Benriach 2008 / Macallan 31 Years (Vintage Bottlers)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
9h ago
You may remember Vintage Bottlers from very good bottlings such as their Islay Malt 1990 and Port Charlotte 2001 or the Ben Nevis 1996. Today we go in opposite directions with a youngish Benriach 2008 as well as a 31 year old Macallan.  Benriach 14 yo 2008 (48,3%, Vintage Bottlers 2023, hogshead, 378 btl.) Nose: rather acidic fruits like lemon and elderberry at first, becoming rather candied along the way. Maybe unripe pineapple. Milder orchard fruits like apples and pears too. Then whiffs of sour cream and touches of soil. Just a hint of chiffon leather.Mouth: still b ..read more
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Simply Good Whisky: Aultmore, Miltonduff, Peatside, Caol Ila
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
9h ago
Good whisky shouldn't be very old, nor very expensive. That's more or less the premise of the Simply Good Whisky series by Kirsch Import. We try two unpeated single malts (Aultmore and Miltonduff), two peated undisclosed blended / teaspooned malts and one Caol Ila. Mostly from red wine casks, mind you. In the past we already had a Miltonduff 2006 from the same series.All of them are available from different German shops. Check with Kirsch Import to find a retailer.  Miltonduff 15 yo 2008 (55,2%, Simply Good Whisky 2023, first fill Château Lafite red wine cask ..read more
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Ben Nevis 1996 cask #912 (The Whisky Jury)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
2d ago
Out of 40-something whisky bottlings so far from The Whisky Jury, 10 of them have been Ben Nevis 1995 or 1996. One of every four, that's crazy... but we love it and hope there's more to come. The latest release is cask #912 from 1996.This bottle has a great back story. Joeri got it from the son of Dr. Sven Hultin, born in Northern Finland and passionate about sailing. Hultin purchased the cask in 1996 but he died in 2013. After many years, his descendants decided to sell the whisky and The Whisky Jury turned it into a nice tribute. Similar to his 'RAF pilot' bottling, but now fe ..read more
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Caroni 24 Years 1998 (Lion’s Whisky + Distilia)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
2d ago
Last week the sad news reached us that Diego Sandrin passed away. While I never met Diego in person, we exchanged some e-mails and he said some very nice things about my work as a blogger. So here's a small tribute review to honour his passion for whisky and rum.I dug up a sample of the Caroni 1998 rum he selected to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his brand Lion's Whisky. It was bottled by Distilia. If you're interested in a short interview with Diego and some information on this particular bottling, check this piece on the Distilia website or this interview from Whisky Aucti ..read more
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Vallein Tercinier Lot 55 (Malternative Belgium)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
4d ago
Today Malternative Belgium releases its latest bottling. It comes from Vallein Tercinier, the house that sparked the interest in artisan cognac for many whisky lovers (including me). It is a selection of four damme jeannes from the Lot 55 stocks.This is VT's own production, so not a spirit they acquired as a négociant. Grapes were sourced from the vineyards surrounding the domain, accross the road from the Chermignac cemetary. While technically in the Bons Bois area, the soil in these vineyards is very calcareous and far less sandy than others in this zone. In fact closer to the ..read more
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Penderyn Myth / Legend / Rich Oak
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
1w ago
Penderyn Myth and Penderyn Legend are two single malts from their Dragon range. The series was first introduced in 2015 and recently got a packaging makeover with a lighter bottle and new visuals.Myth uses some rejuvenated casks (commonly known as STR casks - after all the house style of Penderyn was designed by Jim Swan), while Legend uses Madeira casks. In fact you could say a Madeira finish is one of the typical elements of the Penderyn profile, as they also use it for their cornerstone expression.It seems previous versions of these whiskies were bottled at 43% ABV, then 41 ..read more
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Hi Liquor: Ardmore, Williamson, Secret Islay
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
1w ago
We're lucky to have friends around the world. Otherwise we would never be able to try whisky bottled for Australia. Today I can review three peated single malts: a not-so-secret Islay 2007, another not-so-secret Williamson 2010 and Ardmore 2009. All three were selected by Anchor, the independent bottling label from Hi Liquor.  Secret Islay 15 yo 2007 (49,7%, Anchor & Kanpaikai 2023, refill Oloroso hogshead, 168 btl.) Nose: slightly dirty peat smoke, with plenty of bacon as well as a clear fishy side. Smoked mackerel. Then big hints of salted caramel, burnt fruit cake an ..read more
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Port Ellen 1980 (Silver Seal)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
1w ago
Over the years many people have traded and gifted samples for me to try. Not all of them make it onto the blog, certainly not right away. So here's a very belated review of a Port Ellen 1980. I can't remember who was responsible for delivering it to my desk, but hey, many thanks!The whisky was bottled back in 2002. Italian bottler Silver Seal had quite an extensive series of Port Ellen releases (those were the days...) but this seems to be one of the more obscure bottlings named 'Special Reserve'. In fact I believe the first ever bottling by Silver Seal was a sister cask - same ..read more
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Hmpdn, Foursquare, Caroni, New Yarmouth (Swell de Spirits)
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
1w ago
Some sessions grow bigger once I start them. I started with three samples from recent rum releases from Swell de Spirits. But then I discovered a leftover samples from the same bottler, and then another one, and then more. I'm not a very organised person but now I understand what people mean with this feeling of a 'clean desk'.   HMPDN 2012 - Low Esters (59,1%, Swell de Spirits 'Pop' for Inter Caves France 2023, ex-bourbon cask, 310 btl.) Nose: mild but still recognizable as (basically estery) Hampden. You get nice mashed bananas and ripe pineapples, maybe papaya. Then ..read more
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Acla da Fans: 10th Anniversary bottlings
WhiskyNotes | Belgium Whisky Blog
by Ruben
1w ago
Acla da Fans is a duty-free shop in Switzerland, near the borders with Austria and Italy. Since 1985 they offer a wide range of cosmetics, tobacco and whisky. Besides the classic names, some German bottlers like Sansibar, The Whisky Agency, Liquid Treasures... are well respresented on their shelves.Since 2013 they've been releasing independent bottlings under their own label Acla Selection. Some co-bottlings already appeared on this blog, like a Ben Nevis 1996 and Cragganmore 2004.I have a wide range of samples waiting to be reviewed. For today we'll focus on their 10th Annivers ..read more
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