Reviews

From the Yamazaki distillery, pioneer of Japanese whisky, there are some high-priced bottlings. Named after the region, the Suntory Yamazaki distillery is both the best known among Japanese whisky distilleries and number one in production volume and exports.The blended Suntory Hibiki Harmony comes in a wonderful bottle. The 24 indentations each represent an hour of the day and each month of the Japanese lunar calendar. The bottle label is made of handmade paper and radiates an especially high quality. We are curious about the content.

The discounter LIDL has several single malts in its range, including the Ben Bracken Speyside, which is described as light and fruity. We took a closer look at the whisky.LIDL does not reveal which distillery is behind Ben Bracken. All we know is that we have a whisky from the Scottish Speyside at a bargain price in our glass. The packaging is dark red, which distinguishes it from the other whiskies in the series. There is also a Highland peated, a Highland unpeated and an Islay Scotch.

In addition to all the single malts, every now and then there is a single grain Scotch whisky that wants to be tasted. Mossburn, a relatively unknown brand in Germany, bottles Whiskys from all regions of Scotland.This bottling No. 24 is from a grain distillery in Edinburgh - North British. This distillery produces primarily for blends and is the main component of many of the world's best-known brands of blended Scotch whisky. Reason enough to try the raw material.

The Oban distillery is one of the oldest, one of the smaller and one of the few distilleries in Scotland that produces whisky close to the coast. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. The Oban 14 is, apart from a special release and a limited edition, the only Oban with an age statement.As you would expect with an age of almost a quarter of a millenium, the distillery has had several owners and has had to be foreclosed on twice. For a time it even belonged to the Patterson brothers, the perpetrators of the eponymous catastrophic collapse of the whisky industry in the late 1800s.

In a sitcom, Nick Offerman plays the director of a parks department who also idolises whisky from the Lagavulin distillery. At the same time, Nick Offerman is the one who is supposed to introduce Americans to the peaty Islay malt that is so popular in Europe.The special aspect of this limited and meanwhile highly sought-after bottling among collectors is a four-month finish in Guinness casks. The goal is to enhance the Scotch with the spicy stout-beer flavours. Sad fact: Instead of being made in Ireland, Guinness barrels come from Maryland in the USA and are transported to Scotland by ship. A horrible eco-footprint.

Personally handed over by Richard Jansson, the whisky from the small distillery Norrtelje in Sweden was previously produced entirely organically. Organically grown barley from Östergötland is malted at Viking Malt in Halmstad. The unsmoked malt is mashed with yeast and water from the farm's own well and gently distilled in the distillery's copper pot stills. A sign of quality?When we see that this whisky was aged for seven years in 30-litre ex-Oloroso casks, the question inevitably arises: Why is the content of the bottle golden yellow?The question remains unanswered - perhaps also because everything is somehow not round, what we have here in the glass.

The Lochlea distillery plans four special bottlings a year. The Harvest Edition follows the Lochlea Sowing Edition and is intended to embody a fruity, autumnal profile.A trio of casks, namely port, first-fill Oloroso sherry and first-fill bourbon lend the whisky its golden colour. We find the package design in the style of the distillery's other releases, as well as the bottle design, outstanding.

Everyone knows it or has at least seen it in the spirits section of a well-stocked supermarket. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. Regular offers invite you to buy the Talisker 10 and we like to buy it and contribute to it being the best-selling whisky of the Talisker distillery.On the bottle in the new design, the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland can be found in overdramatic images. The look runs like a red leitmotif through the other bottlings of the distillery, such as the magnificent Talisker 18 Years.

Caol Ila is one of the ten largest distilleries in Scotland and by far the largest on the island of Islay. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. Nevertheless, a permanently available series of standard bottlings has only been on the market since the early 2000s. We taste the classic.Actually, a large part of Caol Ila’s production ends up in blends, such as the Black Bottle or Johnnie Walker. The own bottlings have become more and more popular in recent years. With good reason?

Royal Lochnagar is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland. As part of the Classic Malts Selection, it becomes even more interesting when viewed in the context of the full lineup. In addition to the 12-years single malt, the distillery's two pot stills also produce a large amount which is used in the Johnnie Walker Blue Label.Royal Whisky? The story told is that shortly after the opening of the distillery, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were invited by the owner at the time. The British royal family had just bought nearby Balmoral Castle (1848). Later, the distillery became a purveyor to the court and was allowed to bear the suffix Royal, which was even confirmed again in 2021 by a Royal Warrant of Appointment.

Cragganmore focuses on the production of single malt whisky for blends. Some of the whisky from the Speysider distillery can be found, for example, in the Johnnie Walker Green Label and the Johnnie Walker Blue Label. So are the distillery's own bottlings to be enjoyed at all?The Cragganmore 12 belongs to the Classic Malts of Scotland. The distillery regularly bottles a Distillers Edition of the same. Unless a special release or a rare 25-years bottling is released, we have to be satisfied with the first two.

Glenkinchie 12 is one of only three bottlings offered by the distillery. Besides this, only the Distillers Edition and a variant of the 12-years in cask strength are available. The latter can only be purchased at the distillery itself.Glenkichie, also called the Edinburgh Malt, is produced in the immediate vicinity of the Scottish capital. The 12-years bottling is the only Lowlands representative among the Classic Malts. Some of the distillery's buildings are under the protection of historical buildings.