Ten books every whisky fan should have in their library!

Click on the link for the full story: Ten books every whisky fan should have in their library!

The Top 10 Scotch Whisky Brands!

Click on the link for the story: Top Scotch Whisky Brands

10 Scotch Whiskies for less than $50.

Click the link for the full article: Best Scotch Whisky Under $50

Just add water!

Click the link for the full story: Why Whisky Pros Add Water

One of our favorite 8 and 12 year old blended Scotch whiskies, Isle of Skye, just unveiled two older expressions!

Click the link: Isle Of Skye Scotch Blended Whisky unveils new 18 & 21 year old range

Gift ideas for the high spirited : Lifestyles

Click the link: Gift ideas for the high spirited : Lifestyles

A new limited edition 100 Proof Cutty Sark is now available in the US!

Click the link for more info: Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition

Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition Scotch Whisky

50% ABV (100 US PROOF)

Released 90 years after the end of the era which it celebrates, Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition has been crafted as a salute to the notorious Captain William McCoy, who smuggled Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky into America during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. Captain McCoy’s impeccable reputation for fairness and dealing only in the finest, genuine and unadulterated liquor gave rise to Cutty Sark being referred to as “The Real McCoy”. Prohibition Edition is bottled at 50% ABV (100 Proof – USA Measure), whilst our regular Cutty Sark blend is 40% ABV. This is a “small batch” blend of the finest single malts and top-quality grain whiskies. Hand-selected American oak casks give subtle signature flavours of vanilla and citrus fruits, whilst the overall flavours and finish are extremely smooth and thrillingly complex. The black glass bottle has a cork seal – reflecting the traditions of the time.

Isle of Skye 8 year old & 12 year old

Isle of Skye 8 Year Old

Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Bottle Size: 750ml

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Notes: This is a blend I picked up on the spur of the moment. I was looking for something to take along on a road trip vacation. My daughter was about to finish a semester interning at a family resort best known for it's large rodent mascot, and my wife and I were going to spend a week down there on vacation before bringing her back home. I needed something with a secure top, that would travel well on a long road trip. I was browsing the racks at a local wine and sprits store and found this, bargain priced at under $25, and decided it was worth a chance. Not only did it survive a trip to Florida and back, but it was so good that it's become a regular staple in my home bar. 

Isle of Skye is a blend from Ian MacLeod Distillers Limited, owners of Glengoyone and Tamdhu distilleries, and a very diverse portfolio of independent bottlings and blends, including Smokehead Single Malt and the well known Chieftain's Range, just to name a few. 

Isle of Skye 8 year old Blended Scotch Whisky, is a whisky that reminds me of older bottling's of Johnnie Walker! It's got a kick of oily and peppery peat, likely coming from Caol Ila, and Talisker (the only distillery on the Ilse of Skye). It's also got some nice Speyside and/or Highland malts in the mix, with a strong profile of Bourbon cask Scotch whiskies in the blend, giving off notes of honey and vanilla. This is a really tasty blend, with decent complexity and a strong malt heavy character! 

Nose: This first thing you notice, is the Bourbon notes of honey and vanilla, then the peat and a hint of pepper follow. 

Taste: This is where the complexity comes though, with dark chocolate and vanilla, some almond, peat and spice all competing for attention, without distracting or overpowering each other. 

Finish: The almond ultimately wins, with a medium long finish, with a whiff of smoke and vanilla lingering on. 

My Personal Ranking 1-100: 84/100 (Blend Score)

Isle of Skye 12 Year Old

Whisky Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Bottle Size: 750ml

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Notes: The 12 year old version of Isle of Skye has a very similar profile to the 8 year old, so the blend components are very similar, if not the same. The additional age seems to bring out some sherry notes that I didn't notice in the younger version. Maybe some sherry aged Glengoyne has been added to the blend? While I hate the overuse of the word smooth in whisky reviews, the additional 4 years of aging does bring that word to mind. This is a reasonably complex, smooth and integrated, malt heavy blend, at a very reasonable price. 

Nose: Notes of honey and vanilla again, some citrus notes, and the peat you would expect from a whisky carrying this name. 

Taste: A wonderful explosion of flavors, including dark chocolate, vanilla and carmel, ripe orange, smokey peat, and a hint of spice. 

Finish: A pleasant finish where the citrus and peat flavors linger. 

My Personal Ranking 1-100: 86/100 (Blend Score)

Old Whisky Ad #10

Old Whisky Ad - Celebrity Endorsement Edition #2

George Clooney for Lancelot Scotch Whisky

Back to Booze School?

Classes include "Malt Whisky 101", "The History of Prohibition in America, a really bad idea", "Rum Runners, Pirates or Privateers?", "Vodka, it's not just made from Potatoes!", "Irish and American Whiskey, what is it about that (e) anyway?".

