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Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask

One of the things Balvenie likes to do in its standard offerings besides various age statements is experiment with different cask finishes. Unlike other whiskys, who often use a cask finish for their NAS releases, Balvenie displays both age and finish. Unlike some distillers, who buy their ex-wine or spirit barrels from around the world, Balvenie takes American oak casks and chooses the West Indian rums (i.e. Cuba, but renamed to get past picky U.S. import law) that fill them. The master distiller chooses when these barrels are ready to empty and be filled with the 14 year old whisky for finishing. How does the smoothness of the base whisky mix with the rum casks?

By Adam | July 9, 2015 | Speyside | No Comments |

Situated on the east coast of Islay across from the isle of Jura, Caol Ila (pronounced “Cull Eela”) is Gaelic for Sound of Islay or Islay Strait and is near Port Askaig. The distillery has a colorful history, having changed ownership several times, including having the actual buildings demolished and rebuilt as recently as 1974. Though there are single malt expressions offered, it is also used in blends like Johnnie Walker and Black Bottle. It is currently the largest distillery on Islay, and is notable for having a lighter, sweeter flavor than other single malts from this island. The malted barley is sourced from Port Ellen and is peat smoked at the same location as the malt for Lagavulin. After production, the whisky is aged and bottled in a warehouse in Glasgow.

By Adam | June 9, 2015 | Islay | 1 Comment |

Longrow is one of the three main divisions of Springbank and features their peated whiskies (the others are Springbank and Hazelburn). Furthermore, this is one of three Longrow offerings, always released at cask strength. The Red comes from the fact that a new red wine cask is used to finish the whisky every year. This particular release was aged in Australian Shiraz casks. We wanted to try the base model Longrow Red, as we did at a Merlin’s Rest Tasting last year, but it has sadly been discontinued. How will this one be different from the regular Longrow Red, and how will it compare to the other Campbeltown we’ve tried?

By Adam | May 12, 2015 | Campbeltown | No Comments |

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Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask

Caol Ila 12 Year

Longrow Red 11 Year Shiraz Cask