Laphroaig 7 Year Single Cask (Julio's)

 

(credit to Whiskybase for the image)

At the Laphroaig Event at Jack Rose in mid-January 2023, this was the final offering: a 7 year single cask official bottling that was done for Julio's, a massive alcohol emporium in Westborough, Massachusetts. Their cask was selected at the same time that the Jack Rose owners chose a single cask of their own, which was virgin French oak matured - this one is matured in PX sherry. 

Laphroaig 7 Year Single Cask (Jack Rose Selection)

 

(credit to Whisybase for the picture)

I didn't even know Laphroaig had official (or quasi-official) single cask bottlings until I attended the Laphroaig event at the Jack Rose Saloon earlier this month (January 2023). The Laphroaig distillery has always supposed Jack Rose fairly closely, and they flew the owner and master taster out to Islay, where they jointly selected a single cask in the warehouse to be bottled for Jack Rose (!). 

Macallan 13 Year (SMWS 24.162 "Dystopian Deviant")

 

This single cask bottle of Macallan caught me by surprise. I think it's the final bottling of a longstanding vatting project by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") where they took 10 year Oloroso-matured Macallan and re-vatted it, and then finished it in different sherry casks. I've had four bottles from this project (24.147, 24.157, 24.159, 24.160), and they were all spectacular - they reinforce Macallan's reputation for exceptional casking. So I bought the final bottle as a matter of course, even though it was more expensive and in the new 700 mL format. 

Fettercairn 10 Year (SMWS 94.22 "A Repliant Tries Whisky-Making")

 

I just learned this week that Fettercairn was infamous for being one of the worst single malt whiskies for a very long time. Michael Jackson, the renowned whisky critic, hated their distillate, calling it rubbery and unappealing; Jim Murray the same - when he was told "there's no such thing as a bad single malt," he replied "Have you tried Fettercairn?" Ouch.

Laphroaig 27 Year

 

This is the other official bottling I had at the Laphroaig tasting event at Jack Rose last Sunday, January 15, 2023. Before that night I didn't even realize Laphroaig MADE a 27 year! Matured in some combination of first fill bourbon barrels, refill quarter casks, and refill hogsheads, bottled at 41.7% ABV. Shelf price is somewhere around $750-800. 

Laphroaig 25 Year

I recently attended a Laphroaig tasting event at the Jack Rose Saloon here in Washington DC, which was hosted by the owners of Jack Rose and also the global Laphroaig ambassador Simon Booking. On the menu were four drams: the 25 year old, the 27 year old, a single cask 7 year old bottled by Jack Rose, and a single cask 7 year old bottled by Julio's Liquor - a massive 20,000 sq ft liquor store in Westborough, Massachusetts. 

Blackadder Peat Reek Embers (Special Reserve, Oloroso Finish, NAS)

 

I can't find very much about the Peat Reek series from independent bottler Blackadder. Even less so about the Embers designation, or the Special Reserve status. All I *do* know for certain is that it's peated to 50 ppm, it's unfiltered and cask strength, and it carries no age statement. Considering that Sherry Snake was the same way - and was beyond fabulous - I am very hopeful for this.

Glen Spey 11 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask)

Glen Spey is another Diageo distillery that goes WAY under the radar most times. Used almost exclusively in J&B blended scotch, I have only ever seen a Glen Spey single malt available from independent bottlers. I had an 8 year from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society that was nice, bright, citric, and quite nice. So I'm curious what Blackadder does with it in its fabulous Raw Cask series - totally unfiltered. 

Guyanese Rum (Demerara Distillers Ltd.; SMWS R2.19 "Rumalicious")

 

The last rum from Guyana I had was also a single cask offering from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), which occasionally has other spirits on offer, like gin or rum or rye or Armagnac. 

This is an 18 year old rum, which is easily the oldest I've ever had, from Demerara Distillers Ltd., which continues to use 200+ year old wooden stills to make their rum. It's bottled at 60.9% ABV, which is astonishing for 18 years in the barrel in, presumably, a tropical climate. 

Dailuaine 15 Year (SMWS 41.143 "A Junior Suite at the Cask Resort")

 

Gee golly, I sure do like and respect Dailuaine! The word on Dailuaine has certainly spread rapidly in the internet age, and I have even heard the distillery mentioned by name at whisky-centric bars. One of the constellation of lesser known Diageo distilleries that gets used heavily for blends, the distillate is very well respected and makes for some lovely, delicate single malts. 

This is a single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), full sherry maturation: 12 years in an American oak ex-Oloroso butt, 3 years in a first fill Spanish oak ex-Oloroso butt, bottled at 59.1% ABV. Named by comedian/actor/influencer Neil Patrick Harris, who commented "I giggle when I think I'm sniffing a butt, but I get sober fast when I see it's 15 years old." Hahahah!

Glentauchers 10 Year (SMWS 63.82 "Two Middle Fingers of Scotch")

 

This is the first bottle of Glentauchers I've ever had - a single cask, full sherry matured bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), aged 10 years. First seven years in American oak ex-Oloroso, last 3 years in Spanish oak ex-Oloroso. Bottled at an insane 66.3% ABV. 

Glentauchers is owned by Pernod Ricard (along with Scapa, Aberlour, Glenlivet, Longmorn, Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, and others), but is virtually unknown because apparently 99.9% of the output is funneled in blends under the Ballatine's, 100 Pipers, Chivas Regal, and Royal Salute brands.