Aged in oak casks for at least sixteen years, this much sought-after single malt has the massive peat-smoke that's typical of southern Islay - but also offering a dryness that turns it into a truly interesting dram.

The set up at Talisker produces a highly individual new make which mixes smoke, fruit, sulphur, salt and pepper. The malt is medium-peated, the worts clear and the fermentation long, but distillation is atypical with minimal copper contact, plenty of reflux and the use of worm tubs. The result is a heavier style of malt which lends itself nicely to a coastal influence and a smoky peat that is definitely there, but not too heavy.

Nose: A fresh and fragrant nose. Through pungent smoke comes sweet pear and apple peels, with pinches of maritime salt from kippers, seaweed.

Palate: It's a bonfire of peat crackling with black pepper, with a touch of brine and dry barley. A welcome delivery of orchard fruit provides a delicate and beautiful balance.

Finish: In a long finish, bonfire embers toast malt and crystallise a sugary underlay.

Nose - A thick coating of peat isn't enough to cover a soft, oaky background. Iodine appears alongside a pear-fruity sweetness. Delicate for a whisky so big.

Palate - Continuous gentle waves of dry peat lap upon the taste buds but are balanced by a sweet malt middle and the most hesitant of vanillas. 

Finish - Long and peaty, the shy vanilla now begins to show as the oak adds a certain dryness. Comment A gentle giant.

Source Jim Murray

At Dalwhinnie, clear worts and long ferments create a starting point form which one might expect a light floral whisky. However, the stills are run in such a way as to minimise the conversation between malt and copper, and when this is combined with the use of worm tubs to condense, the result is a heavy and somewhat sulphurous malt. After fifteen years in cask though, this is combined into the whisky, and the thick honeyed and almost sticky quality that Dalwhinnie is so famous for, shines through.

Nose: Aromatic, toffee, fruit salad, lush nectarine, custard. Floral, apple blossom, honeysuckle. Apple peels, pear, touch of smoke.

Palate: Malty. Walnuts steeped in manuka honey with vanilla sponge. Gentle smoke weaves its way through the cereal with a touch of spice.

Finish: Long, malty, walnut, almond.

Caol Ila is one of Islay's best loved distilleries and this 12 year old is their entry level bottling.

This expression is light and fresh with that distinctive Caol Ila smoke and notes of zesty limoncello. A perfect introduction to the joys of Islay malt and the mercurial qualities of peat smoked whisky.

Red Label is Johnnie Walker's signature blend, the versatile one that has introduced their whisky to the world. Crafted from the four corners of Scotland, it crackles with spice and is bursting with vibrant, smoky flavours – followed by a mellow bed of vanilla, a fresh zestiness and the Johnnie Walker signature of a long, lingering, smoky finish.

From Ardbeg...

Ardbeg, on the windswept Isle of Islay, to the west of Scotland, is renowned as a producer of peaty malts. Think salt and iodine and bonfires, and all sorts of good outdoorsy things. This is one of those drams that you can keep coming back to and always raises a smile - pure peat driven indulgence.

TRIPLE CASK FINISHED
Ardbeg BizarreBQ has been matured in a combination of double charred oak casks, Pedro Ximénez sherry casks and our unique BBQ casks. Together they ignite a feast of aromas in hickory smoked ham, grilled artichokes, flamed steak and cinnamon dusted espresso.

GlenDronach is, quite simply, the go to distillery for sherry aged whiskies. This large, imposing Victorian distillery makes whisky to match and some of their single cask offerings are as dark as night and like drinking liquid Xmas pudding and crêpes suzettes.

This is the archetypal 12 year old, aged in ex-oloroso and PX sherry casks. The nose is rich and lifted with honey, caramel, treacle, vanilla sugar and prunes dominating. The palate is rich and rounded with dried fruit, sultanas and milk chocolate. A fantastic all-round whisky and a must for the cabinet at home.

Introduced as the flagship Port Charlotte expression produced by Bruichladdich in 2018, this 10 year old single malt from the Isle of Islay is a lip-smackingly smoky number indeed. It's peated to 40ppm, and drawn from a combination of first-fill American whiskey casks, second-fill American whiskey casks and second-fill French wine casks.

Nose: Salted caramel brownie, flamed orange peel, a hearty whack of seaweed.

Palate: Oak-y smoke and salty sea air, paired with sweeter notes of Custard Cream biscuits and white grape.

Finish: Ginger snaps, rye toast, drying peat smokiness.

Blended from 42 malts, all from Speyside, plus top quality grain. It's smooth and fruity.

A 2019 addition to the GlenAllachie core range, this 15 year old single malt was treated to a finishing period in sherry casks before bottling. The casks in question were a combination puncheons and hogsheads that previously held Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry. Master distillery Billy Walker described this expression as having an "exceptional balance of the distillery's spirit and the influence of the Sherry casks used during maturation." We'd have to agree.

Nose: Peanut brittle, dates and a big scoop of chocolate ice cream.

Palate: Walnut, raisin, Christmas spices and fresh ginger.

Finish: Coffee, Turkish delight and just a hint of flaky sea salt.

Nose: Imagine yourself in an Italian garden surrounded with mandarin, lemon, apple, pear and peach trees, their fruit ripening in the sun. Add to this the scent of vanilla ice cream, then enjoy the herbal aromas of geranium and wild mint growing nearby

Palate:  Savour the fruits of the Italian garden as creamy vanilla slips like liquid silk over the tongue as peaches and cream, mandarins and lemons effervesce in the mouth.Aromatic essences of fennel and nutmeg tantalise with crumbly almond and coconut that gives way to a nectar that envelops all the fruit, spice and nut flavours in a honeyed caress 

Finish:  The charming sweetness of delicious juices is left on the tongue.

Source www.glenmorangie.com

Created by Jim McEwan from whisky matured in a multitude of different American oak casks, and chosen to represent the classic, unpeated distillery style. Bruichladdich's new signature bottling is made with 100% Scottish barley.

Nose: Elegantly sweet with honeyed barley, boiled sweets and orange petals. Wafts of sea air and a splash of sulphur.

Palate: Red apples and white grapes, with touches of sweet cinnamon and brown sugar. Still softly coastal.

Finish: Mineral-rich malt, with toffee and more honey.

Adelphi's Private stock is a blend of whiskies selected by one of Scotland's most famed independent bottlers. This is a smooth dram with plenty of honeyed sweetness from Spey and Highland malts, a touch of sea-side maritime notes from a coastal distillery and a gentle peat-fire smokyness in the background. A very traditional and old-fashioned flavoured blend that belongs in any whisky drinker's cupboard."

If there is one whisky we overlook it's Glenfiddich 12yr. We should remember the groundbreaking work the Grant family did in making Single Malt Scotch available to the world. If it wasn't for them you wouldn't be able to have a dram of your Adelphi and Signatory cask strength whiskies. We'll make no bones about this particular scotch - it is made in massive quantities, and is made to appeal to as many people as possible - by my calculation enough is made to sell 1600 bottles a minute. It is not overly peaty or smoky, rather it is one of the best balanced whiskies we sell. Even people who "don't like whisky"(yes they exist, somewhere) can enjoy a dram of Glenfiddich. The older expressions are well worth looking for as well - particularly the 15 and 21yr old. Nose: Just Juice Tropical, pear, Granny Smith apples, milk chocolate, cloves, toasted;cardamon. Palate: Sweet fruit, apple turnovers, butterscotch, clotted cream, caramel, nougat.; Finish:;A subtle hint of peat and oil, toast.