Brine

Yamazaki 12 Year

Yamazaki 12 Year

Yamazaki is Japan’s first and oldest distillery and has been producing whisky for nearly a century. Situated just outside Kyoto and owned by Suntory, the Yamazaki 12 was inspired by scotch but only goes so far with that inspiration before setting out on its own distinctive path. The whisky is very much a product of its locality, infused with unique character. They don’t mess around, in other words. This particular offering has been the recipient of many international whisky tasting awards. It was highly praised at our tasting.

Laphroaig “Cairdeas” Port Wood Edition

Laphroaig “Cairdeas” Port Wood Edition

The”Cairdeas” (meaning friendship in Gaelic) is a special product from Laphroaig that is unique to each bottling, and meant as a token of thanks by the distillery to its many supporters. And, let’s be honest, another good way to sell the whisky and make some money. It is also a No Age Statement (NAS) whisky, which allows the distillery to give  a broad variation in taste each year. The bottle for this review was the 2013 release, the Port Wood Edition.

Kilchoman “Machir Bay”

Kilchoman “Machir Bay”

Kilchoman (pronounced Kilhoman)  is one of the newest and smallest distilleries in Scotland, opening its doors in 2005. It currently produces a 3 and 5 year single malt, though they plan to release 8 year (2014), 10 year (2016) and 12 year (2018) bottlings. By what we taste from the junior varsity so far, age should make a good thing even better for Kilchoman’s future issues. The offerings are bottled yearly, quantified by flavor profile and maturation.  Future releases of the Machir Bay (and others) will be re-released in more mature versions.