Old Pulteney single malt whisky is a staple feature of our whisky shelf. We stumbled across this particular whisky a few years ago when we took part in, of all things, a whisky tasting via Twitter, which worked surprisingly well! Old Pulteney was one of the whiskies that would be tasted and we ummed and ahhed about whether to get a bottle or not (we had the others that were scheduled for tasting), but in the end we did, and were so glad we had.

A little while ago, Old Pulteney refreshed the design of their bottles and packaging. We’ve only now just finished the bottle (with old design) that we had on our shelf, and the new replacement bottle gave us a chance to get up close and personal with the new design and to compare them side by side.

There have been quite a few changes, not only to the look, but also to the wording on the bottles and packaging, with the aim being to modernise the brand while still emphasise the maritime heritage that is important to the distillery. Located in Wick, Old Pulteney is the most northerly distillery on Scotland’s mainland, and the traditional herring drifter located in Wick has been a central symbol of the brand.

I’m a bit torn regarding the new packaging. It does have a more modern feel to it overall, but I’m not a fan of the bright shiny blue in conjunction with the bright shiny gold. It just all feels a wee bit, well, bright and shiny Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Why have just two delicious drams, when you can have another two? Exactly. So we did!

The Dalmore 14 year old was reminiscent of a sweet dessert wine or, because of the fruitiness with spicy overtones, Christmas pudding.

The North British 20 year old had us rechecking where this came from: even though it was made in Edinburgh, it was like drinking a bourbon! Yummy through and through.

We recently sampled some of Master Of Malt‘s special single cask bottlings.

First up was the Cragganmore 20 year old (1991): Banoffee pie anyone?! With descriptors like toffee apple and banana loaf being used in the official tasting notes, it’s no wonder my favourite dessert came to mind when drinking this!

Second came the Dailuaine 27 year old (1983), which I see sadly says discontinued on the product page. Such a pity, as this was just lovely – very sweet, but with a delicious spiciness to it. Sugar and spice and all things nice!

A Friday night spent sampling whiskies? Don’t mind if I do!

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s March Outturn Preview Tasting last week, an exclusive peek at the whiskies to be featured.

We started with the milder and sweeter options available – whiskies from Speyside and the Lowlands – before moving on to the Islay offerings. Between the two of us, we managed to sample the following:

• 1.164 Cheshire Cat Whisky – Speyside: Glenfarclas
• 3.183 Beach Rugby With A Hotdog – Islay: Bowmore
• 4.161 A Slow Embrace Of Delicate Smoke – Highland Island: Highland Park
• 24.122 Sweet But With Grown Up Flavours – Speyside: The Macallan
• 25.62 Classy But Attractive – Lowland: Rosebank
• 29.114 After Dinner Dram – Islay: Laphroaig
• 53.159 Captain Of Industry – Islay: Caol Ila
• 127.21 Not For Wusses – Islay: Port Charlotte (Bruichladdich)

[In case you're confused by the numbers and strangely evocative names above: For various legal reasons related to the use of distillery brand names, the SMWS uses numbered codes to identify their whiskies. The first number in the code refers to the distillery, while the number after the dot is the cask from which the whisky was bottled. The evocative names for each whisky are the work of the SMWS's fantastic tasting team, who also write brilliantly descriptive tasting notes for each bottling!]

As is usually the case, we fell hopelessly in love with a couple of the whiskies we’d tasted and couldn’t bring ourselves to leave without them. As a result, two new bottles grace our whisky shelves now: the After Dinner Dram and Not For Wusses.

The former, a Laphroaig, is an interesting variation on one of our favourite whiskies, at once familiar yet different. The tasting notes mention succulent pork fillets, but I got more of an impression of bacon. I have been vegetarian for a very long time, however, so my tastebuds may be slightly skewed! There’s a good dose of the Laphroaig saltiness and smokiness, but with a bit of sweetness added to the mix, especially with the addition of a little bit of water.

The latter, a Port Charlotte (Bruichladdich), is exactly what it says on the tin bottle – a strong whisky not for the faint-hearted! Its heavy peatiness and high alcohol volume (65.9%) left us both breathless and yet wanting more. Definitely a whisky that, in the words of the delightful tasting notes, packs not a punch but a slap from a Viking warrior.

St David’s Day is coming up on 1 March. And what better way to celebrate the day dedicated to the Patron Saint of Wales than with a dram of Penderyn Whisky?!

Penderyn (pronounced pen-DEH-rin) is sublime whisky and truly deserves the description of Aur Cymru (translation: Welsh Gold). It is light and silky and sweet. My favourite is the peated version, which adds a hint of smokiness to the mix, achieved by allowing the whisky to finish in casks previously used by Kilchoman Distillery on Islay.

To learn more about Penderyn whisky and the distillery, have a look at our Penderyn page.

I guess I’m more of a whisky snob than I thought… I’m kinda horrified by Scottish Spirits’ new product: whisky in a can.

