The Wild, Wild West of Scotch Whisky

Advantages: Very strong, distinctive
Disadvantages: None

...The Oban 14-year-old Western Highlands Single Malt can well be characterised as the wild, wild west of Scotch whiskies. One commentator, describing this Scotch, said of it: '...Not that you need a whip and chair to corner this single malt from the Western Highlands, but it doubtless has more than ample guts and character.' Oban, the town, is on the southwest coast of Scotland, south of Ben Nevis and washed in the same waters that surrounds the great Scotch whisky isle of Islay. Things are rather wild in this part of Scotland, as one edges out past the civilised areas of the towns of Glasgow and Edinburgh and are skirting the edges of more pastoral part of the Highlands, working one's way toward the untamed western shores and isles. So, it is perhaps only fitting that a Scotch whisky produced on this side the country would have...

frkurt 13.01.2003 (17.06.2003) · Read review
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Review of Oban Malt Whisky

Isle of Jura, 30 year old Single Malt Whisky

Advantages: Quality in a glass
Disadvantages: a wee bit expensive

...I am one of the founder members of the Glasgow Malt Whisky Club and had the pleasure - nay, THE HONOUR - of attending a tutored whisky tasting of the various products of the Isle of Jura distillery. What made this so special was that the tutor was the daddy of all of the whiskies on trial, Mr Willie Tait. Willie is to whisky what Stradivarius was to violin making, for Willie is the master distiller and now the brand ambassador for Isle of Jura Single Malt Whisky. What he doesn't know about whisky isn't worth knowing. And on top of all of this he is a really nice guy too (and there are not that many of US about!!) Although we sampled many of the distillery's products, I am going to focus this review on one of the latest to be produced on that small, tranquil and rugged of Hebridean Islands, namely the Limited edition Isle...

rayurie 02.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Isle of Jura Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Bowmore Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky

Advantages: A good introduction to Islay single malt.
Disadvantages: Do not have the typical Islay pungent smells and tastes.

...Bowmore Cask Strength is a good introduction to Islay single malt whisky. The smells of the seaweed and seasalt are well balanced by nutty and honey tastes. All cask strength single malts require a good wine glass. The Riedel Sommeliers Single Malt 400/80 is a wide mouth glass made of crystal. The glass is very, very thin and can be broken easily during cleaning if not handled properly. The wide mouth allows the alcohol to escape as a cloud, so nosing is exceptionally better than other shapes of glasses. However, the new Sommeliers 4400/80 is disappointing. The shape has changed. The mouth is less wide opened. The lead content of the crystal must have changed too. It gives a greenish tinted colour to the whisky. So I tried a Belfor Single Malt with short stem. The shape and the thickness are exactly the same as my old...

SingMaltMan 01.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Bowmore Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky

A Fine Single Malt from Tain

Advantages: Smooth so very smooth. Nice Flavour. Hint of Smokiness
Disadvantages: Pricey. Not that widely available.

...The biggest selling single malt whisky in its native Scotland happens to be Glenmorangie, 10 year old and this is one of the finest whiskies that I have ever drunk. The distillery is at Tain, Ross-Shire ,far in the North of Scotland, and the elegant swan neck of the distillery still is apparently the tallest to be found in the Highlands. Visitors are very welcome to visit the distillery and Glenmorangie, which was founded in 1843 and now owned by Leith-based Macdonald and Muir ,also have their very own web site. Initially its business was very localized -selling single casks to pubs and hotels in the area between Inverness and Dornoch.Indeed it actually started as a brewery and was later converted into a distillery. Glenmorangie is the Gaelic for "...vale of tranquility...." and this wonderful whisky is matured in American...

ashford 01.11.2001 (27.01.2002) · Read review
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Review of Glenmorangie Malt Whisky

An Impressive Single malt

Advantages: Excellent taste
Disadvantages: Not available in the Supermarkets

...The Highland Park 18 year old single malt is one of my all time favourites. I open the bottle and sniff it and I get a warm feeling all over. I've got a sense of expectation, cos I know how good it is. It is a malt which can be slightly difficult to find, the Supermarkets' don't carry the 18 (most carry the 12). However specialist online retailers, e.g Royal Mile Whiskies, Wee Dram etc do carry it, not to mention the distillery shop. Some Oddbins also carry the 18. It is also available in most good whisky shops. It retails at around £60 a bottle (Its' worth every penny). The 18 year old is the equivalent of a bottle of XO Brandy, its' actually slightly cheaper. Its got an alcohol content of 43% It comes from an impeccable pedigree, Highland Park is one, in my view, of Scotland's premier distilleries, located in the Highland Region...

