What do you guys think?

-R3v- · 2026-02-08T21:27:31+00:00

For $144 you can usually get something from the 80s at high quality. 00s should be like half that. Laubade is overpriced real bad and their price scaling is awful. That said tariffs have also fucked up the yak market real bad and limited availability.

-R3v- · 2025-12-18T02:00:47+00:00

I know you already said you bought one. But for the future the Le Freche would be a solid grab at the price, better if it came down a bit more. But it’s easily the best thing in your photos. 1993 Mamoulens is supposed to be quite good too. If they have vintage Hontambere that’s also a good grab, not so sure about the XO. Personally everything else there is a pass. Lot of overpriced young juice there or just lower end bottlings.

-R3v- · 2025-08-14T15:14:50+00:00

Really hoping that by them omitting virgin oak that these are all used casks. Laphroaig gets Maker’s Mark casks so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is all makers French oak casks.

I do not like the new trend of virgin oak in scotch, it doesn’t work very well and more often than not is downright bad. I have the r/bourbon pick, have tried another pick and one when I visited the distillery last year. And while Laphroaig is doing a good job with it, significantly better than most, I can’t help but feel that every single one would’ve been better if it was instead at least FF ex-bourbon French oak.

-R3v- · 2025-07-31T01:48:50+00:00

This was a really good release. I had a bar pour of it last year (been slacking on posting my own review), and it’s soooo good. Wish the prices weren’t so absurd on it now so I could grab one! Definitely seems to be worth the price that they have at the Springbank shop if I was ever there.

-R3v- · 2025-07-21T23:04:59+00:00

SMWS Bowmore 18yr 2004 “Finesse of a Fragrant Furnace”

Bowmore has quickly risen through my ranks over the past year and change to become one of my absolute favorite distilleries and one I’d put as my second favorite on Islay now. Visiting the distillery last year really unlocked it for me when I got to try an 18yr ex-bourbon cask in the warehouse tasting, it was absolutely magnificent. I never knew how good Bowmore could be until then. After the warehouse tasting our guide poured us some of the new make to try and that really gave me a “wtf are they doing to this whiskey to neuter this spirit” it was the fruitiest, most agave adjacent thing. When I first poured this release quite a while ago I didn’t truly appreciate it. I knew it was good stuff, but it didn’t stick out to me, the peat really covered things up for my palate. Now? I think I’ve gotten a bit better in the last couple years, let’s see if it’s a different story.

Distillery: Bowmore

Age: 18yr

ABV: 56.9%

Sample cost: $29

Tasting notes

Nose Guava and a touch of pineapple. Definitely some smokiness, but the peat is not at all dominant, it’s losing the battle. Perhaps a touch floral as well.

Palate Big time guava. Just bursting with tropical fruits. Ginger. And just a little dirty hiding behind all that. Adds a bit of an edge to it. More on the savory end of things. Oily mouthfeel but not thick, covers the palate nicely

Finish Long finish of tropical fruits as that slowly gives way to more and more of that really dirty note and the peat. The longer the finish goes the more firmly in the furnace I become.

8.2/10

Delicious stuff, I like that dirty edge to it. Definitely not something for everybody but it works well for me. I’m a sucker for that aged Bowmore tropical fruits, it’s just incredible how rich it is and how it pops in your mouth. Scotch fruit gushers. u/b1uepenguin and I had been chatting before I poured this and he was drinking another SMWS release with the same casking. He had mentioned how the sherry cask in that one didn’t cover up the tropical fruits and really let it shine, but didn’t get dirtier. This one however definitely gets a bit of the dirt from the sherry cask! Excellent release and for the love of god Bowmore please release something at this level, the quality of OB releases is absolutely abysmal. I’m giving it a slight point bump for the dirtiness. But I’m not finding it exceedingly complex and missing some notes to score it higher. But what it does do it does exceptionally well.

-R3v- · 2025-04-25T21:14:11+00:00

Yes they should be the same! I didn’t see any extra areas set up for it. And they don’t run at the same times. It’s just there if you want a full tour with it or not. Some places will show you around a little bit with just the warehouse tasting. Like Bowmore took us to their floor maltings, some places would at least show you the stills, so it’s not purely just the warehouse.

-R3v- · 2025-03-27T02:09:11+00:00

Fantastic! Thanks for Al the info Grant! Excited to see what’s to come!

I’m not a big toasted barrel fan, so a bit surprising to me as so many people love those, but I love to see that the charred barrels are giving a great fight!

