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thewhiskynovice Exploring the world, one dram at a time. https://www.instagram.com/thewhiskynovice/

The guys from are releasing a Kildalton 22 year old today!This 2003 vintage from a well-known Islay distillery has been...
13/11/2025

The guys from are releasing a Kildalton 22 year old today!

This 2003 vintage from a well-known Islay distillery has been bottled as part of their Vintage Reserve range. It weighs in at 53.7% ABV and has spent its life in a second fill barrel.

Nose: Toasted Padron peppers, seaweed, iodine, pineapple fritters, aniseed and earthy smoke.
Palate: Tangy lemon, spearmint gum, white pepper, black tea, sea salt, and waves of 'Islay peat'.

I was expecting this to be a subtle, mellow dram, but it packs a punch, bringing bags of distillery character. This is everything I love about A*****, bold, and unapologetic.

Aswell as the Kildalton, there are 6 new additions to their Soho Selection:
⚫️ Avon Blended Malt 2016 9 year old
⚫️ Ben Nevis 2010 15 year old
⚫️ Linkwood 2013 11 year old
⚫️ Teaninich 2012 13 year old
⚫️ Speyside 2010 14 year old
⚫️ Vat No.3 1994 Blended 30 year old

I think a trip to London is needed!

//Gifted

Finally! An ex-bourbon matured whisky has entered the Glasgow 1770 core range!Last week, the team at announced the laun...
12/11/2025

Finally! An ex-bourbon matured whisky has entered the Glasgow 1770 core range!

Last week, the team at announced the launch of an 8 year old, lightly peated whisky that has been fully matured in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks.

For those unfamiliar with the Glasgow Distillery, they make three main spirit types. Their 'Original' is a double distilled untested spirit, a triple distilled and a peated. This new release combines three casks of their unpeated double distilled with three casks of their peated distillate to create a 50/50 split for batch one.

Nose: Vanilla buttercream, apricot jam, lime sorbet, a touch of peat, and a lot of tropical fruit!
Palate: There's a biscuity sweetness, almost like a Party Ring. There's also more tropical notes as well as grapefruit, shortcrust pastry, and brown sugar. It's malty with a strong oak spice on the finish.

Whilst they've described this as 'lightly peated', I'd say this is slightly 'peatier' than other lightly peated malts on the market. Whilst the peat smoke does not dominate, it is very evident on the palate.

It's a great addition to an already strong core range. If I had to pick a favourite, I'd still go for the recently released ruby port cask, but this is also a great option.

//Gifted

It's time for not one, but two new Ardnamurchans!(Campaign to make the plural of Ardnamurchan globally known as 'Ardnamu...
11/11/2025

It's time for not one, but two new Ardnamurchans!
(Campaign to make the plural of Ardnamurchan globally known as 'Ardnamurchai' still ongoing)

The first of the new releases is the Ardnamurchan Heritage Barley. Crafted from 100% unpeated Golden Promise barley, this is the first bottling from one I hope is going to be an ongoing series. Spirit made from the almost forgotten grain has been matured since 2018 in ex-American bourbon barrels before being bottled at 59.2%

The second new release is the 2025 release of the Ardnamurchan 10 year old. This year's bottling sees peated spirit added to the mix for the first time, vatted from 54 ex-bourbon barrels and 2 ex-sherry hogsheads. There are 16,380 bottles available, which have been bottled at 46.8%

Heritage Barley
Nose: Super grassy! Green apples, apricots, rich tea biscuits, candied lemon, and a little coastal air.
Palate:
Really viscous mouthfeel that coats the palate and carries a LOT of flavour. It's salty with notes of apples, mixed nuts, bread dough, and a slightly fizzy finish.

10 year old (2025 Release)
Nose: Again, that coastal note that runs through the Ardnamurchan range. Citrus oils, pebble beaches, icing sugar, and a mineralic peat smoke.
Palate: More peat than the nose revealed. Again, a healthy level of salt, which is joined by lime juice, peppermint tea, barley sugar sweets, and a wave of coastal smoke.

Two super stripped back Ardnamurchans. Whilst I've been a big fan of some of the more cask heavy releases in the past (especially the sauternes single cask for club members), it's great that the team have opted to allow the distillery character to really shine with this pair of releases.

//Gifted

I've been watching a load of US based accounts posting and raving about Penelope over the last couple of years, so when ...
10/11/2025

I've been watching a load of US based accounts posting and raving about Penelope over the last couple of years, so when their PR company messaged me to say they were coming to the UK market, I was super keen to try them!

