Thank you for The “No Nonsense Whisky” membership. It was odd to watch on replay & see my name show up on screen. I was initially confused, but I appreciate the generosity nonetheless. Cheers.
Great video Phil! My summer picks would be Compass Box Orchard House and Glencadam 10 for lighter, fruitier options. Ardnamurchan Paul Launois is also a good summer dram. I don't know about the Indri Dru for summer. I get heavier chocolate notes on that, so more of an autumn dram for me. For winter, I'm definitely going for Sherry and/or Peaty, so the Ardbeg Uigeadail, Kilchoman Sanaig, but also Ardnamurchan Sherry Cask, and Scallywag 12 Cask Strength. Cheers!
there's also something to be said about favouring different ABVs between summer & winter - in summer I'm much more likely to have a couple different lower-strength drams (43-46%) with lighter notes as you say - e.g. Glenkinchie 12yo, Tobermory 12yo, or even Caol Ila for something with some peat. Then in winter I'm much more likely to pour a cask strength, peat-bomb like the Ardbeg ugi you mentioned, or Kilkerran heavily peated - and just sit with it for an hour or two, bit of water, bit of time in the glass - warm it up - and just enjoy the changes
It's funny, I really enjoy peaty islay stuff in the summer. The coastal, maritime, and smoke are all reminiscent of vacations at the beach and bonfires. For the winter, I love heavy, spicy American ryes or American single malts. My picks for the summer are the bourbon matured kilchomans. And for the winter, new riff ryes or westward malt
Well done covering both hemispheres, Phil! Number 2 on the Summer list is a great pick. I first had it on a pretty warm summer trip to the Cotswolds, and it really hit the spot. Cheers!
Good video once more. I love that you didn´t go for the most obvious choices only. One lesser known addition to the recommended Ledaig Rioja Cask (which is great and which i prefer over the 10): Murray Mc David released a Mistery Malt "Mull´s finest" lately. Of course it´s Tobermory and as it´s peated we are talking about a Ledaig. It´s nine years old and comes from PX and Tawny Port casks - the nine years perfectly balance the sophisticated destillate with the delicious sweetness and depth from the casks. I absolutely love it, it´s my favourite summer dram this year.
Great job Phil! Another banger of a list. My summer Whiskeys are #1) Compass Box Orchard House; 2)Glenmorangie Nector D’Or; 3) Arran 10. Winter Whiskies: #1) Aberlour Abunadh; 2) Octomore: 3) Midwinters Night Dram.
Fantastic list Phil, so many great drams out there. I'll pick just one for now for Summer: Compass Box Orchard House and for Winter: Compass Box No Name 3 (I'm having a Compass Box love affair right now 😃) Cheers!
Great list. My list changes every year I think, but I know that this summer I have really enjoyed the Compass Box Orchard House, Glencadam 15, and an IB bottle of a 19 year Craigellachie from Gordon and Macphail. As far as winter goes, I know I drink a lot of the peated stuff. Last winter it was mainly Wee Beastie. I also remember REALLY enjoying a Tamdhu Batch Strength. 🥃
Heading to Arran in early September and I'm excited to explore Lagg as I'm still yet to try it. Summer whisky - Agree Arran Sauternes, Winter I'd go Glenallachie 10YO Batch Strength.
Great video Phil, loved it. It's interesting that I both so agree with you and soo disagree, taste , eh?! For summer in Scotland 🌧️I'd always go for Scottish isles holidays and a lot of peat ... Loads of it. Laphroaig QC, Takisker 10, Ardbeg an oa and 10 etc ... And wither is time for sherry bombs and light fruit... craigeallachie 13, glendacadam reserva px, dalwhinie 15 and Arran 10... Taste , eh... Keep it up !!!
Winter - Taiwanese whisky, Kavalan Solist line is amazing. Very fruity but have a rich spice to every offering that makes me think of christmas, particularly the Vinho, really stellar. Any time I visit Taipei I have to grab an armful because you can get them for about 100usd while abroad they go for usually twice that.
