Archive For The “Core Range” Category
Like so many other maltheads, I began my whisky journey with the Glenfiddich. It was 1976 or 1977, I was in second or third grade, and my father came back from a business trip with the Glenfiddich single malt. It must have been the Special Reserve, as I remember the bottle and tube very clearly….
The Balvenie needs no introduction, nor does the choice of including this expression in the entry level aged expression series need Justification. Incidentally, (and surprisingly) one of my most read posts ever was a review of the Balvenie Tun 1509. I took these notes at an official tasting hosted by HaKerem, Balvenie’s local importer and…
I’m long overdue on this next series, looking at some of the basic expressions out there on the market. Coming off a series of independent Clynelish bottlings, it’s fitting to start the ‘back to basics’ series with the Clynelish official bottling. In 1991, United Distillers (later the heart of Diageo) released a series of entry level…
Yamazaki is Japan’s oldest distillery, but Nikka’s Yoichi is the most “Scottish” distillery in Japan. It’s located near the sea on the west coast of the northern island of Hokkaido, in conditions that are close to those of the western coastal Highlands (think Oban or Adelphi’s new Ardnamurchan) or even Islay, and still use direct…
The Yamazaki 18 is a highly acclaimed whisky. It has much more sherry matured whisky than the 12, yet retains the characteristic “vanilla-orange” florals of the Yamazaki. Yamazaki 18 (43% ABV) Appearance: Bronze with thin legs. Nose: The telltale Yamazaki floral-orange-vanilla note is clearly there, with a deeper sherry. Sultanas, cinnamon, light clove with light…