Whisky Critic – Whisky Reviews & Articles – Style. Attitude. Whisky.

Ardbeg Reveals 25 Year Old

Alex Bean — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:20:00 +0000

Islay-based Ardbeg Distillery has released a 25 Year Old single malt whisky as the third and final installment in their Vintage_Y2K series. Each single malt whisky in the Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K series were distilled using the distillery’s 51-year-old still, which was retired in 2001.

Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K 25 Years Old was finished in Spanish Tempranillo red wine casks, bottled at 48% alcohol by volume [96 proof] and is said to contain notes of blackcurrant, chili flakes, chocolate and paprika.

Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K 25 Years Old is being made available for $985 per bottle.

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Woodford Reserve Experiments With Super Seasoned Oak Bourbon

Alex Bean — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:16:54 +0000

Woodford Reserve is conducting experiments and has created Super Seasoned Oak – a bourbon aged in barrels made from staves exposed to open air for five to seven years – as the 22nd installment in their Master’s Collection.

Woodford Reserve 2026 Master Collection Super Seasoned Oak began life in specialized barrels made from staves exposed to the open air for five to seven years, then was bottled at 50.2% alcohol by volume [100.4 proof] and is said to contain notes of almond, caramel, cherry and vanilla.

Woodford Reserve 2026 Master’s Collection Super Seasoned Oak is being made available $180 per 700ml bottle.

Arbikie Goes Field To Bottle For Scotch

Alex Bean — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 14:12:03 +0000

Highland-based Arbikie Distillery has released The Signature – their ‘first-ever’ field-to-bottle single malt whisky.

Arbikie The Signature contains Odyssey barley grown on the Arbikie Estate, was bottled at 48% alcohol by volume [96 proof] and is said to contain notes of apricot, banana bread and peach.

Only 1000 bottles of Arbikie The Signature are being made available worldwide for $340 per 700ml bottle.

Loch Lomond Unveils 31 Year Old

Alex Bean — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:49:30 +0000

Highland-based Loch Lomond has released a 31-year-old single malt as the third whisky in their Waypoint series which emphasizes Loch Lomond’s setting in Scotland.

Loch Lomond 31 Years Old was matured in a trio of ex-bourbon casks before being finished for a year in Tawny Port pipes, bottled at 44.1% alcohol by volume [88.2 proof] and is said to contain notes of cedar, dark chocolate and raspberry.

Only 2,600 bottles of Loch Lomond 31 years Old are being made available worldwide for $1,015 per bottle.

Modelo Preps For College Football Season

Alex Bean — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:04:44 +0000

College football is here and Modelo is ready for it with their “It’s Not Just Game Day. It’s Tradition,” promotional campaign that will be seen across the ESPN, FOX and NBC networks. Modelo is the official beer of the college football playoffs.

The promotional campaign begins with “Same Time, Next Year” – a 30-second spot focusing on college football rivalries over the years, particularly Michigan and Ohio State in the spot.

Additionally, Modelo has teamed up with vintage licensed apparel maker Homefield with the Homefield Can’t Miss Kickoff Tour, featuring popups in major markets with local college football alumni, offering meet-and-greet opportunities and autographs.

Benromach Debuts 12-Year-Old

Alex Bean — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:00:50 +0000

Speyside-based Benromach Distillery has released a 12-year-old single malt whisky to join their permanent core range which includes 15- and 21-year-old single malts.

Benromach 12 Years Old was matured exclusively in ex-sherry casks, bottled at 46% alcohol by volume [92 proof] and is said to contain notes of cinnamon, orange and raspberry.

Benromach 12 Years Old is being made available for $60 per 700ml bottle at Benromach’s distillery visitor center and via their official website as well as selected international markets.

Buchanan’s Goes Coo-Coo For Coconut

Alex Bean — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:24:16 +0000

Buchanan’s blended Scotch whisky has gone tropical again with the addition of a new flavor – coconut – to their permanent lineup, joining pineapple as the pair of tropical flavors in their lineup.

Buchanan’s Coconut is bottled at 35% alcohol by volume [70 proof] and is said to contain notes of – what else? – coconut, along with citrus and vanilla.

Buchanan’s Coconut is being made available for $30 per bottle.

The Balvenie Reveals 88-Year-Old Amidst New 1931 Collection Additions

Alex Bean — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:02:00 +0000

The Balvenie has released an 88-year-old single malt – the most elderly whisky ever from The Balvenie – alongside a pair of limited edition 12 and 15-year-old single malts, respectively, as part of The Balvenie 1931 Collection.

The Balvenie 88-year-old single malt whisky emerges from a European oak sherry butt from Jerez, Spain, was bottled at 43.2% alcohol by volume [86.4 proof] and is claimed to have notes of honey, mint and toffee. Only 17 bottles of the 88-year-old whisky exist.

Not surprisingly, The Balvenie 1931 Collection 88 Year Old will only be made available to 17 private clients and collectors worldwide.

Meanwhile, the rest of world will have to settle for The Balvenie 1931 Collection 12 and 15-year-old limited editions.

The Balvenie 12-year-old was matured in American oak before being finished in ex-sherry bodega European oak butts from Jerez, bottled at 47.5% alcohol by volume [95 proof] and is being made available for $120 per bottle.

The Balvenie 15-year-old was matured in American oak before being finished in ex-sherry bodega European oak butts from Jerez, bottled at 47.8% alcohol by volume [95.6 proof] and is being made available for $205 per bottle.

The Balvenie 1931 Collection will debut today through September 5, 2026 in Seoul, South Korea.

Ardbeg Debuts 15-Year-Old Trudernish

Alex Bean — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:25:50 +0000

Islay-based distillery Ardbeg will release Trudernish – a new and permanent 15-year-old single malt whisky – to their core range.

Ardbeg Trudernish 15-Year-Old single malt whisky was matured in ex-bourbon barrels along with Oloroso sherry and charred oak casks, bottled at 48.8% alcohol by volume [97.6 proof] and is said to contain notes of licorice, milk chocolate, peat and woodsmoke.

Ardbeg Trudernish will be made available, beginning on September 15, 2026, for $110 per 700ml bottle from the distillery’s official website, as well as at the distillery visitor center in Islay.

Whisky Scam Shut Down By UK Government

Alex Bean — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:22:52 +0000

The UK government has shut down a scam whisky company which was offering casks of whisky they did not own to customers.

Cask Spirits Global was shut down after it was disclosed that customers had paid nearly £100,000 (US$136,000) for the phantom casks of whisky.

The UK government launched investigations into 17 customers who paid the company for cask investments, ultimately revealing that only four of those 17 held valid documents of ownership – with the remaining 13 being fraudulent in a variety of ways including being issued paperwork in the name of a fictitious company, receiving certificates containing false storage information or simply referring to casks of whisky that never existed.

The extent of the duplicity is likely to be higher as the UK government Insolvency Service noted that Cask Spirits Global failed to provide 27 of the 29 accounting documents requested by investigators.

Cask Spirits Global was incorporated in June 2024 but ceased all communications with clients in March 2025 and investigators were unable to find evidence of the company’s presence at its two listed two London addresses.

An official UK government receiver will now oversee the liquidation of Cask Spirits Global.