For me this Summer must of been The Compass Box - Orchid House, we in the middle of winter now so haven't zoned in on a winter dram but last year was the Kilchoman - Loch Gorm
Found a small batch distillery that is massively underrated. Called Blue Spirits out of Washington. Was on a road trip and stopped in at their tasting room in Leavenworth. Ordered some online when I got home from the trip. One of my personal top 10s now.
Hi Phil, thank you so much! Really appreciated it. Wanted to ask you how about some CompassBox Review, the Orchard House for me is my summer whisky, I had not tasted such a fruity whisky like that one. 95% of my collection are single malt but that one was just amazing, would love to see a video on that one.
my summer list will be ardnamurchan madeira, hazelburn 10 and old perth px, agree with simonneNZ the cb orchard house is gr8, glencadam in my area is priced unreasonably so not gotta touch em. for cooler times i prefer a unpeated malt fully matured (not season not finish) in oloroso or px cask at cask strengh, age wise i dont anything crazy old just between 15-19. + preferably tripple distilled... AND MOST IMPORTANTLY POCKET FRIENDLY
So in the summer I drink more peated scotch because I enjoy it in the evening time on the porch with a nice cigar. I tend to reach more for bourbon and rye in the winter time.
It's great that you can get Lagg and Isle Of Harris in Australia. I had to travel to Scotland to get these bottles and then pay customs duty in Israel to bring them all in. Machrie Moor cask Strength used to be one of my favourite summer whiskies, light and tropical fruity, but recent batches have been a bit bland. So, I bought a Lagg Kilmory Edition Bourbon Barrel 46% abv as part of a haul of whiskies whilst I was in Scotland last June. This is not like Machrie Moor at all. It's heavy oat biscuits and dry with a hint of lemon. It's definitely Islay style. I compared this to the Lagavulin 8 which is much more lemon fruity and the Kilchoman 100 Islay 9th Edition which has that same oat cake texture to it. The Lagg is drier than both but fits in well between these two. Experience with Ardbeg has taught me that adding a block of ice turns lemony notes into sweeter tropical notes. Adding ice to Lagg does indeed turn up the sweetness and is how I've been drinking it in recent weeks. Roy Duff recommended a bottle to me and it didn't disappoint. The Port Askaig 17 YO Bourbon cask reminds me so much of a long ago discounted Official bottling of the 2009 "Caol Ila cask Strength" and one of my all time favourites. The most impressive bottle of my recent haul from Scotland is the Glasgow 1770 Tequila cask. Wow, this is delicious. Bold notes of luscious pineapple juice and other tropical fruits. Juicy, fresh and sweet. I haven't tried this with ice. A splash of cold water does it for me.
Thank you Phil for a great review as always. I've searched quite some time for a review of the most readily available and most heavily peated/smoky sherried/port bombs, but I haven't found any of those reviews. Have you done any reviews of that kind? I wish to know how much peat smoke and sherry is possible to get.
@Phil Where do you buy your whisky from? Here in Hamilton some stores are heaps expensive than others. Thanks for recommending Aberlour 12 Sherry Cask. It was delicious. I always like my whisky in cocktail i do not like them neat but Aberlour changed my mind. Thank you so much. keep up the good work.
My favourite whisky store here in the Netherlands has all of these, and some are even on sale right now, including the Arran and Ledaig. They also have the longrow but it’s €250 so I’ll probably pass on that one.. Thanks for the tips!
Keep up the great work, Phil, enjoying your content. Can you or anyone reading this comment recommend a port finished single malt? I have been exploring port finished rye whiskey the last year and found some gems. I want to explore port finished single malts, particularly from Islay. Any suggestions?
I had my birthday a few years ago, and everytime I asked myself what whisky or other spirit I want to buy for my birthday. This year it is a Single Cask Indri. I really like tropical aged whisky for summer! Also Rum, but this is another story...
