Archives for May 2025

Sampling Kilchoman’s 20th Anniversary Cask Series – Classy And Sublime!

May 30, 2025 by Gary

The Kilchoman 20th Anniversary Cask Series!

20 casks to celebrate 20 years of Kilchoman!

Casks that epitomize the unique flavour profile of Kilchoman and chracterise two decades of commitment to craft.

To mark those 20 years there are four releases in the series, each a vatting of five specially selected casks, highlighting the two distinct sides of Kilchoman’s unique character; ex-bourbon and ex-sherry maturation.

The ex-bourbon releases are defined by salty peat smoke and bright citrus sweetness. In contrast, the darker-hued ex-sherry releases offer a richer profile, with notes of dried fruits, BBQ smoke, and mixed spices.

Selected by Kilchoman Founder, Anthony Wills, these casks are a testament to him and his team’s skill, dedication, and perseverance.

It has been a journey, not always smooth, but immensely fulfilling!
– Anthony Wills: Kilchoman Founder

Compare prices for Kilchoman!

These whiskies sold out VERY quickly and so might be hard to get hold of, apart from the secondary sales market (auction sites etc.) and they’ll be at a premium price. But if you are lucky enough to acquire one, I think you won’t be disappointed!

Kilchoman kindly sent me some sample to try. (Thanks kilchomandistillery.com / @Kilchomanwhisky!)

If you are lucky enough to acquire one, I think you won’t be disappointed!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – Kilchoman 14 Year Old Ex-Bourbon

Nose: Smokey, oily peat with hints of orange.

Palate: Deeply smokey and peaty with sweet treacle, peppery chocolate and a little citrus.

Overall: A distinguished dram that gets smoother the longer you sip.

Tasting Notes – Kilchoman 14 Year Old Ex-Sherry

Nose: Creamy sherry aromas with buttery fruits, sultanas with faint wisps of thick BBQ sauce.

Palate: Smokey barbecues with sweet, rich, stewed fruits followed by salty pepper.

Overall: Very moreish indeed! That combination of sweet sherry and appetite sharpening smoke is hard to beat!

Tasting Notes – Kilchoman 15 Year Old Ex-Sherry

Nose: Stewed fruits, smooth chocolate with hints of peat in the background. warm coffee and sweet toffee.

Palate: Plump fruits bathed in smoke with sweet sherry, sweet chocolate and growing pepper. There’s more smokehouse flavours to follow and a little wisp of menthol!

Overall: Very classy indeed

Tasting Notes – Kilchoman 18 Year Old Ex-Bourbon

Nose: Mild smokehouse aromas with a delicate peatiness and sweet fruits.

Palate: Intense smokiness with liquid peat and sweet, stewed fruits that are smooth as silk with additional delicate pepper.

Overall: A lovely balanced dram with everything nicely in place. The age rounds off the edges and removes any sharpness – classy and sublime!

Once again, many thanks to kilchomandistillery.com (@Kilchomanwhisky) for treating my taste-buds!

Kilchoman is available to buy from these Merchants:-

About Kilchoman

Kilchoman is a family run farm distillery based on the rugged west coast of Islay, Scotland. The distillery was established by Anthony Wills in 2005, the idea was to build a new distillery which took whisky production back to its grass roots.

Their 100% Islay range is Islay’s only Single Farm Single Malt Scotch Whisky. It represents the revival of traditional farm distilling – growing barley before malting, distilling, maturing and bottling every bottle of their 100% Islay range on site.

2025 Gold Awards
The 2025 Award Season is now underway and Kilchoman’s Core Range releases and Loch Gorm 2025 have all been awarded Gold medals at the recent International Spirits Challenge 2025.

Tormore is BACK with its first official release under Elixir Distillers!

May 29, 2025 by Gary

The Blueprint series

ELIXIR DISTILLERS TEASES TORMORE RELEASE WITH ‘BLUEPRINT’ SERIES

Tormore unveils its first official release under the ownership of family-run Elixir Distillers, with three limited release bottlings of ‘Blueprint’ available globally from June onwards.

The series includes three Tormore 10-year-old single malt whiskies, each matured in different cask types: Bourbon Barrel, Toasted Barrel and Cream Sherry casks. The initial release is limited to 1,500 bottles of each expression.

