Highlands
Clynelish 10yo Special Release 2023
We’ve been very lucky to have sampled the Diageo Special Releases from the past three years. And everytime the beautiful packed samples arrive, we speculate about which one will earn the title of our favourite. When the Clynelish name appears, it automatically rises to the top of our speculative...
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Balblair 12yo
Today, we’re revisiting an old friend with a new face – the Balblair 12. If you’ve been following our whisky adventures, you may remember our previous encounters with Balblair’s 1999 3rd Release and the 1989 3rd Release. Both were delightful in their own right, but thanks to De Monnik...
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The Glenturret 10yo Peat Smoked 2022
During a live tasting hosted by @monnikdranken in the heart of Twente at the beginning of this year, we got to taste peated Glenturret new make. It was such a good spirit, that I wouldn’t mind them bottling this as is. I couldn’t get enough of it really. A...
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Glencadam 10yo
Every once in a while we tend to visit our local liquor store to stock up on supplies. Sure, shopping on the internet is a whole lot easier but it doesn’t feel like the real deal. When visiting we get the chance to taste a few drams before buying....
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anCnoc 12yo
Once again @monnikdranken delivered something on our doorstep we haven’t tasted before. After all those years you might expect that we have had most of the core ranges in our whisky collection but we’re glad to say we have not. We’re working on it though. You see, this anCnoc...
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Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter 3
We live in a time where we almost can’t escape our busy lives anymore, our family, friends and work are begging for our attention, sometimes one by one, but often these three are fighting to get what they deserve at the same time. It is hard to prioritize every...
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The Glenturret 12yo
We tend to have nice and cosy drams in our collection, which we can pour any moment of the day. If you know us better, you’ll say that the type of whisky doesn’t matter for us to take in, but we simply (and sadly) can not live on Ardbeg,...
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Spearhead Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Some while ago we touched briefly on the incredible variation that the Loch Lomond Distillery is able to offer with their three types of stills. And while we may be acquainted with the distillery by now, Spearhead Single Grain Scotch Whisky didn’t ring a bell, until we received this...
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Old Pulteney 12yo
We can’t deny it any longer, autumn has definitely arrived here in the Netherlands. Leaves are falling, rain is pouring from dawn to dusk and the temperature is dropping massively day by day. We get a little sad every year when summer ends but these weather conditions make us...
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Ben Nevis 22yo 1992 WM Cadenhead Small Batch
There’s two types of Ben Nevis: good and better. At least, as far as I’ve discovered. So what mostly remains, is the price factor. I bought this particular Ben Nevis two years ago for around €220,-. Normally I won’t risk it without tasting it first, but considering it’s a...
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Timorous Beastie by Douglas Laing
To a Mouse Hey little creature, What are you doing up there? So small, but fierce and brave, And definitely not scared. Timorous Beastie, I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion, has broken Nature’s social union. I know you have been scared for many, many years, because of what the awful...
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Ben Nevis 1998 17yo by Claxton’s
In our quest for the most delicious bottle, there are no certainties. Every whisky you buy, is some kind of guess. A quick taste before you pull out your wallet is great, but sometimes a dram falls short, just because it’s not the right moment and/or your palate isn’t...
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Tomatin 2008 12yo Rivesaltes Casks
Last month, we got the opportunity to take part on the live tasting for the launch of The French Collection by Tomatin. As a fan of Tomatin, we were thrilled! The French Collection is a four part series, the whisky is distilled in 2008 and has initially matured on...
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Ben Nevis 10 Year Old Cask Strength 2008 Batch 1
Ben Nevis came on my radar just 3 years ago. When I bought the regular 10yo I was sold. It was still widely available and fairly priced. Not anymore… Luckily there are plenty of independent bottlers to fill my needs for Ben Nevis. I’ve tasted some wonderful examples, which...
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Cù Bòcan Creation #2
Last in line during this Cù Bòcan week, is the Creation #2. If you talk about experimental maturations and finishes, you’ve got to see this one. A regular virgin European oak (16%) in combination with a Japanese Shochu cask (84%). This might be interesting! To be completely honest with...
