Ardnamurchan The Midgie Release, 48%

The Midgie Release from Ardnamurchan is a welcome addition to my whisky collection, as well as a surprise release on my part. To ‘celebrate’ the arrival of midgie season in Scotland, Ardnamurchan have teamed up with Smidge – the UK’s leading producer of midgie repellent!

Outside of that fun team up, as well as the grumpy little midgie on the front of the bottle, the cask selection goes as so:

– 5 Madeira Barriques.

– 5 Sauternes Barriques.

– 1 Sherry Butt.

– 13 Bourbon Casks.

– 60% Peated Spirit.

– 40% Unpeated Spirit.

– 48% ABV.

– Natural Colour.

– Non Chill Filtered.

The flavours out of this are brimming with ginger, liquorice, orange, mint, with bread and butter! The smoke is there, but it is subtle and beyond approachable for the drinker who may not be a massive fan of peat.

I am literally craving this stuff, I’ll easily buy another before this even runs out, too.

I don’t know what it is that stands out for me with Ardnamurchan. The balance of peated and unpeated spirit, excellent casks – everyone has good casks, but Ardnamurchan’s selections just shine through so well.

I love this distillery. This is £52 a bottle and is limited to 6,200 bottles as a UK exclusive. Simply delicious and possibly the bargain buy of the year.

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 529: Caol Ila 12 Year Old 2011 Warehouse 8 Claxton’s

Mark Dermul, Belgian whiskyblogger, tastes… motor oil? Mark received this bottle for his birthday from his buddy Manny and took it with him to Austria on ski holiday. He was very surprised when he opened the box. Not only is the malt packaged in something that looks like an oversized perfume bottle, but it’s also one of the darkest malts he’s ever seen. For a second there, Mark thought Manny had played a prank on him and filled the bottle with motor oil! But nae worries, this is an outstanding Caol Ila, matured on a first fill oloroso octave, that yielded only 57 bottles.

https://youtu.be/9QU957VVPMM

ralfy review 1028 Extras – Micro-Blending malts (Tutorial)

ralfy review 1028 – AnCnoc 12yo @40%vol: (2024)

THE VIDEO

Glen Scotia 9YO Fino Cask Finish, Campbeltown Whisky Festival, 56.2%

Last year’s release of peated, white port cask really didn’t float my boat in any way. Tried it numerous times and it just never sat with me. That’s okay, though, whisky will always be a dividing thing when it comes to flavour.

This year’s release of a 9YO fino cask finished, unpeated style made me quite excited straight away for a few different reasons:

1 – Loving lower peat/unpeated coastal stuff right now.

2 – Fino sherry is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. It just does unexpected things to every distillate that I’ve been lucky to try it with.

3 – Glen Scotia is excellent across the board.

All of these things together made for a rather easy purchase for me.

Let me know all of your thoughts on this new release, it’ll be an easy sipper for me this summer.

Episode 556 – Another Never To Be Repeated Episode!

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show. It’s probably another of those never to be repeated episodes of the show, simply because you don’t see Independently bottled Bowmore anymore, so here’s a box, not a barn find selection of bottlings that are just for fun!

Featuring

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Bowmore 2002 (10 year old) 46%
Douglas Laing Old Particular Bowmore 2000 (15 year old) 48.4%
Douglas Laing Old Particular Bowmore 1998 (17 year old) 48.4%
Douglas Laing Old Particular Bowmore 1996 (20 year old) 51.5%
Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Bowmore 1996 (20 year old) 50%
Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Bowmore 1996 (20 year old) 50%

Filmed & Edited by Chris Goodrum

Filmed in The Study Nottingham

ralfy review 1027 Extras – ‘Opening Up’ a new bottle of single malt scotch.

ralfy review 1027 – Benromach 8yo Peat Smoke @46%vol:

Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5YO, 50%

https://youtu.be/LdharXP5ipc

Ardnahoe. The first new single malt release from Islay in nearly two decades.

A passion project from Hunter Laing independent bottlers and blenders. A distillery boasts the longest line arms in Scotch whisky, wormtub condensers, and when it comes to this release, a gateway for more people to get into Islay whisky.

Matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, 5 year old spirit, 35ppm, bottled at 50% ABV witn no chill filtering or added colour, this is one of the most balanced styles of classic Islay whisky that you’ll come across. I’ve no idea how many were released. If that’s what you care about, then you’re probably not going to open it.

A truly delicious, fresh, smoky, sweet addition to the legendary west coast stalwarts on Islay.

The Good Dram Show – Episode 555 ‘Longrow’

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show. This week I’ll be doing my annual Springbank episode. This time I’m taking a look at a selection of Longrow releases. The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 555 – The Good, the Bad & The Beauty Compromised…!

Filmed in The Study Nottingham

Featuring

Longrow ‘Online Tasting Week’ 17 year old 50.5%

Longrow Red 11 year old 57.5% Longrow Red 11 year old 55.9%

Longrow Limited Edition 14 year old Sherry Cask Matured 57.8%

Longrow ‘Open Day – May 2023’ 8 year old 54.9%

Longrow Tokaji Wood Expression 1995 (10 year old) 58.6% 

Filmed & Edited by Chris Goodrum