Scotland Archives - Page 8 of 17 - More Drams, Less Drama

Old Perth 1996

25th December 2022Coldorak

Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers (MSWD) is a family-owned business which sees them having several roles in the whisky industry. At the same time, they are grocers, brokers, blenders, bottlers and distillers. They were previously known as Morrison & Mackay, but they rebranded in 2020. You’ll probably know their independent bottling brand, Càrn Mòr, but they also bottle undisclosed Islay whisky with another brand, Mac-Talla. They also have a distillery in Perthshire, in the Lowlands, called Aberargie. I must admit I’ve never tried anything from this distillery. And finally, they have a couple of brands about blending, and the one that interests us is Old Perth. And more specifically, their Old Perth 1996 from the Vintage Collection.

Kilchoman Club 6th Edition 2007

22nd December 202222nd December 2022Coldorak

It’s our first time reviewing a Kilchoman on this humble blog. To be honest, up until now whisky coming from Kilchoman was not to my taste, I always found some off-notes (for my palate), something that didn’t suit me. But I’m always trying to stay open-minded, and so when I found a sample of Kilchoman in my whisky and spirits advent calendar, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give another go at this distillery. So let’s introduce them, and review a Kilchoman 2007, bottled for as the Kilchoman Club 6th Edition.

Aberfeldy 15 and 16-year-old

20th December 20227th June 2023Coldorak

Aberfeldy Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in the town of Aberfeldy, in the heart of Scotland’s whisky country, Perthshire. The distillery was founded in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons, and it is now owned by Bacardi Limited. Their core range goes from a 12-year-old to a 21-year-old, and Aberfeldy is also the core of Dewar’s White Label blend. Let’s review the 16-year-old from the Aberfeldy core range and put it against a 15-year-old Exceptional Cask.

Creations 1996 Light Fruity Syrupy Cadenhead's

Creations 1996 Cadenhead’s

17th December 202217th December 2022Coldorak

The Cadenhead’s Creations range consisted of small batch blends, blended malts, and blended grains, with a maximum of 3 casks used in each blend. Sometimes, these were single cask releases. Featuring an old style dumpy bottle, this range saw twenty releases until 2019, when it was stopped. The Creations range included a variety of ages and the strength of each bottling was determined solely by taste. The Cadenhead Creations range was known for being particularly innovative and interesting among Cadenhead’s releases. These bottlings were not chill filtered or artificially coloured. We’re reviewing today one of them, the Creations 1996 Light Fruity Syrupy.

First Four ‘The Dava Way’ Bottlings

15th December 202221st December 2022Coldorak

You have probably heard of Dunphail distillery, a soon-to-be distillery located a few miles south of Forres, in Speyside. Dunphail has been founded by Dariusz Plazewski, who already founded the deservedly hyped Bimber Distillery in London. Whilst Dunphail is not yet producing, and thus not making money (except by selling in advance founder packs and casks shares), they decided to add an independent bottling branch to the distillery. This branch is called The Dava Way, named after one of Scotland’s many long-distance walking and off-road cycling routes, between Forres and Grantown-on-Spey, and passing less than a mile from Dunphail distillery. My good friend Matt McKay, who started as director of communication for Bimber, is now also the Director of Whisky Creation and Outreach at Dunphail, and selected the first four ‘The Dava Way’ bottlings. Until Dunphail has a regular revenue, The Dava Way will allow Dunphail to gain visibility and help the operational revenue. Matt reached out to me to offer to send me samples of those bottlings, and obviously I could not refuse!

Johnnie Walker Black and Green Label

12th December 202212th December 2022Coldorak

We’ve covered these last couple weeks quite exclusive and rare whiskies and a couple brandies, with lost distillery after hyped distillery. So let’s get back down to earth, shall we? The Scotch Whisky world is still led, in terms of volume, by blends. And one of the most famous amongst them is Johnnie Walker. So let’s review two of their entry/mid-level blends: the Johnnie Walker Black and Green Label.

Ardbeg 2001 Character of Islay

10th December 20227th June 2023Coldorak

Yes, the full name is The Character of Islay Whisky Company, but if I write the complete independent bottler name in my title, Google is not going to be happy about the title length. Anyway. We’ve recently reviewed the four Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19-year-old batches on More Drams, but we have not reviewed any independent bottling of an Ardbeg before. Maybe because those are quite rare…

Jura 1990 Thompson Brothers

5th December 20227th December 2022Coldorak

We’ve had a few Juras on More Drams and until now, it was kind of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Well, to be honest, it was The Good, The A-bit-less-Good, and still The Ugly. But I’ve read that old early-90s Jura were quite often quite good, and several friends really adore them, so let’s keep an open mind and review this Jura 1990 Thompson Brothers that was behind the fourth window of my whisky and malternative advent calendar.

Secret Highland Malt 1983 Sansibar (2020)

2nd December 20222nd December 2022Coldorak

It’s that time of the year: we’re in December, and it’s time for a whisky advent calendar again, yay! But this time, it won’t be only whisky, as several other kinds of surprises are waiting for me. What surprises? No idea! This year again, the calendar has been made by a friend who doesn’t kid around with spirits. Remember last year? That was him. So when he offered to do that again, with a malternative twist, I jumped on it. And so, after opening the – virtual – first window and solving the riddle with friends from a common Discord group, I discovered that the first dram was a Secret Highland Malt 1983 from German indy bottler Sansibar.

Glenury Royal 1978 Signatory Vintage

30th November 202230th November 2022Coldorak

People learnt a long time ago that drinking an alcoholic beverage was making them feel relaxed, good (unless they’re drinking too much!) and increased their mood. It’s no surprise then that when there’s a call for celebration, people use alcohol to celebrate. I know I do. And I’m not the only one, as alcohol has been used for celebrations and ceremonies for ages, as far back at least than ancient Babylon, around 5000 B.C. Clay tablets found in the ruins of ancient Babylon told about its inhabitants used to brew and drink beer as part of their religious ceremonies. Egyptians did too, and they’d make it by placing crumbled barley bread into jars filled of water, to allow the natural yeast to start fermentation. Fast forward a few thousand years, and we’re using all kinds of alcohols for celebrations. And when I learnt I had passed my Wine and Spirits Trust Education level 2 in spirits with distinction, the result I was looking for, I naturally turned to whisky to celebrate what I had really worked hard to achieve. Yes, tasting and learning about spirits and cocktails can be hard work. And to celebrate, I turned myself towards a whisky from a lost distillery I had never tried anything from before: a Glenury Royal 1978 bottled by Signatory Vintage.