Would love to see a review of the Irishman Legacy Whiskey that was released earlier this year. I've yet to have seen a video tasting. Holding onto a bottle from my Ireland trip here in canada.
How about Talisker X Parley Wilder Seas for spring or autumn. For me it's an all year round whisky. Thanks for yet another insightful and interesting list Phil!
I think out of all of the whiskies I've seen showcased on your channel I've only come across 5-10 of these bottles. Kind of sucks but it also shows me that there's a ton of available options out there for me to pick up at some point. There will always be another one worth drinking. It's a good feeling, just wish the tariffs that hit here in the US on scotch a few years back would get rewritten and be much lower so I could get my hands on even more scotches! Going to write these ones down and pick up the ones I come across. Thanks for the list.
Yeah that’s really annoying. Especially since us in NZ are so much further away that you and the shipping should be more expensive. It annoyingly goes both ways too, Bourbon is hard to get here and is expensive (outside the giant brands). Thanks mate. I hope you can try some soon!
We love Port Charlotte, Ardbeg & Laphroaig year round. In Ohio, we are having trouble finding some of the brands you mentioned and have not seen the Port Charlotte at all this year on the shelves. If any of your Ohio viewers have suggestions on finding peaty, smokey, and rare Scotches ... please reply below.
For summer or winter I am a Glenfiddich fanboy 😂 I don’t seem to understand peaty whisky because it seem to overwhelm the whole flavour profile and nose 😢 I might not be good enough yet. I have tried and tried. I like cane and fire though from Glenfiddich more than other smokey whisky
you can't beat a good winter warmer. My 3 favorites would be any Dalmore, the Balvenie 12 (all that honey and lemon) and the Abelour A'bunadh - all outstanding and ll make me think of Christmas. I'd go for peated whisky in the summer just because of those late night firepit sessions.
Thank you for The “No Nonsense Whisky” membership. It was odd to watch on replay & see my name show up on screen. I was initially confused, but I appreciate the generosity nonetheless. Cheers.
I'm always happy to see Cotswolds whiskey. I really love their stuff, and I really like their work ethic. They're all really nice people.
Great video Phil! My summer picks would be Compass Box Orchard House and Glencadam 10 for lighter, fruitier options. Ardnamurchan Paul Launois is also a good summer dram. I don't know about the Indri Dru for summer. I get heavier chocolate notes on that, so more of an autumn dram for me. For winter, I'm definitely going for Sherry and/or Peaty, so the Ardbeg Uigeadail, Kilchoman Sanaig, but also Ardnamurchan Sherry Cask, and Scallywag 12 Cask Strength. Cheers!
Great choices!!
Summer dram: Teeling Single Grain - absolutely excellent!
Winter dram: DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE A FAVOURITE!
winter = highproof ryes for me, loving the sagamore cask strength currently
Hi, Phil. Thanks for the list. If I might add my own contribution, then:
Summer
5. Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Barrel Reserve
4. Arbelour 12
3. Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask
2. Bunnahabhain 12
1. Macallan 12
Winter
5. Laphroaig Cairdeas (2024)
4. Aberlour Casg Annamh Triple Cask
3. Arbeg Uigeadail
2. Macallan Classic Cut
1. Highland Park Cask Strength
Cheers.
Always pumped to see Cotswolds Whisky and that final winter bottle you picked is just delicious diesel! Great list buddy
Thanks mate!
Thank you for the recommend on the Kilchoman Sanaig. I love it. I would have never have tried it if not for you .
there's also something to be said about favouring different ABVs between summer & winter - in summer I'm much more likely to have a couple different lower-strength drams (43-46%) with lighter notes as you say - e.g. Glenkinchie 12yo, Tobermory 12yo, or even Caol Ila for something with some peat. Then in winter I'm much more likely to pour a cask strength, peat-bomb like the Ardbeg ugi you mentioned, or Kilkerran heavily peated - and just sit with it for an hour or two, bit of water, bit of time in the glass - warm it up - and just enjoy the changes
Very true!
