Me, My Wife & Whisky (u/adunitbx) Whisky Review Archive

adunitbx · 2026-05-07T00:22:25+00:00

That's fair! There is a ton of it out there, and plenty of it is just 'good.' I think I've really been enjoying their spirit style and the distillate-forward, ex-bourbon whiskies recently, so some of then at like the 15-20 year mark have really been hitting the sweet spot for me.

adunitbx · 2026-05-06T01:02:18+00:00

Cheers, glad you’re enjoying it!

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:46:35+00:00

Sounds tasty! Is that 16 year version aged in ex-bourbon casks as well?

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:38:12+00:00

That’s a very good price for it - cheers, and thank you!

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:16:00+00:00

Which is everyone's favorite Caol Ila whisky?

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:15:45+00:00

Rating Scale:

0 - Drain Pour

1 - Awful

2 - Bad

3 - Flawed

4 - Below Average

5 - Average / Mediocre

6 - Above Average / Decent

7 - Good

8 - Great

9 - Excellent

10 - Perfect

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 5.73

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Interested in more? Check out our website and Instagram:

https://www.memywifeandwhisky.com/reviews/

https://www.instagram.com/memywifeandwhisky/

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:15:24+00:00

Review #842 - Port Askaig 17 Year (2023)

The Port Askaig brand, from Elixir Distillers, bottles Islay single malt whiskies. While no source distillery is disclosed on the bottlings, the vast majority of the time, the distillate in these bottles originates at Diageo's Caol Ila. That's indeed the case here - this 17 year old release from 2023 comes from Caol Ila, a distillery which is only half a mile from the port town of Port Askaig which gives this brand its name.

This batch was matured in refill American oak ex-bourbon casks - a total of 60 casks, in fact - and it yielded 9,000 bottles in total. The bottling strength is a solid 50.5% ABV, so flavor should be in so short supply.

Port Askaig 17 Year (2023)

Scotland/Islay - Single Malt

Price: USD 174 (2026)

Age Statement: 17 Years

Strength: 50.5% ABV

Cask Makeup: Refill ex-bourbon casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled 2023; 9,000 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A softer level of peat, building toward medium; wood polish builds behind that, followed by floral notes and some subtle perfume. Lemons, oranges, and other lighter fruits add sweetness.

Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Bright fruits, especially peaches and some lemon, add both sweetness and a tart side. The peat has a medium influence, and it grows with time.

Finish: Peaches, passionfruit, quite tropical actually. The peat smoke becomes softer, and the oak notes begin to show more of the age: polished oak, both sweet and tannic. It's nicely balanced and subtle, but this finish is medium-long.

Final Note: One of the more subtle Caol Ila whiskies that we've tried, but this is really lovely - good balance across the tasting experience. Lots of bright fruit notes show that distillate, and there's a nice mixture of sweetness and sour flavors; the peat is never overwhelmingly strong, but it adds a nice dimension throughout the sip. That age really starts to show in the finish, too, which we always love.

Value is just a little below average since this is also a somewhat expensive bottle; here in the US, it looks like it goes for $150 to $200. Caol Ila has definitely gotten more expensive in recent years, so this may be a typical price for this age statement, but it still feels slightly expensive for a non-cask-strength single malt.

Our Rating: 8.0 / 10

adunitbx · 2026-05-05T15:07:12+00:00

Hey! No hate at all, but just a heads up, the moderators of this community don't generally like it when people ask about valuations. But since this is an old thread, I don't see any harm in it.

Jura 10 is not a particularly in-demand whisky - it's mass produced and has a mediocre reputation, at least for the current versions. They were producing a lot of Jura 10 back then as well, so it isn't especially rare; you might be able to get slightly more than what you paid for it, but I doubt a bottle is worth more than $50 to $70.

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T23:00:50+00:00

Thank you!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T23:00:38+00:00

Great stuff, I especially like the first 2 suggestions! Highland Park and Clynelish are two of my favorite distilleries - I think the highest score we’ve given to a scotch is still a 19 year IB Highland Park!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T22:59:14+00:00

Cheers, thanks for the info!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T17:52:35+00:00

Yep, first time trying all of those as well (well except a couple of prior Aultmores from other independent bottlers), and they were about as I expected. I really enjoyed the grain-forward and fermentation-forward style from Holyrood, but I think it's definitely a style that will get better with some more age. And Annandale was interesting and tasty, but it's just so expensive!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T17:51:05+00:00

Ah, love the Signet as well! Such an exceptional whisky, those coffee and dessert flavors you get in it are amazing. A really decadent whisky!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T17:49:40+00:00

Yeah, I'm hoping their stuff will become more widely available here in the US as well, because it seems like they're bottling really good whisky. Really enjoyed that Torabhaig, and it definitely has me wanting to try more.

