Kategoria: English

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan appeared at the distillery core-range in September 2019. This is the first age stated whisky since the times of the Ardbeg Ten. This time it is a 19-year old version, Small Batch, which means that there can be differences in the next batches.

Batch No. 01 is a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry oloroso casks. However, the whisky is not finished in sherry casks, but part of the distillates have been matured in bourbon barrels, and some part in oloroso casks. After the maturation process, the whole had been „married” together and bottled. Continue reading „Ardbeg Traigh Bhan – whisky review”

Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020 – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020

Until recently, everyone could attend the Campbeltown Malts Festival (in May, each year), at which distilleries from this region present new editions of their whiskies, bottled especially for this occasion. This year (2020) for obvious reasons, the festival couldn’t take place, however, those special editions of Campbelltown whiskies were available for the consumers. Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020 is one of them.

Pictures: Ryszard Walus

It’s a peated edition, aged in first-fill bourbon barrels, American oak casks and finished in tawny port casks (which I enjoy much more than „ruby port”). Tawny Port age in smaller casks than ruby, which affects the more pronounced influence of wood on the wine maturing in it.

Continue reading „Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020 – whisky review”

Benromach 10 years old – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Benromach 10

Another whisky of the year in Ralfy’s ranking. I love his way of transferring knowledge. In 2014, it was his malt of the year. I have to admit, that for me such a recommendation was enough to hunt for Benromach 10. I’ll pour some immediately and I’m gladly going to share my insights about it.

Benromach 10

Benromach means „Shaggy Mountain” Continue reading „Benromach 10 years old – whisky review”

Old Ballantruan The Peated Malt – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Old Ballantruan The Peated Malt

There is no distillery called Old Ballantruan. Just as there are no Longrow or Hazelburn distilleries, which we can easily find as single malt whiskies. Both are produced by Springbank – a wonderful distillery from Campbeltown. We have the same situation here. Old Ballantruan is a heavily peated whisky, produced by a distillery, which is rather known for its delicate, unpeated sweet-fruity-wine’y style, typical for the Scotland’s region called Speyside. Continue reading „Old Ballantruan The Peated Malt – whisky review”

Bunnahabhain 12 years old – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Bunnahabhain 12

When I tried Bunnahabhain 12 for the first time, it blew my mind. It was one of the best whiskies at the beginning of my whisky-journey.

Of course, with time, there had been better, even a lot better drams. However, every time I come back to Bunnahabhain 12, it brings me a lot of pleasure. Has anything changed about it? Let’s find out. Continue reading „Bunnahabhain 12 years old – whisky review”

Springbank aged 10 years – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Springbank 10

When you pick up a bottle of Springbank, Longrow, or Hazelburn, it’s worth knowing that each stage of their production (from malting, aging to bottling) is made in the distillery. In other words, Springbank is not only a very craft distillery, but also that we are dealing with a very regional product. Let’s see how the Springbank 10 works.

Springbank is one of only three distilleries in Cambeltown. I read once, that this region probably contains the largest concentration of good whisky per square meter in the world 🙂 Continue reading „Springbank aged 10 years – whisky review”

Tomintoul 16 years old – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Tomintoul 16

The Tomintoul distillery in its present form was founded in 1965, although a distillery called Tomintoul already existed a lot earlier – in 1830s. The owners of the company have been changed a number of times, more or less successfully. Currently, the distillery makes full use of its production capacity. 3 million liters of pure alcohol per year and over 100,000 barrels in which the distillate matures are really impressive. Continue reading „Tomintoul 16 years old – whisky review”

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades – whiskey review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades

There’s something interesting about bourbon. Something, that tells me: „Hey! Reach for the next one 😁” and I do it with pleasure. Maybe it’s the combination of the burnt wood and the caramel accent… I’m not quite sure, but I like it a lot.

Some say that all bourbons have similar taste. Well, in my opinion, the differences between bourbons are not as evident as we can find e.g. between The GlenDronach and Lagavulin, but just put a glass of a basic edition of Four Roses on the table right next to Elijah Craig or Evan Williams to see how much different those Whiskeys really are. Continue reading „Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades – whiskey review”

Laphroaig Select Islay Single Malt – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Laphroaig Select

Ian Hunter, the last owner of the distillery belonging to the founders family went to Jamaica, to gather knowledge about the art of maturation. The key-point of this process is using different types of wood casks, which brings various flavours to the distillate. Later on, he went to Kentucky to learn more about the secrets of aging whisky in the American oak barrels. He noticed then that the American oak would match the character of Laphroaig better than the European oak, in which sherry matures first.

At the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, Laphroaig launched something new – the use of American oak barrels, as well as Sherry casks, which gave the drink a different character. Continue reading „Laphroaig Select Islay Single Malt – whisky review”

Caol Ila 2011 by Loża Dżentelmenów – whisky review

Posted on by Daniel Nowak

Caol Ila 2011

Single Cask

When the distillate spent 5 years in an ex-Bourbon cask, the Murray McDavid team (a Scottish, independent bottler) decided to pour the whole into a French wine cask for the next two years. This cask had been selected by Artur Brzychcy and bottled at the cask strength, un-chill filtered, without the artificial colouring. Finally, with the label of Murray McDavid and the „Loża Dżentelmenów” (Gentlemen’s Lodge), the bottle itself can proudly take a place in our bar. Continue reading „Caol Ila 2011 by Loża Dżentelmenów – whisky review”