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My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff

Ardbeg, Islay, Scotland

This was the distllery I was most looking forward to visiting when we went to Islay in 2010.  Why?  Well Arbeg was the reason I even started drinking Islay's peated whiskies, though I had tried the unpeated Bunnahabhain before, and it was because of an expression called Blasda.   I tasted a sample of Blasda in Oddbins in Cults and thought it was delicious, very sweet and flavorful and with a lighter, more subtle peat taste.  So I bought a bottle and found it was the perfect entry into the world of Islay whisky.  The fact they made a whisky that was so approachable encouraged me to explore Ardbeg more and to look for the subtle, sweet flavors I loved in Blasda in their other expressions and to succesfully "look past the peat".  Before I knew it, I loved peated whisky.  The distillery is really well done with a great cafe, an expansive gift shop and a detailed tour with a knowledgable and passionate tour guide (all for about $3).  However the best part was the tasting as they pulled out the really good stuff.  They offered the standard 10 year old, Blasda (Tammy chose that), Uigeadail and even the amazing 60% abv Supernova.  I ended up buying the Supernova because it was so good.  Other distilleries take note, pouring your premium offerings can help sales, after all I am much more likely to spend $100 on a bottle of whisky if I have actually tried it.... just a suggestion.

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Dallas Dhu, Forres, Scotland

Dallas Dhu, Forres, Scotland This is not a working distillery, but an old distillery now maintained as a whisky distilling museum by Historic Scotland, that used to produce the Dallas Dhu single malt.  It is quite frankly not a very good concept for a museum, considering the scotch whisky industry is booming, new distilleries are opening all the time and this one is in the heart of Speyside, where there are dozens of working distilleries with visitor centers, many with longer histories than Dallas Dhu and probably all with better known brands, that all produce whisky in the same way.  So why would you go and walk around a dead one that used to produce a whisky no-one has ever heard of?  The fantastic little Benromach is in the same town (and closer to the main road) so just go there.  Morbid curiosity meant that one day we did find ourselves driving to Forres to see it and we found it closed with a sign in the office window saying "out to lunch".  I couldn't agree more.  
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