Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 452: Orkney 13 Year Old 2007 for Ypres Whisky Friends

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries an undisclosed Orkney malt. The boys of the Ypres Whisky Friends recently presented their third club bottling: a Highland Park – even if it’s not on the label. You know how that goes. What surprised Mark was that it got a finish on an ex-Glen Moray barrel. A bold choice. Let’s taste and see what that meant for this pale Orkney malt.

https://youtu.be/YKYRGXLtkVE

ralfy review 936 – Antiquary 15yo Blended @ 43%vol:

https://youtu.be/e-aUBcBX4JA

Bushmills is such a well known name, with well known staus across the globe, that sometimes ignorance from certain parts of the whisky community tends to run rife in the idea of commonality.

When I tried that 29YO Madeira Cask last year, my mind was blown apart by how good it was. But, where does trying to access whisky like that come from? Well the ability to release bottles like that to a baying fandom of whisky drinkers is all built upon regular sales of regular stocks, and personally, I believe that Bushmills 10YO is one of the best value single malts that exists on the planet.

Whether you’re into Irish whiskey, or not. Bushmills are responsible for such a huge chunk of the Irish whiskey world, that in my opinion, this bottle deserves some attention.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show. A number of events have lead me to believe that an episode of the show on Tormore was well overdue.

https://youtu.be/GYjkOtvw854

ralfy review 935 Extras – An old unloved bottle finds a home.

ralfy review 935 – Machrie Moor 10yo @46%vol:

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 451: Westward Belgian Ardennes Trappist Ale vs The Belgium Edition 2021

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, puts two US single malts head-to-head. From the first time Mark tasted a Westward bottling, he was a fan. When they then release a club bottling called Belgian Ardennes Trappist Ale – after the Ardennes  farmhouse yeast used by Culmination Brewing from Portland – he couldn’t help but beg Cinoco, the Belgian importer, to bring it to Belgium. And so it happened. At the same time as the Belgian Trappist Ale edition, a veritable Belgium Edition was also released, so Mark most certainly could not allow this to pass him by either. It is a single barrel that was cut to 50%. The barrel – barrel #780 – was specially selected by Stephan De Bolle and his Cinoco team.

https://youtu.be/EPsWzrON09A

https://youtu.be/X_Muom77vB0

Matured for nearly a quarter of a century in ex-bourbon, then transferred into indulgent sauternes wine casks, Fettercairn’s light and mailable spirit has been growing on my radar since their first warehouse release.

Bottled as part of the Loch Fyne Fynest Series, these new, chunky single barrel bottles have already had some wonderful releases including Bunnahabhain, Glengoyne and now Fettercairn!

Cask strength, natural colour, non-chill filtered and showcasing a whisky that is growing in appreciation, this bottle has really struck me in ways that I didn’t think it would. Sauternes is a cask type that I’ve never loved, always found it a little flat and just generally sweet. This, however, is just a wealth of chocolate, roasted coffee and big tropical fruits (classic Fettercairn).

I’ve got this bottle open in The Whisky Shop Manchester, so if you want to try something different and fancy branching out, then why not try this?

 Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be reviewing a selection of bottlings from the popular Glengyle distillery, including a blast from the past!

https://youtu.be/IEaSc3fagms

ralfy review 934 – Timerous Beastie 13yo @ 50