Whisky Archives - Page 5 of 27 - More Drams, Less Drama

Ardnamurchan AD/10 10th Anniversary Edition

7th January 20256th January 2025Coldorak

As we’ve previously mentioned, Ardnamurchan Distillery, located in the western Highlands, was established in 2014 and began distilling on July of that year. Founded by the independent bottler Adelphi, the distillery features a two-tonne semi-lauter stainless steel mashtun with a copper canopy, along with seven washbacks: four wooden (three made from Oregon pine and one from oak) and three stainless steel. Ardnamurchan operates with a single pair of stills – a 10,000 L wash still and a 6,000 L spirit still – now fitted with stainless steel sub-coolers. Their inaugural release debuted in October 2020, and in 2024, to mark their 10th anniversary, the distillery released its first 10-year-old single malt: the Ardnamurchan AD/10 10th Anniversary Edition.

Agitator 2019 & 2020 The Whisky Jury

4th January 20253rd January 2025Coldorak

We stay with Nordic whisky after the Sall Whisky 2020 Whisky Watcher from two days ago, this time with a duo of Agitator whiskies. Agitator Whiskymakare, a Swedish distillery founded in Arboga in 2017, stands out for its innovative production techniques. With an annual capacity of 500,000 litres of pure alcohol (lpa), their methods go beyond the typical marketing buzz around ‘innovation’ often touted by larger distilleries.

For instance, instead of adding water during mashing to extract sugars, Agitator adds water during the milling process. Later, the fermented wash is divided between two pairs of stills that operate under vacuum, enabling distillation at lower temperatures. They also experiment with a variety of grains beyond barley, use unique types of wood, such as chestnut, and even employ wave stave casks. Additionally, their approach to cask filling is unconventional, with some of their new make spirit entering barrels at 55% ABV instead of the standard 63.5%.

Today, we’ll be reviewing two single cask whiskies from Agitator, both selected by an independent bottler, and both using wave stave casks: the Agitator 2019 and 2020, bottled by The Whisky Jury.

Sall Whisky 2020 Whisky Watcher

2nd January 20252nd January 2025Coldorak

Sall Whisky Distillery, a Danish microdistillery, was established in late 2018 by a group of friends with a shared vision of making a fully local whisky using their own home-grown, organic cereals. Their journey began with the launch of their new make in 2019, followed by their inaugural single malt whisky in early 2023, aged just three years. In 2024, they introduced three small-batch releases – Muld, Tørv, and Glød. However, today’s review focuses on a unique offering: the Sall Whisky 2020 Whisky Watcher. This release, from Whisky Watcher – a Danish shop and independent bottler specialising in whisky, rum, and other spirits – is the distillery’s only independent bottling to date.

Hakushu and Yamazaki 25-year-old (2024)

31st December 202430th December 2024Coldorak

Back in September, I attended the Dugas Club Expert show, primarily to catch up with Graham and Fay Coull, who were making an appearance since leaving Dingle. The event featured a stunning Suntory booth, as Dugas distributes their products in France. One side of the booth showcased Laphroaig and Bowmore, while the other side highlighted Suntory’s Japanese brands: Chita, Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Hibiki.

Thanks to the generous pours from Christophe Davoine, House of Suntory’s brand ambassador, I was able to bring home samples of Yamazaki 25-Year-Old and Hakushu 25-Year-Old for a proper review with a fresh palate. We’ve already reviewed the younger Yamazaki expressions – Distiller’s Reserve, 12-Year-Old, and 18-Year-Old – which happens to be one of the most read articles on this humble blog. Before I dive into Hakushu’s lineup, including the Distiller’s Reserve, 12-Year-Old, and 18-Year-Old (coming soon…ish), let’s focus on these 25-Year-Old expressions.