Penelope is part of the Luxco family and is distilled at the MGP owned Ross & Squibb distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana

They've kindly sent me four samples to try:
⚪️ Penelope Four Grain
It's made by combining three different mash bills with a total of four different grains. On the nose, it's soft with lots of honeyed cereal and citrus. It's a super easy sipper, but it lacks a bit of body.

🟡 Penelope Wheated
Quite self-explanatory this one. They've added wheat to the mashbill! It's sweet and creamy with notes of soft toffee chews, vanilla biscuits, brown sugar, and just a hint of menthol spice. The added ABV really helps this one.

🔵 Penelope Architect
Finished with French oak staves, which give it a warm spiced finish. There's Creme Brûlée on the nose with bitter coffee, dark chocolate, and a herbal note on the palate.

🔴 Cigar Sessions
Created alongside master cigar blenders to create a bourbon to pair alongside medium-bodied ci**rs. There's loads of caramel as well as chocolate torte, nutmeg, and an oaky finish.

For me, the wheated is the pick of the bunch (I have a soft spot for wheated bourbons), although the Cigar Sessions was really enjoyable to!

//Gifted

It seems like all of my favourite distilleries are releasing Port casks this year, and I am here for it!The latest to jo...
04/11/2025

It seems like all of my favourite distilleries are releasing Port casks this year, and I am here for it!

The latest to join the trend is White Peak Distillery in Derbyshire. They've recently added the Wire Works Port Cask to their newly formed Provenance core range. The Port cask joins their house style Caduro and the recent OSWA winning Bourbon Barrel to create a trio of readily available bottlings.

Fresh Tawny Port barriques from Dias Cooperage are vatted together with 1st fill American oak bourbon barrels to create this release. It's then bottled at 50.2% and has an RRP of £65

Nose: Strawberries, almonds, cherries, milk chocolate, and Barfi (Indian style fudge).
Palate: More berries, plums, honeycomb, key lime pie, soft gingerbread biscuits with a touch of spice and peat.

This is moreish. It almost seems a little more 'peaty' than a lot of Wire Works I've had previously, but that extra bit of peat compliments the port casks well. A strong addition to the newly formed core range, and, as expected, it has quickly become one of my favourite expressions from White Peak.

One of the standout drams from my recent trip to Single Cask #24 was made with a heavily peated malt using highland pea...
03/11/2025

One of the standout drams from my recent trip to
Single Cask #24 was made with a heavily peated malt using highland peat and a combination of three different yeasts. The texture was unreal!

Wales Whisky Fest!If you're over in Llandudno today, make sure you swing by and try some , and !
01/11/2025

Wales Whisky Fest!
If you're over in Llandudno today, make sure you swing by and try some , and !

Firkin good whisky?A little while ago, my buddy, , teamed up with to release his own bottling of Linkwood.This Linkwoo...
29/10/2025

Firkin good whisky?
A little while ago, my buddy, , teamed up with to release his own bottling of Linkwood.

This Linkwood underwent the 'Firkin' treatment, being matured in custom casks made up of staves from two types of oak, 1st fill ex-bourbon American oak, and custom charred Limousin oak. After this initial maturation period, it was then moved into a madeira cask for a finishing period.

This 2011 vintage whisky was then bottled at 48.9%.

Nose: Super juicy. Honey, apricot, raisins, and a little nutty.
Palate: Fruity and a bit earthy! Caramel, golden syrup, dried fruits, red berries, toasted waffles, with a cinnamon and oak spice.

There is so much flavour and a lot going on with this one! A little splash of water tames it and allows you to disect the flavours a bit more. There's nothing delicate about this whisky, so if that's what you're after, move along. If you're after something rich and bold, this might just be your dram.

For those interested, there's still a few bottles left, so hit up for details!

Swipe to see the contents!It doesn't matter where you bump into , he always seems to be carrying something tasty. Last ...
28/10/2025

Swipe to see the contents!
It doesn't matter where you bump into , he always seems to be carrying something tasty.

Last month, I bumped into Hugo walking around London with some tasting packs of the brand new bottlings. Well, in true Artful Dodger style, I pilfered a set whilst he wasn't looking and squirrelled them away to try in the future*.

The recent release consists of four bottlings:
⚫️ Tennessee** Sour Mash Bourbon 20 year old (definitely not a George Dickel 👀)
⚫️ Glen Ord 16 year old Bourbon hoggie
⚫️ Dailuaine 16 year old ex-Ardbeg sherry butt
⚫️ Bruichladdich 22 year old Sauternes cask

Tennessee Bourbon
Nose: Sun tan lotion, corn bread, and sweet oak.
Palate: Coconut cream, brown sugar, maple syrup, and a touch of peppery spice.

