I have to admit, Laphroaig gave us many headaches in our early whisky exploring years. Our good friend Stefan has been a fan since the very beginning and always managed to persuade us into drinking ‘one last dram’ at the end of many whisky nights. And it was almost...
Read moreFinlaggan is no stranger to the liquor stores here in Holland, but somehow we always managed to ignore the expressions of this Islay Single Malt. Until we bought our very first Finlaggan, since then, you can always find several bottles in our collection. If you are in love with...
Read moreWe consider ourselves very lucky, both growing up in the early nineties. Born and raised in the Netherlands during prosperous times and in a safe environment. How different it was to our grandparents, born before or during the Second World War, or is to the less fortunate people today....
Read moreIf there’s one Islay distillery which appeals to the imagination it must be Bowmore. We were one of the lucky guys who got the chance to visit the distillery back in 2018. Bowmore’s marketing strategy is on point, it was one of the distilleries I was really looking forward to.
Read moreWe have a license to kill, to kill this wonderful bottling by Arran. Maybe the best Arran I’ve recently purchased, a true diamond. Luckily diamonds, just like the memories of it, last forever…
Read moreIt’s an open secret that we’re a huge fan of Tomatin whisky, but we know that not all that glitters is gold at the same time. We think that it just depends on the right approach when it comes to Tomatin.
Read moreNever have I experienced something like a ‘port bomb’, until this release by Spey. We aren’t the biggest fans of port matured whiskies, but this one made us realize once more: you can’t apply one single measure to everything. We were introduced to Spey with the regular Tenné expression....
Read moreThe temperature has dropped, the whisky season has officially started! We drink whisky all year long, but some drams just taste better when it’s cold outside. Oh baby, when it’s cold outside. This van Wees The Ultimate Blair Athol 1988 is one of them. This whisky performs incredibly well...
Read moreA while ago, The Teeling Distillery, Chris and Niamh gave us the chance to taste a little bit more of what Teeling has to offer. Including their first ever Peated Irish Single Malt Whiskey: Blackpitts, named after the area just behind the distillery. Matured in Bourbon and Sauternes casks...
Read moreWe came across this bottle by Kintra a couple of months ago. It ticked all of our boxes: Tobermory, sherry matured, 25 years old, cask strength (50.9%) and an empty wallet. Well, that last box wasn’t all too bad actually. It set us back around € 140,-, which is...
Read moreBenromach 10 definitely exists on our short list of whiskies that everyone should have in their cabinet. If it isn’t for the taste, then it’s for the value for money. You don’t see this bottle highlighted very often, in fact, we’ve only discovered how good Benromach actually was last...
Read moreAs our feed shows, we’re a big fan of Glendronach. We think the current Glendronach labels exude ‘Whisky’ and they look incredibly sexy on our shelves. Luckily, the spirit itself is not too bad either. Online, and in every shop since our first Glendronach, we kept looking for more...
Read moreRecently – with a little help from de Monnik Dranken – we adopted a little Speyside puppy. Don’t feel bad for our best buddy Charlie right here, because this little feller came in liquid form. Scallywag is a mixed-breed of Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, among others, he’s bred under...
Read moreMy holidays mostly take place in our own country, even before the pandemic. There’s so much to discover in this small piece on earth (the Netherlands, that is). There’s one tradition I try to maintain, and that is the tradition of finding a good liquor store to buy me...
Read moreIf there’s one distillery that really bonds with its ‘fans’ or friends, if you like, It is Laphroaig. We’ve been ‘friends of Laphroaig’ ever since our first bottle but it took us years to finally ‘seal’ our friendship. Back in April 2018 we visited Islay and of course we...
Read moreHere’s the third release in the Scotch & Tattoos series by Torsten Paul Whisky Company. And the first peated single malt of the three. Not only is it peated, it’s also from our beloved Caol Ila distillery, what could go wrong? The label for this 13yo bourbon matured Caol...
Read moreLast week we were pleasantly surprised with the visit of our ‘Uncle’ Big Peat, arranged by our friends of De Monnik Dranken. So a huge thanks to them for hooking us up! We figured the best thing we can do with an uncle you haven’t seen in a long...