It just feels wrong. Whisky isn’t beer. Both are good beverages. But different. And are enjoyed differently. Whisky is not meant to be swigged out of a can in the same way that beer often is. Whisky should be slowly sipped and savoured while contemplating the world

Assuming one won’t be gulping down the whole can in one go, I guess one can still pour one’s drams from a can instead of a bottle. But with the product inside only being aged for 3 years (the legal minimum to qualify as whisky) instead of the usual minimum 10 or 12 years maturation that most whiskies go through, you just know that the canned whisky isn’t exactly going to be the good stuff! Plus, aluminium cans do change the taste of soft drinks, albeit subtly (e.g. Coke tastes a bit different in cans compared to glass bottles) – what if the same effect happens with the whisky?

Nope, this isn’t for me. What do you think?

It’s the 1st of Movember! And to celebrate and contribute towards the cause, Master of Malt have released a very special Glenfarclas Movember bottling.

What is Movember?

Movember – a contraction of moustache and November – is an annual event that consists of men growing moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, in particular prostrate and testicular cancer.

Every good cause deserves a good whisky: Glenfarclas

In aid of Movember, Master of Malt has teamed up with Glenfarclas to bring you a special limited release Movember bottling. Thanks to Master of Malt’s whisky by the dram service, I was lucky enough to receive a taste of the 9 year old chosen for this year’s Movember edition, and I can tell you that it is delicious. It is nutty, and has a hint of fruit and caramel sweetness to it (banoffee pie came to mind!).

All profits from the sales of this bottling are being donated directly to the Movember Foundation – sounds like a great way to support this excellent charity! Master of Malt delivers worldwide, and you can nab yourself a bottle of this special whisky here.

I was very pleased to see the news this morning that Old Pulteney 21 year old has been named World Whisky Of The Year in Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible. The whisky beat 1,200 other drams to take the honours with a score of 97.5 points out of 100.

We first came across Old Pulteney a few years ago when we participated in an online whisky tasting via Twitter (yup, you heard right… whisky tasting with a bunch of people all over the globe via Twitter – it worked surprisingly well!). Old Pulteney is perhaps one of Scotland’s most overlooked distilleries, often losing out in terms of name recognition to the big name brands with their correspondingly large corporate marketing budgets. Certainly, at the time we did the Twitter whisky tasting, we weren’t familiar with Old Pulteney at all, but we went out and dutifully bought a bottle so that we could take part. Well, all I can say is that Old Pulteney blew us away that night, and our whisky shelf hasn’t been without a bottle of it since!

Distilled in Wick, way up in the north of Scotland (Old Pulteney is the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland), Old Pulteney has a faintly salty taste as a result of the proximity of the distillery to the sea. This is by no means overbearing, though, and the whisky also has a sweetness and fresh fruitiness to it that is simply sublime. It is well worth a try, and highly recommended by us!

It seems way too early to be thinking about Christmas, doesn’t it?! But with just on two months to go to Christmas day, I’ve started thinking about Christmas presents – not because I’m really organised (though I promise myself every year that *this* will be the year that I get everything on the list bought before I get caught up in manic last-minute crowds again), but more because we have lots of family overseas and I need to get gifts sent off before the last posting dates.

It goes without saying, of course (though I’m totally going to say it anyway!), that whisky is an excellent Christmas gift. We often buy bottles for our fathers as presents, and also sometimes treat each other to a really nice whisky for Christmas. A nice bottle of whisky can be a very thoughtful gift for the right person. After all, quality alcoholic beverages are not cheap, and a bottle of whisky can last a person a fairly long time. While whisky can be enjoyed at any time of the year, having a warming dram at Christmas time while the snow falls outside and the lights twinkle on the tree is a perfect way to relax at the end of the day.

I was very excited to see that Marks & Spencer are offering various Christmas hampers, some of which include whisky. They’re also packed full of other delicious goodies – some great wine, and very yummy sounding goodies, like sweets, cakes, cheese and crackers, and even cooking ingredients. M&S is one of my favourite places to shop, and the quality of their food is always excellent. I may have to treat myself to one of the hampers in addition to buying some for family and friends!

It’s an exciting week for Laphroaig whisky fans this week!

The fourth Laphroaig Live Internet broadcast is taking place on Thursday 23rd September 2010 at 8pm Spanish time (7pm UK time). This year, the broadcast is being made from Harvey’s Sherry Bodegas in Jerez, Spain. Laphroaig chose Jerez and Harvey’s as they often use their old sherry butts for maturing some of their very special Laphroaig expressions.

During the event the following whiskies will be tasted:

• Laphroaig Quarter Cask
• Laphroaig Triple Wood
• Laphroaig 25 Year Old
• Finally, a very special Laphroaig which is exclusively matured in Oloroso Sherry Butts.

The event will also feature tastings of Sherry, Fino, Oloroso and Harvey’s Bristol, and will be pairing some locally made tapas with the Laphroaig and Sherries.

There will be some live music from one of the Friends of Laphroaig, Diego Sandrin.

You will be able to watch the event from the comfort of your home at www.laphroaig.com/live or direct from Laphroaig’s Facebook page.

Remember to ask questions during the event: anyone whose questions are read out during the event will win a very special prize! Questions can be submitted at www.laphroaig.com/live as soon as the broadcast starts.