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https://whiskyschiff-luzern.ch/

Whisky Schiff Luzern, 27-28 March 2026

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Note: Most of the whiskies mentioned here will be tasted again in normal conditions. The tasting notes provided here were my first impressions.

After rushing to take my bus and then my train to Luzern, I arrived on time for the punctual opening of the whisky fair at 16.00. The queue quickly disappeared between the 3 ships and between the different stands.

Some of the Springbank available at Lateltin

My first visit was at Lateltin to taste the Springbank Local Barley 10 YO bottled last October, a very good, rich, intense whisky, with a nice body, some smoke, vanilla, light maritime and mineral flavours. I tasted then the 10 YO Fino, which was slightly less complex, with a more chewy and thicker mouthfeel, and a round pronounced fino influence, rather on the sweet-sticky side. A nice one.

The new Highland Park 17 for Travel Retail at Acla da Fans


Not far away was Acla da fans, with several new bottlings for the Travel Retails and a fair selection from the Whisky Agency (TWA) Farewell series.

I started with the new Highland Park 17 YO for travel retail, a nice mellow, easy drinking whisky, with some heather honey, soft spice, sultanas, oranges and some Dundee cake. It was followed by a 1996 Ben Nevis for TWA, a mellow whisky, on heather, honey, sultanas, leather and some exotic fruits. A well-made whisky. The Glenfarclas 16 YO sherry cask matured was a good expression of Glenfarclas, moderately floral and oaky, on spices, sultanas, orange, leather, rather spicy and intense. The Ardmore 1997 TWA was very good, very aromatic on the nose, with a nice aromatic peat smoke, an elegant smokiness and peatiness on the palate, grassy and herbal, with a pleasant mouthfeel. Very enjoyable. The Glengoyne 15 YO for Travel Retail was a very nice surprise, a nice rich, sweet and malty whisky, with nice round floral flavours, heather honey, sultanas, oranges, tangerine and nice leather flavours. Rich, fruity and well balanced. What do you want more? The 2008 Glenkinchie was a very pleasant expression from this distillery. Rarely bottled by independent bottlers and in addition from a sherry cask. The whisky was vibrant, floral, rather complex and intense, with spices, sultanas, orange and leather. Very good. The Bowmore 30 YO Travel Retail was mellow, smoky, with nice mellow fruity flavours, but also some lavender, becoming more intense on the palate. On the palate, it was rather smoky, with a mixture of maritime and sweet sherry flavours, before a fair dose of rubber was released, too much to my liking. The 16 YO TWA Kildalton was distilled at the Ardbeg distillery and matured in a sherry cask, a very peat whisky, maritime and medicinal, with rather intense round and slightly rubbery flavours.

Some of the Decadent Drinks at Whisky Bibilothek

It was then time to move to Whisky Bibliothek to taste their new Decadent Drinks (DD) and Filey Bay. I started with the 8 YO DD Old Orkney, a nice fresh, intense and clean whisky distilled at Highland Park, on vanilla, light floral flavours and some heather. I tasted then a rather playful and interesting Pittyvaich 35 YO from DD. I always had soft spot for this lost distillery of Dufftown and enjoyed the different releases from Diageo. It is very rare to find whiskies from this distillery nowadays. It was certainly the most complex whisky tasted during the evening, with a nice mellow, complex and balanced nose, on dried fruits, floral, and honey flavours, before moving to a mixture of sweet fruity flavours, old worn leather and old damp house and bonfire ashes. Very enjoyable. The 36 YO DD Cragganmore was a nice whisky, rather fresh and aromatic, slightly grassy, with nice aromatic herbs, vanilla, light grassy flavours and some herbal tea. Vibrant.

