Last week, courtesy of a work function, I was able to curate and host my first (proper) whisky tasting night. Finally! This is something I’ve been planning on doing for quite some time! The venue was The Puffin Rooms in Liverpool and the night was intended to be an introduction to single malt scotch whiskies... Continue Reading →
News: Elements, Time, and Space
Some of the biggest names in Scotch whisky have had their wheels turning this week with big new limited releases announced. A new experimentation from Laphroaig has been captured as Elements L 2.0. With so much focus on cask finishes these days, it’s great to see experimentation at the start of the process. The team... Continue Reading →
News: Redbreast, Laphroaig, & Wire Works Announce New Malts
There’s been a hat trick of new malt announcements released today, and all from some of my favourite names in whisk(e)y across Ireland, Scotland, and England. [ed: hoping for a Welsh announcement soon!]* Redbreast 18yo Statements of age and intent are in order for Midleton’s Redbreast as they have announced a new ferment addition to... Continue Reading →
Tasting Notes: Laphroaig – Select
Peat-Meisters Laphroaig released their "Select" expression within their core range in 2014 and it seems that year was the year of the multiple-maturation boom. Whilst most distilleries have been trying this for the past few years, it seems that the marketing fad has gone too far and has even exceeded the Gillette vs Wilkinson Sword... Continue Reading →
Tasting Notes: Laphroaig – 10 Years Old
Laphroaig ("La-froyg") is a distillery that bookends the 3 big peaty players on the south-east coast of Islay and is renowned worldwide for its peaty and malty taste that is best demonstrated by its flagship 10 year old expression. The first thing that is striking, before you even get to the liquid itself, is the... Continue Reading →
Tasting Notes: Laphroaig – Quarter Cask
One of Laphroaig’s no-age-statement expressions, the Quarter Cask has been matured in traditional ’quarter cask’ barrels, i.e. barrels that hold a quarter the volume of liquid of the usual cask, and so the liquid has more exposure to the surface area of the wood and so the whisky can ‘mature’ quicker than in the normal,... Continue Reading →