Whisky Ramblings on YouTube

This North British 1991 single grain matured on a Californian sherry cask for 14 years before being bottled by Andrew Symington of Signatory. I shot the video in the Medieval town of Laval in France. The video can be found here: youtu.be/-GZWWoheCG0.

Whiskey is not the first thing that comes to mind when seeing XXX on the label, but there you have it. A white dog from Philadelphia, triple distilled in copper pot stills. I found out, however, that it serves best as a mixer. Check out my XXX Sunshine! Shot in the medieval village of Saint Suzanne in France, the video can be found here: youtu.be/h5tWTY9FlJI. Rambling 60 already!

Bottom shelf stuff... You can find this type of Scotch in every supermarket, literally on the bottom shelf. Does that mean it is bad whisky? Find out in this little video that I shot from my holiday home in France: youtu.be/0WERVsxQvZE.

Offer to pour a Johnnie Walker to some malt aficionado whisky friends and you are likely to get a raised eyebrow as a response. But not if you pour this one: the Johnnie Walker Swing. What an amazing creation and what a beautiful bottle. The video can be found here: youtu.be/dgR5-QdW6-E.

There is not a lot of info to be found about this old bottle of Harvey Mackay’s Blended Scotch Whisky. All I know is that it was bottled in the 1970s. A light, innocent blend, typical of that era’s palate. But quite nice in its own right, as I discovered at the foot of the castle in Lassay Les Chateaux. The video can be found here: youtu.be/kXfm_FRrZ78.

On the Isle of Jura, on the west coast of Scotland, boasts only one distillery with a rather obvious name: the Isle of Jura distillery. The locals, called Diuriachs, are vast outnumbered by the deer that roam the island. The distillery produces around 2 million litres of spirit per annum. I will try their 16 Year Old single malt, available in duty free shops around the world. The video can be found here: youtu.be/cBlLY0AUda8.

The Creative Whisky Company from David Stirk has three ranges: Exclusive Malts, Exclusive Casks and Exclusive Range. I just tried a fruity BenRiach 1997 is the Exclusive Range, bottled at 45% ABV. The video can be found here: youtu.be/Ll4Nn3uCvi0.

Auchentoshan Select was one the Lowland distillery’s NAS expressions. Bottled for the first time in the early 90s, it moved to the duty free range in 2008, but is no longer being produced as of 2012. It has been replaced with the Springwood & Heartwood. But I will try an old bottling, from 1994, for the Italian market. This is still a very nice, albeit undemanding, summer dram. The video can be found here: youtu.be/iywFMJMiwGA.

I recently enjoyed the new Auchentoshan 14 Year Old by Cadenheads, one of the oldest and still independently owned bottlers. Mark Watt joined the company at its HQ in Campbeltown and launched the new dumpy series with that wonderful retro look. The video can be found here: youtu.be/bxq0XYUm3rw. Enjoy!

Virgin Oak is in! After the successful release of the Glen Garioch Virgin Oak, now comes a similar release from Auchentoshan. It is a fruity and spicy one to say the least. I am always happy when I can try a new release from my favourite Lowland distillery. The video can be found here: youtu.be/JcJEuq9QxeI.

The much hyped and hence hard to find whisky, the Bowmore 10 Year Old The Devil’s Casks, fetches prices at auctions that are quite ridiculous. Much ado about nothing or truly a magical whisky? You can find my thoughts in this Whisky Rambling here: youtu.be/XXXHQ9tAqiA.

Jan Vissers is the proud ambassador for Arran whisky in Belgium. For his 35th birthday, he bottled a single cask of the darkest Arran I have tried so far. And guess what: it is even the best Arran, this 16 Year Old from 1996. The video can be found here: youtu.be/w4UOuKvLZuI.

As you are probably aware, I am also a bit of a Star Wars fan and I recently came back from a project in Tunisia in which my team restored the Lars Homestead, the iconic movie set location from Star Wars. To celebrate, we bottled a Save Lars Whisky, a 20 Year Old Laddie. But all good things come in three. The second release of the Save Lars Whisky is a single cask of Auchentoshan 24 Year Old 1989. Knowing that I am in fact the Toshan Man, you can imagine this release has special significance for me. You can find the video here: youtu.be/QmRkxwKKdWg.

Who remembers the dreadful Loch Dhu 10 Year Old? After being withdrawn from the market years ago, the Danish company Mac Y comes up with a new black whisky: Cu Dhub, Gaelic for black dogs. Not from Mannochmore, but from the Speyside Distillery this time. Wonder if it is any better? The video can be found here: youtu.be/BGwj2tLCaA8.

Caol Ila is one of my favourite distilleries on Islay. When I was on ski-holiday last winter, I took along a bottle of the Caol Ila Natural Cask Strength. It is about time I shared that video with you, for it is a fantastic dram! The video can be found here: youtu.be/Sy5kMZJ8h7A.