I also took some time to talk to Marc Hofmann, presenting his book, that took him 3 years to write. Nicely illustrated, hand made, and printed in Switzerland at a fair price, a nice read (in German). The Filey Bay Yorshire day was a nice fruity, floral and grassy whisky, with nice sweet fruity flavours and honey. I tasted then a 1997 Benrinnes from DD, with a nice round sherry nose, rich salty sherry on the palate, old worn leather and fragrant floral flavours, before rather intense rubbery flavours are released. A whisky for the sherry freaks. Then, I tasted the Midleton 2024 Irish Whiskey, a soft, slightly malty and very fruity elegant whisky, with lots of orchards fruits. It was followed by the Aberargie Inaugural release, a smooth, juicy floral whisky, with smooth juicy fruity flavours. A nice slightly young and well-made whisky. I tasted then the pre-release bottling of Filey Bay Flagship marrying strength, an intense, powerful Filey bay, with sweet fruity, grassy, floral and light oaky flavours, more intense than the core range. The Filey Bay Porter Cask #2 had a final maturation for 4 years in Porter casks, thus 3 years more than the previous edition. The flavours of beer and hops are rather pronounced, tasting almost like a whisky mixed with beer (“beershky”). It is a good whisky, but the beer influence is too strong to my liking. I move then to the Caol Ila 35 YO from DD, an excellent aged Caol Ila, with a mild peat smoke, ripe citrus, a lingering dry and maritime peat smoke, as well as some vanilla, seabrine and seaweeds. Very good. The Laphroaig 34 YO was a nice mellow whisky, rather maritime and medicinal, with a soft peat smoke. Nice, but it tasted slightly tired. The Ardamurchan 10 YO Equinoxe & Solstice from DD had a nice intense and aromatic peat smoke, slightly floral, with a surprisingly soft and round mouthfeel, a mild aromatic peat smoke, with some vanilla, lemon curd and a touch of honey. Pleasant to drink.

The new Royal Brackla for World of Whisky by Waldhaus am See

I moved then to worldofwhisky.ch/Waldhaus am See to taste their new Lindores single cask Amontillado, a very sweet and deliciously fruity single malt, with lots of dark berries, liquid honey and with various juicy fruity flavours. Very good and remarkably rich and complex for its age.
I tasted then the Clydesdale Fortnight peated, a nice gentle whisky, moderately peaty, smoky, and floral, on vanilla, some citrus and a dry aromatic peat smoke. The Royal Brackla 11 YO for World of Whisky by Waldhaus am See is a nice, round floral whisky, rather intense and vibrant, with a moderate sherry influence, some red berries, leather, sultanas and orange. The Heiligen Berg Feld Oloroso for Waldhaus am See was a very round whisky, on dark berries, grapes and soft malty flavours. Markedly smoother and rounder than the previous Palo Cortado or Amontillado bottlings. The Glen Elgin 12 YO for World of Whisky by Waldhaus am See was nicely floral and grassy, on vanilla, some aromatic herbs, dry grapes and a nice mild dry influence from the Amontillado finish. The Highland Park 19 YO  for World of Whisky by Waldhaus am See was a clean whisky, with round flavours of honey, heather, dry grapes and a rather mild and round slightly acetic influence from the Palo Cortado. The Glen Garioch 12 100 Proof from Signatory with rather aromatic, grassy, with light oaky and gingery flavours. A nice one. The Caol Ila 17 YO Signatory cask strength was an intense, peaty, maritime and smoky Caol Ila, with light, round sherry flavours softening the clean and intense peat smoke. Nice.

Several single casks of Penderyn for Charles Hofer Swizterland and the new expressions

Moving to Charles Hofer, I had a nice chat with the brand ambassador of Penderyn and tasted a single cask bottled in 2022 for Charles Hofer, a nice bold Welsh whisky, with very round sweet and fruity flavours, on orange, tangerine, some honey and soft spices. The Serpent’s tears is a new product from Penderyn, produced at their second distillery, where only peated whisky is distilled. Made with malted barley peated to 50 PPM, the nose was mildly peated, very aromatic, with strong aromas of fresh and sour juniper berries. On the palate, it was surprisingly light and smooth, with only a dash of smoke. One could wonder what happened to the palate. The whisky tasted light and very young (it is about 4 years old), and it will be interesting to taste it at an older age.

