Whisk[e]y

It is no wonder that the Whiskey Advocate placed the Iwai 45 on their Top 20 Whiskies of 2020, just a couple months back. Coming in at number 19 and scoring 91 points, it was one of the most affordable (and obtainable) options on the list.

In the glass the top notes are of cereal grain, vanilla and honey. Poured neat in my glass at 45% abv I am adding no water and on the palate, I am immediately impressed by the round mouthfeel that yields to baked pear and warming spices. Layered through this exciting Japanese offering are notes of lemon peel and hints of marzipan mingling with American Oak.

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Two Stacks was created by three longtime friends at the forefront of reinvigorating and reimagining the historically calcified Irish beverage industry. Taking their name from the twin smokestacks of historic Old Dundalk Distillery—stacks so tall they used to act as landmarks guiding ships to port—Two Stacks aims to guide modern consumers to the welcoming waters of Ireland’s best whiskies with an emphasis on transparency and integrity in sourcing. Reinvesting in the blending process as artisanal rather than industrial, every step of their production is done traditionally: by hand, by taste, and by smell. Learn More

Nestled into the north coast of the island, Port Askaig has been the gateway to Islay for hundreds of years. Port Askaig 45 Year is a rare example of the old Islay style. Distilled in 1968 and matured in five refill sherry butts, this unpeated single malt was distilled on Hogmanay in 1968 at Islay’s northernmost distillery. Bottled it at cask strength after the angels took their generous share. Fruit-driven, with almost no smoke and an abundance of tropical fruits such as mango and papaya, this is an exceptionally complex whisky that no Islay fan should miss. 40.8% ABV.

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Juveniles is the latest in a long line of excellent collaborations between whisky blender Compass Box and Paris wine bar Juveniles Bistrot à Vins. Whiskymaker John Glaser and Tim Johnston are long-time friends and this special whisky has been created to celebrate wine and friendship. Every Juveniles collaboration has featured a jester on the label, and this release has one of his bells in the punt of the bottle, ready to give a jingle every time you pour. For this Limited Edition, Compass Box was asked to create something “...bright, smooth, not smoky... an assemblage perhaps between 12 and 15 years-old…”. John Glaser has pulled together whisky from Strathmill, Balmenach, Clynelish and Glendullan from refill hogsheads, re-charred hogsheads and both first-fill and refill sherry butts to create a zesty dram that balances crisp barley sugar and pear drop notes against rich vanilla and soft herbal notes. Perfect for dinner – chilled or over ice as an aperitif, or with cheese as the evening continues. Not chill-filtered. Natural color. Bottled at 46% ABV.

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Bottled exclusively for Wine Exchange! This cask bottling, distilled in April 2007, spent 14 years aging in bourbon barrel. It was bottled at cask strength in July of 2021 at 55.2% ABV. Cask #3 yielded 212 bottles. This is the first publicly available blended scotch whisky from Single Cask Nation. 

A Blend of single malt and single grain whisky, this bottling represents mulitple regions and styles in a single bottle. Expertly distilled and produced in conjunction with Burn Stewart Distillers. Notes of Toffee, Caramel, Roasted Nuts, Mineral-Rich Soil, Spiced Apples, Golden Raisins and Sweet Oak. 

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The exceptionally smooth, clean and fruity taste of Aultmore whisky can be traced to the Foggie Moss. The water source filters through bracken, gorse and heather purifying the water to the profit of Aultmore’s refined character. The Aultmore 21 Years Old is the pinnacle of the range with decades in refill hogsheads giving plenty of development without overpowering the classic Aultmore characters. This celebrates the herbal characters alongside stone fruit and gentle spice.

The Aultmore 21yr is like the ultimate fruit crumble, made of apples, pears and Cantaloupe melon, drenched in a creamy vanilla custard, and garnished with a sprig of Rosemary. It is a wonderfully complex dram, that you can slowly sip and savour as it evolves in the glass. ABV 46%.

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Caol Ila 12 Year Old 2007 vintage Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Matured in hogsheads #300893 & #300986 bottled December 2019 by Signatory Vintage for the Cask Strength Collection. 593 numbered bottles. 58.6% ABV.

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Bardstown Bourbon Fusion Series #5 is a blend of three different bourbons: two different Bardstown bourbons of different mash bills (56% 4 year old and 14% 3 year old), with the final 30% comprised of sourced 11-year-old Kentucky Bourbon from an undisclosed source.

Rich bread pudding and caramelized plantains with a touch of orange zest leads to flavors of dark chocolate and bing cherry on the palate, concluding with the signature smooth and balanced fusion finish, perfect for a cocktail or summer sipper. 47.45% ABV.

