After exploring a peated Islay whisky with a unique character with the Port Charlotte 10, it is time to go back to a more classic (by popular consensus) profile and review the Ardbeg 10 year old and a peek at the time before its launch
Today I am looking at the Port Charlotte 10 year old Heavily Peated, for my series on entry level peated whiskies. This beloved whisky uses a different source of malt from many Islay siblings and a non-traditional cask ageing regime. Curious to see how this translates into the glass.
For my second review of peated entry-level single malts, I am reviewing the Lagavulin 8 year old, and reflecting on how this newer whisky has lead to the price shift of the beloved Lagavulin 16
Back to my regular whisky review program, and starting a dive into entry level peated whiskies, with the review of Ardbeg Wee Beastie 5 yeas old. Is the marketinng hyperbole on this one realistic?
For the last leg of my Wee Toon adventures, I am off to Glen Scotia for the Master Distiller tour and the accompanying Dunnage Warehouse tasting with a chance to try some unique cask samples.
Today’s review of the Classic Laddie started as the companion to the Bunnahabhain 12 review in the unpeated Islay pair. While that is indeed the case, while working on it I ended up going down the bunny hole of batch variations.
Today’s review of the Bunnahabhain 12 year old closes the series on entry-level ex-Sherry cask single malts and opens a separate mini series. This post and the next one will be dedicated to two distilleries which regularly bottle unpeated spirit and might be appropriately called Islay Splitters.
After Aultmore, I am looking at another one of Dewar’s/Bacardi under-the-radar distilleries with this review of the Royal Brackla 12 year old Sherry cask finish. As for Tamdhu 12 just a few days ago, I expected a Sherry forward bottle and got something else.
This review of the Tamdhu 12 year old is part of the ongoing series on sherry cask entry-level single malts. Once an almost forgotten distillery, the current owners are investing to raise the profile of this brand. Aged exclusively in Sherry casks, I bought this 12-year-old expecting a Sherry-forward dram.
For the second stop dedicated to Sherry aged single malt, I am reviewing the GlenDronach 12-year-old Original. Recently the star of GlenDronach seems to have dulled a bit. Is this change in perception justified?