Should I join this Syndicate?

Now this is an independent, ad-free blog, where I normally review drams I have either bought myself or swapped with other enthusiasts, so this is a bit of a strange situation! An unexpected message on twitter and an exchange of address resulted in a parcel from @DLaingWhisky. But like most whisky bloggers out there I plan to be fair and honest in my review even though it was a 'freebie'.

Now I've bought, and swapped, a few Douglas Laing bottles in my time, at one end of my 'favourites scale' you have the delicious twenty-something single grains and the 13yo Scallywag, at the other end is The Gauldrons which is just not pleasant. As with all things whisky - these are my onions and yours and your palate will be different!

So where does this dram fit? More importantly what is it?

The parcel had the DL logo on it but the bottle and accompanying postcard don't mention them, the website doesn't even mention them - quite strange. The dram in question is the 12yo Syndicate 58/6 Export which is produced exclusively for Douglas Laing & Co. and widely available overseas but it's not a dram I'd heard of before.

Where's the flat pack instructions?

When we think of Sweden then first things that comes into our minds in flat pack furniture - we all love Ikea, walking around the store, grabbing some delicious Meatballs then the fun starts! An hour in the car park trying to work out how to get all the packages into the car is just the start, wait until you eventually get home and open them up! I'm sure the little cartoon diagrams mean something to someone?

Anyway this is a whisky blog not a furniture one, so swap Ikea for Mackmyra, the first distillery to open in Sweden, it started to distil in 1999.

Fly with the Eagles - a taste of Arran

I last visited Arran in April '18, a beautiful island off the west coast of Scotland but they really need to sort out the roads! At the time there was only one distillery on the island - Isle of Arran in the north near Lochranza but soon it will be joined by its sister distillery in the south near Lagg. Arran's logo features a pair of Golden Eagles which can sometimes be seen flying over the distillery.

I've tried a few of their whiskies in my time including the excellent Exciseman from the Smugglers Series, but in this blog we'll be trying the regular 10yo, 14yo, Bothy Quarter cask and Port Finish.

Two little whisky bar recommendations!

This year my family and I made a Road Trip around the South West USA, we had a brilliant time driving along parts of Route 66, Route 89 and visiting many National Parks including the Grand Canyon.