Whisky-news.com is a fully independent whisky website created in 2006 by a whisky enthusiast for the whisky enthusiasts, from novice to expert, with a huge collection of tasting notes, distillery presentations, whisky fair reports in Europe, reports about whisky from all over the world, and many more. It is also the leading site for whisky literature review. Updated almost daily and free from financial support from any whisky company.

Limburg Whisky Fair, April 25-26, Germany


https://whiskyfair.de/

Photo gallery: Click here

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

For any whisky nerd, the Limburg whisky fair is the place to be. Before the event, there is a whisky dinner gathering for whisky nerds taking place on Friday, and therefore I travelled there on Friday.

As usual, something happened to the train to Frankfurt main station, and arriving at 4 km from the train station, it suddenly stopped. Finally, after 10 minutes, the train resumed its journey and the time to change connections, which was initially 19 minutes dropped to 4 min because of the delays. After sprinting and zig-zagging between people, I managed to reach my train to Limburg at the last minute, although panting for a few minutes to recover from the effort.
 

The evening dinner was great as always (thank you B.B. for organising it), with very nice discussions and plenty of great drams. After 6 hours spent in the delightful company of whisky nerds from all over the world, it was time to get a good rest before the opening of the fair the next morning at 11.00. At 10.40, the queue was very long, and quickly reached the end of the street, but after the punctual opening at 11.00, the queue disappeared quickly, thanks to a very good organisation and efficiency of the staff.
At Collezionare Mania, I could taste the Longrow 1973 for Samaroli

The swarm of whisky fans spread quickly through the stands, and my first stop was at Collezionare Mania Ilie to taste the Longrow 1973 Cask Strength for Samaroli, a very peated whisky, oily, mineral, citrusy, slightly herbal, intense and balanced. A very nice way to start the day.
Some of the bottles at Enricos Gaddoni stand

Moving upstairs, I moved to Enrico’s Gaddoni stand to collect my order. For the event, Enrico has opened my great whiskies, such as Glen Garioch 1968, various old Bowmore, Glen Mohr, Rosebank or old Macallan. I could enjoy there an old Highland Queen blended bottled in the 1950s or early 1960s. with Glenmorangie as a base malt. An old style of whisky, mixing aromatic, grassy and old smoke, with stewed fruits and light mineral flavours. Very good.
Some of the whiskies tasted at Dornoch distillery / Thomson Brothers

Next to him was the stand of Dornoch Distillery/ Thomson Brothers. I could not resist tasting their 9 YO Bowmore for the Whisky Fair 2026, a lovely expression of Bowmore, round, salty, with nice flavours of ripe grapefruits, some peat smoke, iodine and light medicinal flavours. It might not be as peated as other Bowmore from that vintage, but it is more balanced, more fruity and very pleasant to drink. Unfortunately, it sold out for that day in 15 minutes. They retained a small allocation for Sunday, so be quick then. The next was a Clynelish over 24 YO, that I will need to taste again, as I was too absorbed in my discussion with Simon to record my impression. Due to the limited space available at the Dornoch distillery, they launched a very successful crowdfunding for a second and larger distillery at Dornoch. However, due to some issues and the current market situation, the start of the work as been slightly delayed and it will be done stepwise, focusing first on the production and then on other facilities, such as the office or visitor centre.
I tasted then a pre-release bottling of a 1976 Highland Single Malt for Dornoch Castle, a very gentle single malt, reminding me of a distillery located close to Inverness, with lovely round floral flavours, some toffee, dried fruits and light, round herbal flavours, without any dry or bitter off flavours, as one could expect from a 49 YO whisky. Very good. It should be available in the next few weeks. I tasted the new Talisker 15 YO for the Dornoch whisky bar, a lovely maritime expression of Talisker, with seaweed, iodine, light peppery flavours and a light Port influence, bringing some sweet sugary flavours. The Ben Nevis 1996 had a nice fruity and grassy nose, rather intense and vibrant on the palate, with lots of dried. Fruits. Freshly opened, it is rather close on the palate and with some aeration, it should become fruitier. The Ben Nevis 1973 was a fruit basket on the nose, with rich, varied fruity flavours, mellow on the palate, and a nice fruity finish. Very good.

