Whisky Posts & Articles

Teeling “The Revival” 15yo

Teeling Whiskey, the new Irish brand (and new Irish distillery!) continues to make waves and inroads since announcing itself on the world stage.  Whisky & Wisdom has written much about this in the past, but rather than repeating the history in this little piece, you can read our previous article here. With the Teeling Distillery opening in Dublin in 2015, there is a true sense of revival, and so what better name than Revival to give the first of the updated Vintage Reserve Collection.   (Revival – a 15yo release – will be followed by a 24yo and 33yo release).

The new Teeling 15yo Revival – limited to 10,000 bottles – consists of whiskey distilled in 1999 and matured exclusively in ex-rum casks.  Bottled at 46% and non-chillfiltered, it’s a juicy whiskey that provides an interesting mix of both spirit and wood-driven characteristics.

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Macallan – The past, present, and future collide

In France, they timestamp their modern history into pre and post The Revolution.  In countries like Germany & Japan, the split point is pre and post World War II.  In the computing world, Apple has come to be referenced as pre and post Steve Jobs.  And for fans of Macallan, life is pre and post 2004.

This is a topic close to home, and much has been written about this previously.  For a more detailed rundown and perspective on Macallan and how its whiskies have changed since the mid-2000s, I encourage you to read this piece The highs and lows of Macallan.

But for now, suffice it to say that 2004 was the year Macallan made the momentous decision to introduce bourbon cask-matured spirit into their official bottlings.  It started with the Elegancia release, followed by the launch of the Fine Oak range.  By 2005, as a result of growing markets and increased demand (which had a flow-on effect to cask procurement, cask management, and the recipes/vattings for the various releases), many regular Macallan drinkers felt the brand’s whiskies changed in style, character, and quality – even the releases that remained purely sherry cask-matured.  After decades of 100% exclusive sherry maturation releases and undisputed quality, suddenly, Macallan drinkers across the world fell into one of two camps:  Those that liked Macallan, and those that liked what it used to be like.

But that was then.  This is now.  What about the new generation of Macallan drinkers being introduced to the brand today?  Now that the dust has settled and the apocalyptic events of 2004/5 are a blissfully unknown chapter in an unknown whisky history book, how do today’s twenty-somethings approach a distillery they’ve heard so much about, when so many of the celebrated bottlings are either unavailable in their country, or priced at a point that is beyond what most can afford?

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Amrut Spectrum

Previously whilst writing a feature article on Indian whisky and reviewing the excellent Paul John whiskies, I – perhaps a little flippantly – introduced the piece by explaining and asserting that Indian single malt whisky had not previously impressed me.   Prior to tasting Paul John, I had tried many expressions of Amrut over the years (my first back in 2009) and on a reasonably regular basis since.  The simple truth is that I have not tasted an Amrut that made me think, “Wow, this is a great whisky.”

Of course, whilst those comments set the scene for the subsequent article on Paul John, they also simultaneously raised a few eyebrows amongst Amrut fans, not to mention the wonderful folks at Alba Whisky, who are the local Amrut distributors within Australia.

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Lagavulin 8yo and the 200th Anniversary release

This article looks in detail at the Lagavulin 8yo expression, which is quite the story.  Over the years, I’ve had countless discussions with whisky enthusiasts from all backgrounds about that magic moment in their life:  When did they first try a single malt, and which one was it?   It astounds me how often people tell me their first single malt was Lagavulin.   And, for the record, it was my first single malt, too.

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Hyde Irish Whiskey & the 10yo President’s Cask

Irish whiskey is continuing its rapid climb and resurgence. Just as we hear all about new distilleries opening in Scotland, so too are new ventures commencing in Ireland.  In addition to new distilleries, we are also seeing new Irish bottlers and brands appearing hand-in-hand with the resurrected industry.  Hyde whiskey forms part of that narrative.

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Ardbeg Dark Cove

If you’re here just to read the review on the Dark Cove release, scroll further down.

