People often ask me: “Michael, what are your favorite Scottish distilleries? You know so much about Scotch whisky, I really want to pick your brain and find out which distilleries you keep coming back to!” Just kidding. No one has ever asked me that, although I have often wished someone would ask me about my …
Continue reading My favorite malt distilleries (and some thoughts on other distilleries, too!)
This is a quick guide to understanding my reviews. The title of the review is just whatever bottling or expression I will be reviewing. The first part of the body of the review should be understood as a sort of “tl;dr”–a general sense of how easily you might find what I’m reviewing, and a general …
I hope you will find something to pique your interest here. I’ve been a single malt Scotch drinker for more than half my life. I started regularly drinking single malts in my very late teens, and I started amassing a collection of bottles, writing tasting notes, and reading extensively about whisky–all at roughly the same …
The Basics: Do I recommend it?: Yes. Availability: Some specialty retail. ABV: 46.4% Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color. General information: Lightly peated. Bottling type: Proprietary Character: Fresh and slightly mineralic. Score: 80/100 The details: Another very new distillery on a slightly out of the way Hebridean isle: Raasay is a mid-sized island lying in between …
When most drinkers think of Orkney, they think of Highland Park. Highland Park is quite old, dating back to 1798, it has been fairly consistently available as a single malt since single malts became a thing at all, it has been intermittently beloved by both professional whisky critics and malt aficionados, and it spent most …
The Basics: Do I recommend it?: For fans of lighter malts, yes; for the rest, skip on down. Availability: Auction only ABV: 58.1% (cask strength) Presentation: Unspecified General information: n/a Bottling type: Proprietary Character: Citric, grassy and herbal. Score: 80/100 The details: Auchroisk was built in 1972 by IDV, the parent firm of Justerini & …
The Basics: Do I recommend it?: For completionists, yes; less so for more casual malt drinkers. Availability: Specialty retail. ABV: 46% Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color General information: An early release of the core NAS Nc’nean whisky; I was unsuccessful at identifying a precise batch. Bottling type: Proprietary Character: Aromatic, fruity, and a little spicy. …
The Basics: Do I recommend it?: Yes indeed! Availability: Specialty retail, especially UK-based. ABV: 51.5% Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color General information: n/a Bottling type: Proprietary Character: Nutty, fruity and savory. Score: 90/100 The details: Originally called simply Scotia, the distillery was founded in 1832 by Steward, Galbraith and Co. It became part of a …
Whisky Considered 