I tasted then 4 different expressions of Dornoch whisky, aged between 6 and 8 years. The bird was a nice, rich, oily, slightly nutty, while the Squirrel was drier, more nutty and with a fair amount of green chestnut. The brewing for this whisky started just before Christmas and was completed after the Christmas break, resulting in a very long fermentation. During the first two years, Dornoch distillery performed a lot of experimentation, with maturation mainly in quarter casks, with various combinations of yeast and barley types, which has been since narrowed, which was noticeable with the two over Dornoch. Finally, I tasted a new make of Dornoch made with peated barley (10 ppm), a very smooth, fresh distillate, with a light smokiness. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the cask. The quality of the products bottled by Thomson Brothers is consistently good.
The Ardbeg 17 YO for Kirsch Import

I moved then to Kirsch import to taste their new Ardbeg 17 YO single cask to celebrate their 50th Anniversary, a very nice peaty, dried, maritime Ardbeg, with some toasted oaky flavours and a fair amount of seaweeds. The packaging is very nice, reflected in the rather hefty price(over 1000 euros).
Some whiskies at Sansibar whisky

At Sansibar, I tasted their new 25 YO Secret Orkney matured in a cream sherry butt. The whisky was nicely fruity and round, slightly creamy, but also with strong fresh rubber flavours, thus a whisky that should appeal more to the sherry freaks than to me. It is well-made, but I am rather sensitive to rubber. The 2005 Highland Park advance sample for C. Dully selection had a similar round and fruity flavour profile, with more heather and without the rubbery flavours. The Arran 23 YO from Eld Vatten was an explosion of rubber, cloves and burnt matches.
Some of the new bottlings at The Whisky Agency, with a lot of delicious old bottles on the left

Moving to the warmth of the tent, I went to visit The Whisky Agency (TWA), and Carsten welcomed me with a taste of an old Clynelish 12 YO 70 proof bottled in the 1950s, before the Di Chiano bottlings. The whisky had a lovely waxiness, lovely old mineral flavours, some ripe citrus, and light farmy flavours. Excellent. Tasted slightly more mineral and smoky than the Di Chiano bottling, and sharper as well. The 2010 Benriach was a lovely round and fruity whisky, with lots of sultanas, oranges, soft leather and some ripe fruits. The 2001 Bowmore was remarkably complex, maritime, moderately smoky, with some grapefruits, leather, sultanas and dried fruits. The influence from the refill sherry cask was mild and balanced. The 2009 Ledaig was a very good peated Ledaig, not as dry as most other Ledaig of that age, but more elegant, and with a pronounced maritime influence, with more seaweeds, some seashells, sea salt and iodine, reminding me somewhat of some old Talisker. Intense, complex, peated and simply very enjoyable. The 1996 Ben Nevis bottled jointly by TWA and Sansibar was a fruit basket on the nose, with a combination of Mirabelle, other yellow fruits, light grassy flavours, and a well-rounded mouthfeel. Another great Ben Nevis that should disappear from the shelves quickly. My final dram there was a 1972 Clynelish from the Scotch Malt Circle, with a lovely mineral and waxy nose, in the old Clynelish style, before becoming round, fruity (lots of yellow fruits), some ripe citrus, light mineral flavours, vanilla and a touch of exotic fruits. Very good. Of note, if you stop at the Whisky Agency, try to taste the old Imperial from Cadenhead’s. A personal tip.
Some of the bottles at Whiskyantique.com

At Whisky Antique, I tasted the Highland Park 18 YO (1960 distillation). I love the old style of Highland Park, rather peaty, fruity, on an old style of sherry cask. Tasting old whiskies from this distillery is a perfect illustration of the change in the flavour profile taking over place with some distilleries. As I explained to some whisky enthusiasts, for some distilleries such as Highland Park, Blair Athol, Dufftown or Glenlivet, the whisky distilled until the mid 1960s, the owner of these distilleries have changed the production method and flavour profiles to adapt to the changes in consumer preferences. So, if you can, try to taste some old bottlings. I
At Malts of Scotland, there was some bottlings from the trio of Whisky Dreamers, such as the Glen Keith

