r/whisky

So I was born in 1976 and kept this bottle for a few years. Now that my birthday is close: Should I open this Edradour (blackadder limited bottling) or should I keep it...?

What do you think about these two?

A lovely lovely gift from a dear Swedish friend of mine. Now consumed in my man cave. This stuff is so pungent, peppery, liquorice and brine. An extremely dancing straight through the middle of the tongue finish.

It’s not like anything I’ve had from Scotland, very peppery, aftertaste is a classic Granny Smith. A lively whisky at first, not a great finish at all if I’m honest, but it’s very different to the hundreds of different single malts I’ve tried over the years. That first kick is really interesting.

Its great 83/100

Claxtons is a new IB to me, based just down the road from me in SW Scotland. They deal mainly online although do have a shop in Thornhill near Dumfries.

This 9yo from Ardmore presented at 57.5% is an excellent dram which cost around the £85 mark. The whisky is sold in very distinctive bottles sourced from France I believe. I will certainly be back to try another of their offerings when this is finished and the wife now has another suggestion for birthdays and Christmas.

I tried my first smoke and peated whisky today. Coming from a background and preference for sweet bourbons and from my pre reading about Ardbeg wee beastie, I thought I would hate it. Instead, I found it exactly as described. Tar, asphalt, bacon, salt and smoke from the nose and also palate. Pepper n chilli also on palate, with second wave of smoke. Surprisingly there wasn't much alcohol burn. I did put one cube of ice. Certainly a much more contemplative slow experience compared to my usual sweet bourbons. Has inspired me to try other peated and smoky scotch whiskies

So this just arrived today.

Signatory Rare Reserve Cask Strength Collection North Port/Brechin 40 yr.

Single Cask, 1976 Vintage, 50.4 ABV.

And before you go asking me to adopt you or something, just know that I won this in a Master of Malt competition, and could never afford to actually buy something like this. In any case, looking forward to opening it this evening 😄

Just back from my first trip to Scotland and managed to get a few bottles back home with me. Spent about a week hiking the West Highland Way with my wife before a quick visit to Ardnamurchan and then a few days in Campbeltown.

Lindores Abbey × Thompson Bros — 1/299 Finished 18 Months in STR Ex-Oloroso Hogshead

I wanted to find a cat bottle from Thompson Bros and found this lovely one from Lindores Abbey at Good Spirits Co. in Glasgow.

Springbank 10 Years Old

Bought at the distillery, one of ten on offer that morning. I had a lot of other Springbank drams between various spots and at the Ardshiel Hotel and Washback Bar, but wanted to bring the 10 home as my first personal bottle.

Ardnamurchan Distillery Heritage Malt 2025

One of my favourite distilleries, with an amazing tour and location on the remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula down single-track roads. I work in the beer industry, so getting something barley focused was a goal.

Ardnamurchan Distillery Port Cask Finish — Black Bottle Shop Exclusive

This port cask had just been emptied and was ready for refilling when we took the tour, so we got a good smell of the empty barrel. Figured it'd be a nice way to recall that day in future drams.

Longrow 100 Proof, Batch 2

I really fell in love with Longrow in Campbeltown. Of all the drams, that Highland peat and Campbeltown funk just kept calling me back. They are focusing on the 100 Proof series for Longrow, so I grabbed the new batch.

Ben Nevis 11 Years Old — Cadenhead's

We hiked the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Fort William, the home of Ben Nevis. Oddly hard to find a dram of it outside of the distillery, which we popped into quickly. Since we later did the Cadenhead’s warehouse cask tasting, I split the difference and got a fairly clean Ben Nevis 11 from the shop in Campbeltown.

Ardbeg Smoketrails Version 3 — Cabernet Sauvignon Cask Finish

Glasgow Airport duty free, a classic travel exclusive. They had Batch 2, the Côte du Rhône, too, but I opted for the newer Cabernet Sauvignon cask finish.

🍊First up is The Sevillian Room. It is matured in Oloroso, PX, and Palo Cortado sherry casks. The flavor feels bright and Spanish, with notes of Seville orange, honey, roasted nuts, blood orange marmalade, and a touch of cinnamon. The finish brings orange peel and milky coffee vibes🍯

🍒Next is The Venetian Room. It uses PX, Oloroso, and Italian Amarone wine casks. This one sounds rich and dessert-like, with aromas of black cherry, tiramisu, blackcurrant, cocoa, and vanilla. On the palate, expect red plum, amaretto, chocolate hazelnut, and black forest cake🍫

🥐The third one is The Parisian Room. It combines PX, Oloroso, and French Cognac casks. This bottle feels more elegant and refined, with notes of honeyed grapes, plum, apple tart, elderflower, and sherry-soaked raisins. The palate brings roasted figs, walnut, dates, peach, lemon cream croissant, and a soft rose note🍑

🪵The biggest highlight here is the classic Glendronach sherry cask character, paired with city-inspired cask influences. Seville feels spicy and sherried. Venice feels sweet and wine-driven. Paris feels elegant and Cognac-led🥃

💰The pricing is also interesting. The Sevillian Room is 1L, 43% ABV, priced around €74.99. The Venetian Room is 700ml, 46% ABV, around €92.99. The Parisian Room is 700ml, 49% ABV, around €144.99✨