On my channel i will be reviewing everything whisky and sharing stories and videos on some of my favourites and some new bottles that come to our collections.
Whisky is a passion for me and i hope to share the passion i have to help with your whisky journey.
So sit back relax and grab a dram and ‘’let’s talk whisky’’
Nice review, I would really like to try this as I love this type of Sherry along with a good Amontillado. I was at Arran last week and tasted a Palo Cortado from the old days and it was just great. So this Tomatin is one I am unlikely to find but sounds great.
Nice follow up to the livestream with Scott and the review you had of the Manzanilla. I bet it may be difficult picking a fave between these two and the 17yr PX that is coming! Cheers :)
I really love to see Scott, when he was hosting Aqvavitae he talked in such enthousiastic way about the 5 decades, i had to buy that bottle and love it still
Excellent review, Kevin. Not sure, I'm gonna look in the direction of this Tomatin, though, as I'm not a huge fan of these sherry finishes that seem to be so common these days. But maybe that's just me (or Frank @peathead 😂)? Cheers buddy, looking forward to the next review 🥃
Great video was looking forward to this, glad to have watched this on catch up. Tomatin is my number one distillery which started for me by going to Whiskyfringe 8years ago due to their friendly knowledge staff. Gutted I had to sell my ticket this year for Whiskyfringe due to having surgery, so missed my annual Tomatin HT dram, but will be at the front of the line if their going to be at GWF in November as im keen to try their new sherry collection.
Excellent Live Stream Kevin. One of my big take aways was the Tomatin community atmosphere where the team actually lives onsite and this whisky seems to be much more than just a "9-5" job for them. Also learned interesting details about Manzanilla and was shocked by the light color. Will admit that the Bunna 11yr Manzanilla has been a challenge for me as it comes across as salty prune juice, but makes me want to go buy a bottle of that sherry as Scott did for comparisons. Thanks so much guys for an enjoyable experience 🙏
@@drewfromaz7740 thanks to much drew for the kind words. And I totally agree the distillery is more than just a place of work, there’s so much love and passion in for everyone who works there and you can feel it when you walk into the distillery or do the tour. I’ll be sure to send some samples back with Tom for you to try 😁
Thanks for yet another great review, Kevin. I'm not really on the lookout for this one myself, as I prefer less (read: none at all) grape influence in my whisky. Slàinte mhath
I don't get the same (nasty) "grape rash" that you seem to get, Frank 😉 But I most certainly understand, where you come from... and more so as time passes. Maybe I'll even develop the rash over the years 🤔
Looking sharp there buddy 👍. Definitely like the saltier drams (though the bottle tasting notes may emphasize the salty more than may be initially evident?) and have a Bunna 11yr that was a Manzanilla release that had those notes as well. Cheers!
Nice video. I found your tasting notes interesting and pretty much confirms the thinking behind these types of single malts. Fino (made inland with the Sherry Triangle) and Manzanilla (a type of Fino made by the coast) are dry, very dry, sour yellow fruity sherries. They are loved by the Spanish but they aren't to our palettes, too used to sugary everything. That's why the Whisky Industry has always preferred to use Oloroso and PX casks and ignore Fino casks. Now, with the art of Finishing well developed, we can take whisky, matured in sweet vanilla American Oak for a number of years and re-rack it, finishing it in a Fino or Manzanilla cask for 2-4 years. (In my opinion, a proper finish should be for a minimum of 4 years. Two years is simply a thin coating). What results is a lovely sweet creme brulee milky fudge foundation with complex layers of (as you say) marmalade - a sweet and sour fruit preserve taste with dryer oak spices coming through. These type casks are particularly fascinating to me, a Rabbi specialising in Kosher Whisky, as almost all kosher sherry produced today is of the Fino type, produced by Tío Pepe bodega in southern Spain and brought through to Gibraltar where it makes its way to kosher markets in the UK and North America. It's mainly used for cocktails. Recently, there have been moves to supply these kosher Fino casks to distilleries in Scotland and under supervision, use them to finish whisky for a number of years to produce something different for the kosher market around the world, besides the run of the mill "vanilla" (pun intended) Ex-Bourbon barrel matured kosher single malts.
