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Highland Park 15 Year

Highland Park is known in using sherry casks throughout their core expressions for the entire aging process, not just a finish. Whereas the 12 and 18 year whiskies use mainly Spanish oak, the Highland Park 15 uses American oak (though not American sherry, thankfully). Not content with one cask alteration, the 15 is aged in 30% first fill sherry casks and 70% refill. While not in the same class of exclusivity as Highland Park’s Valhalla Collection, it is a little more elusive than the celebrated 12 year expression.

By Adam | April 17, 2016 | Island | 2 Comments |

One of the larger producers of single malts in the Speyside region, the Balvenie is no stranger to creating new expressions, be they of limited offering or part of their main range. A newer release has been two whiskies aged 17 years, a Doublewood and this Peated Cask variety. The spirit is aged in ex-American bourbon barrels, but then some of it is finished in peated barrels and half is aged in new American oak. The two elements are finally brought together for balance. This allows a peat injection to the relatively lighter malt without overwhelming it.

By Adam | March 29, 2016 | Speyside | 1 Comment |

Tomatin has a nice selection of relatively affordable single malts, each with a nice little twist to liven things up. Since we enjoyed the Tomatin 12 year with its sherry cask finish, we decided to see what this slightly older sibling could improve upon with its final eighteen months finishing in port casks. The Tomatin 14 also scored a 92.5/100 in Jim Murray’s 2015 whisky bible and is thankfully a mainstay in their line of offerings. Say what you will about that particular reviewer or book, this scotch seems good enough to warrant further attention.

By Adam | December 8, 2015 | Highland | No Comments |

Grass

Highland Park 15 Year

Balvenie 17 Year Peated Cask

Tomatin 14 Year