BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 is the classic unpeated Benriach aged for 23 years in a Marsala Wine Hogshead… and I’m excited about it. When Marsala is done right it can enhance a whisky and deliver something truly unique. And that’s the question here. Will this Marsala cask join the memorable ranks of the Bushmills 25 yo Marsala? Will it be as effortlessly tasty as the Knappogue 12 Marsala? Or will it be just another cask-strength Benriach? Only one way to find out… Now, let’s get to drinkin’! BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 – Details and Tasting Notes   Whiskey Details Cask St ..read more

What’s the difference between release 1 and the Benriach Smoke Season 2nd Edition? Nothing. Well, the whisky itself obviously because it’s a new batch, but when it comes to the actual specs, the answer is nothing. It’s still a “double cask” release employing both new charred and used bourbon barrels, still peated, bottled at 105.6 proof, still about $75. So when it comes to the coverage of the details everything is the same. But when it comes to the whisky itself… Let’s get to drinkin’! Benriach Smoke Season 2nd Edition – Details and Tasting Notes   Whiskey Details Cask Strength | Non-Ch ..read more

Like the first edition, the Benriach Malting Season 2nd Edition is made from Benriach’s floor malted barley and aged in a combination of new and used cooperage. The only difference on the surface between the two is the ABV (#2 is .2 % higher), but after tasting, I’m wondering if it’s the casks too. This is only a slight spoiler, but this release tastes more mature, less harsh and carries more “bourbon notes” from used cooperage than the last batch did. This makes me wonder if the ratio of new to used hasn’t also been adjusted to further favor the used vs the new, but maybe more 1st fill this ..read more

Bottled around 1976, there is very little online about the St. Dennis Very Special Blended Scotch. And by very little I mean just one other post which is a listing for a bottle of this. A listing that’s selling it for $50. Which, after having tried several bottles of it, is about $100 too much (I would need to get paid to even sip this again). “So Josh, why did you try several bottles if it’s that bad?” Because curious reader, I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just the bottle I opened that was this terrible. In the name of dusty whisky discovery, I opened and tasted 4 pint-sized bottles I ..read more

What’s so glorious about early 1970s White Horse Blended Scotch? For starters, there’s likely some Scotch from the Malt Mill distillery which was an offshoot of Lagavulin. Though for most of you, and me, the draw here is the old Lagavulin. This particular White Horse comes from the early 70s which means the Lagavulin in here was distilled in the 60s… or earlier. Blends today and blends of the past are slightly different animals. A lot of that has to do with the single malt trade and the scale of whisky today. Back when the scale of production was smaller and single malts weren’t much of a thi ..read more

I’m going to spare any pretense about the 1979 Old and Rare Benrinnes 40 Years and tell you right now it’s delicious. Everyone who tried this bottle before its demise at my going away party enjoyed it; especially me. I enjoyed it a lot and a lot of it. This once-in-a-lifetime bottle was a multi-celebratory bottle. Turning 40 during a lockdown in a global pandemic; coming out of it and getting a new job; marking the end of a 12-year run of living in SoCal; a parting bottle to be shared with my amazing LA friends and family. In a nutshell, this bottle was the exclamation point on a fun, stressf ..read more

If you don’t like peat, then the Hazelburn Sherry Wood 13 Years might be something you want to check out. Springbank is lightly peated, Longrow is heavily peated and Hazelburn is unpeated; Springbank makes something for everyone. It’s also triple-distilled. Though commonly associated with Irish Whiskey there are several distilleries in Scotland that triple-distill to produce a lighter, creamier spirit before hitting the casks. Auchentoshan is probably the most well-known triple-distilled Scotch, but both BenRiach and Benromach have 3x distilled releases and the revived Rosebank will be follow ..read more

A few years ago, the Malt Nuts did a crazy vertical of Longrow 18 Years and I’m finally posting the review of my bottle from that night… and killing it off in the process. Do you sense a theme in these recent posts? Beyond it all being Springbank distilled stuff that is. As I was packing up for the move from LA to DC I looked at all of my open, and somewhat drained, whiskies and put together a hit list of whiskies to kill and, finally, review. One of the biggest runs I put together was Springbank. I guess it’s a distillery I have a hard killing off bottles from and letting go. But as with all ..read more

This 1995 Sovereign Springbank 22 Years was my birthday bottle back in March of 2020. An ominous month in human history, but instead of 2020, I want to focus on 1995. I don’t know about you, but when I think about the number in the abstract, it doesn’t feel that long ago… but it was almost 30 years ago now! 27 to be exact. In 1995 I was 14 and my family moved to a tiny town in Wyoming. Cobbled together out of trailer parks, horse corrals and out-of-place new construction this mining town would be my life till I turned 18 and left. To pass the time between 95 and 99 I spent as much time as pos ..read more

At first glance, there might be a temptation to argue that The Clonakilty Double Oak Irish Whiskey is actually a Triple. It uses ex-Bourbon, new charred American oak and ex-Red Wine casks. In fact, I wanted to make that argument, but the operative word in that title is Oak. “Triple Wood”… sure, because it uses three different “preparations” of wood, but it does that using just two different kinds of oak: American and European. Three styles, two oaks, makes sense. Now let’s see if it’s any good. Now, let’s get to drinkin’! Clonakilty Double Oak Irish Whiskey – Details and Tasting Notes   ..read more