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Day 15 - KWM 2025 This Is Still Not An Advent Calendar

Posted on December 15, 2025

by Evan

It is a bit surprising that we have not yet had a bottling from Lagg Distillery in our whisky calendar’s prior to this. We enjoy championing new and young distilleries and sharing their bottlings and discussing how they came to be.

The fanfare surrounding Lagg and its first releases has seemed quiet and even a bit unhurried in comparison to other young distilleries that reside within Scotland and abroad. We haven’t seen the pomp and circumstance around each new release and that manic energy that sometimes borders on desperation in the effort to get bottles of Lagg in front of consumers. There has not been that same urgent hustle to get sales of the young whisky and sell a half dozen different releases of the same product in a marginally different cask that many young distilleries and companies are forced to push because they need to see some sort of cashflow coming back in in the hopes of justifying the coin investors have already sunk into the project.

Maybe I am just not seeing it with Lagg and this is all actually happening in the background. Or, perhaps because with, Lagg, this not the Isle of Arran Distillers’ first time launching a new brand. They have done this before, and they can take a more steady, measured approach to building an audience for their whisky. They have been there and done that with the Lochranza Distillery, which celebrated it’s 30th birthday this year. You cannot sprint to the 30 year mark – it takes time to get there. About 3 decades worth of time, if my math is correct.

I had a chance to visit the Isle of Arran and both the Lochranza and Lagg Distilleries on a trip to Scotland in 2019. Undoubtably, a few things have changed in the intervening years. For one, Lagg did not yet have whisky when I was there, but I did get to taste spirit. It was burly, coastal, quite peated and impressively viscous in style. Tasting that new make was a solid confirmation that the company behind both distilleries was not just trying to create a second Lochranza Distillery. It even differs stylistically from Lochranza’s own peated spirit, which is usually bottled under the Machrie Moor label. And why should they? Lochranza does its style just fine, thank you. Lagg has had its own character from the get-go, and it will be fun to watch how it evolves as its stock continues to mature. Just like many of us have been fortunately to watch happen over the past few decades with Arran/Lochranza.

The Lagg Kilmory Edition that we will be tasting today is one of two releases in the core range currently available. Shall we give it a go?

Lagg Kilmory Edition – 46%

For the Kilmory Edition, we use Concerto malted barley and pure water from our borehole. Our carefully selected yeast and fermentation time allow us to craft a full-bodied flavor with a vibrant, fresh taste prof...

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Day 14 - KWM 2025 This Is Still Not An Advent Calendar

Posted on December 16, 2025

by Evan

What should I talk about with this one? We have no clue which Highland Distillery this bottling was distilled at. Kind like the Boutique-Y Highland 18 Year we had in last years Not An Advent Calendar Tasting Set, which in my opinion is superb.

What is the deal with mystery malts? Here is a short breakdown.

There are many Single Malts from Independent Bottlers that disclose which distillery the whisky came from. But not all of them do.

Nearly every distillery sells casks. Either to private buyers, whisky brokers, blenders, or independent bottlers. Most cannot afford to hold on to their entire stock for years or decades to release it themselves. So, they will sell or trade at least some of their younger stock, or even some of their spirit runs in bulk.

BUT: Imagine you were a distiller and sold a cask of your whisky off. Eventually, that cask is bottled and sold, but with your distillery's name still on it in big, bold print. Then it receives several poor reviews. Somebody else sold the final product, which you had no say in, and now consumers are complaining that your whisky is garbage. You had no control over how it was matured in the years - or even decades since you sold it.

Should your distillery's reputation suffer because of this cask that you sold off years ago?

This is where a lot of these mystery malts, like the Moonbroch Secret Highland Single Malt come in. The indie bottler – Moonbroch in this case – might not have the rights to name the distillery it comes from. Heck, they might not even know which distillery the casks came from – they might have been sold as Highland Single Malt with no distillery name attached in the first place. OR, the bottler might have had to sign a form saying they would not reveal the distillery it came from.

Regardless, it seems like we will have to follow our palates on this one and just contemplate which Highland Distillery that peats at least some of their spirit runs this comes from. Hmm….

