World Archives

Indri Drú & Two Single Casks

8th September 20258th September 2025Coldorak

Piccadilly Distillery stands as one of India’s most prominent whisky producers, gaining international attention for its Indri single malt whisky. Located in Indri, Haryana, the distillery operates under the Piccadily Group – an enterprise founded by K. N. Sharma in 1953 that originally focused on liquor distribution in Punjab before expanding into hospitality, hotels, and alcoholic beverage manufacturing. By 1994, the group had opened its first distillery in Indri and, drawing inspiration from both Indian and Scottish traditions, evolved into the country’s largest independent producer of malt spirits.

Indri, their single malt, first launched in 2021, marks Piccadilly’s commitment to high-quality Indian whisky (by comparison to other alcoholic beverages called Indian whisky but which contain neutral alcohol, for instance). The team, led by Master Distiller Surrinder Kumar (well known for his previous work at Amrut), recognises the importance of local ingredients, using six-row barley grown in Rajasthan and Indian-crafted copper pot stills. The distillery features modern facilities and imported American oak barrels, with an on-site cooperage to handle toasting and charring. Let’s review three of their whiskies, one core range, Indri Drú, and two single casks.

WhistlePig 10yo, 12yo & Farmstock Rye

16th July 202516th July 2025Coldorak

WhistlePig Distillery produces rye whiskey on a 500-acre farm in Shoreham, Vermont. Raj Bhakta founded the company in 2007, and in 2015, WhistlePig introduced its first major release, a 10-year-aged rye whiskey (a sourced Canadian rye whiskey). The distillery helped revive interest in rye whiskey in the American market. It operates out of a converted barn and uses two 750-gallon copper pot stills. The farm grows rye grain along with other crops, and the company manages its own barrels and other production inputs. This vertical approach allows WhistlePig to control the raw materials and maturation process. Initially, the brand sourced a significant portion of its whiskey from Canada, with master distiller Dave Pickerell assisting in developing the early offerings. Currently, the in-house team manages distillation and blending. Today, we review two sourced whiskeys and one made in-house: the WhistlePig 10-year-old, 12-year-old, and Farmstock Rye Beyond Bond.

Hellyers Road 17-Year-Old American Oak

26th February 202525th February 2025Coldorak

We’ve enjoyed a couple of Hellyers Road releases before, and they’ve been excellent – so why not try another? In 2022, they released a 17-year-old single cask for La Maison du Whisky. Given that their mid-aged single casks tend to be top-notch, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about this Hellyers Road 17-Year-Old American Oak.

Six Australian Whiskies and a Brandy from Boutique-y

5th March 20245th March 2024Coldorak

Australian whisky is experiencing significant growth, prompting questions about its identity on the global stage. Single malt dominates the scene, offering diverse options from tropical and fruity expressions to wine cask-forward whiskies. Heavy peat varieties are crafted by some Ozie distilleries whilst some others specialise in extensively aged malts. And moreover, Australian whiskies curated by renowned independent bottlers such as Adelphi, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and others are now accessible, expanding the global reach of Australian whisky. Today we turn our glass to Boutique-y, as we try six Australian whiskies from That Boutique-y Whisky Company as well as an Australian Brandy, that were part of their Return to Oz collection.

Three Rye Whiskies From Overseas

6th February 20247th February 2024Coldorak

Rye whisky traces its origin to North America, with a history deeply rooted in the early days of European colonisation. Settlers, particularly those of Dutch and German descent, brought with them the tradition of distilling spirits from rye grain, a hardy cereal grain well suited to the continent’s climate. The popularity of rye whisky grew in the northeastern regions of the United States and parts of Canada, where the cool climate proved conducive to cultivating rye. Over time, this distilled beverage became an integral part of the North American whisky heritage. The production process typically involves fermenting and distilling a mash bill that contains a significant proportion of rye grain, usually at least 51%, but that can go up to 100%. Let’s review three rye whiskies from overseas, two from Canada and one from the USA.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company's core range

That Boutique-y Whisky Core Range

6th November 20236th November 2023Coldorak

That Boutique-y Whisky Company has gained fame for its extensive collection of independent bottlings released since 2013, and at this date a total of 883 of them have been documented on WhiskyBase. Recently, the company expanded its repertoire by introducing its first five core range expressions, effectively extending this impressive list. Additionally, there is a sixth core release in the form of their World Whisky Blend, which we have previously reviewed and will omit from this discussion. Instead, let’s focus on examining the remaining five releases from That Boutique-y Whisky’s core range.

Canadian Club 40-year-old and Chronicles 42-year-old review

Canadian Club 40 & 42-year-old

25th July 202313th October 2023Coldorak

In the past, we’ve examined a couple of old Canadian Club whiskies. Yet, their age was determined by the distillation year rather than their actual (unknown) aging period. However, in recent times, Canadian Club has been introducing an array of progressively older releases each year. It all began with a 40-year-old age statement in 2017, and from that point on, each annual release would add another year to its age. Today, we’ll be reviewing two expressions, remarkable by their age statement: the Canadian Club 40-year-old and 42-year-old whiskies.

Nantou Batch 2 TBWC

29th January 202328th January 2023Coldorak

Back in September, my friend Dave Worthington, That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s brand ambassador, gave me a mountain of samples, and I’m still working my way through them. Hard work, I know. This time I’m trying something from a Taiwanese distillery I have never tried anything before: Nantou. Nantou Distillery was founded in 2008, becoming Taiwan’s second whisky distillery. In 2015, Puli Pan, the distillery manager since 2012, releases a first whisky called Omar. This core range will become known as Yushan Signature and will be joined by Yushan Blended Malt. Since then, they also released whisky under the Nantou name. For now, only two independent bottlers released whisky from Nantou apart from the official bottlings, and we try Nantou batch 2 from That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC).

Kavalan 2008 Conquête LMDW

7th January 20237th January 2023Coldorak

Kavalan is a Taiwanese whisky distillery that was founded in 2005 by Mr. Ting, Chairman of the King Car Group, which is known for its production of food and beverages, as well as its involvement in transportation and renewable energy. Located in Yilan County, Taiwan, Kavalan takes its name from the indigenous Kavalan people who have lived in the area for centuries. The distillery is known for using locally grown barley and water from the Snow Mountain and Central Mountain Range to produce its whiskies, which are aged in a variety of barrels in a hot and humid climate. It is worth noting that Kavalan whiskies are often bottled at a young age due to the rapid maturation process that is induced by Taiwan’s climate. But in this review, we will be tasting a 12-year-old Kavalan 2008 Conquête whisky that was selected by LMDW.

Amrut 8-Year-Old Greedy Angels (2017)

4th December 20224th December 2022Coldorak

Our third dram from this year’s whisky and malternative advent calendar is coming from a range we’ve tried a few newer releases last year. Yes, we’re trying them in the wrong order, but since so far they’ve all been very good, I guess that’s more than okay that we get to try some more, right? So this time, we’ll be trying an Amrut 8-year-old Greedy Angels released in 2017.