Author Archives: Carissa Hickling

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About Carissa Hickling

Originally from Canada, then India for 20 years, now working in Germany... and quite a 'Whisky Lady' too!

2025 Whisky Show in London

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It has become an annual pilgrimage to London to join The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show. One I really don’t want to miss! Yes, it is a dizzying array of 1,000+ drams, an opportunity to discover new entrants, revisit distilleries you thought you knew, learn from industry experts, kibbitz with fellow whisky aficionados… for me, above all, it is an opportunity to spend quality time with a dear friend as we explore together a shared interest.

Over the coming months, I invite you to join our journey… hopefully giving you a sense of what we were lucky enough to experience over two days early October 2025.

Day 1

Day 2

  • Breakfast drams – explore new Arran releases
  • Tamdhu flight
  • Checking out a pre-official launch new entrant: Aberargie
  • Ichiro’s Malts and Chichibu
  • Revisiting Deanston
  • Dream Drams Glen Grant birth year pair – 1961 25 year + 1969 49 year
  • Annandale unpeated expressions
  • Canada’s Macaloney’s
  • Decadent Dram‘s lovely lowland Blandnoch
  • Finland’s Teerenpelli
  • Norway’s Bivrost
  • Sweden’s High Coast
  • Show close, with Duncan Taylor’s Octave expressions

We also thoroughly enjoyed three Mainstage sessions:

  • Independent bottling with Dawn Davies and Adelphi, Thomkins, Heart Cut
  • Nordic‘s discussion about the influence of location with Billy Abbott and Thy, Bivrost, Feddies
  • Island‘s impact on the approach to whisky with Dave Bloom and Harris, Scapa, and Spirit of Hven

I won’t be rushed to push out impressions of 100+ drams. Instead, I will savour anew the glimpses into different whisky styles, the conversations and insights, sharing bit by bit. So sit back, relax, and hopefully enjoy the show!

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BMC Scottish Classics – Royal Brackla 16 year 40% + Glen Grant 15 year 50%

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After exploring a trio from South Africa, our Bombay Malt & Cigar evening closed on a classic note. Whilst I thoroughly enjoy exploring whisky experiments and drams from many lands, there is simply nothing like a good classic Scottish single malt.

Knowing this, our whisky host added two well-known standards:

  • Royal Brackla 16 year and
  • A new batch strength Glen Grant 15 year expression

Both were Original Bottlings… Both true treats!

What did we think?

Royal Brackla 16 year “The Cawdor Estate” 40% 

  • Nose – Oh yes! Those lovely orchard fruits you can count on with a Royal Brackla! Crisp green apple, juicy with a drizzle of honey
  • Palate – Soft, well-rounded, fruity, enveloping one in a delicious warmth
  • Finish – Simply dripping with honey

Such a perfect classic, easy drinking dram.

Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 50% 

  • Nose – Happiness! A delightful, sweet, and fruity aroma with lemony high notes, morphed into a delicious lemon custard, dessert in a glass! The more it opened, the more joyful it became! Ice cream sandwich, cookies and cream, malty biscuits, lemon sorbet with vodka!
  • Palate – Same vein as the nose, nicely rounded, a good mouth feel, very approachable for 50%, just enough kick to make it interesting
  • Finish – Lovely
  • Water – Just adds a bit of spice

What can one say? Really rather nice!

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Whisky Lady – July til September 2025

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This has been a relatively slow quarter whisky-wise – both tastings and sharing notes. Largely in Germany, miraculously, my focus on learning German led to passing my B1 exams – woo hoo! Things began to pick up with travels – starting with a flight home to India late August, then Canada mid-September, and coming up – a trip to London for the 2025 Whisky Show!

Whisky-wise, the quarter began with a low-key wander through a few open bottles in Nürnberg. This was followed by an evening exploring Lambay Cognac Cask 43% and Gordon & Macphail’s Auchriosk 10 year 43% – yum! I also had a chance to pit India’s answer from the big boys – Diageo’s Godawan with Pernod Ricard’s Longitude 77.