Moonbroch Secret Highland 20 Year Old – 46%

This peated, secret Highland single malt was bottled at 46% and 20 years of age after finishing in an STR cask!

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Malt, dark chocolate, tarry peat, a hint of iodine, grapefruit rind, blueberry pie, cherry cobbler, roasted sunflower seeds, and a touch of chicken soup stock.

Palate: Chalk and mineral notes hit up front before a tangy citrus note comes in, along with the peat smoke. Apple sauce, Strawberries with balsamic and black pepper, and ginger beer.

Finish: Warming, peaty, peppery, and sweet with notes of apple juice and candied ginger on the fade.

Comment: Love that bit of minerality on this dram. Once again I was worried about the wine cask finish, and more I ...

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Day 13 - KWM 2025 This Is Still Not An Advent Calendar

Posted on December 13, 2025

by Evan

What do you get the dog in your life that has everything?

If you are Andrew, you put Walter’s face on a bottle.

Again.

*Deep, shuddering breath*

Okay Evan. Smarten up! You are not jealous of a dog. Your face was on a bottle before. Once. In the extreme background. Riding a hot air balloon far off in the distance. But if you squint and look sideways, it does look like one of those faces does have a beard and wear glasses and you can pretend that is you. One decade at KWM and that is what I amount to. Two years of life and Walter has been on two labels. AND ousted me as chief KWM mascot. BUT. YOU. ARE. NOT. JEALOUS. OF. A. DOG.

I promised myself I wouldn't do this. Excuse me for a minute.

I better look at some cute pet photos on the internet to calm myself down.

#$(*&$#)(&*@#.

Hoooo! One more deep breath.

Okay.

Regardless of the festering envious feelings some may unjustifiably hold for Walter, he is a good boy, and good boys deserve treats. If you have a good boy or good girl or good other in your life, or have been good yourself, it is time to get a good bottle, and that is exactly what Walter’s Choice Blended Scotch is.

For some background on what this whisky is and where it possibly came from, please refer to yesterday's post. That’s right, this bottle is also made from ex-Edrington Stock. Could it have been whisky that was parcelled off to be used in a higher end version of Famous Grouse? That is our conjecture.

Here is what we do know:

The stated age of the whisky is a healthy and respectful 44 years of age, as stated on the bottle. There is possibly older whisky in the blend as well.
The youngest whisky is from 1980. This is objectively the best year, regardless of Andrew’s misconstrued notion that the best vintage is 1978. See above regarding there possibly being older whisky in the blend.
The blend in this bottle had been marrying together in one single sherry butt since 2004. So, it has survived 20 years of marriage and is this integrated and harmonious. That gives hope for us all!
Look at that colour. That is natural, and it speaks to the influence of the sherry butt it sat in for two decades.
We had a hand in the label design, and managed to have some goofy jokes put on there. Because, why not?

Let's sit down and give this whisky some serious consideration, shall we?

Walter's Choice 44 Year Old Blended Scotch for KWM – 47.8%

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: old, antique-y, and soft with syrupy sherry and underlying tropical fruit; nutty old solera sherry, dark milk chocolate, moist brown sugar, and earthy dunnage war...

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Day 12 - KWM 2025 This Is Still Not An Advent Calendar

Posted on December 12, 2025

by Evan

Whisky Marketing and creating a new brand for a whisky series must be tough. Trying to cater to a bunch of jaded, seen it all, know it all, holier-than-thou Anoraks like myself? It sounds like a nightmare. I often feel like I have seen it all, and much of the marketing of whisky that is out there is downright silly. Whisky labels are no exception. How do you innovate within a category that is built around history and tradition, like Scotch Whisky is? It sounds like a thankless task.

I am being intentionally cynical here, but the point stands. How do you separate your bottle from others if you are a whisky maker?

North Star Spirit's answer: create a series of blends loosely based on Tarot cards! Say hello to the third release in North Star’s Tarot series: This is The Empress 17 Year Old Blended Scotch.

Based on the three releases from this series so far, this seems to be the general modus operandi for it:

1 - Each release is a small batch.

