Since 2002, the Balvenie distillers have dedicated one week a year to distilling whisky with 100% peated barley, resulting in the Peat Week bottlings! This is the second release in the series - a 14 year old single malt distilled in 2003, showing off hearty helping of rich smoke.

Nose: Toasted oak with a hint of heather, stroopwafel and coffee, flamed orange peel and dry cedar.

Palate: Butterscotch, roasted apricot, a light touch of floral malt, grows enjoyably spicy as it develops.

Finish: Earthy peat lingers alongside runny honey notes.

Sauternes is the famous French dessert wine made from botrytised grapes (that's grapes that have essentially gone a bit mouldy in the vineyard and thus shrivelled up and become more concentrated and sweet). In wine it famously adds flavours of marmalade and this really does shine through on the nose and palate of this whisky. This expression is considered one of the best of the wood finish series from Glenmorangie.

Producer's Tasting Notes

AROMA
Tempted by the aromas wafting through the door of a French patisserie, you step inside to discover a tangy tarte au citron with its crisp pastry case and smooth lemony cream topping. Next to it is with its fluffy sponginess and milky vanilla aroma is a Genoise cake decorate with crystallised lime and orange peel. You can smell plump juicy sultanas, dates, warming ginger, coconut and nutmeg. In the background, gingerbread is baking in a wood-burning oven. Slip some water into the whisky to release the frothiness of lemon meringue pie and the rich aroma of baking fruitcake and warm gingerbread drizzled with crème anglaise

TASTE
The smooth, melting creaminess of lemon tart leaves the mouth full of citrus tang that gives way to crème caramel and zesty lime. This is replaced by warming ginger coupled with the mellow nutty flavours of nutmeg and toasted almonds that add warmth and chewiness that melts into oozing lemon meringue and melting honeycomb.

FINISH
Languid and sweet with lemon zest, vanilla cream and delicate hints of ginger and nutmeg

An elegant, sophisticated Knockando, Master Reserve 21yo is made with casks lying in the coolest part of the warehouse. These casks take longer to mature and the resulting malt is extremely smooth.

Nose: Ginger, oak spice, ice cream and pralines.

Palate: Almond and clove, with a touch of Sherried raisin. Honey-covered apples.

Finish: More honey, with a little touch of spearmint.

A limited edition bottling of Scallywag blended malt from Douglas Laing, released in celebration of the company's 70th anniversary. The fact that this expression is a 10 year old blended malt is not a coincidence - in dog years, it would be 70 year old. The cheeky fox terrier on the label even has the monocle to prove it.

46% ABV

Glenmorangie gathers the silky, fruity spirit from their giraffe-high stills and let it steep in American oak casks. No less than 15 years later, a portion goes into Oloroso sherry casks for three more years.

Once 18 years have passed, the two spirits are reunited to create a warm balance of sweet, floral lushness. Rich marmalade flavours brush against honey and fig, touches of caramelized orange and far-off campfire smoke.

The whisky that kicks off the Glenlivet range, one of the oldest and most reputable distilleries in Speyside. Named in honour of the distillery's founder, George Smith. It's classic Glenlivet, with a creamy and fruity character bolstered by the use of first-fill American oak to mature some of the whisky.

From Dufftown on the banks of the River Fiddich, The Singleton of Glendullan is, much like House Tully, a product of the Riverlands – just with a lower-case 'r'. A sweet and fruity dram, this single malt is heaving with vanilla, chocolate and cereal notes, all lifted by a lively spice.

Single malt Scotch whisky from the Knockando distillery in the prolific Speyside region, aged for a dozen years before being bottled. Interestingly, they seem to have done away with including the vintage for this bottling...

Nose: Banana chips, honey'd barley and a few fleeting floral flourishes.

Palate: Cadbury Fingers, brown bread with butter, sultanas and honeydew melon.

Finish: A slow build-up of cinnamon and black pepper.

You may know Aberlour's whisky as being particularly Sherried (especially if you're more familiar with their a'Bunadh releases). Well, for these White Oak releases, Aberlour mature their Speyside single malt in American white oak casks. This imparts a slightly different flavour profile to Aberlour's classic "Sherry ka-pow!". It's more about the sweet, creamy vanilla and subtle orange. This is a 2008 vintage, which was bottled in 2018 at 40% ABV.

Excellent 12 year old single malt from the Glenlivet Distillery in Speyside, which enjoys its maturation in both European and American oak casks. It's an immensely popular expression which disappeared from shelves in 2015, but has since returned! A great example of the character of Glenlivet's whisky, boasting a bounty of orchard fruit, fragrant florals and honeyed malt notes carried on a creamy mouth feel.\

Nose: Apricot, pineapple, greengages, citrus blossom and toasted teacake.

Palate: Buttery and vanilla-rich, though still packing all the bright fruit notes from the nose.

Finish: A soft crackle of oaky spice and malt, plus a hint of red apple juiciness.

Glen Moray Fired Oak was aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks before it was finished in heavily charred American oak to mirror the production of bourbon (by law bourbon must be aged in charred virgin oak).

Nose: Oak char, vanilla sweetness and dark fruits lead among dried grass, toffee and milk chocolate.

Palate: Through banoffee pie, tangy citrus and butterscotch candies there are notes of golden barley, oaky vanilla and freshly picked red berries.

Finish: Well balanced and sweet.

In the early 1970s, Benriach broke convention in Speyside by returning to distilling batches of whisky in the old, 19th century style, using malted barley smoked with Highland peat. This wood rich Highland peat imparts distinctly sweet and smoky notes into Benriach peated whiskies. Benriach The Smoky Ten has been crafted from a combination of unpeated and peated spirit and three cask matured for at least ten years in a combination of bourbon barrels, Jamaican rum casks and toasted virgin oak. The whisky is then expertly married together to create sublimely smooth layers of sunripe fruit, aromatic smoke and toasted oak spice, lingering into the perfectly balanced sweet and smoky finish.

Nose: Toasted coconut, aromatic smoke and a touch of greengage.

Palate: Cinnamon, ginger and dry smoke, shortly followed by maple syrup and peach.

Finish: Waves of fresh vanilla, salted butter and toasted barley.

A sumptuous peaty number from Benromach owned by the independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. This is very bourbon forward with aromas of apricot custard pastries and tobacco smoke leading to billowing peat smoke and toasted coconuts on the palate that has a finish that is long, spicy and fruity.

Made using barley grown on Macallan's Speyside estate, distilled once a year in a single week, this single malt has been matured exclusively in sherry seasoned oak butts and hogsheads. Warm, comforting aromas of cinnamon, dried fruits, sweet lemons and caramel fill the nose, and the palate initially offers notes of warm spice, dry oak and fresh figs. Sweet orange and dried fruit flavours develop slowly, alongside delicate citrus and sweet toffee.

Macallan Estate is presented in a striking box inspired by the landscape of Speyside. Featuring an inlay of hand-cut slate, this unique box reflects the sense of place found in the whisky.