It's funny, I really enjoy peaty islay stuff in the summer. The coastal, maritime, and smoke are all reminiscent of vacations at the beach and bonfires. For the winter, I love heavy, spicy American ryes or American single malts. My picks for the summer are the bourbon matured kilchomans. And for the winter, new riff ryes or westward malt
Summer drams... Compass Box Orchard House, Arran 10, Glencadam 10, Deanston 12.
Winter drams... PC10, Kilchoman Sanaig, Meikle Toir The Sherry One.
Well done covering both hemispheres, Phil! Number 2 on the Summer list is a great pick. I first had it on a pretty warm summer trip to the Cotswolds, and it really hit the spot. Cheers!
Good video once more. I love that you didn´t go for the most obvious choices only.
One lesser known addition to the recommended Ledaig Rioja Cask (which is great and which i prefer over the 10): Murray Mc David released a Mistery Malt "Mull´s finest" lately. Of course it´s Tobermory and as it´s peated we are talking about a Ledaig. It´s nine years old and comes from PX and Tawny Port casks - the nine years perfectly balance the sophisticated destillate with the delicious sweetness and depth from the casks. I absolutely love it, it´s my favourite summer dram this year.
for Summer - Glenlivet founders reserve, Glenkinchie, Arran 10
for winter - Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Talisker
Yet another awesome video! Thanks Phil 👍👍
Thanks mate!!
Great job Phil! Another banger of a list. My summer Whiskeys are #1) Compass Box Orchard House; 2)Glenmorangie Nector D’Or; 3) Arran 10. Winter Whiskies: #1) Aberlour Abunadh; 2) Octomore: 3) Midwinters Night Dram.
Summer: Edradour 10, Bunnahabhain 12; Winter: Talisker Port Ruighe, Aberlour A'bunadh
Fantastic list Phil, so many great drams out there. I'll pick just one for now for Summer: Compass Box Orchard House and for Winter: Compass Box No Name 3 (I'm having a Compass Box love affair right now 😃) Cheers!
Great list. My list changes every year I think, but I know that this summer I have really enjoyed the Compass Box Orchard House, Glencadam 15, and an IB bottle of a 19 year Craigellachie from Gordon and Macphail. As far as winter goes, I know I drink a lot of the peated stuff. Last winter it was mainly Wee Beastie. I also remember REALLY enjoying a Tamdhu Batch Strength. 🥃
I have a Paul John Port cask finish and its a great summer dram very fruity and almost over cooked well on the border of it without tasting bad.
Heading to Arran in early September and I'm excited to explore Lagg as I'm still yet to try it. Summer whisky - Agree Arran Sauternes, Winter I'd go Glenallachie 10YO Batch Strength.
Interesting and original choices, Phil!
Great video Phil, loved it. It's interesting that I both so agree with you and soo disagree, taste , eh?!
For summer in Scotland 🌧️I'd always go for Scottish isles holidays and a lot of peat ... Loads of it. Laphroaig QC, Takisker 10, Ardbeg an oa and 10 etc ...
And wither is time for sherry bombs and light fruit... craigeallachie 13, glendacadam reserva px, dalwhinie 15 and Arran 10... Taste , eh...
Keep it up !!!
Winter - Taiwanese whisky, Kavalan Solist line is amazing. Very fruity but have a rich spice to every offering that makes me think of christmas, particularly the Vinho, really stellar. Any time I visit Taipei I have to grab an armful because you can get them for about 100usd while abroad they go for usually twice that.
Glad to see indri on your list
For me this Summer must of been The Compass Box - Orchid House, we in the middle of winter now so haven't zoned in on a winter dram but last year was the Kilchoman - Loch Gorm
Found a small batch distillery that is massively underrated. Called Blue Spirits out of Washington. Was on a road trip and stopped in at their tasting room in Leavenworth. Ordered some online when I got home from the trip. One of my personal top 10s now.