Some of the Whisky Chambers, including the excellent peated Bunnahabhain Pog an dragon at Awico trading

The next stop was at Awico Trading, where I tasted the new whiskies from The Whisky Chambers. The  2015 Annandale in Madeira cask had very pleasant mouthfeel, slightly chewy, on dried grapes, light floral and grassy flavours as well as dark berries. The madeira was well-integrated, as it gave a lot of roundness, without being winey or too dominant. The Pog an Dragon 2013 is a heavily peated (Stoisha) Bunnahabhain matured exclusively in a rum cask. It was a delicious peat monster, complex, maritime, medicinal, with a dry maritime peat smoke, seaweeds and citrus, with some tar and soot. The finish is long, very peaty, tarry and maritime. There was a touch of white sugar, with the rum giving a discrete roundness to the whisky. The Rum influence is very light and subtle. An excellent whisky. The Dalmunach 2015 was matured in an Amontillado quarter cask, very round, rich and chewy, with lots of dark berries (brambles and blackcurrant), as well as sultanas, figs and round nutty flavours. Very pleasant. Finally, I tasted the new Mannochmore, a very round expression of that distillery, floral, slightly salty, with soft spices and sultanas.

The Blair Atholl to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Dramcatcher

Moving to DramCatcher I tasted the 19 YO Cask Master Blended malt, a rich and complex blended malt, spicy, moderately peaty and maritime, on cocoa, leather, orange, and dried fruits. A whisky of Macallan and Laphroaig blended at birth, well balanced and most enjoyable. Very good. For their 5th Anniversary, they are bottled a 14 YO Blair Athol from an Oloroso cask under their label, a nice whisky, with a lovely roundness, a mild sherry influence, mainly on fudge and sultanas, with some berries. A very good example of that distillery, without too fragrant or yeasty flavours, often seen in Blair Athol bottlings.

The new Ardnahoe 7 YO single cask at Whisky Shop Neumarkt

At Whisky Shop Neumarkt, I tasted the new Ardnahoe, starting with the 6 YO small batch for Switzerland, a vatting of 4 different sherry casks, resulting in a round, mildly peated and maritime whisky, with lots of fruity flavours (orange, tangerine and sultanas), while the 7 YO Single Cask for the 20 year of Friendship between Andrew and Reto, which was very peaty, intense, dry, maritime, powerful and rather complex. I enjoyed that one very much. I tasted there also a 16 YO Clynelish old malt Cask, a very waxy and smooth expression from that distillery, rather clean with a dash of citrus.

The new Islay single malt from C. Dully at House of Single Malts

Moving to House of Single Malts, I tasted the latest releases from C. Dully, starting with their 25 YO blended malt whisky, which was in fact of tea spooned Macallan, very pleasant to drink, round and smooth, with light floral flavours, soft spices and rather juicy fruity flavours. Not overly complex, but very enjoyable to drink. The 36 YO Burnside is a teaspoon Balvenie, complex, floral, slightly floral and malty, on exotic fruits and delicious rich liquid honey flavours, as you can expect from an old Balvenie matured in a high quality cask. Very good! The new Islay Single Malt 27 YO is a single malt distilled at Laphroaig, clean and round, on maritime peat smoke, nice vanilla flavours, mild maritime and medicinal flavours. As I have tasted over the last couple of days a handful of 25+ YO Laphroaig, this expression was particularly round, including the peat smoke, which was very intense but without being dry. Very nice. The Clynelish 20 YO bottled by the Maltman was delicious, waxy, grassy and lovey juicy ripe citrus (mainly pink grapefruits) and some honey. I loved it. Back to C. Dully, I tasted their French single malt Aikan. The distillery name was unknown, thus Aikan does not refer to a known French distillery. Matured in Maritinique (tropical aging), this whisky was pleasant, sweet, sugary, slightly spicy, on vanilla and some ripe pineapples. Nice.

Two new expressions of Ardamurchan at Paul Ullrich

At Paul Ullrich, I tasted two new expressions of Ardnamurchan, starting with the Heritage Barley, a mixture of unpeated and peated Arnamurchan, the whisky was slightly peated, round and malty, on round vanilla flavours and smooth. It tasted rather young. The Ardnamurchan Cask Strength had a higher proportion of peated whisky, and not surprisingly it was markedly more peaty, maritime and drier, but also more intense and complex.