Founded in 1959, Tormore was designed to produce an elegant, fruit-forward spirit. Ownership evolved over time, with alternating periods of community focus and industrial efficiency. Recent changes under new ownership have restored traditional methods, enhancing its famed fruit character and spirit quality.

The Blueprint series is about laying the foundation for Tormore’s future; it stands as a conversation starter around the highly anticipated launch of the whisky brand in 2026.

Blueprint is more than just a product line; it’s a platform to explore and explain the brand’s story and an insight into some of the building blocks that will form the Tormore single malts of the future.

Polly Logan, Tormore Distillery Manager, comments: ‘We are incredibly excited to offer our Tormore Blueprint to market. This is a first step in showcasing our wonderful spirit and giving a sneak preview of our future Tormore bottlings — and we are so proud of the whisky’.

The Blueprint Series:

Tormore Blueprint: 10-Year-Old Bourbon Barrels

A marriage of first fill bourbon barrels, these casks bring light caramel and coconut notes which complement the distinctive character of our new make spirit: pear, nectarine and walnuts. Think custard, biscuits, peach tart.

This is the core of our future Tormore and embodies all the elegance of the building and the spirit.

Tormore Blueprint: 10-Year-Old Cream Sherry Cask

Cream Sherry was historically the largest selling style of sherry in the world. Traditionally, cream sherries are produced by blending a dryer wine such as Oloroso with a sweeter wine like Pedro Ximenez.

The use of cream sherry leaves residual sugars from the Pedro Ximenez while also delivering signature flavours of dried fruit and orange peel. All of this builds a warmth of character into our balanced, fruit-forward Tormore spirit.

Tormore Blueprint: 10-Year-Old Toasted Barrel

Virgin American oak barrels have been crafted, toasted and charred specifically to our specifications, giving the spirit better access to the wood sugars. This builds up soft, rye spice and caramel.

For these barrels we do a long, slow toast and medium charring to allow for filtration of heavier compounds – encouraging better extraction of water-soluble compounds, such as vanillin, from the wood.

Elixir Distillers, owned by brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, acquired the Tormore Distillery from Pernod Ricard in 2022.

The Tormore Blueprint bottlings (48% ABV, – RRP £59.95) will be available globally in specialist retailers and selected on-trade from this month onwards.

DADS DESERVE DRAMS! Here’s some whiskies that could be a nice fit!

May 29, 2025 by Gary

Jura 12 – Taste the Island

Fathers Day

Sun, 15 Jun 2025

Here’s some whiskies that could be a nice fit!

Jura 12 – Taste the Island

For the dad who loves a drop of adventure, Jura, the UK’s number one single malt, should be top of your list. Crafted in the heart of community, Jura 12 Year Old is the perfect gift to share at any social gathering.

Jura 12 Year Old is matured in American ex-Bourbon barrels, then finished in the finest Oloroso sherry casks on the remote island of Jura. Matured for 12 years, the whisky boasts a honeyed sweetness with intensified notes of warm spices, banana and soft citrus alongside a finish of freshly ground coffee and dark chocolate.

Versatile and vibrant, Jura 12 Year Old can be enjoyed neat for those wild at heart, or – if you’re mastering your mixology skills – seek out a spectacular twist on a classic, with a Jura Espresso Martini:

Add 35ml Jura 12 Year Old, 15ml Coffee Liqueur, a single shot of espresso and 10ml sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake and fine strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with 3 coffee beans.

Jura 12 Year Old is available from a range of retailers including The Whisky Exchange, RRP £35.

Fettercairn 18 – A Highland Gem

Inspired by the rhythm of the seasons and crafted in harmony with nature, Fettercairn 18 pays tribute to local artisans and conscious craft. Its rich, nuanced flavours make a distinct pairing with game and foraged mushrooms, both currently on-trend for the ultimate Father’s Day soiree.

Fettercairn 18 Year Old is available from a range of retailers including The Whisky Exchange, RRP £175.

The Dalmore King Alexander III – A Gift Fit for Royalty

The Dalmore King Alexander III is a majestic addition for whisky collectors and afficionados this Father’s Day.

A spectacular example of the Highland distillery’s philosophy of multi-cask maturation, the expression showcases a one-of-a-kind assemblage of six noble cask finishes, sourced from renowned bodegas and winemakers across the world.

