Categorie: B
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Exploring independent releases of Blair Athol One never forgets his first time! Blair Athol was the very first distillery I visited, in October 2005. The experience was decent enough, with a basic but sufficient (Diageo style) tour of the distillery, and going home with the beautiful Flora & Fauna expression in the bag. For the…
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Peated Bunnahabhain Staoisha and Jura 1983 Today, we celebrate two neighbouring island single malts. We kick off with Bunnahabhain, that is of course located on Islay. Across the sea strait right in front of the distillery, where views are truly breathtaking, we see the rugged Isle of Jura, famed for its deer population, the fact…
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A trio of Ardnahoe, Bowmore and Laphroaig We have three tasting notes for you today, while we continue to travel past the Islay distilleries that each have their own day during the Feis Ile festival, that is in full swung as we speak. New to the fold is of course Ardnahoe, that released a special…
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A sunny day with Caol Ila 1972 and Bruichladdich 2004 We continue our (digital) celebration of the Feis Ile festival on Islay, that is going into its third day today. Bruichladdich Day has traditionally been one of the more popular festival days, while I have the best memories of celebrating at Caol Ila Distillery. In…
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Turn of the century Ben Nevis: dial up the funkiness! It is a weird thing: I reference Ben Nevis quite a lot when I write tasting notes about (west) coastal single malt whisky, like Ardnamurchan, but somehow I never got round to dedicating an entire solitary blog to this legendary whisky distillery. And the word…
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Speyside’s future: a trio of Ballindalloch single malt The Spirit of Speyside Festival comes to an end today, and that deserves a fully packed farewell session with a trio of Ballindalloch single malt whisky. Even though the 21st century is marked by whisky distilleries popping up like mushrooms, for such a big whisky producing region…
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What to do when you have one full day on Islay? It seems like an age ago already, which confronts me with the speed of everyday life, but this entry to Tom’s Dram Diary is about my visit to Islay in January 2025. With only one full day on the island, we had to cram…
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Bridging the gap between Genever and Whisky Hooghoudt is a very well known name in the Dutch distilled spirits landscape. Over here, they are most famous for their Genever. The family owned business is in production since 1888 and are awarded the royal status, which is common for companies that are over 100 years of…
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A nostalgic visit to whiskyshop big market in Berlin Dear diary, However much I like discovering new things and new places, I always find myself going back to where I have been before. Nostalgia is a feeling that makes me happy. The early days of my whisky passion were filled with sheer joy; the newness…
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Sherried Benrinnes versus meaty (or not) Mortlach There are distilleries in Scotland that are known for some qualities that few others have. In the case of Benrinnes and Mortlach that we will be tasting today, it is a rather meaty character. This works particularly well with sherry cask maturation. The story about Mortlach is well-known,…