Coming back to India for September had perfect timing! I could join BOTH a Whisky Ladies and BMC session after such a long time!

For the Whisky Ladies evening, it was a welcome back and farewell combined! I just missed our 10-year anniversary celebration in August; however, I was so happy to join a special evening in Powai. Unfortunately for us, our delightful host is now moving to Manila. As for the whiskies explored?

  • Slyrs Amontillado Cask 46% – A delicious Rumtopf dram with plenty of boozy stewed fruits, spice kick for a quick nip!
  • Baltach Wismaria Single Malt 43% – A decided “No” from my side, however, its briny, fungal, tannery style may find a few fans who enjoy a maritime style on steroids! 
  • Miyagikyo Grande 48% – Miyagikyo dialed up — still elegant, still fruity and floral, but with a richer backbone and more presence.

With a bonus bourbon – Grass Widow Straight Bourbon Madeira 45.5%.

This was followed by an evening with the BMC gents focused on a trio from South Africa followed by a pair of Sweet (almost) 16!

Thanks to a trip to Canada, I managed to have a lovely weekend getaway in a cabin – naturally accompanied by a wee whisky tasting with a few specially selected samples from That Boutique-y Whisky Co’s 2018 Advent Calendar.

  • Blend of Scottish and Japanese malt and grain whiskies 21 Year Old, Batch 1, 43%
  • Scottish Blended Malt #4 6 Year Old Batch 1, 53.6%
  • Scottish Blended Malt #1 18 Year Old, Batch 3, 47.3%
  • Scottish Blended Whisky #2 22 Year Old Batch 3, 41.8%
  • Scottish Blended Whisky #3, 23 Year Old Batch 1, 48.2%

Curious to know more? Check out a few more summaries:

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BMC Trip to South Africa – Boplaas, Drayman’s, Three Ships  

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A few years ago, we had a fabulous family wedding in South Africa. It was a magical and memorable moment. More recently in Germany, friends and I joined an evening organised by Hawelti featuring 8 whiskies from Africa!

So when I learned our focus for our Bombay Malt & Cigar evening for September 2025 was South Africa – the concept fell on fertile ground.

Just click on the links below for full tasting notes!

You would think this should be enough, right? Nope! Our whisky host knew these drams could be dicey, so to cover all bases, added another two favourites – call it a theme of Sweet (almost!) 16!

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BMC Trip to South Africa – Three Ships 10 year 46.3%

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Our host had high hopes for this 10 year old single malt whisky from Three Ships. He had been informed that Three Ships from the James Sedgwick Distillery is “the” single malt from South Africa. What did we find?

Three Ships 10 year 46.3%

  • Nose – Fresh, then becomes like sanitizer, chemical, moved into fresh wood, cardboard, cinnamon powder, cardamom, hay
  • Palate – Decidedly funky, quite odd, wax seal, blend of cinnamon and other sweet spices, and wood
  • Finish – Spice yet non-descript

We set it aside, in hopes that after more time in the glass, it would evolve in a more positive direction. Nope! Instead, it took on aromas of rubber bands, iodine, and plaster. Pity.

What did they have to say about this special release?

  • Nose – Complex with delicate sweet notes from the sherry cask which lifts the nose with prunes, dates, figs and fruit cake and combines effortlessly with the elegant smokiness of the malt
  • Palate – The flavours unravel slowly to reveal smoke, pepper, roasted malt and fruit
  • Finish – Lingers impressively long and the sweet notes mingle comfortably with the peaty finish

Oh my! Were we experiencing the same whisky? We certainly did not find many elements described.

That shared, I had a more positive impression of the 12 year expression – sampled earlier in the year at an evening devoted to a range of whiskies from Africa.

