Review of my whisky year - 2019

First of all thank you to all the people who have read my blog (c48,000 up from 29,000 last year) and followed me on Twitter (c2,600 up from 1,700 last year).

My highlights of 2019 were:

Whisky from...? Japan

Next in my little series on Whisky from...? is Japan. I've tried a few Japanese whiskies in my time, more recently a great set from Yoichi. But this one is a little special - it's the 800th different whisky I've tried!

Japanese whisky has had a bit of a bust and boom in the last thirty years. In the 90s, the distilleries were not prepared for the economic crash in Japan, whisky fell out of favour in Japan, some distilleries closed and production was scaled back in the rest. In the subsequent recovery they didn't have enough stock laid down to cope with the an ever increasing demand, so now, stock is low and prices are high.

#BlendOff

We all love our drams (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this!) whether they are single malts, single grains or blends. Most of these are actually 'blends' or vattings of different casks, maybe from the same distillery (it's where the word 'Single' comes from) and someone has to put these together. It might be the Distillery's Manager, Master Blender or a team - whoever it is we all appreciate their work!

I'm part of a group who regularly swap samples without labeling them and take part in an evening of #BlindTasting - a great way to discover new drams! @Wessex had an idea to take it one step further and blind taste each other's blends. An interesting and at some time difficult challenge!

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar - Review

I was lucky enough to receive a whisky advent calendar from those lovely people at @DrinksByTheDram, it was their Scotch Whisky 2019 edition.

Each day during #Dramvent I opened a door and discovered what was inside - looking back now - what are my thoughts?

Side by side : Single Casks from Benrinnes

I'm really really really trying to reduce my sample boxes, some of the samples, including these two have been in there for a while.

So, not a distillery I've reviewed before but, these are two independent bottlings of Benrinnes, let's see how they compare side by side!

Kininvie Experiments

Kininvie is a distillery you may not have heard of, it's located in Dufftown on the same site as Balvenie and Glenfiddich, the three constituents of the Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt, so as you might think is owned by William Grant & Sons.

The reason you may not of heard of them is that nearly all of their output goes into Grant's Blends, so what's changed? Well recently they released a set of three experiments, and the geeky scientist inside me said "You've got to try them!"

Side by side: Lakes Whiskymaker's Reserves #1 and #2

At the end of the summer Lakes distillery released their first proper single malt, all of the 6,100 or 5,922 bottles (depending on if you believe the bottle or box!) sold out within a couple of months.

The second release came out in the autumn, here we compare the two side by side.

Whyte & Mackay @TweetTastings #WhyteChristmas

Recently Whyte & Mackay celebrated their 175th Anniversary and released a 50yo Blend... but with a difference! It wasn't available to buy anywhere, if you bought a bottle of the normal blend you could enter a draw to win a bottle of the 50yo - a brilliant idea. Or if you were really lucky and got selected for the #WhyteChristmas @TweetTastings you received a 50ml sample!

I was lucky and received the set but struggled to wait until the night of the tasting!

#LetsTrySomeWhisky - Yoichi blind tasting

As always with these kinds of things it started with a twitter conversation which lead to some sample swaps, a calendar appointment and a great night tasting whisky with mates!

We were supposed to meet up at Spirit Of Speyside but my plans got cancelled, so although I've never actually met some of these guys, we talk regularly on twitter and have occasional video hangouts.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar

I was lucky enough to receive a whisky advent calendar from those lovely people at @DrinksByTheDram, it was their Scotch Whisky 2019 edition.

Each day during #Dramvent I opened a door and discovered what was inside!

An Englishman in... Glasgow

A recent work trip to Glasgow allowed me a first visit to some of the famous old whisky bars in the city and to one of the newer ones!

Although I've been to Glasgow before it's always on the way somewhere else so I've never had time to stop and explore.

#BlindTasting Series 6 Episode 1

Series 6 Episode 1

After what seems months and months, and actually was! the #BlindTasting team finally managed to organise a night when we were all free to kick off Series 6. The team have swapped more drams and tonight we need to try and work out what they are, but more importantly tell us what we think of them without knowing where they are from. #NoPreconceivedIdeas! If you haven't followed us before you can catch up with all the previous series here.

Whisky from...? Belgium

Our latest in the Whisky from...? series comes after a sample swap with a Belgium friend introduced me to a new distillery in Belgium!

The Mertens family have been producing cider, importing wine and distilling spirits for three generations since 1920.

