I hadn’t heard of this brand until recently, when I found myself staring at a bottle at my local Total Wine. The packaging immediately caught my attention. What really intrigued me, though, was the fact that it blends Scotch and Irish whiskeys, something I don’t recall seeing before, and at $35, the price felt right….
Category: smoke
Bowmore Aged 25 Years
I’ve long been a fan of Bowmore, and it’s been a while since I last reviewed one of their expressions, so when the opportunity came to sample this 25‑year‑old, I couldn’t have been more pleased. Let’s dive in. This expression was matured in a combination of American oak ex‑bourbon casks and European oak Oloroso sherry…
Laphroaig Aged 33 Year Strong Characters Donald Johnston
I enjoy a good daily sipper as much as anyone, but what I love even more are those special whiskies reserved for meaningful moments—occasions you want not only to remember, but to honor with something truly exceptional. The Laphroaig 33-Year-Old Strong Characters: Donald Johnston just might be one of those whiskies. A few years ago,…
Ardbeg Anthology 14-Year: The Unicorn Tale
I’ve always been a big fan of Ardbeg—so much so that it was the very first distillery we visited on our trip to Scotland. That said, some of their recent releases haven’t quite hit the mark for me—not because of flavor, but because of price. There are exceptions, of course (BizarreBQ was fantastic and I…
Port Askaig 17 Years
We’ve been experiencing a particularly rainy April so far, making it perfect weather for enjoying whisky. In light of this, let’s shine a spotlight on this Port Askaig 17 Years. Port Askaig is a small village situated on the northeast coast of Islay. The Port Askaig brand was established in 2009 by Elixir Distillers, an…
Ardbeg BizarreBQ
“Grilling meets distilling,” is the opening line on the back of the Ardbeg BizarreBQ bottle. Ardbeg’s Master Distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden teams up with Christian Stevenson (AKA DJ BBQ) to create this limited expression. Now honestly, this to me is the perfect bromance. Whisky smoke and smoked meats, might definitely, just be the perfect combo….
Oban 18 Year Limited Edition
Well, hello September! In what appears to be a blink of the eye, fall is upon us. Fall and Winter for me are whisky drinking seasons so let’s kick this month off with some Scotch. A year ago, I kicked Fall off with Oban 14, so let’s do it again with an older expression. Oban…
Ardbeg Ardcore
Here is Ardbeg’s 2022 Ardbeg Day release, Ardcore. Which pays tribute to the Punk Rock scene of the 1970s. The blue in the bottle makes it stand out amongst past Ardbeg releases. I purchased their regular Ardcore bottle (ABV 46%). A 50.1% was released for the Committee as well. This is a no-age-statement made using…
Arrrrrrrdbeg Committee Release
No, the 7 R’s isn’t a misspelling but rather a pirates way to say Ardbeg. Before I get into the whisky let me clarify, yes this is a Ardbeg Committee release, however it’s not the yearly committee release from the Islay Whisky Festival. That 2021 bottle has yet to drop. Arrrrrrrdbeg was released to celebrate…
Lagavulin 9-Year | Game of Thrones House Lannister
Today is the big day! Game of Thrones fans are rejoicing everywhere. Last night we re-watched season 6 and enjoyed the House Lannister paring, Lagavulin 9-Year. If you followed my blog then you know that I am a big Lagavulin and Islay whisky fan. The big hope was that it would not disappoint. I can…
Ardbeg Grooves
Ardbeg Grooves is Ardbeg’s 2018 Ardbeg Day limited edition bottling released during the Islay Festival. For this bottling the whisky was matured in ex-wine casks that were charred to the point where there were grooves in the surface of the wood. Not sure if that is what initially inspired the name, but it could also…
Bowmore 17-Year Warehousemen’s Selection
Yes, it is still too warm outside for whisky but after we stuffed ourselves silly yesterday, we cranked the AC up and drank a dram of our Bowmore Warehousemen’s Selection to help ease our stomach. This is a distillery exclusive bottle we acquired during our visit to the Bowmore Distillery. Only 3000 of these were…
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