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.

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.

Cladach means 'coastline' and this whisky is a blend of Diageo's coastal distilleries; Inchgower, Clynelish, Talisker, Oban, Caol Ila and Lagavulin. As you would expect from so many distilleries, there is a superb variety of casks in the final mix first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks, refill American oak hogsheads, refill European oak butts and ex-bodega European oak butts. 

The nose is driven by gentle savoury smoke, seaweed and petrichor before citrus, vanilla and caramel all appear and lead you to a palate that is much smokier and offers darker fruits and licorice. A delightful coastal number offered at a robust abv.

The 4th release in the Greedy Angels series, showing that Amrut can do as a 10 Year-Old whisky. A rich, smoky Indian single malt whisky matured for 10 years and finished in an exrum cask, before being bottled in October 2019. Smoky peat and woody spice notes lead to sweet spice and marmalade, moving into cherry, cocoa and sweet vanilla. The palate shows sweet butterscotch, citrus and tropical fruits, followed by camphor, soft smoke and rumsoaked raisins. 

Each decanter comes complete with a decadent presentation box as well as a rather weighty glass stopper. Only 450 bottles produced

Amrut Fusion X (ten), a special, limited-edition single malt whisky was launched on the November 25 in honour of the 10th anniversary of Amrut Distilleries. Amrut whiskies are a connoisseur?s delight. Especially for the discerning patron is the Amrut Fusion X. The Fusion whisky has been matured in sherry casks imported from Spain, for four years. While the base remains the familiar Fusion, its treatment gives whisky lovers a whole new flavour profile to enjoy. On the first sip, the whisky gives you marzipan, vanilla, and citrus on the palate, followed by peat that comes through and lingers on. I sampled it neat and a little later with a cube of ice and enjoyed the lingering peat flavours. 

Amrut Fusion X is a collectable. It is a very limited bottling of 1010 bottles released internationally.

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.

Auchentoshan's Noble Oak is a 24 year old Lowland single malt. Oak is at the fore of this one's flavour profile - particularly robust and intense for a Lowland expression

50.3% ABV l 700mL

The 18-year-old is limited to 1,500 bottles in the first release, and presents a nose of toffee, marshmallow and spices. It is comparatively sweet, with stewed fruit. On the palate it offers something of a contrast to olfactory expectations, being nutty, dry and initially quite hot, with a touch of pepper. Caramelised fruits segue into a long finish of baked banana. source www.whisky-pages.com

This whisky tells a different story of The Macallan spirit and casks, but more than that it tells a story of rarity. Less than 100 casks maturing at The Macallan distillery have contributed to the creation of this out of character whisky. These mysterious casks remained untouched in the dark warehouses of The Macallan under the watchful eye of our Master Whisky Maker, until he felt they were ready to be released.

Smoky Macallan is rare - there is very little in existence - and once used these casks will be no more. Unexpected and distinctive in flavour with full bodied richness from the Macallan spirit, Rare Cask Black is an unusual smoky spirit that tells a story of creativity and innovation.

It's the sixth batch of Balvenie?s much-loved Tun 1509 series! This batch is a no age statement vatting of 21 casks from distillery, with a mixture of refill sherry butts, bourbon barrels and DoubleWood refill sherry butts. The Speysider was married in Tun 1509 for three months before bottling at 50.4% ABV. If you are so inclined, the presentation tube even comes with a breakdown of the 21 casks used to create the whisky, for your perusal.

Nose: Rich on the nose with soft brown sugar, toffee, blossom honey and ginger oak spices.

Palate: Beautiful depth on the palate with a touch of maple syrup, candied orange and runny honey.

Finish: Sweet and malty on the finish alongside swathes of oak vanilla and a spicy layer.

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