Reviews Archives

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.

Benromach 21, 35yo & Glen Mosset 2013 Maltbarn

Benromach 21- & 35-year-old & 2013 Maltbarn

19th November 202519th November 2025Coldorak

Today, More Drams dives into the Benromach distillery with reviews of their 21- and 35-year-old expressions, plus the independent 2013 Benromach bottled as Glen Mosset by Maltbarn. Incredibly, over six years of blogging, I’ve only reviewed one Benromach before. While it’s not a distillery I often purchase or receive samples from, I’ve always admired its old-school style – especially since visiting the distillery in 2019 deepened my appreciation. This session aims to remedy that oversight with two official Benromach releases and a hidden gem: the Glen Mosset 2013 Maltbarn, the code name for Benromach in select bottlings.

Springbank 5-year-old & Longrow 100 Proof

Springbank 5-year-old and Longrow 100 Proof

17th November 202517th November 2025Coldorak

Today we explore two high-strength whiskies bottled at 100 proof. And neither comes from Signatory Vintage’s famous series. Instead, we examine two new additions to Springbank’s portfolio: the Springbank 5-Year-Old 100 Proof and the Longrow 100 Proof. Springbank introduced the 5-Year-Old 100 Proof in 2025 as a permanent core range addition. It marks the triumphant return of a historic bottling that vanished in the 1990s. The Longrow 100 Proof represents the inaugural batch of a bold new series. It replaces the discontinued Longrow Red range. Both whiskies mark significant milestones for the Campbeltown distillery. Springbank offers consistent availability through quarterly releases. The Longrow debuts a fresh direction for peated Campbeltown whisky. It moves away from the divisive Red series into a new era defined by full-proof strength and red wine influence from Pinot Noir cask finishing.

Pasquet Très Vieille Fine Champagne Esprit de Famille Cognac de Bernadette Cognac de Jean

Pasquet Très Vieille Fine Champagne & Two Esprits de Famille

14th November 202513th November 2025Coldorak

Just after releasing the remarkable Cognac de Charles, the Cognac Pasquet house presents a Très Vieille Fine Champagne in their Confluences collection. But if Cognac de Charles was reviewed alone, we’ll review this brand new release with two older cognacs from their L’Esprit de Famille collection: the Cognac de Bernadette and Cognac de Jean, both Grande Champagne cognacs.

Loch Lomond Distillery Edition 6 / Croftengea 2006 The Whisky Agency

Loch Lomond Distillery Edition #6/Croftengea 2006 TWA

12th November 202510th November 2025Coldorak

As Loch Lomond recently released its ninth Distillery Edition, we are a little late, and try the Loch Lomond Distillery Edition #6. As a sparring partner, we’ve added a Croftengea 2006 from The Whisky Agency. Loch Lomond has been quite active these last few months, making the news a number of times, for instance with the opening of its new multi-million-pound Luss Distillery and visitor centre on the banks of Loch Lomond in October 2025. The new complex serves as a brand home for Loch Lomond whiskies, offers guided tours, tastings, and houses a gin distillery for their Ben Lomond brand. The facility aims to draw tourists and whisky enthusiasts to the region and showcases Loch Lomond’s portfolio, including Glen Scotia and Littlemill single malts. Loch Lomond Group also expanded into American whiskey this year with the acquisition of the New York Distilling Company. All the while continuing to release good whisky. But for now, let’s focus on these two: the Loch Lomond Distillery Edition #6 and the Croftengea 2006 The Whisky Agency.

Glenkinchie 2008/Auchentoshan 1999 The Whisky Agency

10th November 20257th November 2025Coldorak

Following Friday’s focus on Dumbarton, we continue in the Lowlands with two releases from The Whisky Agency: Glenkinchie 2008 and Auchentoshan 1999. Glenkinchie sees very limited independent bottlings each year – few enough to count on one hand – whereas Auchentoshan boasts a strong and steady presence with both official and independent releases annually.

Dumbarton 1986 Scott's Selection & 2000 The Caskhound

Dumbarton 1986 Scott’s / 2000 Caskhound

7th November 20256th November 2025Coldorak

Today, the spotlight is on Dumbarton, a closed grain whisky distillery, through two independent single grain releases. First up is a Dumbarton 1986 Scott’s Selection, followed by a more recent bottling from 2000 by The Caskhound. Both offer a rare glimpse into the lightly explored world of Dumbarton grain whisky, ahead of a deeper dive into the distillery’s history after the break.