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Glenglassaugh Torfa
When I talk about my go to whiskies, I often forget to mention Glenglassaugh. Quite wrongly so, because their Evolution is the one I keep returning to as an example of a well crafted bourbon matured whisky. It’s the dram I take to make my palate ready for a...
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Cù Bòcan Creation #1
It is an open secret that we’re into the fact that distilleries experiment a lot with different maturations and finishes. This Cù Bòcan Creation #1 is a perfect example of having the courage to try something different. Matured/finished on Black Isle Brewery Imperial Stout (28%) and Bacalhôa Moscatel de...
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Cù Bòcan Signature
We start our Cù Bòcan journey with their Signature whisky. A lightly peated malt that has matured on bourbon, oloroso sherry and North American virgin oak casks. That’s quite a lot of different casks, it’s not something that makes our heart beat faster usually, because more often than not,...
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Glenmorangie 12yo Quinta Ruban
Tasting whisky at our best friend Stefan’s house is like stepping into a time machine. He buys bottles, he forgets about them and then he buys new ones. We gladly empty our bottles to make room for new ones, but Stefan soon has to expand his house to store...
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Cù Bòcan Trio – Introduction
This week is about the current Cù Bòcan range. A trio of their Signature malt and the first two experimental Creations which are an exploration of pretty unusual cask combinations. More about them later. To make things a little more fun, we came up with an idea to review...
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Glen Keith 22yo 1993-2015 Cooper’s Choice
‘’Whisky is for old men’’ I (Dion) consider myself a young dog in this wonderful world of whisky. Born in 1993, I am, in fact, relatively young for being in this business. In the beginning, people always tend to take my opinion or advice about whisky with a pinch...
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Arbikie 1794 Highland Rye Whisky
Arbikie released the first scotch rye whisky for over 100 years. We’re able to count our previous encounters with rye whisk(e)y on one or two hands and most of them were American or Dutch. Dion and I have different opinions on rye, Dion often finds it too heavy and...
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Tomatin 15yo Moscatel Wine Finish
We’re just two simple lads from the East of the Netherlands. If we see a Tomatin with an out of the ordinary finish or maturation, we buy one. Or two, or more. You shouldn’t be surprised that when we stumbled upon this beautiful Tomatin 15 Moscatel we immediately bought...
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Tullibardine 24yo 1993 Bourbon Hogshead by Claxton’s
In our constantly changing whisky collection, we try to maintain a healthy balance between different casks and maturations. Of course, some types are over-represented but we try to stay honest and ignore or neglect no one. We feel like, for example, sherry matured or finished whisky is a lot...
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Glengoyne 12yo
We 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....
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Tomatin 2006 12yo Amontillado Sherry
It’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.
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Blair Athol 1988-2014 25yo by the Ultimate
The 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...
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Whisky Row Smoke & Peat
Knock knock knocking on heaven’s door with some holy water. Who’s there? It’s Whisky Row to put some long gone Edinburgh flavours back on the map. Our good friend Terri (@dmscotland) kindly introduced us to this new kid on the block by Gleann Mór Spirits. You wouldn’t say, because...
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GlenDronach 8yo “The Hielan”
As 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...
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Edradour Ballechin SFTC 12yo Heavily Peated Bordeaux Cask 2007-2019
It’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...
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GlenDronach 12yo Original
Can 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...
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Edradour 2008-2018 9yo 1st Fill Sherry by Beek
Beek 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...
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Glenglassaugh PX Sherry Finish
Let’s have a look at this easy to enjoy dram from Glenglassaugh. In particular for sweet tooths like us!
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Glen Garioch 1990-2009 Vintage Batch 34
We 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…
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Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish
We’ve had a fair share of Tullibardine which were bottled by independent bottlers, so it was about time we tried an official bottling. Honestly, we were quite sceptical at first, given how low the price of this bottle is and the non-age-statement. But pleasantly surprised when the first pour...
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