Author Archives: Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

About Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I'm very interested in booze, with a focus on whisky. I like to listen to loads of music and play lots of Magic: the Gathering, and board games too. I'm married to Anneke, have two daughters Ot and Cato, a son Moos and a cat called Kikker (which means Frog, in Dutch). I live in Krommenie, The Netherlands.

Caol Ila 34yo, 1982-2016, 60.1% – Cadenhead

Posted on 27 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Back in 2016 when I bought two sizable samples of this, I wasn’t overly impressed. I don’t remember why and I don’t remember what I expected. However, it made me forget sample number two until recently, when I could try … Continue reading →

Posted in Caol Ila | Tagged 1982, Bourbon Cask, Cadenhead, Caol Ila, Diageo, Islay | Leave a comment

Kilchoman 12, 2006-2019, 50.8% – OB for 12Barrels

Posted on 26 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Me and Kilchoman don’t match. There’s no good reason for that, but it’s just the case. It’s weird, since I’ve looked back and found a dozen or so reviews of Kilchoman on my blog. All of them (except for that … Continue reading →

Posted in Kilchoman | Tagged 12 Barrels, 2006, Bourbon Cask, Islay, Kilchoman, Private Cask | Leave a comment

Talisker 18, 2019 release, 45.8%

Posted on 25 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When I started drinking whisky, about 15 years ago, we went straight from Glenfiddich 12 to Talisker 18 and Caol Ila 18. Let’s say I’ve never been sensible about whisky, or money. Anyway, back then this whisky made tremendous impact … Continue reading →

Posted in Talisker | Tagged Classic Malts, Diageo, Islands, Skye, Talisker | Leave a comment

Rhumerie du Simon 15yo, 2004-2019, 61% – The Duchess

Posted on 24 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I decided that the summery weather warrants a summery drink, and what’s more summery than rum? Daiquiris maybe, but apart from that I can’t really think of anything. So, I picked this sample that Best of Wines recently sent me, … Continue reading →

Posted in - Rum, Rhumerie du Simon | Tagged 2004, Best of Whiskies, Best of Wines, Bourbon Cask, Free Sample, Martinique, Rhumerie du Simon, The Duchess | Leave a comment

Blended Malt, 18yo, 46.6% – Whiskybase

Posted on 23 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

As we know by now, Whiskybase releases a whisky for every 10,000 whiskies added to their database. The last one that was released is a blended malt of 18 years old, at a very limited ABV of 46.6%. What we … Continue reading →

Posted in - Blended Malt, Glenrothes, Tamdhu | Tagged 2001, Blended Malt, Edrington, Glenrothes, HIghland Park, Highlands, Islands, Macallan, Sherry Cask, Speyside, Tamdhu, Whiskybase | Leave a comment

Search for a Whisky Bothy (Ralfy Mitchell)

Posted on 21 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s been ages since I did a book review here. I’ve not been reading much at all, over the last few years, not since travelling by train to work stopped because of changing jobs and locations. But I’m trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in - Book | Tagged Book review, Ralfy, Ralfy Mitchell, Whisky Book | Leave a comment

Foursquare 2001-2019, 18yo, 56.9% – The Duchess

Posted on 20 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Yet another rum from The Duchess, which is a series from Best of Wines in Bussum, The Netherlands. They’ve been bottling some whisky, but lately it is mostly rum that’s coming from their stables. In this case there are two … Continue reading →

Posted in - Rum, Foursquare | Tagged 2001, Barbados, Best of Whiskies, Best of Wines, Bourbon Cask, Foursquare, Free Sample, Rum, The Duchess | Leave a comment

Willett XCF 1.0, Curacao Casks, 51.7%

Posted on 18 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Whisk(e)y is a rather static product. At the moment the marketing departments of every distillery keep blabbering on about innovation, but in the end, there is none. They do the same thing they did a hundred years ago, but by … Continue reading →

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Rye Whiskey, Willett | Tagged 2006, Curacao cask, Exploratory Cask Finish, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Rye Whiskey, Willett, XCF | 1 Comment

Moonshine and Bourbon from Kings County Distillery

Posted on 17 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I always get a bit of an itch when distilleries release a moonshine. The definition of moonshine is that it is illegally distilled hooch, and when it’s properly released it is everything but that. So, apart from marketing it doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Bourbon, New Make Spirit | Tagged Bourbon, Kings County Distillery, Moonshine, New Make, New York, Spirit | Leave a comment

Ardmore 2008-2019, 10yo, 56.2% – Claxton’s for The Old Pipe

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Old Pipe, a whisky shop that I don’t visit nearly enough, released some single cask bottlings through Claxton’s last year. I happened to get samples of both of them and decided that it was high time for a review … Continue reading →

Posted in Ardmore | Tagged 2008, Ardmore, Claxton's, Free Sample, Highlands, Sherry Cask, The Old Pipe | 2 Comments