moved then to Malts of Scotland for tasting the different products of Whisky Dreamers, a trio of Belgian and Dutch whisky fans selecting casks for their label. I started with their BenRiach 1996, a lovely, rich and complex BenRiach, with lots of yellow fruits, including Mirabelle and some honey on the nose, intense and rich on the palate. A very good whisky, but to enjoy it at its full potential, give it time to breathe. The Glen Keith 1993 was even fruitier, with more yellow fruits, ripe orchard fruits, after an initial slightly aromatic start. A dangerously drinkable whisky, more expressive although slightly less complex than the BenRiach. Very good. I tasted the Glendronach 1994 Frank’s personal choice, one of the 3 founders of Whisky Dreamers, a whisky with a very complex nose, on spices, floral flavours, cocoa, leather, dark berries (lots of brambles and some dark cherries) and a similar flavours profile on the palate, with a long and chewy mouthfeel. Excellent. The 1990 Glen Garioch Rare Cask from Malts of Scotland was very aromatic, slightly austere and with some candied ginger and nice complexity.
Some of the bottlings for the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie (Scotland)

The Glen Garioch 22 YO at Highland Inn was more expressive, more on heather, fresh aromatic herbs, some ginger and light grassy flavours. Very good. The GlenWyvis joint bottling for Rudder and Highlander Inn tasted young to very young, smooth, rather heavy on the sherry, with some fresh rubber. Difficult to get an impression on the distillate, as the whisky tasted very young and was dominated by the sherry flavours. The Chichibu 2016 for Highlander Inn with Mizunara heads (?) had a remarkably complex nose, with some tangerine, tree sap, some dusty barley and light mineral flavours, with a well-balanced mouthfeel on the same aromas. A rather “intellectual” whisky, as it stimulates your brain, with its subtle and various flavours. This is the type of whisky that I enjoy keeping on the palate for several minutes. Very good.
The Glengarioch 1991 for Rudder

At Rudder, the Shindo Mizunara 2026 expression was a very nice round whisky, with nice light fruity and round malty flavours, some vanilla, a touch of tree sap and light nutty flavours. Well-made. The Glen Garioch 1991 for Rudder was another very good Glen Garioch, complex, more mineral, with a mixture of aromatic flavours, ginger, vanilla, mellow malty flavours and some quince.
At OG the Glen Moray 1974 Manager's choice

At OG whisky, I tasted a very nice old style of Glen Grant 25 YO from G. Strachan, a complex, slightly mineral, aromatic, peaty Glen Grant, with an old style of dry sherry flavours. Very good, sharing some similarities with the old Glenlivet 15 YO for Barreto, with a fair amount of peat smoke, aromatic herbs, light floral flavours, and dried fruits. Very good. I could not resist tasting the Glen Moray 1974 Manager’s selection, an excellent whisky, rather fruity, with a combination of ripe fruits, including apricots and tangerine, with some figs, a touch of marzipan and light floral flavours.
At Distilla, the Rums I tasted during the fair

My final stop was at Distilla founded in Poland and focusing on high quality spirits, which is behind “The Sins” series. I am not a Rum expert, but I enjoyed very much the 31 YO Cuban Rum 5th leaf, with a mixture of treacle, overripe fruits, cocoa, old leather and old tobacco leaves. Well balance and a lovely mouthfeel. Very good! I tasted then the new Yarmouth 30 YO, with a finish in an ex-bourbon cask. A well-made rum, with a mixture of rich esters (ripe bananas, some green pineapples and light phenolic flavours), as well as some vanilla and yellow fruits, as well some roasted coffee beans and cocoa. A two sided rum. The 27 YO Jamaican Rum is coming from the Clarendon distillery, with rich estery flavours, lots of ripe bananas, green pineapples and some light vegetal aromas, combined with old leather, cocoa, some roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate. Balanced and very nice. PS: I could nose their Hampden 1983 and it was delicious.

With time running and low on budget, it was time to take the train home, hoping that the locker would open, as it took me over 5 min in the morning to pull out the key from the locker at the train station. The journey home worked ok, on time for my connection, from Frankfurt, before realising that due to construction work, the train would stop 70 km from his final destination, and thus needed to take a replacement bus and a regional train, resulting in an additional 1h to my journey…and without any internet access. Travelling by train to Limburg is always an adventure, but at least, I had time to write this report on my train home. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Limburg, and as one could expect, I could only a fraction of the stands and the whiskies available. The best would be to attend the 2 days of the fair, but due to private reasons, it is a challenge. Not only I could taste some great whiskies, but I had very nice exchanges with whisky nerds, retailers and producers. I just wished that Spittoons were available on the stands.

See you next year!

Slainthe,

Patrick, April 25, 2026