🔖 Whisky

Tasting notes on Scotch, bourbon, and Japanese whisky — primers, sherry and peat cask comparisons, and honest impressions of bottles worth revisiting.

[Bourbon] Knob Creek vs Russell's Single Barrel

When I drank Knob Creek 9 Year on its own, the peanut finish was the thing that stayed with me. Put it next to Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, though, and the texture gap shows up fi...

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[Bourbon] Knob Creek vs Russell's Single Barrel

[Highland] Glenmorangie Infinita 18 First Pour Review

Picked up Glenmorangie The Infinita 18 Years from Wooseong Green Mart, a well-known whisky shop in Seoul. After falling for the 16-year Nectar from the same distillery, I wanted to se...

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[Highland] Glenmorangie Infinita 18 First Pour Review

[Sherry] Macallan 12 vs GlenDronach 12 - Side by Side

Two months into both bottles, my Macallan 12 Sherry Oak and GlenDronach 12 Original (old bottling) were sitting next to each other on the shelf, so I pulled out two glasses and ran th...

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[Sherry] Macallan 12 vs GlenDronach 12 - Side by Side

[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 100 Proof Month One

Opened this bottle a month ago and it’s almost gone. Kept the last couple of pours for tasting notes, but the rest disappeared over four weeks. That probably says more than a neat sco...

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[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 100 Proof Month One

[Blended] Dewar's 18 Year Mizunara Cask Finish Review

Picked this one up on curiosity. Dewar’s 18 Year Mizunara Cask Finish - an Asian market limited edition. Dewar’s Double Double 21 had been on heavy rotation for me, so expectations we...

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[Blended] Dewar's 18 Year Mizunara Cask Finish Review

Sherry Cask Whisky: the Common Tasting Notes

Drink enough sherry cask whisky and the patterns start to show. Different distilleries, different ages, different ABVs - and yet there’s a shared skeleton that hits the second you put...

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Sherry Cask Whisky: the Common Tasting Notes

[Islay] Ileach Cask Strength Review (Highly Recommended)

Scoring a 58% cask strength Islay peated whisky in the mid-$50 range is a genuine stroke of luck. This is the bottle Jim Murray famously handed a 97 in his Whisky Bible - Ileach Cask ...

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[Islay] Ileach Cask Strength Review (Highly Recommended)

[Cognac] Camus VSOP Tasting Notes

Bright fruit rises off the glass before you’ve even poured - nothing about it reads like single malt.

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[Cognac] Camus VSOP Tasting Notes

Brandy and Cognac - Grades and Differences Explained

Coming from whisky, opening a bottle of Camus VSOP threw me a little. The nose was sweet and soft, but the grain note I usually expect from whisky was basically gone. That sent me dow...

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Brandy and Cognac - Grades and Differences Explained

[Blended Malt] Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Review

Picked this up in a holiday decanter set for around $50. I got into whisky through Johnnie Walker Black a long time ago, and Black left a bad impression that had me hesitating on this...

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[Blended Malt] Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Review

[Irish] Bushmills 12 Year Review

Bushmills 12 is the only Irish whiskey I own. I stick to Scotch mostly, so I rarely reach for Irish, but I found this one on sale around $50 and picked it up out of curiosity. The nos...

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[Irish] Bushmills 12 Year Review

[Peated] Ardbeg Uigeadail Review

Uigeadail is the Ardbeg I reach for most often. The 10 is great, but Uigeadail is a different animal. Sherry’s in there, and that makes it darker and stickier.

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[Peated] Ardbeg Uigeadail Review

[Sherry & Peat] Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Finish Review

What people remember about Laphroaig is that distinctive hospital smell. Medicine, iodine, disinfectant. People are either in or out - the fans drink Laphroaig specifically because of...

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[Sherry & Peat] Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Finish Review

[Sherry] GlenAllachie 15 Year Review - 1 Month After Opening

It’s been about a month since my first review of GlenAllachie 15. It was already good on day one. A month in, it’s basically a different whisky. The alcohol burn gave way and sherry p...

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[Sherry] GlenAllachie 15 Year Review - 1 Month After Opening

[Bourbon] Angel's Envy Port Cask Finish Review

Since it started getting official distribution in Korea, this bottle shows up more often now. Angel’s Envy Port Cask Finish. The concept - a bourbon getting a ruby port wine cask fini...

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[Bourbon] Angel's Envy Port Cask Finish Review

[Bourbon] Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Review (Value Pick)

One of the most recommended entry-level bourbons. Wild Turkey 101. The version distributed in Korea carries an 8-year age statement, while the US domestic version dropped the age stat...

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[Bourbon] Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Review (Value Pick)

[Sherry] Royal Brackla 12 Years Review

Tasty whisky - but there’s a sulphur problem. Dark chocolate, brown sugar, cherry - the sherry finish pulls a wide flavor arc, and at 46% non-chill-filtered the texture holds up. Sulp...