Ardnahoe 5-year-old Inaugural Release

30th November 20243rd December 2024Coldorak

Ardnahoe, a young Islay distillery founded in 2017, sits between Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila, offering stunning views of the Sound of Islay with Mull and Jura in the background. Owned by independent bottler Hunter Laing, it boasts Scotland’s longest lyne arms at 7.5 metres and uses wooden worm tubs for condensation. They waited until their whisky reached five years to launch their Ardnahoe 5-year-old Inaugural Release earlier this year – better late than never for me to finally taste and review it!

Signatory 100 Proof Exceptional Cask #1, #2 and #3

Aultmore / Glenburgie / Macduff 100 Proof Exceptional Casks Signatory Vintage

28th November 202427th November 2024Coldorak

Part of the recent and ever-growing series 100 proof from Signatory Vintage, the independent bottler released a few bottlings as an ‘Exceptional Cask’ subseries. We review the first three whiskies bottled in this series: an Aultmore 2007, a Glenburgie 2008 and a Macduff 2007 100 Proof Exceptional Casks, Edition #1 to 3, from Signatory Vintage.

Bimber Shoulders of Giants Second Release

8th November 20248th November 2024Coldorak

Bimber returns with a second round of releases in its ‘Shoulders of Giants’ series. Eight new ‘Giants’ have been introduced, joining the original six from the first batch, along with fresh country exclusives – this time with Germany and Belgium joining the UK and Poland. With samples from all eight of these new expressions kindly sent by Bimber a few weeks ago, let’s dive into a review of this Bimber Shoulders of Giants Second Release.

Teeling 21-Year-Old Rising Reserve No.3

19th October 202419th October 2024Coldorak

For a change, we’re reviewing a whiskey that’s actually still available and not already sold out, long gone, or marked up threefold on the secondary market. Hard to believe, right? Recently, I was working as an exhibitor for a Scottish independent bottler at the Nantes Spirits Festival, a whisky show. It has nothing to do with this Teeling, I know, but one of the perks of being an exhibitor is the chance to sample a few whiskies and malternatives before or after the event opens to the public—or even during a quick break. Who needs food when you can savour some good or even exceptional whiskies and cognacs, right? Anyway, while I was pouring my own whiskies for Baptiste Charron, the French Teeling ambassador, we got talking, and he introduced me to the Teeling 21-year-old Rising Reserve No.3, which I’m reviewing today. I was lucky enough to take a sample home with me to taste it again, with time and a fresh palate. But first…

Bimber Shoulders of Giants

22nd September 202412th November 2024Coldorak

Bimber recently introduced* a new series, ‘Shoulder of Giants’, a tribute to the thinkers, innovators, and visionaries who have shaped history. While the connection to whisky may not be immediately obvious, perhaps these celebrated figures were whisky enthusiasts – though, in the case of Nicolaus Copernicus, who passed away in 1543 in Poland, it’s unlikely he ever had the chance to enjoy a dram! Regardless, this theme is as fitting as many others embraced by distilleries, and the labels are nothing short of stunning. Thanks to Bimber Distillery, we didn’t just have the last Spirit of the Underground batch, we also have all six expressions from the ‘Shoulder of Giants’ series in front of us – three exclusive to the UK and three to Poland. Let’s dive in and explore what each of these whiskies has to offer.

Bimber The Spirit of the Underground – Release No. 6

13th July 20242nd August 2024Coldorak

Back in 2021, Bimber started its then-new collection, The Spirit of the Underground, celebrating many stations from the London Underground passenger railway system, the Tube. We could review the first batch of four stations in June 2021, thanks to a Tweet Tasting with Steve Rush and Matt McKay. Fast forward three years and they’ve already released their 6th batch of four expressions, that we’re trying today. The ballot for those bottles is long closed and these are all sold out, but you might be tempted to get one on the secondary market as I’m sure several of them will pop in one of the several whisky auctions you already probably know of. So maybe this review will help you choose which one to go to with my tasting notes. But remember this is my humble opinion so your taste might be different, your nose and palate may get different notes that what I recognised. So to help, I’ll also link at the end of the review a link to friends’ blogs, who also reviewed these four whiskies. But without further ado, let’s review those four Bimber The Spirit of the Underground, from their sixth release.