January 2025 - More Drams, Less Drama

Glenfiddich 26-Year-Old Grande Couronne

29th January 202528th January 2025Coldorak

Glenfiddich Distillery, located in Dufftown, Moray, Scotland, was founded in 1887 by William Grant. The name ‘Glenfiddich’ translates to ‘Valley of the Deer’ in Gaelic, reflecting its picturesque setting near the River Fiddich. It is one of the few family-owned distilleries in Scotland, currently managed by the fifth generation of the Grant family. Glenfiddich has played a significant role in the global popularity of single malt Scotch whisky, especially since the 1960s when it began exporting its products. This helped establish single malts as a distinct category within the whisky market. The distillery uses traditional production methods, including 43 copper pot stills and water sourced from the Robbie Dhu springs. Today we’re going to try something up in their range: the Glenfiddich 26-Year-Old Grande Couronne.

Glenfarclas Family Casks 1979, 1967 & 1957

27th January 202526th January 2025Coldorak

Birthdays are the perfect occasion to dip into something truly special, and what could be more fitting than marking the day with a lineup of extraordinary drams? For this year’s celebration, I decided to indulge with three remarkable Glenfarclas Family Casks spanning decades of craftsmanship: a 1979 (the year I was born), a 1967, and a venerable 1957. Each of these whiskies represents a unique chapter in Glenfarclas’s rich history, promising an unforgettable journey through time in a glass. Join me as I talk about first fills and refill casks, and as I toast to another year less young – and closing to the age of those 1967 and 1957 – with these Glenfarclas Family Casks 1979, 1967 & 1957 treasures.

Chichibu 2013 & 2015 for LMDW

24th January 202524th January 2025Coldorak

In the past, we’ve had the pleasure of tasting a few Chichibu whiskies, including a single cask bottled for La Maison du Whisky. Today, we’re revisiting this iconic distillery with two more single casks, both bottled exclusively for La Maison du Whisky. First up is a Chichibu 2013, bottled in 2022 for their Antipodes collection, followed by a Chichibu 2015, bottled in 2024 for their Foundations collection. Let’s dive in and see what these two single casks have to offer!

Four European Whiskies

22nd January 202521st January 2025Coldorak

Let’s take a break from Scotland and explore a few European whiskies. Some of these come courtesy of the aptly nicknamed Harry ‘Eurowhisky,’ who attended the first French whisky show in Rennes in early April last year. He stayed to guest host at my whisky club, the equally aptly named Rennes Whisky Club, for the second year running. Today, I’ll review four European whiskies: one I sampled at Malt in France (mark your calendars for the second edition on April 5th and 6th, 2025!) and three brought by Harry to the club.

Bruichladdich 2013 Islay Barley & Port Charlotte 10-year-old

21st January 202520th January 2025Coldorak

Bruichladdich Distillery, located on the island of Islay, was founded in 1881 by the Harvey brothers. Over the years, the distillery has seen its fair share of changes, including periods of closure and different ownerships. It was brought back to life in 2000 by a group led by Mark Reynier, who focused on restoring its traditional methods and exploring new approaches to whisky-making. Today, it’s owned by Rémy Cointreau and continues to produce a wide range of distinctive whiskies.

One of the things Bruichladdich is known for is its focus on local barley and the influence of Islay’s environment on its whiskies. The distillery emphasises transparency about where its ingredients come from and avoids chill filtration and artificial colouring in its bottlings. Bruichladdich produces three main styles: the unpeated Bruichladdich range, the heavily peated Port Charlotte, and the extremely peated Octomore.

In this review, we’ll look at two whiskies from their lineup: the Bruichladdich 2013 Islay Barley and the Port Charlotte 10-year-old. Both offer an interesting glimpse into the distillery’s approach to whisky-making and the diversity of Islay’s character. The ones we’ve tried so far were very good, so let’s see with those two!

Longmorn 16-year-old & 1983 Gordon & Macphail

Longmorn 16yo & 1983 Gordon & Macphail

20th January 202519th January 2025Coldorak

It’s been quite some time since we last reviewed a Longmorn, so today we’ll be looking at two expressions from this Speyside distillery. First, we’ll start with the now-retired official Longmorn 16-year-old, followed by a licensed bottling from Gordon & MacPhail, distilled in 1983. These two whiskies represent both official and independent releases, offering a look at different sides of Longmorn.

Kingsbarns Doocot and Balcomie

17th January 202516th January 2025Coldorak

Kingsbarns Distillery, nestled in the scenic East Neuk of Fife near St Andrews, Scotland, is a relatively new addition to Scotland’s whisky landscape. Founded in 2014 by the Wemyss family, that we already know here for their independent bottling activity, Kingsbarns was born from a vision to revive whisky-making traditions in an area rich with history but absent of distilleries for over a century. The distillery is housed in a beautifully restored 18th-century farm steading, adding a sense of heritage and character to its modern operations.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label And 18-Year-Old

15th January 202514th January 2025Coldorak

Johnnie Walker is one of the most well-known Scotch whisky brands, established in 1820 by John Walker in Kilmarnock, Scotland. The brand’s square bottles and ‘Striding Man’ logo have made it instantly recognisable around the world. It produces a range of blended Scotch whiskies, catering to a variety of preferences, from everyday options to more premium releases. We’ll review today three whiskies sitting on the premium side, with the two Johnnie Walker Blue Label and the 18-Year-Old.

Glen Keith 1996 Wemyss Malts

13th January 202512th January 2025Coldorak

This humble blog welcomes two new additions to its pages: Glen Keith Distillery and Wemyss Malts. Strangely enough, I was convinced I had already covered both, but it turns out I did not have – so it’s time to fix that! Before diving into the tasting and review of the Glen Keith 1996 Wemyss Malts, named Sweet Disposition, let’s take a moment to introduce both the distillery and the independent bottler.

Unpeated Ledaig Swell de Spirits vs Ledaig 1972

11th January 202510th January 2025Coldorak

Despite having friends who are huge fans of Ledaig, the peated whisky from Tobermory Distillery, it’s never been something I’ve actively sought out. The few Ledaig expressions I’ve tried so far have failed to win me over. I’ve revisited the Ledaig 10 and 18 a few times, but neither has been to my taste. However, as a whisky geek, I believe in exploring distilleries I don’t naturally gravitate toward. It’s important to gain a fuller perspective of what they can offer and see if they might surprise me. So, when friends offered me 10 centilitres of an unpeated Ledaig bottled by Swell de Spirits and suggested splitting a sample of the highly regarded Ledaig 1972, I couldn’t resist. Despite my bias against Ledaig, the opportunity to explore something so unique and revered was too tempting to pass up. With that in mind, I’m putting these two whiskies head-to-head: a 1994 unpeated Ledaig from Swell de Spirits versus a 42-year-old Ledaig 1972. Let’s see if either of them has what it takes to change my opinion and perhaps even make me a believer.