Crafted by Master Distiller, Richard Paterson OBE, the whisky offers a velvety-full bodied and complex flavour profile, with red berry and passionfruit on the nose, and notes of citrus, vanilla and crème caramel.

The Dalmore King Alexander III (40% ABV) is available from specialist retailers such as The Whisky Shop, The Whisky Exchange, and Master of Malt, RRP £295.

The Dalmore 21 – Unmistakably Rare, Unforgettably Dalmore

For the ultimate Father’s Day indulgence, gift a bottle of The Dalmore 21.

This exceptional whisky has been matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels and first-fill Sherry casks, which previously held 30 year old Matusalem Oloroso Sherry. The Sherry casks are hand-selected exclusively for The Dalmore from the world-renowned González Byass bodega, to create an extraordinary whisky full of character.

Featuring bitter chocolate accents, Seville orange and subtle spice, the expression is a perfect pairing for any social gathering. Aromas of toffee apple and pecan pie combine with notes of liquorice, black forest fruits, roasted walnuts and marzipan, all harmonised with peaches, ginseng and pear tarte tatin to create this must-have dram.

The Dalmore 21 Year Old (43.8% ABV) is available from specialist retailers including Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange and The Whisky Shop, RRP £625.

Sampling That Boutique-y Whisky Company New Range – I think I’ll have another!

May 28, 2025 by Gary

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Expands Core Range with Three World Whiskeys – 10 y/o Bourbon, 8 y/o English Rye & 21 y/o Irish Whiskey

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, the award-winning indie bottler, has just added three awesome world whiskies to their core range.

The new lineup includes an 8-Year-Old English Rye, a 10-Year-Old Kentucky Bourbon, and a 21-Year-Old Irish Whiskey—continuing Boutique-y’s mission to bring great-tasting, character-packed whisky to more people.

Like all Boutique-y releases, these new additions deliver top-notch quality without breaking the bank.

The existing five whiskies in the core range have already picked up a bunch of gold medals and category wins at big-name awards like the World Whiskies Awards, ISC, and Global Spirit Masters.

Each of the new whiskies is made in small batches of 1000, bottled at 700ml, and comes in at 45.8% ABV. They’re all natural in colour, non-chill filtered, and—as always—feature those quirky illustrated labels by artist Emily Chappell.

The three new expressions include:

8-Year-Old English Rye Whisky – 700ml | 45.8% ABV | RRP £44.95

8-Year-Old English Rye Whisky

Distilled from a high-rye mash bill and aged in toasted French oak casks, this bold English Rye also incorporates English single malt matured in ex-Islay casks for added complexity. Expect cracked black pepper, cinnamon, rich caramel, toasted almonds and orchard fruit, all wrapped in a long, warming finish. Its comic-book label stars the English Longhorn Cattle – an ancient breed with roots in northern England.

10-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskey – 700ml | 45.8% ABV | RRP £59.95

A classic Kentucky Straight Bourbon made with a 77% corn mash bill and aged in deeply charred American oak. Layers of vanilla, dark toffee and toasted pecans are lifted by warm spice and leather, for a velvety and well-rounded sip. Its label features the mighty North American Bison, the continent’s largest land mammal, in fitting tribute to this bold American expression.

21-Year-Old Irish Whiskey – 700ml | 45.8% ABV | RRP £99.95

An extraordinary dram matured for over two decades in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks. This elegant Irish Whiskey brings honeyed malt, dried fruit, toasted oak, fig and baking spices together in a symphony of flavour. The label features the beloved Connemara Pony- ‘Capallin Chonamara’ in Irish Gaelic – set against a shamrock green background with touches of orange.

Master of Malt has kindly sent me a sample to try. Thanks Master of Malt!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – 8-Year-Old English Rye Whisky – 700ml | 45.8% ABV | RRP £44.95

Buy it here!

Nose: Toffee with slightly singed straw, chopped stewed apple, thick syrup and sweet biscuit.

Palate: A sublime syrupy apple with sugary sweetness and followed by black coffee and hot black pepper.

With ice – cos’ y’know – that’s what you do! The whole dram is opened out nicely, especially the toffee.
Overall: Very easy going and easy drinking – altogether too easy really – in fact, I think I’ll have another!