A Springbank 13 YO finished in an Amontillado cask at Scotch Sense

The Springbank Hand-filled 22/P215-1 at Scotch Sense was a very sherried Springbank, matured in Oloroso sherry cask(s) for 10 years before spending 3 more years in an amontillado sherry cask. The whisky was nicely mineral, clean, round, slightly smoky and maritime, on red berries, sultanas and toffee. Very nice. The 29 YO Springbank Oloroso from Cadenhead had a nice initial round and mellow mouthfeel, on dried fruits, before strong meaty, sulphury and rubbery flavours kicked in. A whisky for the sherry freaks.

The Tobermory 21 and 25 YO at Dettling-Marmot

I move slightly further to the sand of Dettling-Marmot to taste most of their new expressions, starting with the Glenfiddich 29 YO Grand Yozakura, a whisky finished in Awamori casks. Awamori is a liquor made of rice, with a type of mold used for fermentation, and produced exclusively in the South of Japan, in the Okinawa region. The result is very good whisky, sweet, with some sakura, ripe orchard fruits, nice mellow grassy flavours and some vanilla, with light lemon flavours and a touch of almonds. The mouthfeel is sweet and mellow, very pleasant to drink, on the silky side. Very nice. Aston Martin has stopped the deal with Beam Suntory and the new Glenfiddich 16 YO is the first product from the collaboration between Aston Martin and Wm Sons, the whisky is nice, rich, on fresh orchards, mainly pears, some light oaky and creamy flavours as well as vanilla. Rather smooth and juicy. Well-made and easy drinking. The new Macallan Harmony Jing is a lovely floral expression of Macallan, clean, on vanilla, some toffee and nice light Jasmine tea flavours. Inspired by the flavours of phoenix orchards tea, the distillate is rather light and floral, fragrant, on vanilla and Jasmin tea. Rather different from the sherry driven expression, but refreshing and pleasant. The new Highland Park 16 YO was made in collaboration with the well known Stockholm restaurant Frantzen. It was a pleasant surprise, with a lot of flavours intensity, spices, heather honey, precious wood, and dried fruits. A rather smoky expression with very good round and spicy sherry flavours. The 21 YO was more on the sherry, but rather bitter and rubbery. The new NAS Heather was very good, with lots of liquid honey, on orange, tangerine, sultanas, some figs and cinnamon. Rather complex and fairly priced, this is the type of Highland Park that should please any whisky fan. The Tobermory 21 was a very good sherry matured Tobermory, round, rather complex, with a velvety round sherry influence on fresh figs, toffee, sultanas and red berries. Very nice. The Tobermory 25 YO was more complex , drier, but also rather bitter, tannic and rubbery. The new Ledaig Hebrideann Moon is a new cask strength expression of this very peaty whisky, maritime, smooth, on sea weeds, tar, iodine and dry peat smoke. Not overly complex, but very peaty, maritime and clean, very fairly price. A good value whisky. The last whisky of the evening was a peated BenRiach single cask 1994, with a mild peat smoke, old leather, sultanas, dried figs, some berries and some aromatic peat smoke. Very good.

With the doors closing, I made a stop at the restaurant to eat a whisky burger and some rather salted fries.

After more than 6 hours spent on the ships, it was time to take the train home and to relax after a very intense day but rewarding day, where I could taste a large selection of whiskies.
As always, I was not able to visit all the stands, more like than 1/3, but I was happy with what I managed to taste. The Whisky Schiff Luzern is the largest whisky fair in Switzerland and an event that I don’t like to miss. I could taste many new releases indicating that the whisky is very dynamic, with strong pressure on prices for whiskies below 20 years of age, not only driven by the aggressive pricing led by Signatory, but also by the distillers. Also, for the consumer, not only is the price under pressure, but the quality is there or even going up.

Slainte
Patrick, 29 March 2026