Curious what we thought of the others? Read on…

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BMC Trip to South Africa – Drayman’s 5 year Single Malt 43%

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We began our evening exploring whiskies from South Africa with a grain from Boplaas before shifting into a “proper” single malt from Pretoria. Starting as a beer microbrewery, Draymans Brewery & Spirits expanded into wine, liqueurs, and whisky.

 

Drayman’s 5 year Single Malt French Oak Reserve 43%

  • Nose – What fun! Lots of candy sweet, caramel custard, pear drops, a bit of acetone, think “Juicy Fruit” gum, a mix of peach, pear, and a generic “mixed fruit”, cream, gooseberries, cakes, cereal
  • Palate – The opposite of the aromas – a range of spices from black pepper to cayenne powder, sour salty plum, churan with its sweet and sour mix of fruits, herbs and minerals, chaat masala, nuts and coca
  • Finish – Paprika, sugar beet sweet, relatively short

There was a youthful exuberance to this dram. The nose was a honeyed delight, and the palate a surprising contrast, with the finish a mix of both! No surprise – this was the front-runner of the South African trio tasted that fine evening in Mumbai.

Curious what we thought of the others? Read on…

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BMC Trip to South Africa – Boplaas 6 year Grain 43%

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Grains are tricky! They are less expensive to produce than single malts and form the backbone of blends. However, often grains – especially younger ones – struggle to stand on their own.

Boplaas is a family-owned wine and spirit producer, located in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo region of South Africa. The Net family began their operations in 1989 with brandy, before moving into wines and now grain whisky. Their grain of choice is yellow maize, matured in ex-bourbon casks before finishing in their own tawny port casks.

Believe it or not, this was not my first introduction to Boplaas grain from South Africa! Earlier in the year, Hawelti introduced me to their 5 year old expression. I was curious to see what one more year could do and the reaction of our Bombay Malt & Cigar gents during our September 2025 tasting of South African drams!

Boplaas 6 year Grain 43%

  • Nose – No mistaking this is a grain! It was sweet, a bit funky, had some pencil shavings, some cloves, a hint of fruits
  • Palate – Light, easy-going and innocuous, clean and super sweet, a touch sharp, mild oak
  • Finish – Also very sweet

Let’s be honest, we weren’t expecting anything complex. However, I’ve had far worse young grains! Whilst not something I would run out to buy more of, it was worth sampling.

What do the folks at Boplaas have to say?

Our history of distilling fine pot still brandy dates back to 1880, with the first order of casks was sent to Cape Town harbour by ox-wagon for delivery to London. After the repeal of distilling licenses in the early 1920’s, Boplaas’ copper pot still lay dormant for almost 70 years until it was fired up again in 1989. Five years later, in 1994, Boplaas released the very first estate brandy: the Boplaas 5 Year Old Pot Still Estate Brandy. Due to dry warm summers, cold winters and general low humidity, the environment is ideal for the maturation of brandy and whisky, resulting in a far more concentrated spirit.

  • Nose: This is a whisky for savouring. The multi-layered nose shows a fruitcake nose tinged with winter spices, most notably cloves and cardamom, and highlights of cocoa bean, desiccated figs, rich apricots and raisins.
  • Tasting Notes: Tawny character blooms on the palate – it’s bold, rounded and viscous, with a pleasant balance of yellow-fruit sweetness and oak spice that lingers.

Not sure we found all the elements they describe, however, it was overall quite a pleasant start to our evening exploring whiskies from South Africa.

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Whisky Ladies – Slyrs, Baltech, Miyagikyo  

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It was a wonderful welcome back to India, joining a Whisky Ladies of Mumbai evening in a high-rise in Powai! The evening theme was “These are a few of my favourite things!” featuring a delicious array of tempting appetizers, fabulous mains, and thoroughly indulgent dessert!

Of course, the whiskies were the main attraction! Our host shared how she joined the Whisky Ladies courtesy of a member originally from Germany. In her honour, she selected two whiskies from Germany – A Slyrs Amontillado Cask from Bavaria and a virtually unknown spirits distillery from the Ostsee (aka Baltic Sea) – Baltach Wismaria Whisky. She then shared how much she loves Japan, so found in duty-free a special Nikka edition featuring their Miyagikyo single malt.

