All Whisky reviews

While Matsui Distillery has a whole range of whisky under the labels of Kurayoshi and Tottori, this is not Japanese whisky! Regulations allows producers to source their whisky anywhere in the world and…

Not all Japanese whisky is Japanese. Something you will discover to your shock when reading the recommended book Whisky Rising from Stefan Van Eycken. Now, it’s not that big of an issue if the producer…

Suntory arguably designed this Hokuto 12 Year Old Pure Malt in response to Nikka’s Taketsuru Pure Malt. This Hokuto appeared in 2004, but has been discontinued since 2010, despite the big success. Get…

This lesser known blend by Nikka is meant for the Japanese market. The label says ‘Malt Base Whisky’. What does that mean? That it contains malt whisky and thus is a blend, I suppose, as this Nikka is…

This is an abridged version of a blog postHiram Walker Special Old is made, unsurprisingly, at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, Ontario. It's been around forever and the bottle and label probably…

Writer's Tears is a blend of pot still and malt whisky from the emerald isle. It's available world wide, as far as I can tell, and is priced fairly competitively here in the UK (around £30). This is…

Nose: mmm cherry Twizzlers, sherry, honey, roses, soft leather notes, a hint of milk chocolate. This is has a very nice nose, not at all overwhelmed by the high abv.Neat: ah, nuts. Nice balanced mouth…

Compass Box “No Name” was released in October 2017. According to the company, the whisky was given “no name” to let it speak for itself. It is a blend composed of 75.5% Ardbeg (matured in re-charred…

Nose: honeycomb, anise, cherry chapstick, waxPalate (neat): thin but slightly waxy mouthfeel. Easy to drink, no burn as it goes down. Actually kinda tastes like cherry chapstick too (not really a good…

Douglas of Drumlanrig is an independent bottler. I thank @Maddie for samples from the reviewed bottle. The reviewed bottle was distilled in September 1996 and bottled in February 2011. I attended a…