More Drams, Less Drama - Coldorak's Whisky Blog.

Go (Five) Hibiki

17th June 202616th June 2026Coldorak

Suntory Hibiki has come to represent the polished, expressive side of Japanese whisky, and this lineup of five bottles shows how Suntory kept the name alive as aged stock became harder to find. With four no-age-statement releases and only one age-stated bottling, the 17-year-old, today’s lineup also reflects the wider pressure the Japanese whisky industry faced in the 2010s as mature distillate was depleted and producers had to rethink what their flagship blends and single malts could be.

Suntory’s answer was to lean into blending skill and house style rather than rely only on age statements, and Hibiki became one of the clearest examples of that shift. This review looks at how those expressions differ, what they reveal about the brand’s approach, and how Hibiki adapted when older stocks were no longer available in the volumes the category had once depended on.

Six Glasgow 1770 Whiskies

15th June 202614th June 2026Coldorak

Glasgow Distillery has become one of the interesting names in Scotch whisky, doing so many things right (nice people, nice whisky, nice prices) and this line-up shows why. From the core range to the small-batch releases, these six whiskies give a good sense of what the distillery does best and how far it is willing to push things.

Lagavulin 11-year-old Nick Offerman and 12-year-old Special Release 2021

Lagavulin 11 yo Nick Offerman & 12 yo SR2021

12th June 202612th June 2026Coldorak

We conclude our celebrity and whisky week (after the Laphroaig Willem Dafoe and the Glenmorangie Harrison Ford) with a Lagavulin 11-year-old Nick Offerman 3rd edition, and we compare it to the 12-year-old Special Release 2021. Nick Offerman, as I’ve mentioned in the review of the 4th edition, is a known big fan of Lagavulin distillery. It first appeared as some kind of joke in the (brilliant and very fun) TV show Parks & Recreations, but in fact it was based on a true love for this Islay distillery. And since it’s our first Lagavulin dedicated blog post here, let’s introduce the distillery first, as we have not done it yet!

Glenmorangie Harrison Ford

10th June 202610th June 2026Coldorak

Glenmorangie Harrison Ford takes the spotlight after Monday’s Laphroaig 14-Year-Old Willem Dafoe review, as our celebrity-and-whisky week continues with another heavyweight pairing. It makes for a neat contrast with Dafoe’s wonderfully eccentric Islay turn, and it sets the stage for Friday’s final collaboration as the week’s closing act.

Laphroaig 12yo and 14yo Willem Dafoe

8th June 20267th June 2026Coldorak

Laphroaig 12-year-old and Laphroaig 14-year-old Willem Dafoe lead today’s review, bringing together two distinctive Islay whiskies and one unmistakable name. Celebrity collaborations in spirits often sit somewhere between genuine passion projects and smart storytelling, and whisky is one of the categories where that relationship feels especially natural. From brand partnerships to special editions created with distilleries, these releases show how a famous name can add another layer of interest to the glass. Here, though, the focus stays where it should be: on the whisky itself, with these two Laphroaig expressions taking centre stage.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare Port Ellen and Glenury Royal, King George V and The John Walker

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare, King George V & John Walker

5th June 20265th June 2026Coldorak

Johnnie Walker Blue Label has a habit of showing up in many forms, from the familiar to the highly collectible, and the four releases we are going to review are among the more intriguing examples. Building on last year’s look at the 18-year-old and two Blue Label editions, I’m now turning to the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare Port Ellen, Ghost & Rare Glenury Royal, King George V, and The John Walker – three whiskies that each take the Blue Label idea in a slightly different direction, plus The John Walker, in its own even more premium category. They are all very much premium blends, but what makes them worth exploring is the way each one balances rarity, depth, and the distinct house style Johnnie Walker is known for.

Torabhaig Taigh House Style

3rd June 20262nd June 2026Coldorak

There are so many distilleries now in Scotland that it’s hard sometimes to remember if some of them have been covered at least once on More Drams or not. For instance, I was sure, having tried a few Torabhaig these last couple years, that I had reviewed their inaugural release and a couple of the next expressions they released. And I was wrong. So, let’s at least repair that mistake, by introducing Torabhaig distillery and reviewing their first core range expression, Torabhaig Taigh House Style.

7 + 1 Springbank Local Barley

29th May 202628th May 2026Coldorak

Pour yourself a dram or a coffee (or whatever you fancy), as today we’re having many whiskies reviewed, with 7 + 1 Springbank Local Barley. We’re tasting all but one of the recent Local Barley expressions released since 2019 (so we’re starting with one bottled in 2018), plus as a bonus, a vatting sample from one of them, tried before its final bottling and release, during my Eat, Sleep, Dram, Repeat tour at Springbank back in July 2023.

Hagmeyer Wah! Classique & Single Cask

27th May 202626th May 2026Coldorak

Today, we’re taking a look at Hagmeyer, an Alsatian distillery long known for fruit distillation, but which also makes whisky since 2016. We review two of their whiskies, with the Hagmeyer Wah! Classic and Single Cask.

Two Exceptional 1970s Speyside ALOS

25th May 202624th May 2026Coldorak

We’re flying at high altitude today with two very high-level secret Speyside whiskies bottled in 2017 by Antique Lions of Spirits (ALOS). Antique Lions of Spirits is an independent bottling collaboration based in Italy, but we’ll learn more about it below. In our glasses today are two very old Speyside single malts, distilled in 1973 and 1975, and both bottled in 2017.