Reviews

The Glenturret 30 years was bottled as part of the XOP (Xtra Old Particular) by the independent bottler Douglas Laing. The XOP bottlings come from the rarest and best stocks of the bottler and are always bottled from a single cask at natural cask strength. Unfiltered and uncoloured - just as natural as a whisky has to be.As befits a unique single malt, the packaging is correspondingly elaborate. In addition to the handwritten bottle number (40 of 229), the bottle comes in a magnetically closing, high quality wooden packaging.

Since 1991, the Rare Breed has been part of the core range of the Wild Turkey distillery. The Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a blend of 6, 8 and 12 years whiskeys, and gets bottled uncut.The mashbill contains 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley - which leads us to expect a sweetish, slightly spicy whiskey. Like all bourbons, the Wild Turkey must also mature in a new, freshly burned out Virgin Oak barrel. The barrel was burned out to Char 4 level, also called Alligator Char. Char 4 is the highest char level.

The Kentucky Straight Bourbon Wild Turkey 101 from the distillery of the same name in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky is a cornerstone of American bourbon culture. Without an age statement on the label, it is known to be bottled as a blend of 6-8 years bourbons. We take a closer look at the US classic.The mashbill is composed of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley - which leads us to expect a sweetish, slightly spicy whiskey. Like all bourbons, Wild Turkey has to mature in new, freshly burnt-out Virgin Oak casks. 101 stands for American proof alcohol, which translates as 50.5% ABV.

The Readbreast 12 from the Midleton distillery in County Cork in Ireland is a single pot still. This means that not only malted but also a proportion of unmalted barley is used in the mash. Malting barley produces enzymes that enable the yeast cultures to convert sugar into alcohol.Like all the other whiskeys in the Redbreast series, the 12 years was also triple distilled in copper stills. The Single Pot Still was matured in Spanish sherry casks and American bourbon barrels.

Until 1983, the distillery was called Cardow, named after a nearby village. Nowadays known as Cardhu (Gaelic: Black Rock), the distillery produces the significant share for the Johnnie Walker blends. Of course, there are also their own bottlings, of which we have the 12-years standard bottling in the glass today.The Cardhu 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky belongs to the Classic Malts of Scotland and is supposed to represent the character of the Speyside region of Scotland.

Knockando 12 is considered the classic entry-level single malt, representative of Speyside, with a fruity, nutty flavour profile. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. Knockando mainly produces malts for blends. Nevertheless there are some own bottlings which are traded under the name of the distillery Knockando (Gaelic for: Little Black Hill).

The rye for the rye whiskey from Stork Club is harvested in one of the largest rye-growing areas in Europe, namely in the German state of Brandenburg.The Rye whiskey matures in barrels made of American and German oak, which have been burnt out to different degrees. It is advertised as the perfect Rye for cocktails - is that true?

You hear a lot of good things about distilleries from the Scottish coastal town of Campbeltown in recent years. It's hard to have a conversation about Glen Scotia without someone steering the topic towards Springbank, which everyone agrees is better in every way. Is that really true?Double Cask is an NAS Scotch with Glen Scotia single malt matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks and aged for up to a year in Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry casks. Up to one year - a wild time specification.

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 years is the youngest bottling from Balvenie's Core Range with an age statement. This malt matures in ex-bourbon casks and receives a subsequent post-maturation in ex-Oloroso sherry casks.The Balvenie distillery is located on the Speyside in Dufftown. It dedicates itself to the traditional production of Single Malts and is one of the few distilleries that still dries their (on-site grown) barley on its own malting floors.

For a long time, Clynelish produced almost exclusively for blends, among others for Johnnie Walker. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. Meanwhile, a 14 and a 16 years bottling are offered. We take a look at what the younger of the two has to offer.The distillery run under the name Clynelish is actually still comparatively young. Clynelish was founded by the Duke of Sutherland in 1819 and was to be replaced by a new building in 1967. For a short time, Clynelish A (1819) and Clynelish B (1967) existed in parallel, with Clynelish A being renamed Brora after a short break in operations and the newer Clynelish B now being called Clynelish.

The blended Scotch Malt Whisky is supposed to be cheeky, at least that's what the name and label promise. The Scallywag is now available in a wide variety of editions and styles. We have the classic in our glasses.What could be better than a dog with a monocle as a bottle label? The blend from Speyside is decorative in its own peculiar way. It is said to contain Mortlach, Macallan, Glenrothes and a few more.

Talisker Port Ruighe was named after the port in the small harbour town of Portree (Gaelic: Port Righ), which was very important for trade with the island.Traditionally, the Talisker distillery matures whisky in port wine casks, which have been imported from Portugal via the "Port of the King" since the 19th century. Port wine was also traded through this port. The Talisker Port Ruighe is meant to bring back a piece from the past.