In my collection, there are a few open bottles that I have not written about yet. One of them is nearly empty – the Johnnie Walker Gold Label 18 year old blended Scotch whisky. This release has been discontinued and replaced with something else, so I better capture the tasting notes quickly, while I still have something left to drink.
An Irish whiskey for me to try today. Dunville Irish whiskey is relatively new to South Africa, and I have not yet tasted anything from this Northern Ireland-based distillery. I received three different Danville samples from Truman & Orange, and I loved the packaging on this Dunville’s PX Cask 12 year old single malt Irish whiskey, so I decided to try it first.
I had to pick up a gift in Pretoria the other day, and as I was a bit early, I stopped at the closest shopping centre for a cup of coffee. While strolling around looking for the best coffee place, I walked into a Checkers Liquor store, and much to my surprise, saw a bottle of single malt that I have not noticed before. It was a Highland Queen Majesty single malt Scotch whisky, and it retailed for around R200.
It is my second Laphroaig I am tasting this year. Earlier in 2015, I tasted the Laphroaig An Cuan Mor whisky. The Laphroaig PX Cask Islay single malt Scotch whisky and the An Cuan Mor bottling are part of three travel retail exclusive releases from Laphroaig.
During November the annual Whisky Bible ratings come out. For some, it is an event that is highly anticipated. For others, not so much. Over the last couple of years, the top awards have been somewhat controversial, and Jim Murray even depicts himself a bit of a devil (playing a bit of Devil’s advocate) on the front page of the 2015 bible.
Today I do another side-by-side comparison using the Woodford Reserve Rye. The Woodford Reserve brand is part of the Brown Forman portfolio with Jack Daniel’s, GlenDronach and Benriach whisky. There is not a rye whisky in the Brown Forman’s Scottish whisky portfolio (not yet anyway), but last year, I tried the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye whiskey, which makes for a great comparison; Woodford Reserve Rye vs Jack Daniel’s Rye whiskey.
Read More »Woodford Reserve Rye vs Jack Daniel’s Rye Whiskey