Ardbeg Day is just around the corner again, which means it’s time to shake off the Autumn blues (or dust off your Spring hat if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and gear up for all the fun and excitement of Ardbeggian delights.

I’ve written much about Ardbeg’s history, the Ardbeg Committee and Ardbeg Day in the past.  So rather than fill up space by repeating it all on this page, you can re-visit those pieces here (Ardbeg Day 2015 report), here (Perpetuum review) and here (Ardbeg Day 2014 & Auriverdes review) if you need to fill in any blanks.   For the purposes of a concise read, let’s cut straight to the chase and get stuck into Ardbeg Day and the annual release for 2016.

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The Cask-Strength Blues

If you’re a fan of cask-strength whisky, or you simply want to learn more about the pros and cons of cask-strength whisky, then this article is for you.  However, we first need to give due warning: In deep TV announcer voice-over tone: “The following article contains drug references.  It is intended for mature audiences.  Whisky & Wisdom advises reader discretion.”

I’m reliably informed that alcohol is a drug.  (Stay with us, this will have relevance and make sense in a moment).  People use it, abuse it, rely on it, swear by it, and at it.  It alters our mental state and makes us do things we might not otherwise have done if we were sober or clear-headed.  For example, the other day, with a few single malts under my belt, I found myself drinking a blend.  Fortunately, there were no witnesses…

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Glenmorangie Milsean

Glenmorangie Milsean.  If there’s one thing you can say about the whisky scene right now, it’s never dull or boring. Each week there is a new release, or a new launch, or another event, or another tasting, or yet another whisky being sold for an outrageous price.   So, regardless of where you fit into the whisky audience, there’s always something to keep an eye out for.

In the rapid-fire and seemingly peak randomness of the above happenings, it’s nice to know that we can at least look forward to some annual constants.  Things like an annual whisky show.  (Whisky Show, Whisky Fair, Whisky Live, etc).   Things like a brand’s big annual celebration.  (Ardbeg Day).  And, for our tastebuds, things like an annual release – such as Glenmorangie’s annual release of their latest Private Edition offering.

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Now & Then: Comparing old bottlings with today’s counterparts

Now and then.  Ah, the joys of nostalgia.

If there’s a topic guaranteed to start an argument around the table, it’s when sports enthusiasts try to pick or assert that a particular sporting team from one era was superior to the team from another era.  For example, is the Hawthorn team from the 1980’s better than the Hawthorn team from 2013-2015?  Was Don Bradman’s 1948 “Invincibles” side a better cricket team than the all-conquering Steve Waugh side of 1999-2001? If the two teams were to compete against one another, who would win?

Sadly (or happily?) in the case of such arguments, it is all speculation and conjecture.  For, quite simply, we will never know.  And how do you compare teams across different eras when rules were different, playing conditions differed, and the level of athleticism and professionalism was different.  The discussion is nothing more than hypothetical amusement.

Increasingly of late, similar discussions and assertions are translating across into whisky circles.  For example, a commonly-seen thread in many online whisky groups or forums is the assertion that the whiskies of today are not as good as what they were 20 years ago.  Or that whiskies have changed over the years.

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40% ABV whiskies – friend or foe?

I recently read an online review of a whisky that was written by a blogger.   There were a number of comments and references in the review where it was evident the writer was criticising the whisky for being 40% ABV.  Having such a mindset is a slippery slope – reviewers & commentators need to be careful to distinguish between “I would have preferred to have seen this whisky bottled at a higher strength; I believe it would benefit from being at a higher proof” and criticising or faulting the whisky merely for being 40% ABV, as though it were a flaw or fault in production.

It raises a few interesting points.  There is no doubt that many of us prefer whiskies at higher strengths.   Cask-strength whiskies – which only as recently as 20 years ago were still relatively scarce and harder to come by – are now as common as nude shots of Britney Spears, and once you become accustomed to the higher ABV whiskies, I certainly acknowledge and agree that 40% malts have to work a little harder to keep our tastebuds entertained.

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