Watching a tense conclusion to the snooker with the last dram of a lovely peated Glenturret from Thompson Brothers

Polishing off this first release from The Cairn. Not spectacular, but for three year old whisky it’s good stuff and shows great signs for the future

Fresh bottle Friday to celebrate the start of a bank holiday weekend, brought to you by an absolutely beautiful 2023 bottling of Springbank 10

They could be here all night 😂

This week’s auction purchase delivered for a good amount less than the new 43% version. Sadly owners Inver House/ThaiBev seem determined to send anCnoc and Speyburn in the wrong direction.

Despite drinking whisky for many years, this is my first ever bottle of Classic Laddie. Bravo on the return of the age statement!

Time to chill out and watch the final round of The Masters 🏌️‍♂️ Sad to see the end of one of my favourite bottles. For £40 I wish I had bought a case or two.

Line-up for a blind tasting I did last week with an Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman and Frenchman. The Kilkerran won by 1 point, with Glenturret 2nd, Glen Elgin 3rd, Aber Falls 4th and The Cairn 5th. The Scotsman actually picked the Welsh whisky as his favourite 😃

Bit of a bargain here. Reduced to £39, but goes to £29 when you add to basket and it’s free delivery in UK 😳 www.lochlomondwhiskies.com/products/aig...

Earnt a dram or two this evening 🙂

I have tried this before, but it’s my first bottle. Delicious whisky.

Bruichladdich old and old skool. Not expecting the 1980’s 10yo at 40% to stand up to the latest bottling at 50%, but I will do a side by side soon.

Treated myself to a couple of new bottles. Deciding which one to open this evening, but I suspect the answer will be both 😂

Not my favourite Glencadam and has taken me more than 2 years to get through. It’s a bit winey for me.

My ex-bourbon cask whisky shelf is getting incredibly sparse now and I’m reaching for little else these days. Cask heavy sherry bombs and the like are a nice change from time to time, but they aren’t my preference now. This Hazelburn is just lovely whisky.

Thanks to @maltmusings.bsky.social for this sample of Bains 10yo Shiraz cask. Nose is a bit too acetone and magic markers for me, but the palate is bursting with red fruits followed by chocolate and coffee notes that I am enjoying.

Thanks very much Steve. Enjoyed the drams, but would love to try them at 46% non-chill filtered. Hope The Cairn releases are at that higher strength when the core range is ready. The 3yo First Peek at 57% is rather good and bodes well for the future #TheCairnDistillery @thewhiskywire.bsky.social

30yo - Palate : It tastes old. Old cupboards and library books, with coconut, toffee pennies, oak, peppery spice, apple and milk chocolate. Very enjoyable, but not as good as the nose was. #TheCairnDistillery

30yo - Nose : The curry spices I got on the nose of the 18 are back! Earthy dunnage notes, sour plums, apple strudel and custard, polished oak. Very refined. Just need a leather wingback chair and a log fire! #TheCairnDistillery

25yo - Palate : Another spicy one, but less so than the 18. Lots of toffee and vanilla notes, with darker chocolate, dark fruits, coconut and apple. A little of the acetone from the nose. Drying oak, chocolate and cream in the finish #TheCairnDistillery

25yo - Nose : Although I know this is 100% malt whisky, I would have guessed blind this was a grain whisky. Very sweet vanilla, acetone, black marker pen, bounty bars and dried fruits from the sherry casks #TheCairnDistillery

18yo - Palate : Rather spicy and oaky. The spice never leaves, but does reduce after a few seconds. Dried fruits, dark chocolate, old cupboards, ginger. Very drying. #TheCairnDistillery

18yo - Nose : This is interesting, Im getting a lot of curry type spices on the nose - garam masala. Also polished mahogany, apple skins, strawberry toffo, black tea. #TheCairnDistillery

12yo - Palate : A little thin on the mouthfeel. More of the same with the oak and dried fruits. The oak is rather drying. Apples, liquorice, ginger spice and dark chocolate. Becomes creamier as it develops, but the drying, bitter oak remains #TheCairnDistillery

12yo - Nose : A little musty, with lots of oak, leather and rich dark dried fruits. Apple peel and juice, dark chocolate, chocolate limes, prunes and vanilla #TheCairnDistillery

Poured and raring to go for tonight’s #TheCairnDistillery tasting. Might have to pour a drop of their 3 year old release afterwards @thewhiskywire.bsky.social

I knew it was coming, but first time I have seen the Speyburn 18 available at 40%. Seems to be around the same price as it was at 46% too. Good luck to them selling that!