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[Sherry] Royal Brackla 12 Years Review

[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Review

Made shrimp gambas with toasted baguette and pulled out the Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. The combination works better than you’d think. Comes in a 500ml bottle, which makes it easy to ope...

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[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Review

[Speyside] BenRiach 12 Years The Twelve Review

BenRiach 12 The Twelve runs three casks - sherry, bourbon, port - in parallel, and the three streams actually pull together instead of fighting each other. At this price that combinat...

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[Speyside] BenRiach 12 Years The Twelve Review

[Bourbon] Buffalo Trace Review (Entry-Level Classic)

Pulled out Buffalo Trace for a casual pour at home. People call it one of the big three entry-level bourbons. What’s more interesting than the nickname is what else comes out of the s...

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[Bourbon] Buffalo Trace Review (Entry-Level Classic)

[Tennessee] Charcoal Mellowing - Lincoln County Process

Short write-up on charcoal mellowing. Corrections welcome.

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[Tennessee] Charcoal Mellowing - Lincoln County Process

[Bourbon] Woodford Reserve Review

A friend brought this one over for a housewarming. Knew I liked whisky, picked it out on his own - Woodford Reserve. 750ml, 43.2% ABV. That proof is the first odd thing. Not 40, not 4...

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[Bourbon] Woodford Reserve Review

[Sherry CS] Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 82 Review

A’bunadh is supposed to taste different batch to batch because the cask makeup shifts each time. I’d done Batch 84 already. This time I ordered a dram of Batch 82 at a bar in Jamsil. ...

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[Sherry CS] Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 82 Review

[Bourbon] Knob Creek 9 Year Review (Peanut-Nose)

At some point in a bourbon drinker’s journey, the thought “something better than Jim Beam White” shows up. Knob Creek is the usual answer. Same distillery as Jim Beam - but hard to be...

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[Bourbon] Knob Creek 9 Year Review (Peanut-Nose)

[Speyside] Glen Grant 15 Years Batch Strength Review

Glen Grant has quietly been Italy’s top-selling single malt for decades. Founded in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside. The distillery runs tall, slender stills with purifiers fitted on them, w...

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[Speyside] Glen Grant 15 Years Batch Strength Review

Bourbon Whiskey: a Practical Guide

I came to bourbon out of curiosity after years of Scotch. “What’s a corn-based whisky actually like?” One sip in, the sweetness was on a completely different register. Nothing like th...

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Bourbon Whiskey: a Practical Guide

[Bourbon] Wild Turkey 12 Year Review (Not Just a 101)

Wild Turkey 101 is a standard stop on the bourbon tour. Fewer people know there’s a 12-year version of the same 101 proof. Wild Turkey 12 Year started out as an Asia-market exclusive,...

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[Bourbon] Wild Turkey 12 Year Review (Not Just a 101)

[Bourbon] Wild Turkey Rare Breed Review (Value Pick)

Wild Turkey 101 is a household name as a bourbon entry point. Rare Breed, from the same distillery, gets surprisingly less attention. I talked a lot about the Wild Turkey distillery w...

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[Bourbon] Wild Turkey Rare Breed Review (Value Pick)

[Peated] Hart Brothers Peated Islay Single Malt Review

Stick to Laphroaig and Lagavulin for Islay and the bill adds up fast. At a warehouse shop I spotted this green bottle - Hart Brothers Peated Islay Single Malt. 700ml, 50% ABV, value-t...

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[Peated] Hart Brothers Peated Islay Single Malt Review

[Islay] Whisky Characteristics - A Primer

Islay. A small island off the west coast of Scotland, around 3,000 people on it, and the whisky output punches well above that. The reason is peat. That smoke you instantly think of w...

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[Islay] Whisky Characteristics - A Primer

[Sherry] Arran Sherry Cask The Bodega Cask Strength Review

When you think sherry cask whisky, a handful of names show up first. Macallan, Glendronach, Aberlour A’bunadh. Arran Sherry Cask, “The Bodega,” fits the same shelf. Full maturation in...

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[Sherry] Arran Sherry Cask The Bodega Cask Strength Review

[Peated] Lagavulin 16 Years Tasting Review (Strong Rec)

My first Islay was Lagavulin. It was whisky, sure - but one sip in and it felt like sitting next to a bonfire on a beach somewhere. First reaction was “wait, is this right?” Two or th...

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[Peated] Lagavulin 16 Years Tasting Review (Strong Rec)

[Blended] Dewar's 12 Years Review

Dewar’s 12 Years quietly broke my prejudice against blended Scotch. Smooth, clean, and far more composed than the entry-level price suggests. Double aging isn’t just marketing.