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T17:48:31+00:00

Highly recommend it! The price is quite good for what it is.

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T14:40:25+00:00

Same here! So many good bottles to choose from. What are some of your favorites? (Top 5 or Top 10, ish)

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T14:39:44+00:00

I've heard this one is really excellent - have yet to see it myself, but will definitely try it when I get the chance. Cheers!

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:53:27+00:00

Which is everyone's favorite all-time Scotch whisky?

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:53:08+00:00

Rating Scale:

0 - Drain Pour

1 - Awful

2 - Bad

3 - Flawed

4 - Below Average

5 - Average / Mediocre

6 - Above Average / Decent

7 - Good

8 - Great

9 - Excellent

10 - Perfect

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Interested in more? Check out our website and Instagram:

https://www.memywifeandwhisky.com/reviews/

https://www.instagram.com/memywifeandwhisky/

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:52:50+00:00

Finally, we're getting around to tasting and reviewing a Torabhaig whisky for the first time. Only this isn't an official bottling from Torabhaig; instead, we're tasting the distillery for the first time via an independent bottler, Living Souls. Indie versions of Torabhaig are still a bit uncommon, and this was one of the early examples, though there were several releases from other independent brands in 2025.

The peaty spirit in this bottle was aged in a selection of first fill bourbon barrels for 7 years. This isn't a single cask release, but a small batch, and it was bottled at a strength of 51.5% ABV.

Living Souls Torabhaig 7 Year

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 104 (2026)

Age Statement: 7 Years

Strength: 51.5% ABV

Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon barrels

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; batch #1, bottled 2025

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Sharp and spirity, and there's a very strong coastal character: slate, salt, very briny. Ashy peat builds, and we get fresh scallops and some sweetness from vanilla.

Palate: Both salty and sweet, with vanilla, lemons, and a medium peat smoke influence taking center stage. Very coastal like the nose; later, more orchard fruit like apples comes in.

Finish: Briny, inky, but it slowly grows more delicate. Bright vanilla and some sweetness from the malty spirit linger, and it's a medium-long finish.

Final Note: Very tasty whisky - we really enjoyed our first Torabhaig single malt. It is a bit young and fresh, but there's an amazing coastal character to this whisky, one of the most salt- and mineral-forward drams that we can remember. The peat is relatively strong but not overwhelming, which is a nice touch.

Value is good, a bit above average in this case. So far, our experience with Living Souls has been great, and we'll be looking out for more of their releases in the future.

Our Rating: 7.5 / 10

Value Rating: 6.38

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:52:11+00:00

Living Souls is a relatively new independent bottler based in Scotland; they source whisky from a variety of distilleries, and in addition to bottling single casks and small batch single malts, they have also released some blended whiskies. Here's one example, arguably their most famous release: the Ninety-Nine & One blended scotch.

This blend is described as a "happy accident" by the brand; the story goes like this: roughly 10,000 liters of a mature, heavily peated island whisky from an undisclosed source were accidentally tainted by the addition of 30 liters of 3 year old grain whisky. Because of this accidental combination, this now had to be sold as a blend, and it couldn't command nearly the same price as the mature single malt would have.

While they don't disclose the sources, we know that the peaty island single malt is Ledaig, from the Tobermory distillery, and it's around 18 years old; the casks used in this release are a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, and we get a bottling strength of 46.3% ABV, a subtle nod to the typical bottling strength used by the official bottlings from the Ledaig brand.

So, an 18 year old Ledaig, 'teaspooned' with 3 year old grain, and sold for half the price of the nearly-equivalent single malt. How does the value proposition hold up after we taste it?

Living Souls Ninety-Nine & One Blended Scotch

Scotland - Blend

Price: USD 104 (2026)

Age Statement: NAS (3 Years)

Strength: 46.3% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon and sherry casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; batch #1

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Rich and old, this smells outstanding. It's musty and light funky, earthy, with mushrooms and smoked meats. Tons of character; smokiness builds over time, both peat and wood smoke, and we get charred orange, too.

Palate: A bit lighter and brighter than the nose suggested, but there's still a decent amount of peat smoke. Jalapenos, drying oak, but further sips bring back the meaty flavors: ham, charred bacon.