I don’t tend to get through any bottle that quickly, but this one has only lasted about 6 or 7 weeks. Found it hard to reach past.

Unexpected little set arrived from Gordon & MacPhail today. As I wasn’t selected for the next tweet tasting I can only assume its because I bought The Cairn release 🤷🏼‍♂️

Peat Chimney - Palate : Very earthy like dry slate, with sweet and sour lemon, more of those barbecued meats and salty mackerel, with coal tar, soot and liquorice #WemyssMalts

Peat Chimney - Nose : Big highland toffee up front, with lemon, farmyard aromas, TCP, barbecued meats, aniseed and mint imperials #WemyssMalts

Intrepid Mariner 20yo - Palate : Lots of lemons with a balance between sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Some oak and creamy vanilla as it develops, but its all about the lemons for me #WemyssMalts

Intrepid Mariner 20yo - Nose : Could be power of suggestion again but it does smell salty - Fish and chips. Salted caramel, zesty lemon and ginger ale. Quite earthy and grassy. #WemyssMalts

Velvet Fig - Palate : Very juicy almost like whisky Ribena. Apple and blackcurrant, vanilla, milk chocolate and anise. After a short while the bounty bars come through and the chocolate gets darker into a creamy finish #WemyssMalts

Velvet fig - Nose : You call it Velvet Fig then Im naturally going to smell figs 😂 Toffee and apple pie with custard, polished mahogony, milk chocolate and pine resin #WemyssMalts

A Quarter Past -Palate : Creamy again with lots of vanilla. It’s a little aggressive and spicy on the palate and may benefit from a drop of water. Toffee apples and caramel custard with oak and liquorice. It’s one of those nights when I’m not sure if my palate is firing on all cylinders #WemyssMalts

A Quarter Past - Nose - Very creamy and toffee’d with a touch of wood polish and turps. Not in a bad way, but getting a little whiff of cleaning my paint brushes. Then there’s strawberry jolly ranchers and balsamic, with dried fruits and vanilla. Nice nose. #WemyssMalts

Poured ready for tonight’s #WemyssMalts tasting 😃

First bottle of the 100 proof I’ve had. I was a little worried it might be a bit too jaggy compared to their older releases, but it’s great even without dillution. It is youthful and spirity, but the pure Springbank spirit is tremendous. Should never have doubted it.

Time for a ‘First Peek’

Deanston 12 is always a solid pour. Not had a bottle for a few years and still comfortably prefer the 18, but this will do nicely.

Such a shame to see Glencadam go so generic on their new branding. Loved the character and charm of the old one. Hopefully the liquid remains just as good.

The Cairn - the official story is that the 3 year old release was made because they tasted it at 3 y.o and felt it was worth a sneak peak of 1,000 bottles. However their first official release of core range will still be at 12 years old.

This is a lovely lime citrus and tropical IPA #BSkyBeer

I said maaayyybeee…I might have another after this 😃 #BSkyBeer

Sometimes you just have to spoil yourself on a Wednesday evening

The Cairn distillery, owned by Gordon & MacPhail, have put out a first release at 3 years old called First Peak. At 57% abv and an asking price of £50 it seems very fair. I had read they were waiting until it was 12 years old before they released anything 🤷🏼‍♂️ www.thecairndistillery.com/whisky/singl...

Opening a fresh bottle of late 90’s Ardmore when they still used direct fired stills 🔥 It may be only 43%, but these 90’s vintages are very good.

Very enjoyable IPA for a couple of quid a can from Aldi #BSkyBeer

One of my favourites becomes the first bottle kill of 2026