Archive For The “Independent Bottling” Category

Compass Box No Name 2 (48.9%)

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Compass Box No Name 2 (48.9%)

Compass Box No Name 2 is the sequel to the 2017 No Name, which looked to highlight the peat, and did so in a very ‘in your face’ way. The first No Name was composed of about 75% Ardbeg, 11% Caol Ila, 13% Clynelish and a wee bit of Compass Box’s Highland malt blend finished…

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From ‘Project Overlord’ to Compass Box Affinity (46%)

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From ‘Project Overlord’ to Compass Box Affinity (46%)

I’ve been waiting for over a year and a half to write this post, although I had no idea back then it would be called Affinity. The beginning of the story is at the 2017 Whisky Show in London, where I took part in a great masterclass led by Becky Peskin bringing whisky makers to…

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Whisky Show 2018 Recap and a Review of the ‘Future of Whisky’ Invergordon 44 (51.6%), Ben Nevis 21 (47.5%) and Ledaig 12 (58.4%)

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Whisky Show 2018 Recap and a Review of the ‘Future of Whisky’ Invergordon 44 (51.6%), Ben Nevis 21 (47.5%) and Ledaig 12 (58.4%)

The Whisky Show 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the iconic London event. The theme of this year’s Show was ‘The Future of Whisky’, and if there’s one definitive glimpse I can offer you on the future of whisky, it’s this: Expensive.  (At least until the next whisky loch, slowly distilling as we speak). In the…

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Elements of Islay Pl5 – Port Charlotte 2009 (63.1%)

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Elements of Islay Pl5 – Port Charlotte 2009 (63.1%)

This Elements of Islay Port Charlotte is your quintessential Islay dram, made not by your most classic Islay distillery. Bruichladdich is the quirky Islay distillery. From the Victorian equipment to the funky lacticity (that’s usually covered over in the peated expressions), from the numerous wine casks to Ugly Betty’s gin, things are just done differently…

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Elements of Islay CI11 – Caol Ila 2008 (55.4%)

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Elements of Islay CI11 – Caol Ila 2008 (55.4%)

The second dram in this new Elements of Islay release is a 2008 Caol Ila, at either nine or ten years of age. Like the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone, Caol Ila is smoky’s old faithful. It will rarely blow you away, but you pretty much know what you can expect. In CI11, Islay’s workhorse…

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