RichPrice 30.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky (18 years old)

Single Malt. Drunk not shaken or stirred

Advantages: Warming
Disadvantages: none in my opinion

...I have done a few ops on different drinks from Beer to Rum. I don’t stick to one drink, some weeks I’m a Beer person other weeks I’m a Sherry person it depends on how I feel and the time of the year. I feel like as if I have had a fairly wide experience on different drinks and I like sharing my experiences with you. Who likes a good Malt Whisky? Gill does. Who went shopping to Asda today and bought herself a bottle to warm herself up? Gill did. Which one did I buy? Glenfiddich Solera Reserve It cost me £23.99…. 70cl…..40% volume. I used to drink Famous Grouse Vintage Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 12 years. Which was cheaper £16.50……70cl And I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it if anyone bought me a bottle (hint, hint) It was a smooth malt to drink, but after tasting Glenfiddich I...

gill1960 23.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Glenfiddich Malt Whisky

A single malt whisky for the cigar smoker.

Advantages: Especially made for drinking with a cigar .
Disadvantages: elusive

...Previous reviews of Dalmore Single Malt Whisky have already given a bit of the history of this fine distillery, so I will focus on one particular outpouring from it, and it is one that allows me to combine two of my passions simultaneously; cigars and malt whisky. The ?Whisky And Cigar Challenge? was recently held in Havana, Cuba. The outcome of 5 days of deliberations by over 300 judges from all over the world (it is a hard job, but somebody has got to do it) was that the finest Malt whisky and Cigar combination was the Dalmore Cigar Malt and a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure no2. Being a cigar smoker, and also being known to partake of the odd ?half? (such as 5, 7 or 9 of them!!) I thought that I too would try this Cigar Malt. As I did not have any of the "Hoyas", I took a Partagas serie D no4 from my humidor (trust me this is not...

rayurie 03.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Dalmore Scotch Whisky

Glenfiddich DOES produce some good Malts

Advantages: Taste, Value, availability
Disadvantages: None

...Now to try another fine malt. The Glenfiddich aged 18 years Ancient Reserve. It is available in full 70cl bottles and miniatures. It retails at around £40 a bottle and is 40% by volume. If you buy it online from the distillery website they do a free personalised label, which I think is quite nice. It is also available in a few supermarkets, specialist suppliers and online. In my view its' not quite as nice a malt as the 18 year old Highland Park but it is £20 a bottle cheaper. It's one of the malts I quite like. I suppose that you could ask why bother going through the palaver of tasting and rating whisky. Two reasons, the first is that it's fun, it enhances the experience, especially if you are tasting something really expensive (some fine malts retail in the thousands). The second is that there are over 2000 single Scottish Malts...

RichPrice 01.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky

A near-perfect Islay single malt

Advantages: Great in almost every incarnation
Disadvantages: Beware the Bowmore 'Legend'

...Bowmore is another of the Islay single malts, a distinctive kind of single malt (the others broad categories being Highlands, Lowlands, and Campbelltown). Islay is one of the western Hebrides islands, and has a rich tradition of scotch whisky production. Of the eight licensed distilleries on Islay, Bowmore has the claim to being the oldest, dating back to 1779. The Bowmore distillery is located in the town of the same name, on the Loch Indall inlet. Bowmore, located in the geographic centre of the island, produces a scotch whisky likewise with attributes that lie somewhere between the variants produced on the islands southern edge (like Laphroaig -- see my review on that) and the whiskies produced in the north (such as Bruichladdich, the subject of a future review). One commentator says of the Bowmore, 'They possess the poise...

frkurt 21.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Bowmore Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky

A fine Highland Malt from Speyside

Advantages: Smooth Nice Taste Has Finesse
Disadvantages: Not Cheap

...Undoubtedly one of the most highly rated and widely available Single Highland Malt whisky's with real finesse is the Macallan range of malts. The most common and cheapest-expect to pay around Stg 24 pounds per bottle-is the 10 year old but I believe they also produce a 15 year old,18 year old, 25 year old and even a 30 year old. Of course you will have to pay more for the aged options. Macallan whisky is produced in the distillery on the banks of the lovely River Spey. It is reputedly aged in old wooden sherry casks and this in turn imparts a rather delicate flavour to this nectar from Speyside. In terms of alcohol by volume content it comes in on the fire scales at 43% and it is a very drinkable single malt,especially for the experienced inbiber. It has a light amber colour with something of a a chestnut-mahogony cast...

ashford 28.06.2002 (06.07.2002) · Read review
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Review of Macallan Single Highland Malt Whisky 10 years old