There’s a new Beast in town, and it doesn’t waste time making an impression. The Ardbeg Wee Beastie storms into the lineup as a 5 year old Islay single malt, delivering the raw, untamed character you’d expect from one of Scotland’s most iconic smoky distilleries. Launched just a few years after the Ardbeg An Oa, this is now the youngest permanent expression in the core range, and it wears that youth like a badge of honour.
Today I am trying the Paul John Nirvana whisky and if you have been following me on social media for a while, you would know that I love whisky from the Paul John Distillery in India. I have tasted all the releases in their core range and loved it.
As the year speeds to its end, I was going through my bottles to find something different to try. A distinctive bourbon shaped like a pot still immediately caught my attention, and I couldn’t resist trying it. A reasonably unknown bourbon in South Africa, the Willett Pot Still Reserve bourbon whiskey bottle has a unique shape which drew my eye.
After trying it for the first time last year, Ballantines has quickly become my favourite blended whisky. The Ballantine’s Finest received my first divine rating, and the Ballantine’s 17 year old was my Blend of the Year 2014.
Time and again, this blend impresses me. I have yet to meet a bottle of Ballantine’s that I do not love. The Ballantine’s 17 yo and the Scapa Distillers Edition are divine whiskies. And today I am trying one of the older releases in my collection. The Ballantine’s 30 year old blended Scotch whisky. What a long time that is. A whole lifetime.
The last of my tasting notes for Balblair for this year. I have reached the last of my Balblair samples and today I look at the Balblair 18 year old single malt Scotch whisky. Earlier in the year, I started with the Balblair 12 year old and moved on to the Balblair 15 year old whisky.