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[Blended] Dewar's 12 Years Review

[Speyside] The Glenlivet 18 Years Review

Glenlivet 12 is everywhere - everyone passes through it once. The 15 French Oak is interesting enough with its creme brulee edge to come back for. The 18 I kept putting off. “Spending...

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[Speyside] The Glenlivet 18 Years Review

[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 100 Proof Review

I drink mostly Scotch, but every so often I pivot over to American whiskey. Different headspace, different kind of sweetness. Almost everyone knows the name Jack Daniel’s, but most kn...

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[Tennessee] Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 100 Proof Review

[Sherry] Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 84 Review

Once you step into cask strength, it’s hard to step back out. Full proof, no filtration. Aberlour A’bunadh holds a special spot in that world - cask strength matured exclusively in Ol...

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[Sherry] Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 84 Review

[Islay] Bunnahabhain 12 Years Review

Bunnahabhain 12 is the odd one out on Islay - the distillery that built its house on unpeated malt. Where Laphroaig and Lagavulin go all-in on peat, Bunnahabhain leans on sherry casks...

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[Islay] Bunnahabhain 12 Years Review

[Sherry & Light Peat] Benromach 10 Year Review (Great Value)

Benromach 10. One of the only Speyside distilleries still using light peat - 10 to 12ppm. Feels distinctly different from the typical Macallan or Glenlivet Speyside profile. Peat does...

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[Sherry & Light Peat] Benromach 10 Year Review (Great Value)

[Speyside] Balvenie 12 Years DoubleWood Review

Balvenie 12 Years DoubleWood shows up on beginner whisky lists all the time. At first I thought that made it a little too obvious. Then I poured a glass again and, well, the recommend...

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[Speyside] Balvenie 12 Years DoubleWood Review

[Single Malt] Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Review

Macallan is usually the first name people hear when they get into whisky. “Rolls-Royce of single malts” sounds overblown until you actually try the 12 Sherry Oak. First-time reaction ...

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[Single Malt] Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Review

[Blended] Royal Salute 21 Years Signature Blend Review

Royal Salute 21 Years. Every component spirit in the blend is aged a minimum of 21 years. Not a casual bottle to pick up at this tier, but open one and it clicks pretty fast why the t...

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[Blended] Royal Salute 21 Years Signature Blend Review

[Bourbon] Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Review

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel is the bourbon the Russell family at Wild Turkey - Jimmy and Eddie - hand-pick themselves. 110 proof (55%), non-chill filtered. From the first sip, car...

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[Bourbon] Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Review

[Blended] Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Review

The name on Dewar’s Double Double 21 Years spells out the process: blended twice, aged twice, across four stages. The nose hits the second you pour, and the 21-year age carries real c...

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[Blended] Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Review

[Japanese] Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Review

The first Japanese whisky I tried after years of only drinking Scotch arrived as a gift from a friend, and it caught me off guard. My first thought was just how did Japan pull this of...

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[Japanese] Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Review

[Speyside] Glenfiddich 15 Years Solera Review

Glenfiddich is the brand that pulled me into single malt in the first place. When I started out with whisky and kept typing “what is single malt” into search bars, Glenfiddich came up...

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[Speyside] Glenfiddich 15 Years Solera Review

[Sherry] Glenfarclas 15 Years Review

Back when I was getting into sherry cask whisky, someone told me “if you want value in sherry, go Glenfarclas.” The name was unfamiliar and the bottle design looked plain, so I was sk...

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[Sherry] Glenfarclas 15 Years Review

[Sherry] GlenAllachie 15 Year Review (Highly Recommended)

The 10 Year Cask Strength hooked me first. The 15 pulls in a completely different direction. Where the 10 CS is a flavor explosion, the 15 is more of a hug. Butterscotch, toffee, hone...

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[Sherry] GlenAllachie 15 Year Review (Highly Recommended)

[Sherry] GlenAllachie 10 Years CS Batch 12 Review

GlenAllachie 10 Years Cask Strength Batch 12. 59.7% ABV, non-chill filtered, no color. Cask makeup shifts batch to batch, so practically every release is limited. Batch 12 leans heavi...

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[Sherry] GlenAllachie 10 Years CS Batch 12 Review

[Single Malt] Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Years Review

My first Glenmorangie was the 10 Original, back when I was just starting out. My first reaction was that whisky could be this light and clean. Then I tried Nectar D’Or and the whole p...

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[Single Malt] Glenmorangie The Nectar 16 Years Review

[Sherry] GlenDronach 12 Years Original Review (Old Bottling)

I got into sherry cask whisky a while back, and the bottle that started it was GlenDronach. Back when I was still figuring out what I liked, somebody told me “if you want to understan...

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[Sherry] GlenDronach 12 Years Original Review (Old Bottling)