Our last full day in Speyside was set aside for random distillery-hopping, and we decided to start it with an activity unrelated to whisky: walking in the expansive gardens of Glen Grant. The distillery is in Rothes, about 10 minutes' drive from Aberlour. We made a brief stop at Macallan first since it was on … Continue reading Speyside Road Trip Day 3, Part 1: Glen Grant
Tag: whisky
Speyside Road Trip Day 2, Part 2: Knockdhu
My love affair with anCnoc has been an accelerated one: for one reason or another, I'd never tried one until I took part in an online tasting with distillery manager Gordon Bruce last month, even though I sort of knew they made my kind of whisky. There are no official tours at Knockdhu and no … Continue reading Speyside Road Trip Day 2, Part 2: Knockdhu
Speyside Road Trip Day 2, Part 1: Glenallachie & Strathisla
We walked from Aberlour to Glenallachie. Then we arrived at Glenallachie, look. I got a bottle there. And how about Strathisla. How about it. #homeofchives OK, so the above was just the template text I used while we were arranging the photos, but my wife remarked that it was an accurate and succinct description, so … Continue reading Speyside Road Trip Day 2, Part 1: Glenallachie & Strathisla
Speyside Road Trip Day 1: Aberlour
The drive from Dundee to Aberlour was very pleasant overall. We decided to stick to the motorways on the East of Scotland, before turning West at Aberdeen. It took about two and a half hours including a stop, and we arrived with about half an hour to spare before my tasting at 2pm. The location … Continue reading Speyside Road Trip Day 1: Aberlour
Speyside Road Trip: The Preamble (Glengoyne, Deanston, Tullibardine)
After two previous visits to Scotland that were part of tagging along to various friends' plans, my wife and I finally planned a Speyside trip that was exclusively whisky-related. It involved driving up from deepest mid-Hertfordshire to the town of Aberlour, with overnight stops in Moffat and Dundee along the way (the former to split … Continue reading Speyside Road Trip: The Preamble (Glengoyne, Deanston, Tullibardine)
Tomatin 2006 Oloroso Sherry Cask (58.5%, Cask no. 2842, Distillery Exclusive 2018)
This 12 year-old Oloroso cask was hand-filled at Tomatin two years ago. They are among the best in terms of the bottle-your-own selection, giving visitors a choice of five: apart from this one, there was a 5 year-old virgin oak cask, a 12 year-old ex-Bourbon, a 16 year-old Pedro Ximenez finish, and a (sadly unaffordable, … Continue reading Tomatin 2006 Oloroso Sherry Cask (58.5%, Cask no. 2842, Distillery Exclusive 2018)
Aultmore 12 (46%, OB 2019)
Aultmore seems to be the most discreet out of Dewar's portfolio of malts. Craigellachie has a more divisive love-it-or-hate-it profile, Aberfeldy is the designated home of the Dewar's blend, and Royal Brackla is the most premiumised of their brands, which leaves Aultmore without any distinguishing characteristics marketing-wise. Like Craigellachie, Aultmore is bottled at 46% with … Continue reading Aultmore 12 (46%, OB 2019)
Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 7 (58.9%, OB 2020)
No, we're not finished with Glengoyne - we now move to the NAS bottlings. The Cask Strength is definitely the youngest of the lot, and is part of the trend of young NAS cask strength editions currently - see similar (and similarly priced) bottles by Tomatin, Benriach and Glendronach, among others for example. Earlier batches … Continue reading Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 7 (58.9%, OB 2020)
Glengoyne 21 (43%, OB 2019)
And so we reach the pinnacle of the Glengoyne core range. Well, close enough in any case - my budget doesn't extend to the 25 year-old unfortunately, but this 21 year-old remains just about affordable. Like its older sibling, it's matured exclusively in sherry casks, predominantly first-fill European oak. For what it's worth, I would … Continue reading Glengoyne 21 (43%, OB 2019)
Glengoyne 10 (40%, OB 2020)
We started the Glengoyne series with the entry-level 12 year-old, and before we continue to the higher range it's time to try the even more entry-level 10. It has a similar cask composition to the 12, but a greater emphasis on refill wood, which makes up 70% of the vatting. The remaining 30% is shared … Continue reading Glengoyne 10 (40%, OB 2020)
The Daily Dram 