Blog — north star spirits

We head to the lowlands to check out a few IB releases from Auchentoshan, which we consider to be an underrated distillery producing a unique spirit.

Two IB Blair Athols, distilled within a month of each other and both finished in different casks .. will we prefer the more common oloroso cask maturation, or be swayed by the rarer mezcal cask?

We take a look at Benrinnes, another distillery in Diageo's vast portfolio of blending workhorses. Luckily, they supply a good number of casks to independent bottlers so let's find out if the spirit shines on its own.

We look at two younger single cask releases from Glenturret distillery, will the classic bourbon maturation suit our tastes or maybe the marsala finish will add some interesting depth and complexity?

Two 9 year old Arrans from two well respected independent bottlers go head to head, will it be the bourbon or sherry maturation that comes out on top?

It's no secret that we're big fans of Bowmore distillery, especially when they've been laying down for 15-20 years, so do these live up to our expectations?