Tarot 1 – The Fool (SOLD OUT) was a batch of 6 year old whisky from two hogsheads, bottled at 57.3%. Likely well under 1000 bottles, but I don’t think the total number was given.
Tarot 2 – The Magician 12 (SOLD OUT) year old stated only 1000 bottles were made, all at 45.5%.
Tarot 3 - The Empress 17 year old whisky with a total of only 600 bottles at 43.5%.

2 - Each release seems to be a blend of ex-Edrington stock for the malt portion, which makes up typically 1/4 to 1/3 of the blend, with the remaining majority being grain whisky.

What is Ex-Edrington stock or Edrington Malt? This refers to whisky produced by Edrington at the distilleries they own. Edrington currently owns the Macallan, Highland Park, and Glenrothes distilleries and brands. In the recent past the company has also owned Glenturret (sold to the Lalique Group in 2019), Tamdhu (sold to Ian MacLeod Distillers in 2011), and Glengoyne (also sold to Ian MacLeod Distillers back in 2003). On the grain whisky side, Edrington shares ownership of the North British Distillery in Edinburgh with mega spirits corp Diageo.

Speaking of brands that Edrington has gotten rid of because they likely took too much focus away from the company burning all of their calories on the hyper luxurification of all things Macallan (it gives you wings!): the company has also gotten rid of two major Blended Scotch Whisky brands over the past decade. First they sold off the Cutty Sark brand to La Martiniquaise in 2018. More recently they sold the Famous Grouse brand and the rest of their blended whisky portfolio to William Grant & Sons – owners of Glenfiddich, Balvenie, the Grants and Monkey Shoulder brands, and more.

Does Edrington need to keep an ownership stake in the North British Distillery if they no long...

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Day 11 - KWM 2025 This Is Still Not An Advent Calendar

Posted on December 11, 2025

by Evan

In yesterday's blog post and dram, we talked about Port Askaig on Islay. Today we will hop on the ferry and head over to the Isle of Jura.

Ahh, Jura. The Island Distillery that seems to go through some sort of identity crisis and relaunch of the brand every 5 years. By my count, this is only the 2nd bottling from the Isle of Jura that we have ever featured in our KWM Whisky Advent Calendars. We will get in to they possible why of that later. Firstly:

The Jura Distillery is the only whisky distillery on Jura; an island which features two topographically significant mountains that thrust towards the sky in a rather majestic fashion. They can easily be seen from west, across the straight on Islay on clear days, and dwarf that island’s own peaks in both scope and symmetry. And about 200 metres at their peaks, give or take. Somehow, they manage to defy both gravity and age. Hey! Don’t blame me for this heavy-handed innuendo! Those that write about The Paps of Jura, as they are known, are contractually obligated to make lewd remarks about their size and reference how chesty the Isle is.

ABOVE: The Still Room at Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay. The Isle of Jura can be seen through the windows; across from the Sound of Islay.

Beyond having a fabulous set of mountains, writers also must point out Jura is where George Orwell wrote his textbook of the future named 1984. The island is also famous for having a larger population of deer than humans. There were once more than 1000 Duriachs – people that make Jura their home – on the island. That was about two centuries ago now. In modern times, the human population hovers around 200. The number of deer is apparently around 5,000.

Alarming, isn’t it? Even the name Jura comes from Old Norse and translates to Deer Island. This has no doubt attributed to the nimby-like, highly xenophobic stance that deer carry towards homo sapiens. The Deer Party has long taken a dim view on our unalienable human right to manifest destiny. These four-legged aggressors have consistently legislated and upheld overtly speciesist regulations that keep humans from encroaching on what they see as their traditional territory. It is - in a word – disgusting and reprehensible. It. Can. Not. Stand.

OBVIOUSLY UP TO NO GOOD.

Deerist Propaganda is all around us in pop culture – once you are made aware of it, you cannot help but feel surrounded and attacked by it.

For more information on how we can collectively rise up and defend against this pro-Cervidae doctrine, look around and you will see plenty of newsletters (far) out there that you can subscribe to.

Hold up. This is getting a bit dark.

I took this joke too far. I was looking for anti-deer rhetoric, not cultural tension. Let...

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