also mention why I'm asking: I'll be at the Brussels airport in a few hours, and figured maybe I'll be able to pick up something interesting while I'm there. So it would be best if any recommendations for may have for me have a decent chance at being available in an airport shop.

Thanks in advance.