Read moreToday in bang-for-your-buck whiskies, we present you: the Arran 10yo. In it’s all new clothing, but with a taste that makes it a classic nonetheless. We’ve loved Arran since the very beginning of our journey, but it seemed like their wonderful liquid didn’t manage snuck into the cabinets of...
Read moreOur good friend Torsten Zimmerman introduced us to The Single Cask a while ago. You see, that’s where friends are for. They even arranged two wonderful bottles for us to do a giveaway with. We almost took part in the giveaway ourselves, but we managed to stay sincere. In...
Read moreLet’s revisit a bottle that we haven’t had in a while: Craigellachie 13.
Read moreAfter a virtual tasting and tour, we were surprised. Let’s look at the Teeling Small Batch to see what’s that about!
Read moreI’ve been a big fan of Kilchoman since the beginning. They offer a great core range with diverse types of sherry and bourbon maturations, and the best thing is that they’re very open about which casks are used and in what ratio. It gives the buyers a good understanding...
Read moreSadly, due to the pandemic, it’s a year without whisky festivals. Among many others, “Whisky in Leiden” had to be postponed till 2021. Especially for this festival, Elixir Distillers bottled this beautiful fifteen years old Ledaig under the Single Malts of Scotland Range. The organizer of the festival made...
Read moreThe critically acclaimed Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, a whisky that we’ve looked forward to reviewing for a long time. We really liked the Solist Sherry Casks, so what could go wrong? Honestly, it’s quite a gamble to buy something purely based on reviews. Especially when the price tag is...
Read moreIt’s an open secret that I (Dion) am really digging into the wine-casks lately, I personally think that a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a nice Malbec is the next best thing. But don’t worry, whisky was my first love, and it will be my last. I promise you that. That...
Read moreLately, Dion is aiming for whiskies with a wine finish or maturing, so when we stumbled upon this beautiful looking Benriach bottle, finished in a Viña Ventisquero Grey Carmenere Barrel, we couldn’t resist.
Read moreA guest review by Jan Temming Duncan Taylor is known for laying premium Scottish cask for decades. Therefore Duncan Taylor has built quite an impressive collection of vintage and rare Scottish whisky’s. Let’s have a look at this 21yo Bunnahabhain, bottled in 1991: This dram Is definitely worth the...
Read moreWhen you run out of money and whisky, what do you do? Finlaggan comes to the rescue!
Read moreHeave Ho, hoist the colours high for this Elements of Islay Bunnahabhain 16yo. Bottled at a 55.7% cask strength. We always feel a strong connection between Bunnahabhain and the pirate’s life. Maybe it’s the location of the distillery, overlooking the Sound of Jura. Possibly it’s the prison-like look of...
Read moreThe first time we tasted Laphroaig Lore, we were disappointed. It lacked complexity and tasted too peppery for our taste. So this bottle was -quite unintentionally- banished to the back of the cabinet.
Read moreCan you name a better way to ease into the dreaded Monday than with this classic from the Highlands? GlenDronach 12yo is easily one of our go-to sherried twelve years olds. Mainly because it’s, of course, GlenDronach. But also because it’s balanced to near perfection. A good introduction to...
Read moreThis is a guest review by our good friend Jan Temming Arran St-Émilion is specially bottled for the Netherlands with only 1920 bottles. As the name says, the whisky has completely matured on St-émilion red wine casks (Bordeaux, France). There has been no colouring and the whisky is bottled...
Read moreWell what do we have here? It’s the James Eadie 9 yo Caol Ila. Finished first fill, refill Palo Cortado sherry hogsheads oak European finished for 6 months. Quite a mouthful. Yet again, a relatively young Caol Ila, what’s new? (Indie) young Caol Ila is highly available in The...
Read moreBeek is a fairly new Dutch brand by Jan Beek, know for The Ultimate. After our tastbuds exploded with the Millstone bottling, we were of course incredibly curious for the Edradour. Fun fact: only the first batch of bottles wear Edradour on the label, Jan Beek had to relabel...
Read moreLet’s have a look at this easy to enjoy dram from Glenglassaugh. In particular for sweet tooths like us!
Read moreWe planned on visiting Glen Garioch next month, Destination Management Scotland did a great job on mapping out an awesome trip through the Highlands, but we had to cancel a while ago. Not because of Covid-19 tough…
Read more