By Richard Thomas Rating: A This bottling from Exclusive Malts follows a vintage from 1991, and should not be confused with it. Both are 25 year olds, but because we’re looking at two different (albeit similar) bottlings of single cask, cask strength whiskies, they are cousins and should be seen as such. Another potential source of confusion is that this ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A- It’s my anecdotal experience, first and second hand, that Michter’s 10 Year Old is the least agreed upon expression among the sort of pricey, annual limited edition releases in American Whiskey. I wouldn’t call it divisive, because nobody actually hates it and I’m not interested in clickbait proclamations. So it’s not a question of everybody ...

Updated July 20, 2020 By Richard Thomas Averaged Rating: B+ Sitting atop last year’s revamped Highland Park core line is their 18 Year Old single malt. There are older expressions from this Orkney distillery, of course, but they weren’t included in the Viking-themed revamp. The 18 year old is, in some ways, an embodiment of what Highland Park does. The ...

By Father John Rayls Rating: A- There are many opinions about Orphan Barrel whiskeys, ranging from love and devotion to cynicism and avoidance. For myself, having found several sourced whiskies that I thoroughly enjoy, I remain open-minded concerning the Diageo’s Orphan Barrel releases.  While I’m skeptical about the stories of suddenly rediscovering barrels that are 12 to 25 years old ...

By Emma Briones Rating: A Launched alongside another new blend, Compass Box Phenomenology, Compass Box No Name is the peatiest whisky from the independent Scotch blender to date. Both are designed to challenge a drinker’s “thinking about how a whisky is experienced and understood,” by focusing on the sensory experiences that both whiskies bring to the table. But why launch ...