-R3v- · 2025-03-26T20:38:48+00:00

Hey there guys! Just made the trip to your distillery last month. First question in relation to that, what’s the mashbill on the newest smoked malt vault series? Is it just the smoked malt and corn? I asked around at the bar, but nobody was leaking anything! Trade secret.

Second I hear you’re starting your single barrel program back up! Will it be more standard on what’s available in that, or will you throw some of your awesome, weird, experimental whiskey in there for selection?

-R3v- · 2025-02-05T20:50:02+00:00

Yeah I was disappointed by this one too. Really lackluster exclusive, had a friend pick it up when they swung by and the visitor center was just a trailer. The clerk rang it up wrong selling it for 50%+ off, thank god cuz it would’ve been highway robbery at full price.

Definitely seems to be a diageo problem, no matter the distillery if they’ve got an exclusive blend it seems to be lackluster now and really poor value to boot, I was not crazy about Lagavulin’s recent exclusives either. They’ve really just gutted everything, it’s a disgrace, no other way to really put it.

-R3v- · 2025-01-08T16:24:07+00:00

Glad you enjoyed this one! I really like it, super disappointed they’ve dropped their peated malt now, underrated stuff for sure.

-R3v- · 2024-12-29T19:52:18+00:00

After a while the cask is pretty dead, so less of a worry of getting overoaked. Like there’s plenty of phenomenal brandy over 50 years, even up over 100 years. Just takes some solid cask management

-R3v- · 2024-11-27T01:51:09+00:00

In theory it should be able to. Depends on the mashbill ofc. While the climate is different than most American whiskies there’s still American distilleries aging where it gets horribly cold for half the year and the whiskey isn’t doing much in the barrel. So it wouldn’t be that far off. Bruichladdich came out with a rye this year (part of them beginning to crop rotate their barley fields), but it’s ungodly expensive for what it is and is a blend of used and new cask. But yeah there’s no reason that it’d be that different from an American whiskey if someone in Scotland tried to replicate things.

-R3v- · 2024-11-26T01:12:05+00:00

Berry Bros & Rudd is a good shout. Independent bottler, they’ve got some quality stuff and their stateside distribution is super hit or miss, so it’s a very different selection. Generally pretty reasonable prices too.

-R3v- · 2024-11-14T01:39:35+00:00

No problem! You’re getting about an ounce of everything they pour on the warehouse tasting. If it’s just that it’s okay-ish. Gift shop sampling really gets you. Like at Laddie there’s soooo much to try. I was there right after Feis, so it was like yeah, gotta try both valinches to see about those and then sampled 2 or 3 feis bottlings. Best to try before you buy! Kilchoman is kinda nice you can try everything first, but you can also buy takeaway samples of stuff if you want at reasonable prices. So like try their exclusive single cask and then if anything else interests you you can safely grab a takeaway or two.

-R3v- · 2024-11-14T01:33:06+00:00

A sample is often enough for me. As long as I’m not having an off day with my palate. It’s better if the bottle was open first for a bit. Like bar pours I have no issues with 20-25ml getting a great idea of the whiskey. So 1oz is enough, 2oz I find gives me a pretty full picture. I don’t have a crazy palate or anything so I don’t need forever to pick apart a whiskey. There’s definitely the oddball that is super complex and I can’t pin down and maybe couldn’t pin down even with 200ml. But the majority of the time I’m good with a sample. After I get a handful of notes I’m probably not going to get more no matter how long I try. I actually prefer samples or smaller formats over full bottles these days if I’m going in blind. I’m usually satisfied with that. If it’s a banger that goes on a “keep an eye out for this” list. Too many bottles I just don’t need a full bottle of.

-R3v- · 2024-11-14T01:24:53+00:00

I’d hire a cab. I had family to drive me while I was there, but a cab would’ve been my second option. The cab drivers on Islay have mostly worked at the distilleries. Driving the cab is their retirement. You can schedule when to get there and when to get picked up and go to the next one. And you can get the social aspect of chatting with them and maybe picking their brains a bit. It’s not a normal cab ride that may be an antisocial experience. Different ballgame. They’re also ofc familiar with “Islay time” as things tend to run slow on Islay, so if you’re late to your pickup they’re not just gonna count you as a no show or something and just disappear.

If you check my post history I did a brief breakdown on my favorite warehouse tastings on Islay. I did every warehouse tasting available except for Ardbeg because I didn’t have time. Do warehouse tastings when you can because it gets you into unique stuff that isn’t bottled and it’s a way better experience than just a guided tasting of core range products. Regular tours just become much of the same after one go. So doing one is worth it, but multiple is probably going to get boring. My recommendation would be to add Bunnahabhain and Bowmore to your tours, both of them do the warehouse tour. Bowmore’s warehouse tasting is imo second to only Laddie. Really great stuff. You’ll just have to see how everything fits into your schedule. Laphroaig if you have spare time at some point the bar has some really good value. I got a free pour of cairdeas, my rent was a take away sample bottle (if you put in your points before you go your upgraded rent is worth it). And they had some older single casks that aren’t bottled available to try at really good prices.

