
Florian
Loves maritime, coastal and smoky whiskies and tastes with an eye for both flavour and technical craft.
More about Florian →We review Whisky objectively, transparently, and without advertising – from well-known classics to exciting new releases.

Ledaig is the smoky twin of the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull – long a hot tip for anyone after peated whisky away from Islay. This release comes from independent bottler James Eadie's "Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland Commemorative" series: distilled in 2020, bottled in October 2025, so just five years young, matured in one refill barrel and two refill hogsheads. Bottled at 52.6 % ABV cask strength and limited to 1,015 bottles. The second review by our tasters Florian and Lucas.

Glenburgie is a true Speyside workhorse: most of its spirit has always disappeared into blends, above all Ballantine's. Official single malts are accordingly rare, which makes independent bottlings like this one all the more interesting. Claxton's drew a single cask for its Exploration Series – distilled in 2015, bottled in 2025, matured for nine years in a fresh Tawny Port barrique (cask EXP1081) at 50 % ABV. It's also a little premiere: the first joint review by our two new tasters, Florian and Lucas.

A bottle from the hall of fame of Scotch whisky: Brora distilled in 1975, bottled in 1995 as part of United Distillers' legendary Rare Malts Selection. 20 years of maturation at a hefty 54.9 % ABV, natural cask strength. Brora went silent in 1983 for four decades – every remaining bottle is a piece of whisky history, priced accordingly.

With its Huntress Series, the sustainable Highland distillery Nc'Nean keeps putting a single building block of its production into the spotlight. For the Malted Teacake it's the yeast – a strain borrowed from brewing Belgian-style malty ales that gives this whisky its buttery, malty signature. Maturation from 2017 to 2022 in STR Red Wine, Bourbon and Oloroso casks, bottled in January 2026 at 48.5 % ABV.

A visit to Talisker in Carbost, the oldest distillery on the Isle of Skye, whose maritime, smoky, peppery single malt is made right on the shore of Loch Harport and serves as the island representative of the Classic Malts.

Aging your own whisky cask at home sounds like a shortcut to your own single malt, but it is mainly an experiment. We seasoned a 3-litre cask with sherry, filled it with St. Kilian new make and bottled it honestly. This guide covers the costs, the process and why the result is always a mixed bag.

Our curated list of whiskies that deliver exceptional taste at a fair price.

Is cask strength automatically better than standard ABV? This episode separates proof-heavy marketing from tasting reality and shows when higher strength helps, when it gets in the way, and how to compare fairly.