This was a surprise when it was released in 2018 as the distillery was closed from 1993 onwards and finally dismantled in the early 2000s. It was matured in refill American oak hogsheads and bottled at a cask strength 52.1% and the result is a lively vibrant expression with pastry, green apples and coconuts at the fore. Always a pleasure to sample  malt from a ghost distillery knowing that nothing quite like it will ever be produced again.

Aged for 20 years exclusively in sherry casks. Full flavoured and meaty as you'd expect from Mortlach.

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.

Matured in a combination of refill hogsheads and butts for three decades, this Dalwhinnie single malt is an elegant addition to Diageo's 2019 Special Releases. Aromas of raisins, leather, lemon and cinnamon-baked apples mingle with mint, grape jelly, honeysuckle, spring meadows and hay. The palate offers notes of summer flowers, vanilla toffee, delicate oak spice and slices of apple and pear, followed by zesty lemon, candied flowers, Crystalised ginger and buttery shortbread biscuits.

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 final?.

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.

Released during the distillery?s 200th year, this Highland single malt was distilled before Teaninich underwent significant expansion.

Reflecting its older style of production, the whisky makes an excellent aperitif or a partner to Asian cuisine. Initially sweet and zesty, this dram layers herbal notes under its toffee, lemon and apple flavours.

55.9% ABV

A old age Speysider from Inchgower, independently bottled by Douglas Laing after 25 years  spent in a sherry butt REF - DL14183. An outturn of 242 bottles at 51.5% ABV.

Nose: Sweet and barley-rich initially, then comes tangerines, brown sugar and a damp oak style.

Palate: Lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) running to vanilla essence and stewed fruits.

Finish: Long – detect golden syrup, a slight floral character, milk chocolate and barley.

This release from Kavalan's Solist series has been aged in casks which held the sweetest type of sherry: Pedro Ximenez. This is a warming and fruity whisky with notes of juicy raisins and honey syrup.

57% ABV

Manzanilla is much like Fino sherry, which is produced by the sea where the conditions are even more suitable for the growing of flor. Though the maturation is the same as for the Kavalan Fino, the texture is lighter and more delicate with a touch of saltiness together with mineral flavours, which are all the consequences of a stable and thick layer of flor, sea breezes and brine.

Part of a series of single cask whiskies released to celebrate the spectacular landscape around Glenlivet, Ladderfoot is a sherry-matured 16-year-old single malt with rich notes of ginger, raisins, cinnamon, victoria plum and dark chocolate layered on top of Glenlivet’s classic orchard fruit and toffee character.

Ladderfoot takes its name from the eponymous farm situated at the bottom of the Ladder Hills. Many smugglers would have passed Ladderfoot on the ‘whisky road’ from the Braes o’Glenlivet to Fettercairn and the markets beyond, a long but quiet path that allowed them to deliver their illicit whisky to thirsty customers untroubled by the law.

Convalmore is a familiar face in the Diageo Special Releases line-ups, with the 2017 outturn marking the closed distillery's fourth appearance in the series. And this superb 32 year old shows exactly why the malt has earned its place. Vibrant and complex with an impeccable balance between distillery character and oak, the liquid is from refill American oak hogsheads and is bottled at a natural cask strength of 48.2%. Only 3,972 bottles of this delight have been released.

Nose: Initial Dolly Mix with floral notes at full strength, taking it into Jelly Tot territory too. Barley sugar develops with a touch of tangerine, apple and cedar. Impressive.

Palate: Soft oak and spice with some orange and tomato stem. Adding just a little water transforms the texture of this malt, however, as well as releasing more intense herbal notes. 

Finish: More gentle oak, birch sap and oatcakes. Some biscuits too, including Hobnobs.

First launched to mark the opening of Johnnie Walker House in China, the coveted collection captures the auspicious delights of the 12 animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac.

Bringing together Scotland?s whisky heritage and stunning Chinese art in perfect harmony, each of the 12 bottles depicts one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. From the Rat to the Dragon and Rooster, each animal is elegantly engraved in 18K gold on Johnnie Walker?s signature square bottles.

First launched in 2013 to mark the opening of Johnnie Walker House in China, the coveted collection captures the auspicious delights of the 12 animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac.

Bringing together Scotland’s whisky heritage and stunning Chinese art in perfect harmony, each of the 12 bottles depicts one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. From the Rat to the Dragon and Rooster, each animal is elegantly engraved in gold on Johnnie Walker’s signature square bottles.