Castle & Cairn

 Once again grabbed by the twin punch of opportunity and convenience, I was stopping in for my weekly $1.50 glizzy and saw a fresh pallet of these sitting in the Costco Liquor store. For around $20, I'll try pretty much anything.  I hadn't heard of Tullibardine  before but they hail from the village of Blackford in Perthshire at the site of an old brewery, visited by King James IV of Scotland all the way back in 1488. A distillery was constructed after the end of World War II, though it lay dormant for 10 years until a group of investors rebooted it in 2003. The distillery is currently operated by French wine group Terroir Distillers and features a cooperage, maturation warehouses, blending, and bottling all on location. The only part of the process that does not happen at the site is malting. Tullibardine Artisan is a US-Exclusive offering aged in ex-bourbon casks. Perthshire is part of the Highlands Scotch region, so I would expect little to no peat and the profile to b...

Like Costco's other Scotches, the Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt is bottled for Alexander Murray and imported by MISA Imports after being distilled and aged in Scotland (TTB.gov plant registry TX-I-1277). The isle of Islay is one of the southern most islands in Scotland and is one of the five whisky regions ensconced in law. There are only nine active distilleries on the island, and the Islay style is typified by strong peat or smoky flavors. As a single malt, we know that the juice in this bottle comes entirely from one of those nine! All of the distilleries are significantly smaller than Glenlivet and many of the mainland producers. Taste testing has people split between Caol Illa, Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte), and Bunnahabhain as being the source. Caol Illa and Laphroig both have done deals for private brand scotch without rights to name the source distillery, but Laphroig does not match the flavor profile for this bottle. Realistically, Caol Illa is the most likely cand...

Highland Park , part of the Islands subset of the official Highlands region, is located on the isle of Orkney just off the North Sea and was founded in 1798 by Magnus "Mansie" Eunson, a local church beadle (Usher or Church Constable) and part time whiskey smuggler. Eunson often blending the two pursuits by stashing whisky in the church and it was almost 30 years before he gained an official distiller's license. From his name, you may surmise that he was descended from some of the Vikings who once raided and settled the northern Scottish islands, and that heritage formed the inspiration for much of the branding until a simplification of the bottle designs in October of 2024 removed the intricate designs introduced in 2017. This bottle is from that seven-year period and therefore features the "Viking Honor" moniker. Some are very happy to see a more standard and refined bottle design, but I mourn the individuality and distinctiveness of the old pattern. Their line...