Becoming a Whisky Drinker: A Beginner’s Guide to Single Malt Scotch
For those who are not whisky drinkers, the world of whisky can seem like a minefield with so many different types to explore. From blended, rye and bourbon to Canadian, Irish, and scotch, the variety of whiskies available can seem overwhelming especially if you’re a…
Aberlour A’Bunadh is a Superb, Strong Scotch
I’ve got a new gimmick — collecting cask-strength (barrel proof, if you will) whiskies from around the world. I want to keep at least an outstanding Rye, Bourbon, Scotch and Japanese (which I tapped Nikka Whisky from the Barrel for) on hands at all times…
The Glenlivet Code: A Secretive Scotch for the Discerning Drinker
Having a scotch-drinking mom and a scotch-drinking aunt certainly has its perks. One of those is when a new, cool bottle hits the market, we can split the cost three ways instead of each nuking our wallets for a chance to try it. And few…
Té Bheag Scotch is Decent as a Dram, Heavenly in a Highball
I’m a recovering single malt snob. Like many novice scotch drinkers, I bought hard into the marketing that single malts were the superior whiskies. After decades of dominating the top shelf, this is true often enough. But turning your nose up at affordable blends means…
Oban Little Bay Scotch is More than a Little Good
There’s very few whiskies produced on this earth that I’ve been in the same town in which they’re produced. In fact, outside of my distillery tours to Talisker and Yamazaki, the closest I’ve ever come was driving through the town of Oban during my trip…
Chivas Regal 12: Giving Blends a Bad Name
Chivas Regal 12 was one of the very first whiskies I ever tried. My mom (a notorious Glenmorangie 10 drinker) received a bottle for a gift, and turned her nose up at it. “Yuck” I’m certain she scoffed snobishly. “Chivas. A blend for heaven’s sake.” Being young enough…
Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old Scotch Whisky: Win the Scotch Gift Gamble
We’ve all experienced the scotch gift gamble. You want to get a special bottle for the discerning sipper, but perhaps you’re not familiar with their favourites or worse, you don’t know much at all about scotch and are reliant on the ramblings of bloggers for advice…
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask is a Sweet, Complex Speyside
When whiskies get a lot of hype, I get a little worried. Will they live up to it, or disappoint me? Am I buying a decent dram or simply buying into a successful marketing campaign? Of course there is another alternative — it exceeds the…
Touring Talisker: A Behind The Scenes Look as Skye’s Whisky
When I went to Scotland, I decided to make it a priority to visit the distillery which made my (currently) highest rated scotch. That distillery was Talisker, and that whisky was their unbelievably good 57 ° North, a NAS, cask-strength beast of a dram. It…
Dewar’s 12 Year Delivers a Delicious Dram
Among casual scotch snobs, blends are so often summarily dismissed you might think none are worthy of any attention. Even a casual run through of your local liquor store stock will likely provide evidence of their inferior status – they’re a lower price, on a…