The supporters of my local football club AA Gent are called Buffalo's. And they have their very own whisky, aptly named Smoking Buffalo. This 5th edition is something special though, being a Speyside single malt from an undisclosed distillery, finished on an Islay cask, thus living up to the name. Quite extraordinary! The video can be found here: youtu.be/HUVaNwziIn8.

Port Charlotte is not a distillery – at least not anymore and not yet (got it ?), but the whisky does exist and is produced at the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay. The first Port Charlotte release was the PC5, an aptly named 5 Year Old. A gentle giant from Islay. The video can be found here: youtu.be/AzOyeLdesjw.

It may not be a whisky, but the Botanist Islay Dry Gin clearly has a link with the whisky industry, being distilled at the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay. And when you say gin, you say gin & tonic, right? The video can be found here: youtu.be/vPgbZS7NdDk.

I recently enjoyed a special bottling for the Belgian whisky club The Finest Notes. For their 10th Anniversary, they selected a Glen Keith 1995 single cask, that matured for no less than 18 years. Truly a great cask selection. The video can be found here: youtu.be/IR88cD3CGDQ.

Two Auchentoshan from the Douglas Laing stables going head-to-head. In the left corner: the Auchentoshan 12 Year Old 2001 Provenance spring distillation; in the right corner: the Auchentoshan 15 Year Old 1997 Old Particular. Let the match begin! The video can be found here: youtu.be/ge-YdjS1XHI.

Great stuff, Mark! I really enjoy hearing about these obscure scotches (even though we folks here in the USA can't buy even half of them). "The scotch is strong with this one. . . ." (Darth Distiller)

Visiting my favourite distillery is always a pleasure. In February 2014 I got the opportunity to fill another beauty in Auchentoshan’s Bottle Your Own programme, in which they offer a choice of two excellent casks. I got a bottle of both, but wanted to share my experience with the Auchentoshan 17 Year Old 1996 Bourbon Cask 11030 at a strength of 56,0% ABV. A cracker! The video can be found here: youtu.be/prYeNA4EiJI.

Two and a half years ago, Auchentoshan launched a 1975, a 35 Year Old at the time. Only 500 bottles were released and it was simply a stunning malt. Now, they have released a second batch of 500 bottles, but it is a 38 Year Old at this point and even better. This is an elegant and very fruity Auchentoshan that brings a smile to the Toshan Man’s face. The video can be found here: youtu.be/oR2XOZBEt4k.

Spring is almost upon us, so time for something other than whisky. And why not another gin? The Citadelle Réserve is a French brand, produced by Cognac-Ferrand, named after an 18th Century distillery in Dunkirk. Today it is produced in the same way as in 1775. It is very popular in Spain. It contains no less than 19 botanicals, including violets (floral), iris, coriander and grains of paradise, orange peel – they are all mentioned on the bottle. The botanicals are added only in the fourth distillation. It is distilled in small 200 liter copper pot stills, stoked by an open flame and then matured for 6 months in oak casks. Quite exciting! The video can be found here: youtu.be/KbSfqODLCUY.

Jameson Irish Whiskey is one of the bestselling brands in the world in this category. While the distillery in Bow Street in Dublin is now a museum and visitor attraction, with the production moved to the Midleton Distillery in southern Ireland, this Jameson Distillery Reserve is only available at the Jameson Experience at the Middleton Distillery. Worth your while, you think? The video can be found here: youtu.be/pZDNBGMKwcg. (sorry for the poor quality)

Redbreast is among many people’s favourite whiskeys from Ireland. The range consists of a 12 Year Old, a 15 Year Old and was recently expanded with a 21 Year Old. A few years back, though, they added a 12 Year Old at cask strength, a whopping 57,7% ABV. That is the one I tried. The video can be found here: youtu.be/Mefold-Lu8k.

The Glenrothes distillery is one of five in the village of Rothes in the heart of Speyside. The first distillate ran from the stills on the same day as the Tay Bridge disaster in 1879. Most of their whisky matures in European oak and they bottle their whisky not with an age statement, but with a vintage. Why not try one of those beautiful vintages, say the 1978? And what a dram it turned out to be! The video can be found here: youtu.be/WnhCb6X7AdA.

The Glenglassaugh Distillery has been closed more than it has been open, but since the reopening in 2008, a lot has happened. After the release of the Revival and the Evolution, the distillery was bought by Billy Walker (of BenRiach and GlenDronach fame) and they have just released their third young whisky. This time, it is a richly peated version of the highlander: the Glenglassaugh Torfa. The video was shot at the Star Wars set of Mos Espa, just outside of Nefta in Tunisia. The video can be found here: youtu.be/TJhL4TmWRSA.

Independent bottlers have an important role to play in the whisky world. So much so that they have their own festival in Belgium. It goes without saying that I brought them a visit and made a little impression. The video can be found here: youtu.be/Pa6yCHgvNPc.

Hi Mark, In my opinion your whisky ramblings are amongst the best vlogs on youtube. Star Wars and Whisky in one vlog... very very entertaining! Keep up the good work! Greetings from Limburg