Glen Ord
Nose: Assorted biscuits (the kind that become your gran's sewing tin), green apples, and a little grassy.
Palate: Fresh, fruity, and malty. Orchard fruits, specifically apple Maoam sweets and Hovis digestive biscuits.

Dailuaine
Nose: Porridge and weetabix with a sprinkle of salt. The peat is well hidden.
Palate: WTF?! Bonkers. If someone put BBQ ribs, salt, lime, and whisky into a blender, this is what you'd get!

Bruichladdich
Nose: That funky, farmy thing that old laddies carry.
Palate: Juicy fruit bubblegum, more funky farmyard-y fun, and jellied orange sweets with a syrupy texture.

An eclectic quartet of drams, and exactly what I'd expect from Artful Dodger. That Dailuaine is crazy and I'd definitely recommend trying it if you get a chance! The Bruichladdich is also a little bit mad if you like their old school style. The Tennessee and Ord are just great examples of older bourbon and Glen Ord's fruity style. It's nice to see some reasonable prices too!

*No actual theft was committed. These were //Gifted 😅
** Please excuse attempt at spelling Tennessee

Last week, I headed over to Ireland to visit the Royal Oak Distillery, home of whiskey. We were treated to a stay in th...
27/10/2025

Last week, I headed over to Ireland to visit the Royal Oak Distillery, home of whiskey.

We were treated to a stay in the 5 star Lyrath Estate and ALL of the food, including a stand-out meal at The Butcher in Kilkenny.

If I were to take one thing away from the distillery tour, it's that consistency is key for The Busker. From cooling jackets around their fermentation tanks, housed outside of the distillery, which prevents any seasonal variance in their spirit, to a high tech, full automated distillery, allowing their distillery operators to control everything from a series of computers and screens in an office.

The distillery makes three types of whiskey, single malt, pot still and grain, so there is a wide range of equipment on site, including both a roller mill and a hammer mill, and both column still and pot stills.

My favourite whiskey of their trip is their current travel retail exclusive, available from Dublin airport. It's a 7 year old single pot still aged in a combination of American new oak and ex-bourbon casks. I was also pretty impressed with how well their single malt stood up to a whiskey sour!

Unlike a lot of Irish distilleries, The Busker has never released sourced spirit, meaning every bottle of The Busker has been made at the Royal Oak Distillery. Even their blend consists of malt, green barley, and wheat processed at their own site. I definitely think we need a new term for blends from a single distillery!

//PressTrip

Our Barley gets some company as Lochlea adds three new expressions to its core range. By now, you've probably seen or he...
25/10/2025

Our Barley gets some company as Lochlea adds three new expressions to its core range.

By now, you've probably seen or heard of the three new whiskies that has recently released. The Single Estate Range consists of:

🟢 Orchard & Oak - 1st fill Bourbon, New Oak & Calvados casks
🟣 Dark Briar - Pedro Ximenez, Oloroso & Port casks
🔵 Smoke Without Fire - ex-peated refill bourbon and red wine casks
⚫️ Our Barley

All expressions are 46%, non-chill filtered, and priced at £50 for a 70cl bottle.

Orchard & Oak
Nose: Baked apples, vanilla custard, straw, and lime
Palate: "Orchard fruits and oak." It does what it says on the tin! Lots of green apple and a touch of pastry with a touch of woody spice on the finish.

Dark Briar
Nose: Berries, caramel, and cola bottle sweets (not the fizzy ones!)
Palate: More berries, walnuts, molasses, and a tingly ginger spice.

Smoke without Fire
Nose: Raspberry jam filled doughnuts, citrus, and a coastal style peat smoke
Palate: Soft smoke, lime cordial, and a salinity that shines across the whole palate.

So what did I think?
Oak & Orchard - a perfect explanation of what the dram offers. It feels like a traditional speyside style of whisky.
Dark Briar - I think it would benefit from a little more texture, so hopefully, they'll release a version at a higher ABV in the future
Smoke without fire - My favourite of the three. I like my peaty whiskies to have that coastal note, and it's there in abundance.

//Gifted

Great day at the Royal Oak Distillery yesterday. I'm off to explore a little bit more of Ireland today.More to come soon...
23/10/2025

Great day at the Royal Oak Distillery yesterday.
I'm off to explore a little bit more of Ireland today.
More to come soon!

//Presstrip

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