Hi Phil, thank you so much!
Really appreciated it.
Wanted to ask you how about some CompassBox Review, the Orchard House for me is my summer whisky, I had not tasted such a fruity whisky like that one.
95% of my collection are single malt but that one was just amazing, would love to see a video on that one.
my summer list will be ardnamurchan madeira, hazelburn 10 and old perth px, agree with simonneNZ the cb orchard house is gr8, glencadam in my area is priced unreasonably so not gotta touch em. for cooler times i prefer a unpeated malt fully matured (not season not finish) in oloroso or px cask at cask strengh, age wise i dont anything crazy old just between 15-19. + preferably tripple distilled... AND MOST IMPORTANTLY POCKET FRIENDLY
Thanks for the video. I agree with Indian whiskey, it's great 👍 i drink all kinda whiskey all year long tbh. 😊
Indri Trini was an absolute surprise. I picked it up in Goa for just around $48. It’s a beautiful whisky. I like Aultmore 12 for summer.
Summer: Hazelburn 10, Arran 10, Glencadam 10, AnCnoc 12, Balblair 12, Rampur double cask
So in the summer I drink more peated scotch because I enjoy it in the evening time on the porch with a nice cigar. I tend to reach more for bourbon and rye in the winter time.
It's great that you can get Lagg and Isle Of Harris in Australia. I had to travel to Scotland to get these bottles and then pay customs duty in Israel to bring them all in.
Machrie Moor cask Strength used to be one of my favourite summer whiskies, light and tropical fruity, but recent batches have been a bit bland. So, I bought a Lagg Kilmory Edition Bourbon Barrel 46% abv as part of a haul of whiskies whilst I was in Scotland last June. This is not like Machrie Moor at all. It's heavy oat biscuits and dry with a hint of lemon. It's definitely Islay style. I compared this to the Lagavulin 8 which is much more lemon fruity and the Kilchoman 100 Islay 9th Edition which has that same oat cake texture to it. The Lagg is drier than both but fits in well between these two. Experience with Ardbeg has taught me that adding a block of ice turns lemony notes into sweeter tropical notes. Adding ice to Lagg does indeed turn up the sweetness and is how I've been drinking it in recent weeks.
Roy Duff recommended a bottle to me and it didn't disappoint. The Port Askaig 17 YO Bourbon cask reminds me so much of a long ago discounted Official bottling of the 2009 "Caol Ila cask Strength" and one of my all time favourites.
The most impressive bottle of my recent haul from Scotland is the Glasgow 1770 Tequila cask. Wow, this is delicious. Bold notes of luscious pineapple juice and other tropical fruits. Juicy, fresh and sweet. I haven't tried this with ice. A splash of cold water does it for me.
Thank you Phil for a great review as always. I've searched quite some time for a review of the most readily available and most heavily peated/smoky sherried/port bombs, but I haven't found any of those reviews.
Have you done any reviews of that kind?
I wish to know how much peat smoke and sherry is possible to get.
@Phil Where do you buy your whisky from? Here in Hamilton some stores are heaps expensive than others. Thanks for recommending Aberlour 12 Sherry Cask. It was delicious. I always like my whisky in cocktail i do not like them neat but Aberlour changed my mind. Thank you so much. keep up the good work.
I ❤️ Islay peated scotch all year!!
My favourite whisky store here in the Netherlands has all of these, and some are even on sale right now, including the Arran and Ledaig. They also have the longrow but it’s €250 so I’ll probably pass on that one..
Thanks for the tips!
Treacle, Bacon, Bonfires 🍯🥓🔥 🥃
Keep up the great work, Phil, enjoying your content. Can you or anyone reading this comment recommend a port finished single malt? I have been exploring port finished rye whiskey the last year and found some gems. I want to explore port finished single malts, particularly from Islay. Any suggestions?