@@RebMordechaiReviews thanks for this comment it really gets into the nitty gritty of sherry, and I think my only other fino dram I’ve had was a Kilchoman. It’s a finish I don’t really see myself reaching for, maybe that’s due to me not having enough knowledge or understanding of the sherry industry. The notes on this Manzanilla were great and I think it will open up to give even more tasting notes and a different style again. It would be great for the Kosher side of sherry and whisky to speak to each other and help in a market to suit certain whisky drinkers. I’m looking forward to Monday night when I’ll have Scott Adamson on the channel speaking about the new range and I’ll be able to ask some questions and maybe see why they only chose a short finishing time too in this cask. If you have any questions for him let me know and I can ask on Monday or pop in on the live, 7pm Uk time. Thanks again for the continued support and I always feel when you comment I’m learning something new and I really appreciate that. Have a great weekend and hope you can have a dram or two Slainte, Kev
@Letstalkwhisky Dear Kev. I would have loved to have joined you for Monday evening. However, starting Monday from sundown and going on throughout Tuesday is the natural Jewish public fast of Tisha BeAv, (the fast of the 9th of Av), where all observant Jews do not eat or drink and gather together to commemorate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the eventual destruction by the Romans of national sovereignty in the land of Israel, 2,000 years ago. This year, it is all the more poignant as we are once again fighting for our lives in the land of Israel, and facing a massive rise of antisemitism around the world. Let's pray for better times...
Thanks for reviewing Kevin, Have tried several Fettercairns, some core range and some independent bottlings. I definately enjoyed the IB's more, so little chance that the next Fettercairn I'll purchase will be a core range... Slàinte mhath
Thanks Kev. This one looks like an age statement single malt that might appeal to someone just getting into whisky. BTW, The glass swirl at the end looks great.
Thanks for reviewing, Kevin. Biased or not - I didn't expect you to exactly love this one 😉 I haven't tried it myself, but at even at a lower price I most certainly won't buy it, there are so many better (presentation-wise) 10-12 yo options out there to look for instead. Cheers, looking forward to your next review 🥃
Congrats on the 200th review mate gutted I couldn't watch live had both hands full with the twins and not whisky haha! Watched and caught up now though and now buying some tickets 😂
Another good one Kev, managed to get a bottle from Royal Mile, I look forward to sharing it. Think it will be one of those special ones people reminisce about, amazing value, how do they do it for £33.
Nice review Kevin. Glad you gave it the thumbs up. Agree it’s great value and a combination of two malts I am very fond of. I don’t often get two bottles of anything but glad I did on this one. Cheers.
Really interesting stuff Kevin. When Invergordon were taken over by Whyte and Mackay there was a lot of turmoil. I wonder if somebody else needed the casks this Bruichladdich was in, hence for four years of its life this precious liquid was in some sort of inert container and not maturing. Which would explain the missing years. The containers likely would be 3or 4 IBC’s and you wonder what that would do to the whisky. The fact that this was left like this tells us a lot about the industry in the 90’s and W&M in particular!
Wow, nice bottle, Kev! I'd love to have an "older" (20 years+) Bruichladdich bottle in my collection, and I've been looking for indie bottlings in particular, but oh my... they are few and far between, and the few available ones come at a premium. Thanks for reviewing, cheers! 🥃
A very relevant comparison today in 2024 because not only is Springbank 10 largely unavailable, it's also absurdly overpriced at $90, but I've seen it sell out at $170; so $40 Benromach 10 it is 🏆
My last bottle of SB 10 was waaaay better after about 3 months. It started out wonderful but just kept getting better and better. I am about to open another to try but i will take my time with it. As far as availability it isn’t on the shelf that often but I find it out of sheer persistence. I check store apps, IG posts, visit the stores regularly etc. It is out there if you make it a priority and take the time. Thanks for the review! Cheers!
Absolutely gutted we did not pick this up Kevin when we were at the festival. But it’s that old quiche you can’t purchase everything! Callum and I rocked up 2 Watt HQ to be greeted by Katie W and Julie H but it was to early to legally by alcohol and this was on the shelf alongside DD it’s definitely not Glen Scotia before heading to SB. Another great review keep up the outstanding work
Great uncorking of an interesting bottle buddy. I got one all paid for just waiting to get my little hands on it. Made me even more excited for it! Cheers!