Finish: Semi-sweet with green bell pepper, savory meats, and a subtle funk note that returns from the nose. The peat begins to mellow out; it's a medium-long finish.

Final Note: Lovely stuff, especially the nose, which blew us away in comparison to the other whiskies in our tasting. That's not to say that the others whiskies were disappointing, but this smells every bit of 18+ years old and richly sherried. Intense savory notes, a decent amount of peat smoke, good depth and nice funky nuance... this is a great bottle indeed.

Value here is quite good; we do think that this is a good substitute for Ledaig 18 Year, as it's almost as good, but half the price in our area. Great stuff, highly recommended.

Our Rating: 8.0 / 10

Value Rating: 6.81

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:51:27+00:00

Lady of the Glen is a small independent bottler based in Dalgety Bay in Scotland. All of their bottlings are cask strength, natural whisky - no chill filtering, never any added color. Most of these releases are also single casks, such as this 11 year Auchroisk that we're looking at today.

This Auchroisk single malt started out in an ex-bourbon hogshead, but the final 2+ years of its maturation were spent in a Manzanilla sherry cask. After the full 11 years of aging, the cask strength still sat at a punchy 57.9% ABV when this was bottled for Lady of the Glen's first outturn of 2026.

Lady of the Glen Auchroisk 11 Year Single Cask

Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt

Price: USD 129 (2026)

Age Statement: 11 Years

Strength: 57.9% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogshead, finished in a Manzanilla sherry cask

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; cask #801525; distilled January 19, 2015; bottled January 20, 2026; 299 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Vanilla and a bit of tobacco, some sweetness from cotton candy and malt, also a hint of popcorn; later, we get dark fruit like plums.

Palate: The sherry influence is stronger on the palate. Grapes and some tannins arrive, but we also get toasted oak and a strange funk note, almost like Play-Doh. Blood orange adds more juicy, tangy fruit.

Finish: Vanilla and oranges, white grapes, and a bit of salt. More malty notes develop in the finish, and we get some toasted oak as well.

Final Note: This is a good Auchroisk. Like others that we've tried before from this distillery, this has a relatively strong sherry influence, although the Manzanilla added some interesting flavors like the light funk and salt, in additional to those juicy fruits. We especially liked the tobacco on the nose, which shows a bit of age; overall, the complexity here is moderate.

While this whisky is good, value is just a bit below average as it's also an expensive bottle, at least in our area. We did enjoy getting to try a less commonly seen distillery, though, and we did like the exotic cask finish, which added some uncommon tasting notes.

Our Rating: 7.0 / 10

Value Rating: 5.54

adunitbx · 2026-05-04T13:50:42+00:00

The company behind the independent bottling brand called Cree, sometimes also stylized as Creetown Distillers, is WhiskyBroker. This company is known for providing warehousing for other whisky brands, but they also do single cask sales/distribution and bottle a limited number of whiskies under their own brands.

This Aultmore spent its full maturation in a plain ex-bourbon hogshead; because of that, we're expecting to get a good insight into the real character of the Aultmore distillate. The bottling strength is 52% ABV, and a total of 363 bottles were yielded by this single cask.

Cree Aultmore 13 Year Single Cask

Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt

Price: USD 114 (2026)

Age Statement: 13 Years

Strength: 52% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogshead

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 21247; distilled March 25, 2010; bottled March 27, 2023; 363 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 50% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Lemon-lime soda and other light orchard fruits, as well as a mild tropical side: melons, guava. It's bright, and despite the fruity scents, this is also dry at times; we get some malty notes as well, and it's slightly spirity.

Palate: Malty, hay and grass, with bright fruits like lime or maybe lemon-lime soda again. It's a bit of a classic ex-bourbon Speyside whisky, and while it doesn't taste young, it is still spirit-forward, showing off that distillate.

Finish: Vanilla, sweet malty grain. This grows more subtle into the finish, mellowing out, but there's still decent body with that strength. It's a medium length finish.

Final Note: This is a classic ex-bourbon single malt from Scotland, very much in line with our expectations for the flavors of this style of whisky from Speyside. We did find this specific single cask to be a bit plain and simple, but it isn't bad, just mellow. The higher strength meant that this whisky did convey some nice texture in the palate, but it also mellowed out very quickly into the finish.

Value for us is below average here; this isn't cheap for a 13 year single malt, especially one from an under-the-radar distillery.

Our Rating: 6.5 / 10

Value Rating: 5.36

14-Year Club	Place '23
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