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From the importer: It all started some three centuries ago when the first of Ichiro Akuto’s forefathers began making alcoholic beverages in Saitama Prefecture. His grandfather began making whisky in the mid-1940’s with Hanyu Distillery, whose focus on malt whiskies took off with the Japanese economic boom of the 1980s. However, when the bubble burst in the 1990s, so too did the first Japanese Whisky boom, leading Hanyu—like several other distillers—to shutter its doors. Ichiro saved his grandfather’s old inventory and subsequently released the Playing Card series. This collection, which debuted to a slow start in the early 2000s, is now considered unicorn whisky, the stuff of legend. With the success of the playing cards, Ichiro saw that the Japanese whisky revival was imminent and in 2008 he built his current distillery in Chichubu. Chichubu distillery is where Ichiro, a 21st-century whisky-maker, embraces the heritage and heart of the Scots, balanced by the precision of the Japanese and the shokunin philosophy. This limited edition of Ichiro’s beloved Malt & Grain blends Scotch, Canadian Rye, Bourbon, Irish Whiskey, and Ichiro’s own single malt. Once brought back to Japan, each whisk(e)y aged for 10+ years before vatting. The result is a supremely complex spirit spanning an age range of 10–40 years. This world blend is non-chill filtered with no added coloring. 48% ABV Learn More

From the importer: Hombo Shuzo, the company behind Mars Shinshu distillery, opened a second distillery in Tsunuki, the birthplace of the Hombo family enterprise, in November of 2016. The climate at Tsunuki Distillery is drastically different from that of Mars Shinshu, as it sits at sea level and experiences higher humidity and large fluctuations in temperature. The goal of this new location was not necessarily to increase production, but to experiment with terroir. This bottling marks the very first single malt to be distilled at Tsunuki, produced between 2016 and 2017. Aged for just over three years in ex-bourbon barrels and sherry casks, this rich single malt exudes the enticing sweetness of vanilla and maple on the nose, leading to a fruity, pastry palate of banana crepes and apple pie and a finish of citrus, pine nut, and cinnamon. Only 1,122 bottles were produced of this highly anticipated single release, bottled at 59% ABV. Learn More

From the importer: This single malt whisky exemplifies the Mars approach to experimentation, taking full advantage of Japan’s vast and varying terrain by distilling in Nagano, 2,625 feet above sea level, then transporting the whisky south for aging in Yakushima, an island 60 km off the Kagoshima mainland. Distilled in 2015 and 2016, this non-chill filtered, lightly peated single malt has aged for just over 3–4 years in primarily ex-bourbon barrels and some sherry casks. Juicy citrus on the nose gives way to vanilla custard on the palate with hints of peat; fresh orange and lemon resurface on the bright finish. 53% ABV Learn More

It is no wonder that the Whiskey Advocate placed the Iwai 45 on their Top 20 Whiskies of 2020, just a couple months back. Coming in at number 19 and scoring 91 points, it was one of the most affordable (and obtainable) options on the list.

In the glass the top notes are of cereal grain, vanilla and honey. Poured neat in my glass at 45% abv I am adding no water and on the palate, I am immediately impressed by the round mouthfeel that yields to baked pear and warming spices. Layered through this exciting Japanese offering are notes of lemon peel and hints of marzipan mingling with American Oak.

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 Only 2 casks of this special Scotch were produced!

Our Winex exclusive cask was aged for 8 years, spending just over 7 years in ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels and then transferred into fresh Sandeman Ruby Port Casks for 6 months. At 55.9% ABV we recommend just a splash of water. The nose is complex and layered with cocoa powder, stewed cherries and biscuit peeking through the distinctive peat. The peat from Kilchoman has always stood out in my mind because it lacks any medicinal or burnt rubber qualities that turn many off to a peated scotch. On the palate it opens up with a hint of sweetness from the port cask. Flavors of baked cherry tart, citrus marmalade, toffee and dusty cocoa are wrapped cozily with the smokiness of the peat which warms the senses with pipe tobacco, smoldering earth and crushed seashell notes. The finish is long and cascading with a full and satisfyingly round mouthfeel.

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One of the world's most popular blends, and the best-selling Scotch whisky in Scotland. Famous Grouse is a very nicely balanced, malty blend which was first made in 1896, and would go on to be known as The Famous Grouse, with the name registered in 1905. Around eighty years later, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant. The blend represents great value for money, and it also works beautiful in whisky-based cocktails. Delicious.

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Sweet nose with caramel and vanilla, slightly floral and fruity. Sweet yet slightly spicy from the rye, it has notes of brown sugar, maple syrup, rock candy and toffee. Spicy notes include clove and cinnamon. Well-balanced with roasted corn, toast and raisin. Sherry finishing adds flavors of walnut, fig and candied fruit. Finish is medium-long with notes of sweet caramel and butterscotch. 46.3% ABV.

Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon is the world's first solera aged bourbon. Solera aging is a process that has generally been reserved for aging cognacs, ports and sherries. It involves filling a series of casks at different intervals over a long period of time. As whiskey from the oldest cask is emptied and bottled, the cask is re-filled with an equivalent amount of whiskey from the second-oldest cask in the solera. This cascading effect continues until the youngest cask in the solera is filled with new whiskey. As a result, no cask in the solera is ever fully emptied. In addition, as the younger whiskey ages and cascades through the solera, its average age and complexity gradually increases over time.

Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon marries Hillrock Estate Bourbon with a mature seed bourbon that was carefully sourced by Pickerell. After cascading through the solera, Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon is finished in 20 year old Oloroso Sherry casks. The finishing process balances the spicy rye flavors of the bourbon and adds further complexity, with layers of fig, roasted walnuts and candied fruit. The current age of Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon is over six years and the rye content is approximately 37%.

 

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