The Macallan and Highland Park, but also the well-known blends The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark, in which much of The Glenrothes’ production ultimately ends up.  Fortunately Glenrothes has moved more and more in recent years towards single malt bottlings, and today we are tasting the 1995 vintage.
One way in which Glenrothes distinguishes itself from other Speyside brands is by bottling its whiskies in vintages rather than using age statements.  Hence in your local whisky shop you might find The Glenrothes 1998, 1988, 1994, etc. as well as the vatted malt …

Isle of Jura distillery, resurrected from the stones of a decrepit 19th century distillery in the 1960s, now produces a range of whisky from the lightly peated Superstition to the heavily peated Prophecy.  Called “Diurach’s Own 16,” Jura’s 16 year old offering is not peated like its siblings, and is usually considered a lightweight offerings from Jura, who describe it as follows:
Nurtured for sixteen long years, this is the whisky of choice for the people of Jura. It’s a subtle malt – unassuming, understated yet intriguing. Qualities often attributed to the Diurachs …

Glen Garioch distillery, sitting on the eastern end of the Scottish Highlands, is in isolation from other distilleries.  About 20 miles south-east of the Glen Dronach distillery, Glen Garioch sits in one of the finest barely-producing regions in the world.  Currently in the Morrison Bowmore portfolio (and hence under the Suntory umbrella), Glen Garioch has had a storied history starting over 200 years ago, including several years with no production in the late 1960′s due to water shortages, and a transition from lightly-peated to non-peated whisky in the late 1990′s.  With …

If you are looking to explore sherry-finished scotch whisky, and you have done some research looking for value, typicite, and renown, you will very likely end up at a cashier with a bottle of Glenfarclas 15 in your hands. This bottle is a darling of beverage critics, most likely due to its purity of expression and complexity. This is a dram for cold winter nights next to the fire. It features, deep dark colour and texture from the sherry wood finish. This dram is also remembered by many for the …

The Dalmore is not shy about Sherry, and we have waxed poetic on these pages about the pure orange citrus notes of Dalmore 12 and the savoury decadence of Dalmore Mackenzie. Bottled at 43%, and with a suggested retail of $150, the relatively new bottling of Dalmore 18 slots in nicely among the other offerings in their range. Which is to say, it feels like a product created from a desire to fill out slots in the range and not borne of a desire to exhibit a unique expression of …

Last fall Chivas Brothers (owned by Pernod Ricard) gave The Aspiring Gentleman and other whisky media a rare opportunity to deconstruct one of their prized blended whiskies, Chivas Regal 18 year.  While we thoroughly enjoyed the tasting and process as it originally unfolded, we are guilty of letting portions of the samples linger on the shelf until recently, when we broke out the four components of Chivas 18 once more.  Without further ado, this is how we felt about Grain 18, Longmorn 18, Strathisla 18, and Islay 18, which (although …