And whilst not part of the core 3, she rounded our evening out with a bonus bourbon from Detroit – Grass Widow Madeira.

Curious to know more about our explorations? Just click on the links below for full tasting notes!

Our evening was bittersweet as our host is about to embark on her next adventure – to Manila, Philippines! And I reflected back on how fortunate I’ve been wihisky-wise to have been in Europe – where there is tremendous experimentation taking place and an explosion of distilleries either focused on whisky or adding it to the mix of other spirits.

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Detroit’s Grass Widow Straight Bourbon Madeira 45.5% 

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A bonus is just that – something you didn’t plan for or expect. And when that bonus is a completely unknown yet quite decent bourbon? Bring it on!

None of us were familiar with “Grass Widow” – including our host – who received it as a gift from Corktown, Detroit! Turns out this bourbon comes from Two James Spirits, and is described as:

An homage to a pre-prohibition Detroit brand, Grass Widow Bourbon contains a high-rye mash bill and is then finished in Madeira casks to give it a long finish.

Truly a Wine-drinker’s bourbon.

As it was a ‘bonus’, we didn’t do a structured tasting, however, overall we found it to be a good, fun, bourbon!

On the nose, there was a freshness, clearly grain yet with a sweet grassy element – perhaps we were influenced by the name! On the palate, we found it just a great example of an enjoyable bourbon, with a nice herbaceous element that we enjoyed! As for the finish? Whilst not long and lingering, it was a warm comforting close with a hint of fresh tobacco leaves.

Two James Spirit’s official tasting notes:

  • Nose: Red Apple, Dried Orange, Praline
  • Palate: Apple, Walnut, Salted Brown Butter, Caramel, Peppermint
  • Finish: Leather, Pipe Tobacco, Orange Peel

Would we agree? Overall yes! Whilst we didn’t specifically note the citrus, we were more focused on just enjoying how what was in the glass supported convivial conversation. I could also see it making a great base for a quality whisky cocktail.

We tasted it after a delightfulful Whisky Ladies of Mumbai evening featuring two whiskies from Germany and a third from Japan!

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Whisky Ladies September 2025 – Miyagikyo Grande 48% 

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Our host has a special fondness for Japan, and so the 3rd dram of our September 2025 Whisky Ladies evening celebrated this unique country.

From Nikka, Miyagikyo was founded in 1969 by Masataka Taketsuru. There’s something quietly graceful about Miyagikyo. The distillery sits in a lush, misty valley near Sendai, chosen for its soft water and cool climate — the yin to Yoichi’s coastal yang. Where Yoichi leans smoky and bold, Miyagikyo is all about elegance: floral, fruity, and delicately spiced.

The Miyagikyo Grande expression was launched in 2022 as a travel-retail exclusive. It is described as taking the house style, and giving it extra depth. Bottled at a slightly higher strength and with a greater share of sherry-cask and virgin-oak matured spirit, we were curious to explore it for ourselves!

Miyagikyo Grande 48%

  • Nose – Fresh green apples, canned pineapple, faintly floral with jasmine, mild and very mellow, leechie, musk melon, curry leaves, sweet cured ham, nuanced
  • Palate – Silky smooth, buttery, a lovely warm spice, quite yummy, nutty, light savoury bacon, was there a hint of smoke too?
  • Finish – From buttery to a bit bitter

The Grande is like Miyagikyo turned up a notch — still elegant, still fruity and floral, but with a richer backbone and more presence. The longer it lingered in the glass, the more enjoyable it became. One called it “the gift that keeps on giving!”

What more do we know? It is non-chill-filtered, and can still be found for around Eur 130 – quite pricey – especially for an NAS!

What other Miyagikyo expressions have we tried over the years?

We tasted it together with two whiskies from Germany and a bonus Bourbon from Detroit!

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