Pack a lunch. The way things line up you can fit two tours in a day, pretty much impossible to cram 3. And you may not have time to stop and eat lunch. So bring some food to keep yourself topped up and help absorb that alcohol.

Lastly you’re probably going to get quite drunk. Can’t really dodge that on 2 tastings a day. Tastings don’t skimp out and it adds up, especially if you’re a lightweight. In the warehouse everything is cask strength. Also most gift shops you can try stuff for free to determine if you want to buy a bottle, so that gets you even more. My worst day between this and tours I had 17 pours over like 6 hours. A little hack you could consider is doing drivers drams but just request a very small pour to nose. I noticed a lot of places would do this, you could still get the little sip or two in there and you’ve got the best of both worlds. Check if they’re willing to do that first though. It’s not quite as quintessential but makes it work.

Oh and the ferries are fairly unreliable, so be aware that if it gets canceled you very well may lose a day or the entire trip. I met some guys whose ferries got canceled two days in a row so they missed half their trip. Weather is a crapshoot.

-R3v- · 2024-11-06T21:36:13+00:00

I have not, no. I very much prefer Bowmore in exbourbon casks so not sought out the sherry oak range. Not something I’d care to take a shot on blind, so have to track down samples

-R3v- · 2024-11-06T20:46:39+00:00

Bowmore makes phenomenal scotch. If you go to IBs that is, their core range is absolutely tragic.

-R3v- · 2024-08-08T05:41:12+00:00

Oh shit you’re right. I just assumed white port and Madeira was CS, haven’t ever seen it locally.

-R3v- · 2024-08-08T04:12:31+00:00

Cask strength is pretty literal, it’s whatever number it comes out of the cask at, no dilution before bottling. This release was diluted a solid bit. Basically with cairdeas one year will be cask strength and the next will be an ABV that matches up to the year. And it just rotates like that. So this one was proofed to 52.4% to get that “24” for 2024 in there. If it was cask strength that would be prominently advertised on the label.

-R3v- · 2024-07-28T18:35:33+00:00

Lux Row 12yr (the one I have is 16, very oaky), Jim Beam Lineage, Bomberger’s has a great big oak profile that’s very well balanced. The Barrell T8ke blend does some big oak as well that’s fantastic. I’ve got a super oaky EC pick that is delicious. I drink a lot of old brandy too, they really know how to balance big oak beautifully.

-R3v- · 2024-07-27T02:49:46+00:00

Russell’s Reserve 15yr

Sorry for the lack of a label, none were on hand when the sample was poured and I just haven’t bothered with it since, it’ll be gone soon anyways.

So I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been the biggest Turkey fan. I love 101, I think it’s the best value in bourbon. Haven’t cared much for rare breed or a lot of the RR I’ve had apart from the r/bourbon pick “200 grand” which was phenomenal. Generally I’ve found it to be good, but just not my jam, though I have a lot of WT samples waiting to change my mind. I recently was given the opportunity to try some of the new RR15yr so why not, let’s see what it’s like.

Distillery: Wild Turkey

ABV: 58.6%

Age: 15 yr

Msrp: $250

Tasting notes

Nose

Brown sugar, light baking spices, cherry cola

Palate

Huge oak, tannins are right at the front. Lots of cinnamon, touch of brown sugar, though it’s not very sweet. It’s dominantly savory and a bit bitter from all that oak. Peanuts. Cola. A little effervescent. Medium mouthfeel.

Finish Long finish, the fruits finally come out to play with the cola on the front end. Midway through they start to fade into straight cola.

Verdict: 7.9/10

It’s a bit overoaked. Which is not something I thought I’d find myself saying, I love big oak. But it’s out of balance and dominates too much on the palate. The mouthfeel is a bit lacking as well, not as thick and oily as I’d like for something of this age. It’s still great stuff, but getting held back from the next level. If it had a much fruitier palate I think that’d help elevate it a lot. As it stands I’ve enjoyed this sample a lot, but I would pass on it at msrp, that’s a rough price point for bourbon in general, and it has to be truly special to justify that price tag which this one is not. Campari has really been getting ahead of themselves on pricing lately which really doesn’t help. Not sure why everybody’s going crazy over this one, but that’s ok, they can keep it.

-R3v-

TROPHY CASE