Glenfarclas youngster

I have a bit of a love / hate relationship with Glenfarclas, I've huge expectations but have frequently been disappointed. So when I was offered a chance to buy a bottle of 9yo I wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

Photo: @jwbassman_

My mate @jwbassman_ told me he'd designed the label and my enthusiasm grew a little, then when he said it was 48.2% ABV I was sold and bottle number 278 was on it's way to my shelf!

Glen Moray @TweetTastings

An annual favourite amongst the @TweetTastings fraternity is the one from @GlenMorayDist, not only is it great whisky, great presentation and great staff, they also give you huge sample bottles!

This year the box contained four 100ml bottles, two recent additions to the core range and two single cask bottlings.

Whisky Advent Calendar

Those great people at Master of Malt sent me an Advent Calendar for the run up to Christmas! For the whisky fans amongst us this makes much more sense than a chocolate one!

Now the idea with an Advent Calendar is that you open 1 door each day from the 1st December through to Christmas Eve... But please enjoy your whisky responsibly! Sometimes it may not possible to open a dram each day, you could share with mates or save a couple to enjoy at the weekend?

Whisky from...? Israel

Our latest in the Whisky from...? series comes from Israel and the Milk & Honey distillery.

The distillery was built in Tel Aviv 2014 with distillation starting in 2015, they mill, mash and ferment in-house maturing in carefully-selected ex-Bourbon casks and a collection of new oak barrels and kosher ex-wine barrels.

Spirit Of Yorkshire Initial Release - Filey Bay

Unless you've been off planet for the last few years you can't have failed to notice the seemingly never ending release of initial releases from new distilleries, both in Scotland and the rest of the world. (I'm sure I've said this before...?)

This time were looking at one of the very latest from @SpiritYorkshire - let's see what it's like!

#MiniTasting - Dailuaine Disco!

The #MiniTasting gang may not all be getting a little long in the tooth but we all like a good boogie! Thanks to @ScotchB78 we had a bit of a @SMWS Dailuaine Disco!

Newer Distilleries 8 : Spirit of Yorkshire

This is the eighth in an occasional series about newer distilleries, this entry is about the Spirit Of Yorkshire Distillery.

End of an era? - Glen Moray

I first heard the news back in July, but it wasn't made public until August, @Graham__Coull and @Fay_Coull would be leaving @GlenMorayDist and travelling across the Irish Sea to @DingleWhiskey

Just in case you aren't aware Graham has been Master Distiller at Glen Moray for 14 years, only their fifth Master Distiller.

Side by side: Three Ardbegs

For this 'side by side' blog I've picked 3 drams from the Ardbeg range, I've not tried an Ardbeg dram for a little while - I wasn't impressed by the Grooves release so have been avoiding them, let see if any of these can change my mind?

Bung Hole Sniffing?

I'm sure everyone who has visited a distillery warehouse has had a go at this:

Photo : SpiritAndWood & @MaltMusings

Sniffing a cask's bung hole is an unforgettable experience - the vapours escaping from cask strength whisky are amazing!

The Whisky Works @TweetTastings

 James Whyte and Charles Mackay founded their company in 1844, on the banks of the River Clyde, they experimented with blending whisky as an alternative to the Cognac which was popular at the time. Today, as well as the Whyte & Mackay, John Barr and Claymore blends, they own single malt brands Dalmore, Fettercairn, Invergordon, Isle of Jura and Tamnavulin.

Experimentation is still at the heart of what they do and a recent addition to the portfolio is The Whisky Works brand, a boutique blending and bottling house, run as an independent arm. They release small batches of experimentally matured or blended whiskies.

Aerolite Lyndsay

A surprise package through the post a couple of weeks ago was a curiously named bottle of single malt Islay whisky from a new whisky company.

The Character of Islay Whisky Company is part of Atom Brands and a sister company of That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Master Of Malt amongst others. The whisky is called Aerolite Lyndsay and it turns out the name is an anagram!

Side by side : Lakes v Bimber initial releases

I've recently been lucky to try the initial releases from two of England's latest distilleries, both were impressive on their own but lets see how they compare side by side!

The Lakes Distillery's Whiskymaker's Reserve #1 and Bimber Distillery's 1st Release.

Bimber Distillery Initial Release - The 1st Release

Unless you've been off planet for the last few years you can't have failed to notice the seemingly never ending release of initial releases from new distilleries, both in Scotland and the rest of the world.

This time were looking at one of the very latest from @BimberLondon - let's see what it's like!