I had my birthday a few years ago, and everytime I asked myself what whisky or other spirit I want to buy for my birthday. This year it is a Single Cask Indri. I really like tropical aged whisky for summer! Also Rum, but this is another story...
For last winter - Laphroaig 10, Talisker 10, Lagavulin 16, Waterford The Cuvée, Woodford Reserve.
For this summer - Nikka Days, Hibiki Harmony, Arran 10, Glencadam 10, Amrut.
Great vid!
I couldn’t stop myself polishing off a bottle of glengoyne cask strength over summer gone, even with the high abv it went well in the hot weather
Summer - Compass Box Orchard House or Craigellachie 13
Winter - GS Victoriana, Ardnamurchan sherry cask release or Laphroaig lore
Thanks for the great content!
Would love to see a review of the Irishman Legacy Whiskey that was released earlier this year. I've yet to have seen a video tasting. Holding onto a bottle from my Ireland trip here in canada.
Phil - what do you do if you get palette fatigue? Have you ever had this happen to you? If so how do you get your palette back to normal?
Take a couple weeks off whisky. Try wine, cocktails or rum. Its happens to me all the time
@@FirstPhilWhisky Thanks Phil. Wine tonight for me!
Good on you for trapping a longrow red in the wild ,
How about Talisker X Parley Wilder Seas for spring or autumn. For me it's an all year round whisky. Thanks for yet another insightful and interesting list Phil!
Oh I need to try that! Thanks mate!
Def a good drop been savoring it for months...
Phil, can you remind me what your alternative to Springbank is. I can’t find the video with it in it.
I think out of all of the whiskies I've seen showcased on your channel I've only come across 5-10 of these bottles. Kind of sucks but it also shows me that there's a ton of available options out there for me to pick up at some point. There will always be another one worth drinking. It's a good feeling, just wish the tariffs that hit here in the US on scotch a few years back would get rewritten and be much lower so I could get my hands on even more scotches! Going to write these ones down and pick up the ones I come across. Thanks for the list.
Yeah that’s really annoying. Especially since us in NZ are so much further away that you and the shipping should be more expensive. It annoyingly goes both ways too, Bourbon is hard to get here and is expensive (outside the giant brands).
Thanks mate. I hope you can try some soon!
The tariff hasn't existed since March 2021. Look at some online retailers if you want a better selection.
We love Port Charlotte, Ardbeg & Laphroaig year round. In Ohio, we are having trouble finding some of the brands you mentioned and have not seen the Port Charlotte at all this year on the shelves. If any of your Ohio viewers have suggestions on finding peaty, smokey, and rare Scotches ... please reply below.
Are there any differences between batches of whisky bottled in the summer versus the winter?
For summer or winter I am a Glenfiddich fanboy 😂 I don’t seem to understand peaty whisky because it seem to overwhelm the whole flavour profile and nose 😢 I might not be good enough yet. I have tried and tried. I like cane and fire though from Glenfiddich more than other smokey whisky
If I had to sip on one dram during winter it would be Bunna 12 or Laphroaig 10 cask strength.
Cheers to that! 🥃
Winter is made for heavily peated sherry monsters. Ballechin SFTC Oloroso is highly recommended
The Hearach..at 141 dollars canadian at the SAQ for NAS...I cant justify....
Yeah too much
Isn't every whisky overpriced in Canada?
Another great one!
Also... #Corriecraviegang
Do love a corrie! Cheers mate!
Is the Lagg medicinal or more ashy?
Would love to know that too!
Please do videos more often 😢
Have you ever tried Waterford Whisky?
you can't beat a good winter warmer. My 3 favorites would be any Dalmore, the Balvenie 12 (all that honey and lemon) and the Abelour A'bunadh - all outstanding and ll make me think of Christmas. I'd go for peated whisky in the summer just because of those late night firepit sessions.
summer whiskey = Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey