Whisky Ramblings on YouTube

Another vote for a real ambassador of whisky with or without title! May the force be with you!

@Nelom truth be told, there are not many Belgian rye whiskey's available and I do not know what the duty free carries at the moment, but you might want to look out for Sunken Still, a new Belgian rye that was just released. Thanks for the vote, by the way!

@Robert99 Thank you kindly, sir!

@markjedi1 I'm at the airport now, and sadly the only thing that fits the bill is 10 YO Lambertus Single Grain, but I've already read your, @Nozinan's, and @Victor's thoughts on it, so I'll leave it on the shelf. Thanks anyway, I'll keep Sunken Still in mind though.

@Nelom PLEASE----- STAY AWAY FROM LAMBERTUS!!!!!!!!

@Nozinan Very good point! Aqua Horribilis!!!

Once Nozinan and I had a dare contest: him offering Lambertus and me the New Zealand co 10 yo... I think he got the best deal.

@Robert99 Not true. The deal was equal. now we've both tasted both...

@Nozinan In fact, I may have the best deal as I was able to give away the bottle that I don't want to call mine ever again.

@Robert99 Yes, you are lucky that way, but the only reason I keep mine is for curious people like you who insist on trying it against my better judgement. At least you didn't have 2 drams....now who would be that foolish? @Paddockjudge, would you know anyone like that?

Done!

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 155: Ardmore 1997 for Maltclan I tried an Ardmore 1997 for the Belgian whisky club Maltclan. This lightly peated Highlander is Maltclan's 6th club bottling and is a single bourbon cask from the warehouses of Gordon & Macphail. It is bottled at a whopping 57% ABV and offers surprising hints of mocha! Well worth seeking out.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 156: Rachel Barrie Interview 2014

On 1st of March 2017 Rachel Barrie – the First Lady of Whisky – will leave Morrison-Bowmore Distillers to join the BenRiach company as Whisky Maker. As most of you are aware, I am the Toshan Man, avid collector of Auchentoshan Lowland Single Malt Whisky – which was created by Mrs Barrie and her team for the past five years. During research for my book, I was able to interview Mrs Barrie in February 2014. This interview was printed in the book, of course, but the video was never before released. As a tribute to Mrs Barrie’s work at Auchentoshan (and Bowmore and Glen Garioch), I gladly share this great interview with you. The interview is 26 minutes, so go ahead and pour yourself a dram first!

Hey Mark, I've had a look at some of your videos and really like what you've been doing. Can't believe I hadn't seen them before! Do you have a release schedule or do you just upload as and when you create something?

Cheers,

Vin

@NNWhisky Vin, there is indeed no real schedule, but I do aim to upload one or two videos per month. No worries, you can simply subscribe to my YouTube channel and get updates in your mailbox whenever I upload something new - or simply keep an eye on this thread :-)

Let’s try a controversial release from Holland. The Turv Exloo Distillery, founded in 2015, released their Prime Whisky in July 2016. But of course this is not whisky – it is a three-month-old spirit. So the Dutch authorities stepped in and forced the distillery to remove the word ‘whisky' from the label. The owners felt this was ‘rubbish’ and ‘narrow-minded’ as they can make whisky that is ‘as good or even better’ (their words, not mine!) than Scotch. A bold statement. Let’s find out.

You poor guy, having to suffer that.

@RexAlban I am honored to haven taken one for the team :-)

@markjedi1 OK, so Ive subscribed to your YouTube channel.

@markjedi1 I am still laughing, too funny. At least you gave it the old college try.

Whenever someone tells me a whisky is just plain awful I have an overwhelming urge to try it for myself. Lucky for me it'll be pretty hard to find this in the UK

@markjedi1 OMG - swearing! and it wasn't on purpose.

I loved this review. I have just one question: Which is worse, this or Lambertus?

Smelly socks or diabetic foot ulcer?

@paddockjudge, you are the only person I know who has ever had a "second dram" of Lambertus in one sitting. I would very much like to sit down the three of us to do a head to head of these 2 spirits...

@Nozinan This one is the worst of the two. Lambertus was bad, this is horrible.

@markjedi1 You're up early...

Now I REALLY REALLY want to try it.

Instead of water of life it sounds like water of death

@Nozinan, I'm in for a couple of hits of "bar rag juice".

A new independent bottler has emerged: North Star Spirits. This company, led by Iain Croucher (of A.D. Rattray fame) has in its first year released 5 malts and 1 grain. All of them are great, but my favorite is their Glenrothes 20 Year Old 1996, matured on a sherry cask.

Great channel Mark! Currently enjoying the Rachael Barrie interview, try well done. Making me want to sample one of her creations now!

A couple of years ago, Bowmore released the Small Batch, a bourbon matured entry level malt. Not as smoky as most of its Islay brothers, this Small Batch is almost tropical with a salty edge and a lovely encounter for newcomers and aficionados alike.

The Lads of Lobland, a Belgian club of whisky aficionados, have just released their chapters 5 and 6 (of a range that will comprise 8 bottles with linked labels). Chapter 5 is an undisclosed Speyside Region 18 Year Old while Chapter 6 is a young and dirty (but in a good way) Ledaig. Enjoy! I certainly did!

Today’s 21 Year Old from Auchentoshan is one of my favorite expressions of this Lowland distillery. Imagine my surprise when I was offered the early 1990s bottling blind and I did not recognize it. Distilled in 1973, this was one of the first 21 Year Old releases by Auchentoshan and it differs vastly from today’s offering. But in a good way!