More Drams, Less Drama

Guynot XO Exception N°37 Cognac

7th December 20256th December 2025Coldorak

Day 6 of the Cognac-Expert advent calendar shifts the spotlight back to Guynot, with the XO Exception N°37, a limited-edition Fins Bois cognac. After spending time with their Guynot XO Elegance a few months ago – a 45-year-old Fins Bois that aligned beautifully with our preferences – today’s dram lets us explore a younger take on the same house style. As an XO, it brings together eaux-de-vie with at least a decade of age, even hinting at a way greater age, setting the stage for a more energetic interpretation of Guynot’s Fins Bois character.

Vallein Tercinier Lot 96 Cognac

6th December 20255th December 2025Coldorak

Day 5 of the Cognac-Expert advent calendar delivers a familiar name with a prestigious twist: a Vallein Tercinier Lot 96 Cognac. While we explored one of their Lot 96 single casks a few months back – a solid Fins Bois expression – this pouch elevates the game with Grande Champagne terroir, the crown jewel of cognac crus.

Landreau XXO Grande Champagne Cognac

5th December 20254th December 2025Coldorak

We continue the journey to Christmas with the fourth pouch of our Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, where we discovered the Landreau XXO Grande Champagne Cognac. A few months ago, we enjoyed the Landreau L’Âge D’Or, alongside the Maze Churchill Origine N°1 found in yesterday’s pouch (hence the absence of review yesterday). This time, the Landreau XXO offers a younger expression, giving us a chance to see if the same high quality carries through lower in their range.

Egreteau Father’s Blend Cognac

3rd December 20252nd December 2025Coldorak

Looking forward to the second dram of the 2025 Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, we encounter the Egreteau Father’s Blend, continuing what has proven to be an exceptional series this year. Now, Egreteau needs little introduction – we’ve already explored the house in detail – but it’s worth recalling that we were genuinely convinced by the two Egreteau Fragments we reviewed back in May 2025. With that foundation of quality in mind, let’s discover what the Father’s Blend brings to the table.

Ragnaud Sabourin XXO Grande Champagne Cognac

Ragnaud Sabourin XXO Cognac

2nd December 20252nd December 2025Coldorak

We’re back to Cognac advent calendars for our second year, with this time again, the Cognac-Expert advent calendar. Before we start with the first cognac of this 2025 Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, a Ragnaud Sabourin XXO Cognac, let me add a disclaimer, for transparency purposes. If you read my reviews last year, you saw that most of the cognacs were delicious or even utterly splendid, with just a few of them being of a lower level. But, once again, this was my own and humble opinion, based on my analysis and my preferences, so it’s not the Holy Word. If last year I had bought myself the advent calendar, I was lucky that this year it was sent to me by Cognac-Expert directly, with no strings attached. We were all clear that I would still write what I want and what I think, as I’ve always done, and as I plan to always do. Thanks again to Taylor at Cognac-Expert, who handled all that. It’s very appreciated! End of disclaimer, let’s crack on with the holy liquid that was in yesterday’s pouch!

Three Independent Glen Ord

1st December 202530th November 2025Coldorak

Today we explore three independently bottled Glen Ord whiskies from Signatory Vintage and Chorlton Whisky, which we tasted during November’s Rennes Whisky Club session. Independent bottlers let us discover Glen Ord’s true taste, especially in Europe, since the official Singleton of Glen Ord bottlings target Diageo’s Asia-focused markets like Taiwan, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and travel retail. They do appear on the Special Releases, though. Let’s briefly discuss the distillery before reviewing this trio.

Eight Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival

28th November 202528th November 2025Coldorak

On the menu today are eight Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malt Festival releases, from 2018 to 2025. The Campbeltown Malts Festival draws whisky enthusiasts to Scotland’s Kintyre Peninsula each late May. Campbeltown has an outsized legacy in whisky history – at its peak during the Victorian era, it rivalled even Speyside for production and prestige. Today, three active distilleries carry that torch: Springbank, Glen Scotia, and Glengyle. The festival brings them together with masterclasses, distillery tours, tastings, and live music, offering a genuine glimpse into what makes Campbeltown’s whiskies distinct and why the town’s distilling traditions still matter. We’ll focus on Glen Scotia today, as I own several of these Campbeltown Malts Festival yearly releases, and procured samples for the ones I didn’t have.

Five Indy Mannochmore

26th November 202526th November 2025Coldorak

Today we sample five independent Mannochmore, as we sadly cannot rely on the distillery itself to demonstrate their true quality. A quick look at Whiskybase reveals that, aside from a 12-year-old release in Diageo’s Flora & Fauna range, and some rare Prima & Ultima or Single Cask editions released sporadically, Mannochmore rarely issues official single malts. This means we must again depend on independent bottlers to discover what the distillery can achieve. First, let’s briefly introduce Mannochmore distillery, then review five independent Mannochmores from The Single Cask, Signatory Vintage, James Eadie, and Chorlton Whisky.

Armagnac Tariquet 12-year-old Garreau Pure Insolence

Two Armagnacs: Tariquet 12yo & Garreau Pure Insolence

24th November 202524th November 2025Coldorak

We start the week with two Bas-Armagnacs made entirely from Folle Blanche grapes: a Domaine Tariquet 12-year-old and a Château Garreau Pure Insolence. We’ve briefly explained what Armagnac is before when reviewing an excellent 30-year-old Darroze. But before diving into these two expressions, a quick note on how Armagnac differs from Cognac will be useful.

A Ballindalloch and three indy Glenfarclas

A Ballindalloch And Some Indy Glenfarclas

21st November 202520th November 2025Coldorak

On the menu today are a Ballindaloch and some indy Glenfarclas. What is the link between those? Most whisky lovers know Glenfarclas, Ballindalloch’s famous distillery. Some may also recognise Cragganmore. Fewer people realise that Ballindalloch hosts a third distillery: the Ballindalloch Distillery itself. Today, let’s try a single cask from Ballindalloch—the first I’ve managed to get hold of—and compare it with a few Glenfarclas expressions as benchmarks.