Reviews Archives - More Drams, Less Drama

Seven Ben Nevis 1996

4th September 20264th September 2026Coldorak

After Monday’s and Wednesday’s reviews, we are staying with Ben Nevis for one final deep dive – and this time the focus narrows to a single, particularly compelling vintage: 1996. Seven whiskies are on the table, including one official bottling and six independent interpretations from Celtic Whisky Distillerie for Le Comptoir Irlandais, Hunter Laing, Caora, Thompson Bros., The Whisky Jury and Milroy’s.

A shared distillation year does not mean seven identical whiskies. Quite the opposite: this is a chance to see how different casks, bottling dates and independent selection philosophies have shaped the same Ben Nevis spirit over time. With official and independent bottlings side by side, the line-up should offer a useful snapshot of why 1996 Ben Nevis has become such a sought-after vintage – and just how many different directions this muscular, idiosyncratic Highland malt can take when left in the hands of different bottlers. We’ll go from the lowest to the highest ABV.

Four Ben Nevis Dràm Mòr / Elixir / SMWS / Spirits Shop

Ben Nevis Dràm Mòr / SMWS / Elixir / Spirit Shop

2nd September 20262nd September 2026Coldorak

After Monday’s five Ben Nevis review, the week devoted to this distillery continues with four more independent bottlings. The lineup includes two young 2012 Ben Nevis releases from Dràm Mòr and Elixir Distillers, a slightly older 2009 from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and a 1997 from Spirits Shop, taking us closer to the much-discussed 1996 vintage that will be the focus on Friday.

Ben Nevis 2010 Whiskybase And More

31st August 202631st August 2026Coldorak

Time for a Ben Nevis session, beginning with the recent 2010 single cask bottled by Whiskybase to mark the 270,000th bottle recorded in its database. It is a 15-year-old release bottled at 54.2% ABV. It will be joined by a small selection of other Ben Nevis bottlings: an official 10-year-old from 2000; two further official 10-year-olds bottled in 2018, including the cask-strength Batch 1; and a 27-year-old release from Le Gus’t, also bottled in 2018.

Blends From Old Times Part 4

28th August 202627th August 2026Coldorak

We continue our series on older blends with three more bottlings: a James Martin’s V.V.O. from the 1970s, a Clan Campbell from the early 1960s, and a Langside bottled in the late 1960s or early 1970s. If you have not yet read part one, part two or part three, you can find them through their respective links. Now, let’s see how this new trio performs!

Blends from Old Times Part 3

26th August 202625th August 2026Coldorak

After a short break in Wick, we’re back to the series on older blends – following part one and part two – with three more bottles from past decades. Today’s lineup includes two blends from the 1960s: Passport and House of Lords, followed by a more recent Talisman, bottled sometime in the 1990s or early 2000s.

Old Pulteney Distillery Exclusive and 1990 Travel Retail

Old Pulteney Distillery Exclusive and 26-Year-Old

24th August 202623rd August 2026Coldorak

We take a quick break from the blends from old times (part 1 and part 2 are here if you haven’t read them yet), because it’s been two years already since our first and last Old Pulteney review, and I have a promising pair in my sample drawers. So let’s do some catch-up with an Old Pulteney Distillery Exclusive from a couple of years ago, and a 26-year-old released at first for Travel Retail.

Three blends from older times: Cluny & C&J McDonald's

Blends From Old Times Part 2: Cluny and C&J

21st August 202621st August 2026Coldorak

We continue our exploration of older blends, this time with three bottlings from the 1960s and 1970s: two Cluny releases and a C&J McDonald’s. The Cluny pair consists of a no-age-statement bottling from the 1960s and a five-year-old from the 1970s, followed by a C&J blend from the same decade. Let’s see how they compare.

Blends From Old Times Part 1

19th August 202618th August 2026Coldorak

Today marks the beginning of a short series exploring blended Scotch from an earlier era. By ‘earlier’, I mean bottlings from roughly the 1960s through to the 2000s, although the main focus will be on the 1960s and 1970s.

We begin with three blends: Teacher’s Highland Cream, which has (kind of) appeared on the blog before; VAT 69, the long-established William Sanderson blend first created in 1882; and Cameron’s Black Prince, a name that was entirely new to me. Teacher’s and VAT 69 were major historic brands with distinctive identities, while Black Prince offers a more obscure point of comparison.

The aim of this review, and of however many follow, is not simply to indulge in nostalgia. Instead, it is to look at these older bottlings on their own terms and consider the familiar question: was whisky really better in the past?

Rémy Martin 1738/XO Excellence/XO / Hennessy XO

Remy Martin 1738 & XO, And Hennessy XO Cognac

17th August 202616th August 2026Coldorak

After a run of whisky, we are moving to Cognac for a look at two of the category’s defining maisons: Rémy Martin and Hennessy. Alongside Martell and Courvoisier, they form the traditional ‘Big Four’ – houses whose global reach has long shaped how Cognac is produced, sold and understood. Depending on the source and measure used, these four brands account for roughly 85% of global Cognac volume and close to 90% of its value; in other words, they represent a very large share of the category rather than merely its most familiar labels.

The line-up puts three Rémy Martin expressions – 1738 Accord Royal, XO Excellence and the current XO – next to Hennessy XO, perhaps the best-known luxury Cognac bottling of them all. This review is not intended as a comprehensive study of either house, but as a useful cross-section of their modern, widely available ranges: from the accessible 1738 Accord Royal through Rémy Martin’s two takes on XO, and finally to Hennessy’s benchmark interpretation of the style. Four blends, then, assembled at scale from substantial reserves of mature eaux-de-vie – but also four chances to see how much personality remains once the big-house signatures take over. Expect something quite different from the cognacs we’re used to review.

Yamazaki Distillery Exclusive and Peated Malt Spanish Oak Kogei Edition

Yamazaki Distillery Exclusive & Kogei Edition

14th August 202613th August 2026Coldorak

It has been a while since I last reviewed Yamazaki, so today I’m adding two more expressions to More Drams. First is a Yamazaki Distillery Exclusive single malt that I bought at the distillery in 2018, followed by Yamazaki Peated Malt Spanish Oak from the Kogei Collection. The latter was initially launched for global travel retail.

Not long ago, obtaining both would have required a trip to Japan: a visit to Yamazaki Distillery for the Distillery Exclusive, assuming you were lucky enough to find one, as they were flying off the shelves because of their low price, then a stop at the airport for the Kogei release in a duty-free shop. Things have changed since then. This Distillery Exclusive is no longer available, while the Kogei Collection has become far easier to find through travel-retail and specialist channels, meaning there is at least one less reason to make a whisky-focused flight.