There are certain whiskies which have such distinct profiles, they are instantly recognizable.  Forty Creek’s Barrel Select is one such whisky.  Find a whisky which has a clearer nose of peanut brittle, and I’ll buy you a dram of it.  Forty Creek, the range of whiskies made by John Hall (owner of Kittling Ridge Wines and Spirits), are some of the few independent Canadian whiskies remaining.  Resulting from Hall’s experiments with a forgotten still found on the Kittling Ridge vineyard upon his purchase of it in 1992, Forty Creek whiskies …

While the recent history of Four Roses distillery has been rocky, with several buyouts resulting in ultimate ownership by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japan, the company’s founding tells a more romantic tale.  While there are several stories floating around about the origin of the company’s name, the most consistent is that it derives from company founder Rufus Mathewson Rose, his brother Origen, and their two sons, making four Roses in total.
Four Roses takes a unique approach to whisky production; specifically, they use a combination of five proprietary yeasts and …

The BenRiach website welcomes newcomers with the words “for discerning individuals.” After my first experience with their whisky at A Dram Come True I’d have to say they are definitely delivering on this promise. BenRiach, which means Hill of the Red Deer, was created in 1892 in Glenbervie, Speyside, right next to the Longmorn Distillery. It closed eight years later, only to reopen in 1965 and begin a carousel of different owners, including Glenlivet, Seagrams and Chivas Brothers, then finally Billy Walker with 2 South African investors. These private owners …

Wambrechies whisky is made by Claeyssens, the French jenever distillery situated in Wambrechies, France. Jenever is the traditional, strongly alcoholic liquor of the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France which is juniper-flavored and from which gin evolved.  Can a gin distillery make a good single malt whisky? Well, that’s a matter of taste.
Claeyssens originated in 1817 after the creator Guillaume (or Gaillium depending on the source) Claeyssens fled Belgium to Lille, France during the French Revolution in 1789. There he bought an old watermill on the River Deule and converted it to …

I often feel a little cowardly when browsing the scotch section at the local liquor store, and quickly shuffle past the Islay section. Everything about whisky from Islay can seem daunting. The billows of smoke, the oil slick iodine, the gold plated price tags. Getting into Islay feels like getting into an exclusive club, where there is a splash of hazing prior to full membership. One Islay which delivers the full peated experience, but at a slightly gentler flavour and price point is Laphroaig’s Quarter Cask. Battled at 96 proof …

The Dalmore distillery, founded in 1839 in a secluded area west of Invergordon just across the Cromarty Firth from Balblair, is know under the ownership of Whyte and Mackay.  Owned by the Mackenzies for a century, the bottle still bears a stag’s head — a key element of the family’s coat of arms.  Dalmore is known for their use of sherry casks; as such, whisky connoisseurs who enjoy The Macallan 12 Year or  Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year are sure to appreciate the rich flavours from the Dalmore’s offerings.
The official …