Goslings Rum #TweetTastings

A conversation with Steve pursued me to have a go at a rum TweetTasting and a few days later a parcel duly arrived!

Now I must admit I've only tried rum on a couple of occasions so didn't know quite what to expect, Steve did mentioned that these were a good cross-over drink.

#MiniTasting - Don't beat around the Bush!

A trip across the Irish Sea, figuratively speaking, for the #MiniTasting gang as we look at some of @BushmillsUK standard range.

Bruichladdich MP8

Every now and again Bruichladdich launch what they call a Micro Providence set showcasing three difference whiskies with slightly different characteristics so you can compare and contrast them. These are made available in sets of three 200ml bottles for around £50.

Photo: @JWBassman_

The most recent set, MP8, was a set of Port Charlotte drams - about a month after their release the #MiniTasting team and friends gave them a go.

Boutique-y Highland Fling!

As part of That Boutique-y Dram Good Club I recently received two Highland drams and decided to give them my side-by-side treatment.

These are both TBWC bottlings of Teaninch and Glengoyne whiskies.

BlindTastingOnTour : Glen Scotia

     

So where do you go for lunch in Campbeltown when you're between distillery visits and what do you have to eat? You've got whisky in your belly and know there's more to come later...

BlindTastingOnTour : Springbank

    

Tuesday morning arrived all to quickly and brought a few sore heads, memories of an empty Cage and the damp weather didn't improve the situation.

BlindTastingOnTour : WM Cadenhead's

    

After our tour of Glengyle we went back to the distillery shop to join the queue for the Cadenhead's Warehouse Tasting - and by queue we meant 20 Swedes.....

BlindTastingOnTour : Glengyle (Kilkerran)

    

The first 'official' visit of our Campbeltown trip was to the Glengyle Distillery where Kilkerran whisky is distilled.

BlindTastingOnTour : Campbeltown

The second annual #BlindTastingOnTour started with a 4.15am alarm clock, a 4.30am taxi and a 4.55am train from home to Carnforth to meet up with the rest of the gang who drove up from further south.

Side by side : Highland 46s

Highland drams seem to get a little ignored by reviewers with their big brothers from Islay or Speyside taking the limelight. This region produces nearly a quarter of all the whisky distilled in Scotland.

For this side by side I've selected 5 Highland drams all at the ABV sweet spot of 46% but with varying maturation, let see what they are like!

Lakes Distillery Initial Release - Whiskymaker's Reserve No. 1

I admit I've not been a huge fan of the whiskies coming out of my local distillery, The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria. I'm not a fan of unknown blends, expensive limited editions or dodgy marketing stories - just give me a good reasonably priced whisky to drink and I'll be happy.

The Whiskymaker's Reserve No.1 is their first 'real release' a single malt - let's see what it's like!

Whisky from...? Sweden

This year Sweden is celebrating 20 years of modern whisky distilling, it was 1998 when eight friends, on a skiing trip to the mountains, decided that Sweden needed its own distillery, the rest as they say is history!

The first spirit came off Mackmyra's stills in 1999, they've experimented with different ingredients, techniques and maturation types and today they produce a number of different styles of whisky.

#MiniTasting - Blind Comparison #2

Blind Comparison #2 - the #MiniTasting gang take on 3 blind drams for our 10th #MiniTasting.

#MiniTasting - Bartels 10th Anniversary

An invitation on twitter from @bartelswhisky_ allowed the #MiniTasting team to try their 10th Anniversary bottling of a 17yo blend.

Podcast re-visit - Glen Scotia Victoriana

As you may have heard on a recent @thisismydram podcast, Stu, Andy, John and myself had a little chat over a couple of glasses of @GlenScotiaMalts Victoriana. Listen here!

Excellent Photo : @jwbassman_

This is a robust, cask strength, lightly peated Campbeltown dram.

Irish Cask Strength

So what do you do when a mate from Ireland says "The distillery aren't sure whether to release a cask strength version of the 12yo, I've suggested a tasting, do you want to take part?"

Well as you can imagine it took me a couple of milliseconds to reply, a few days later 25 of us received a lovely packaged bottle in the post.

Bimber @TweetTastings

It's not very often you get to taste whisky from a new distillery before they even launch their first release, but thanks to Steve's @TweetTastings that's just what a few of us luck folks were able to do.

The distillery in question was Bimber, a London based distillery and the beautifully presented samples included two bottles of their new make spirit and four bottles of differently finished 3yo whisky.