Glenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Glenglassaugh has been described as a 'coastal' distillery, being located on the north coast of Speyside near Glen Deveron and Banff. Founded in 1875, between 1960 and 1986 it produced malt whiskies for the blending market, in particular the Cutty Sark and Famous Grouse blends. However, it suffered from the recession riddled decline that plagued the Scotch whisky industry in the early 1980's and was mothballed in 1986. It restarted production in November 2008 after being acquired by independent investors, the Edrington Group, following a complete refurbishment by the new owners. Retasted April 2018... Brilliant gold. Super pure with scents of beeswax, pineapple pudding and fruit’n’nut chocolate. Rounded and poised with a chocolaty edge to the malt, following through to a juicy, textural finish featuring tangy tropical fruits and a spicy burst that fans out in the mouth. Fine sweet-dry balance. Delicious. 50% Alc./Vol. First tasted November 2013... [ from a 20 ml sample]. Brilliant pale straw gold. A brief shellac and glue blemish turns to peppermint and honeycomb - a combination that's a sheer delight. Gains more vanilla and toffee with aeration. Delivers semi sweet, caramelised fruit flavours before crescendoing with a tingly, warm and spicy flourish that hollows out the profile towards the finish. Ends dry, numbing but long. Sound balance at this high ABV. Subtle spicy, caramelised fruit fade. 90 points 57.2% Alc./Vol.
Copenhagen Distillery Orange Organic Gin
Juniper, bay leaves, cranberries, lemon, kvan and allspice. Made to celebrate our certification as an organic producer, this is a London Dry Gin to turn heads. Dark notes from bay leaf and angelica and sweetness from cranberries. The gin is unfiltered and may turn cloudy with the addition of water or ice.
Goodradigee Distillers Ironbark Red
Goodradigbee's Ironbark Red is a world's first innovation being the only single malt spirit matured in Australian Red Ironbark sourced from the New England Ranges, and in Goodradigbee's whisky maturation cubes, not barrels. The spirit is a rich, red and surprisingly complex spirit. It has a sweet honey and charred citrus flavour upfront, then moves to dark chocolate and golden syrup swiftly followed by subtle notes of seasoned wood and a nutty maltiness. The finish is powerful and succinct.
Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Matured Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Whilst many Australian whisky enthusiasts are familiar with the traditional sherried bottlings from Aberlour distillery, many parts of Europe are privy to its more curious variants which combine whiskies derived from both sherry and bourbon casks, varying in proportion. We have sourced a small quantity of these relatively unknown expressions just to showcase what this distillery capable of.
Kavalan Concertmaster Port Finish Single Malt Taiwanese Whisky
Tasting note: [20ml sample] Deep polished copper colour. Aromatically, a curious mix of roasted nuts, aniseed infused honey, ginger biscuit and a pantry full of sweet spices, in particular, vanilla, clove and cinnamon. Soft entry builds into a beautifully harmonised, light to middle-weight whisky offering delicate mince fruit pie flavours and gentle heat. Subtle vanilla and manuka honey aftertaste...Good wine vs whisky balance. More interesting with every sip. 40% Alc./Vol.
Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
An unusual age statement is inspired by Alfred Barnard's visit to the distillery in 1887 which became part of his book, “The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom”. According to Diageo Director of Whisky Outreach, Dr. Nick Morgan, “At the end of the tour, he was given a taste of the whisky…he tasted an eight-year-old Lagavulin, which, of course, remember at the time was actually quite old…whiskies were considered to be venerable once they got around six years old in the 19th Century,” Morgan said in an interview with www.whiskycast.com. “He declared that whisky to be exceptionally fine, so our mission with this bottling was to find an exceptionally fine eight-year-old liquid which we thought Barnard would quite like if he were to be back here tasting it today.” Tasting note: Very pale straw gold showing considerable legs. Powerful and complex aromas include cocoa, sea spray, white pepper, dilute Elastoplast and lanolin followed by hints of citrus zest. Several minutes air contact accents the latent malt as well as dark chocolate. Concentrated but also surprisingly soft; almost creamy with grassy malt and a juicy vanilla, kelp and peppermint finish that goes long into the aftertaste. A departure from the 16, but terrific young malt. 48% Alc./Vol.
Dalmore 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Dalmore story began in 1839 with Alexander Matheson who lived in the Highlands of Northern Scotland. Matheson found the rich peat and pure water sources of the Highlands to be the makings of a perfect whisky. He built a distillery in the area and produced small batches until 1886, when the Mackenzie family acquired his operation. When a member of the Mackenzie family risked his own life to save Scotland’s ruler, King Alexander III, from a charging stag, the grateful king offered a token of his appreciation by bequeathing the stag to the Mackenzie family as a symbol of valor and courage. And more than 130 years later, the stag head still appears on every bottle of The Dalmore. Today, Dalmore distillery has ten stone warehouses and eight pot-stills, several which date back to the late 1800s. Much of the distillery burned down during World War I while occupied by the U.S. Navy, but production resumed in 1922. The production process is meticulous and includes double distillations in copper pot-stills and aging in white oak and sherry wood casks.
Glenglassaugh Torfa Single Malt Scotch Whisky
2014 marks another benchmark with "Torfa" - the first peated whisky from this revived distillery, fully matured in ex-bourbon barrels and peated to 20ppm. It takes its name from the Old Norse language with which the Scots dialect spoken in North East Scotland has an affinity and translates to “turf” or “peat”. Non-chill filtered. Natural colour. Retasted April 2018... Bright gold. White pepper and sweet earthy phenols combine with beeswax and biscuity malt; more cocoa / dark chocolate-like after extended time in the glass. A full bodied, succulent delivery with toasted barley, hints of fruit and a superb slathering of sweet peat. Melts in your mouth with near zero heat, the buzzing spices ricocheting through the finish. Uncomplicated but very pure. Beautiful malt. 50% Alc./Vol. First tasted April 2014... Pale straw gold. Opening sniff detects hints of vanilla wafer biscuit, dried grass and white pepper; more cocoa like after exposure as mild peat infuses dark chocolate, accentuating with time in the glass. Quite sweet but remains in check with the mid palate featuring juicy vanilla malt and the finish highlighting the peat as wet-wool / lanolin. Controlled spices add length and continue into an attractive choc-peat fade. Smokey, but in an accessible Caol Ila kind of way. Nicely done. 93 points
Talisker Skye Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Isle of Skye is renowned for its rich, varied landscape from its soft, serene shores to the dark, jagged peaks of the Cuillin mountains. Talisker Skye is the distillerys ode to these appealing contrasts, with a smoky sweetness, maritime notes, and a spicy edge.Best served in a Rocks Glass, neat or with a little water.
Empirical Empirical Ayuuk
The Pasilla Mixe chilli is the hero here. Sourced directly from the Mixe farmers on the Sierra Norte mountains, we macerate the smokey chillis in a special alcohol made from Danish heritage Purple Wheat and organic malted barley. After distillation those same chillis are then used to make a Pasilla Mixe kombucha which is also distilled and then blended in to adjust the alcohol percentage.