Independent Bottler Archives

Four Benriach From The 2010s

17th October 202516th October 2025Coldorak

Almost two years ago, I reviewed two Benriach 12-year-old expressions from the distillery’s modern range – the line introduced after the major rebranding of September 2020. That refreshed identity brought a new look and a more contemporary flavour philosophy under its A World of Flavour portfolio.

But what did Benriach taste like before this new era? Perhaps you’ve never asked yourself that question – though I certainly have. To satisfy that curiosity, this review revisits four Benriach bottlings from the 2010s: three official releases, including one peated expression, and one independent bottling. Together they offer a snapshot of how the distillery’s character evolved before its transformation into the Benriach we know today.

Auchroisk / Tormore / Benrinnes / Ardmore Signatory

15th October 202514th October 2025Coldorak

Last Wednesday, two friends and I hosted a second sherried whiskies session at Rennes Whisky Club, this time featuring three bottlings from Signatory Vintage’s 100 proof series: Tormore, Benrinnes, and Ardmore. After the tasting, I realised I had overlooked an Auchroisk from the same range—one I forgot about when I put together my earlier review of three indy Auchroisks. I decided to bring it along, turning the evening into a lineup of four Auchroisk, Tormore, Benrinnes and Ardmore Signatory 100 proof whiskies.

Three Independent Secret Orkney

13th October 202512th October 2025Coldorak

We return to Orkney with a review of three Independent Secret Orkney bottlings. As a reminder, Orkney only has two whisky distilleries: Highland Park and Scapa. None of these bottlings should be from Scapa, so you can easily guess their origin. By the way, I plan to review Scapa’s new core range soon, so stay tuned for that. We will examine today’s whiskies in ascending order of ABV, starting immediately with a relatively high proof, as the lowest ABV (57.1%!) in this selection is the Signatory 100 Proof bottling.

Two Glenlivet 2007 Signatory Vintage

10th October 20259th October 2025Coldorak

Glenlivet has appeared only once on More Drams Less Drama (by itself). The official 12-year-old, bottled at 40% and chill-filtered, earned a forgettable 4/10 rating, whilst a 25-year-old Speyside #4 from That Boutique-y Whisky Company demonstrated that the distillery performs considerably better when not overly diluted. Today’s pair might reinforce that observation with two Glenlivet 2007 bottled by Signatory Vintage, both bottled at cask strength and offering a glimpse of what Glenlivet can achieve when left unmolested at high proof.

Auchroisk Boutique-y / vanWees / AD Rattray

8th October 20257th October 2025Coldorak

Auchroisk remains one of the most enigmatic names in the whisky world (and not the easiest to pronounce correctly). Its presence outside of blends is almost ghostlike – with not even a website anymore, worse even than when its official website offered barely more than a placeholder, as observed in our last review of an independent Auchroisk bottling back in 2019. Founded in the 1970s mainly to supply malt for J&B blends, this Speyside distillery has long flown under the radar, producing the bulk of its spirit for high-volume blended whiskies rather than shining as a single malt star. The latest official bottling I could find on Whiskybase is the 10-year-old in Diageo’s Flora & Fauna collection, but the latest one goes back to 2022. Fortunately, independently bottled Auchroisk expressions, such as these three Auchroisk from That Boutique-y Whisky Co, Van Wees, and A. D. Rattray, have allowed us to get glimpses into the character of this often-overlooked distillery.

Drouin 21yo Boutique-y English Apple Brandy TLDC

Drouin 21yo Boutique-y / English Apple Brandy London Distillery

24th September 202526th September 2025Coldorak

We’re comparing two radically different apple brandies: one hails from the famed French producer Christian Drouin, aged 21 years and bottled by That Boutique-y Calvados Company; the other is an English apple brandy of mysterious origin, discovered by Matt McKay in the stocks of London Distillery Co shortly after he took charge. The two spirits are separated by a striking 30% ABV difference. Hold on tight – this is going to be an intense showdown!

Auchentoshan Batch 7 Boutique-y & Handfill

19th September 202518th September 2025Coldorak

Auchentoshan Distillery, founded in 1823, stands in the Scottish Lowlands near Glasgow and is one of the few distilleries in Scotland to use triple distillation for every batch, producing a notably light and delicate single malt… sometimes hidden by heavy wood lifting. Auchentoshan enjoys an active market presence worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, and is owned by Beam Suntory, which helps ensure visibility across major retail and online platforms. While whisky enthusiasts recognize Auchentoshan for its distinct style, it often sits just below the mainstream radar; the brand is respected but not as heavily marketed or hyped as some other single malts. Let’s have another look at them, as they are under my radar as well, with the Auchentoshan 10-year-old batch 7 from That Boutique-y and a 2009 handfill.

Paul Beau François Voyer Malternative Belgium

Beau Lot 70 / Voyer Lot 90 Malternative Belgium

15th September 202515th September 2025Coldorak

This week opens with two Grande Champagne cognacs, specially selected and bottled by Malternative Belgium last year – both now, regrettably, sold out. Grande Champagne represents the premier cru of Cognac, renowned for producing spirits of remarkable elegance and complexity, as we’ve seen many times in these pages. Malternative Belgium, an independent bottler with a reputation for consistently high-quality selections, is also celebrated for bringing outstanding casks to enthusiasts, and has yet to disappoint even the most discerning palates. I don’t remember reading a bad review from a Cognac they bottled. Given this pedigree, expectations run high for both the Paul Beau Lot 70 and François Voyer Lot 90 Malternative Belgium we’re reviewing today.

Port Charlotte 2001 Blood Tub 2002 WhiskySponge Maltbarn

Port Charlotte 2001, 2002 WhiskySponge / MaltBarn

12th September 202511th September 2025Coldorak

Port Charlotte whisky stands as Bruichladdich Distillery’s tribute to the heavily peated traditions of Islay, named after the village near the distillery and inspired by the historic Lochindaal distillery that operated there from 1829 to 1929. Production began in 2001, with maturation taking place in the old warehouses at Port Charlotte, using Scottish barley and peated to 40 ppm for a robust but balanced Islay profile. The range includes core bottlings such as the 10-Year-Old and Islay Barley, alongside occasional cask explorations and limited releases, all bottled without chill filtration or artificial colouring. Despite its highly respected reputation among whisky enthusiasts, Port Charlotte is not the brand with the greatest number of bottlings, whether official or independent. It does not see a large quantity of releases each year, certainly not on the scale of some other Islay or Scotch distilleries. The approach at Bruichladdich emphasises quality, provenance, and thoughtful maturation over sheer volume, which means that every new Port Charlotte expression draws considerable interest when it appears, but they remain relatively scarce in comparison to industry giants and prolific independent bottlings. So today, we’ll review an official bottling of a private cask and two indy bottlings from the same vintage, with a Port Charlotte 2001 and two 2002 from WhiskySponge and Maltbarn.

Balmenach 15yo Batch 4 That Boutique-y Whisky Company

1st September 202531st August 2025Coldorak

We stay another day on the advent calendar with the next window, the third of the 2024 Boutique-y Advent Calendar, where we found a sample of Balmenach 15-year-old Batch 4 That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Balmenach remains a relatively rare encounter, as noted during the first review of this distillery here – also the only one before this. So it is independent bottlers that primarily bring Balmenach to wider attention, with all but a few expressions experienced here coming from these indies. Appreciation goes to the independent bottlers for enabling whisky enthusiasts to explore this distillery beyond its typical role in blends.