Johnnie Walker's newest releases?

The Ron Burgundy Signature Edition "Brown Label".

Tapping into the Zombie Craze, the "Red/Dead Label", arriving just in time for Halloween. 

Lastly, the Star Wars "Dark Side" edition of the classic "Black Label".

Old Whisky Ad #3

Blog FAQs

Blog FAQs. 

This blog will primarily focus on whiskies that use malted barley. That will include, but not be limited to, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Blended Scotch Whisky, and any Pot Still, Single Malt and Blended Whiskies from Ireland, Single Malts and Blends from Japan, Whiskies from North America (the US and Canada), and from around the world. 

Each review will only be made on whiskies where multiple tastings were taken from an individual bottle. No single dram tasting will be given a full review. 

The focus on these reviews will be on whiskeys the average consumer can find and afford. Therefore, expensive specialty releases will rarely if ever be reviewed because it isn't practical or interesting to this reviewer. 

All reviews will include personal images of the bottle being reviewed, and include information on the distillery or blender, specifics such as strength and chill filtering, nosing and tasting notes, and a score based on the industry standard 100 point scale. 

It will not include notes on the color of the whiskies being reviewed! Why? Because too much emphasis has been placed on color, to the point where some in the industry feel the need to add coloring to their offerings to make them look "older" or more "finished". They claim they do this for simple consistency, but I don't agree, and feel the best thing I can do is concentrate on the important stuff, like the smells and flavors of the whiskies, and ignore the trivial details like color. Maybe then the higher ups will quit worrying about chill filtering and carmel coloring, and other things that do more harm than good to what's inside the bottle!

Please drink responsibly!

Why This Blog?

Why am I writing this blog?

Am I some expert, living in Scotland and working around distilleries for years? Nope. I was born and raised in the US. I'm currently living in a mid-western city, less than 25 miles from the hospital where I was born. 

There's a world famous Victorian era beer brewery, and a grain alcohol producer better known for it's proof than it's flavor profile, both less than a 40 minute drive east into downtown from where I live. So I'm a beer and mixed cocktail fan right? No, not really! I never developed a taste for beer, and cocktails usually bore me. I'll admit, a cold margarita on a hot summer's day, or with good mexican food is a big exception! 

Our country's first official "Wine Viticultural Area", is a 30 minute drive south from here, and there are a half a dozen wineries with tasting rooms and spectacular views of vineyards and the river valley to enjoy! So I'm a wine drinker? Yes, I'll admit to that. I drink wine often enough, and I can even say I appreciate the different types of wine and their vast range of flavors, but I'm not passionate about it.

Did I get my interest in Scotch and other whiskies from my family? No. My grandparents were teetotalers, who believed drinking any alcohol was a sin. My dad's favorite uncle was a U.S. Treasury Agent, who was part of the group of feds that took down Capone in Chicago during prohibition. Dad? He was a cocktail drinker. His drink of choice? A dry vodka martini, garnished with two olives. Mom, now in her eighties, a light cocktail and wine drinker. 

Where did my interest in Scotch start? Lets start with my name. My given names are Scott MacKenzie. It would seem my family wanted me to be aware of my family's heritage, and to the fact that much of the roots of our family tree originate in Scotland. Given that heritage, I found myself studying Scotland, it's industries, and it's people. One thing that I noticed beyond the kilts, clans and the castles, was the pride the Scot's took in their whisky industry. The sheer number of distilleries, and the uniqueness of each distillery's product. How it not only varied from region to region, or from distillery to distillery, but from cask to cask! How blending gave even more choices, and yet offered consistency too! How each distillery could have several different and unique products that had their own style and flavor. 

After years of trying beers, cocktails and wines, and not finding anything to get passionate about, I decided to plunk down the money, and try out this whisky the Scot's seemed so proud of! Being new to all of this, I knew just enough to avoid the basic mixer blends, and to get something with age to it. I went to my local grocer and selected the best choice their limited inventory offered, and bought a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 year old blended Scotch! Not a bad place to start. It's was a perfectly approachable blended whisky for someone new to Scotch. Not terribly complex, but it did have interesting flavors, and I kinda liked the burn as it went down. The next time I went to buy a bottle, a went to a specialty store, with a much wider selection, and a knowledgeable staff. I was given a basic understanding of proper tasting. How to nose the whisky, how a little water could open up the flavors, while ice just dulled the smell and tastes. It was suggested that I try a single malt next, and though I can't really remember which was purchased first, I do know my first single malts were a Glenlivet 12 and a Glenfiddich 12. Both good starter malts, and both with their own unique flavor profile that I found fascinating! This was a spirit worthy of further exploration! This Scotch whisky was worthy of interest, possibly even research. I hadn't even heard of different cask finishes or the wonders of peat yet! The exploration was just beginning........

Please drink responsibly!