From Diageo's 2020 Special Releases comes a cracking Cardhu single malt! This 11 year old expression was drawn from refill, new, and ex-bourbon American oak, resulting in a wonderfully honeyed flavour profile. Appropriately, continuing the Rare by Nature theme introduced in the 2019 Special Releases, the label features a rather handsome bee on it!

Nose: An orchard fruit-led delight, with oodles of crisp apple, pear and even some grapes coming through. Over time, the fruit turns a little more tropical, especially juicy pineapple and Galia melon. Rhubarb and custard boiled sweets, pencil shavings and a gentle cinnamon prickle add to the fruit.

Palate: Densely creamy and mouth-filling, with icing sugar adding to the fruit-forward palate. There's marmalade on toast, raisins and gentle white pepper in there, too.

Finish: Medium-long, with more of that pepper and cinnamon warmth cutting through.

Overall: A classic Speysider, and the perfect late-summer sipper.

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a limited release of 5352 bottles. This is a special release in an unusual way - this is something of a yeast experiment. For this whisky the distillery used both the conventional cerevisiae yeast and the more unusual (in the whisky world) pombe yeast . Pombe is Swahili for beer, and this is a yeast known from East Africa.

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a vatting of two batches. One part made using the pombe yeast and matured in ex-bodega sherry casks. The other part made using standard yeast and matured in refill European oak butts.

Nose: A deep and rich fruitiness is the first that greets my nose. It seems almost Japanese in style. Complex and clean. Apples, green and fresh on one hand and ripe and baked on the other. Freshly baked gourmet bread with a butter and floral honey spread.

Taste: Creamy, rich and most certainly full-bodied. A bit off-kilter but in a charming way. It could very well be the yeast used that has me confused and amused. Still very fruity, but not just apples now, I also get ripe banana and hints of honey melon and bitter oranges. Dry-ish.

Finish: Medium to long finish. Still fruity - which is not surprising. Creamy and rich all the way.

The folks at Tomintoul have raided the warehouse and unearthed a stunning 45 year old expression! This single malt was distilled back in April 1973 and initially aged in a bourbon barrel before being moved over to an Oloroso sherry hogshead to continue maturing. It was bottled in September 2018 with an outturn of just 240 bottles.

Nose: Clean Sherry influence on a sweet malty layer. Intense waxy aromas merge with hints of orange citrus and Christmas pudding.

Palate: Richly mouth-filling as notes of nuts, chocolate, mocha coffee bean and spicy oak tannins vie for supremacy.

Finish: Dry and spicy with a rich and enduring finalé.

This whisky was distilled in 1989, and spent 30 years in a bourbon barrel (DL13917)before being bottled in April 2020. Just 280 cask strength bottles were released for the Xtra Old Particular series at 52.8% ABV.

Nose: Rich, darkly malted, intriguingly spiced and fruity.

Palate: Warming and ginger spiced as the big palate opens showing later Muscovado sugar and the gentlest oak - all running to a stewed fruit and vanilla custard finish.

Distilled in 1972 and aged in a single sherry butt until August 2015, this is one of 565 bottles produced from cask number 3551. These bottles were released in the Winter 2015 batch of Family Casks.

One of four official bottlings from the Craigellachie distillery released in 2014. A stunning 23 year old with plenty of bold fruit, complex herbs, refined oak and a touch of sulphur.

Nose: Lemon, orange and pineapple up front, backed up by warm oak and golden barley. Oak notes become increasingly toasty as it goes on.

Palate: Salted caramel, creamy vanilla and more orange zest. Cinnamon, nutmeg and a subtle whiff of sulphur give it plenty of depth.

Finish: The sulphur lasts, but it's not overpowering - the sweet spices bring balance to the long finish.

Thanks to years of closure over the past century, Glenglassaugh is a distillery with two types of whisky: very young or very old. This is one of the latter drams, bottled as part of the third batch of single casks released by the distillery. Matured in a cask that previously contained Massandra – a Crimean fortified wine, similar to sherry – and bottled in November 2016, it's a rich and dark dram, packed with dried fruit notes.

A fusion of unique and rare elements, and clouded in secrecy, Signet is the culmination of a lifetime's experience. A blend of our oldest whisky and spirit matured in a selection of the world's finest casks, this undoubtedly is the richest whisky in the Glenmorangie range.

Of course, whilst the exact secrets of its production are known only to our whisky creators, we can tell you that Signet's melting sweetness and explosive spiciness is, at least in part, caused by our unique roasted 'chocolate' barley malt and the 'designer casks' made bespoke for Glenmorangie from American white oak. Non chill-filtered

This  limited edition, peated single malt Scotch whisky was initially aged in American oak and finished in dark rum barrels. This lends flavours of demerara sugar, caramel, banana and dried fruits. This matches perfectly with the balanced smoky peat backdrop. 

This new expression from Kilchoman has seen their spirit fully matured in ex-Cognac casks from Tonellerie Bossuet (France). 

These casks impart a herbaceous, sweet and spicy character that balances against the robust peat smoke character of the whisky. The palate carries a toasted oakyness, with lush fruit laced with crystalised ginger warmth.

 A tang of citrus oil lifts through the smoke and sweet wood in the finish.

Carefully honed by Production Director John Campbell, this is the first core expression from Lochlea Distillery.

Matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels, Oloroso Sherry casks and STR barriques. Non chill-filtered and Natural Colour.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Pear syrup, fruit bonbons, warm cut grass, marmalade
Palate: Golden syrup, pepper, rye bread, macadamia nuts, cream soda
Finish: Long finish with a lasting orange beeswax note

For all the sherry fans out there we have this 1988 Vintage Auchentoshan. We all know that Auchentoshan are masters at fully triple distilling their whisky but they also mastered the art of sherry maturation here with this expression.

This limited edition Auchentoshan was distilled in 1988 and matured in Spanish oak casks and finished in PX sherry casks.

It was bottled some 29 years later in 2019 at 49.7%.
The resulting whisky has picked up the characteristics so well from the casks used and it is full of rich, sweet butterscotch and caramel flavours.

49.7% ABV

This is the second batch of Auchentoshan's Virgin Oak. Aged in new North American oak casks, this triple-distilled Lowland whisky is rich, spicy and complex.

This new offering from Auchentoshan is one of their best of recent times. It mixes a lovely series of delicate, floral and fruity notes with a powerful kick of woody, oaky spice from the virgin oak casks, and does it very well

46% ABV

For all the sherry fans out there we have this 1988 Vintage Auchentoshan. We all know that Auchentoshan are masters at fully triple distilling their whisky but they also mastered the art of sherry maturation here with this expression.

This limited edition Auchentoshan was distilled in 1988 and matured in Spanish oak casks and finished in PX sherry casks.

It was bottled some 29 years later in 2019 at 49.7%.
The resulting whisky has picked up the characteristics so well from the casks used and it is full of rich, sweet butterscotch and caramel flavours.

49.7% ABV