by Mike 7. December 2009 18:49
Islay isn’t a very large island, in fact it only takes up a couple of hundred square miles. But somehow this mysterious, peat-laden isle is home to some of the most popular, colossal distilleries in Scotland.
Now the whisky world is buzzing with excitement, as a new, artisan distillery has begun producing single malt. Peaty, pungent and characterful single malt no less.
The distillery is Kilchoman, sited on a small farmstead to the West of Islay. It’s a small and traditional distillery, sourcing its ingredients from the surrounding countryside. It even boasts its own malting floors.
After being entirely stunned by the exceptional inaugural release, we couldn’t wait for what lay in store.
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by Mike 30. November 2009 17:21
At Master of Malt, we’ve loved Amrut’s releases over the years, especially the awesome cask strength bottlings! Now Jim Murray has declared Amrut Fusion to be the Third Finest Whisky in the World with a whopping 97 points, we thought we’d have to offer our thoughts…
A little about the distillery…
The Amrut distillery was founded in Bangalore (or Bengaḷūru as it's known in India), an area known as India’s Silicon Valley. Originally producing dark rums and brandy, it wasn’t until the ‘80s that Amrut began to distil single malt.
Interestingly, Indian whisky is bottled after only a few years of ageing. The reason for this is the intense climate which speeds maturation to the extent that 12% of each barrel is lost every year to the angels’ share (more than 6 times that of Scotland!).
To create something completely original Amrut distilled Fusion from both Indian and Scottish barley and before tasting we’re already expecting Amrut’s trademark fruity, malty house style, so here goes…
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by Mike 16. November 2009 16:56
With so many amazing Japanese whiskies on the market we thought we’d review one of our favourites – the Yamazaki 18 Year Old, a whisky from the more thickly sherried, savoury school of Japanese malts.
A little about the distillery…
Yamazaki was Japan’s first whisky distillery and it was built by Suntory’s founder, Shinjiro Torii, in 1923. In Japan there are only two major players in whisky: Suntory and Nikka. Between them they control almost every distillery in the country.
Because of this there is no trading of malt and grain whisky between companies (as is the practice in Scotland’s whisky blending industry). Distilleries must be as self-contained as possible, so Yamazaki houses a whopping 12 stills of different type and configuration, allowing the distillery to produce a range of whiskies.
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