This exceptionally balanced single malt is matured in three different types of oak cask.  First fill American oak barrels bring sweet caramel notes, tempered with hints of warm spices from ex-sherry casks, whilst traditional oak casks impart subtle depth.  The result is a smooth malt, with delicate spice and sweet treacle toffee notes.  

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. 

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 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.

Bright polished gold in colour.

The nose shows bright vanilla syrup and poached pears, dusted with sweet barley grist, that combine with oak spice and candied peel to create a warm contrast.

Ripe yellow plums and nectarines on the palate infuse with vanilla, ginger and tangerine peel leading to wild flower honey and stewed barley 

The finish is exceptionally luscious and long with rich, dark sugars and warm oak spice thanks to the dark rum cask. A truly exceptional example of the marriage between cask, maturation and spirit.

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.

A 21 year old from the Aultmore distillery.

Gorse and heather filtered waters of the Foggie Moss and malted barley free from peat smoke go into this beauty from the Aultmore distillery

Bottled from a refill hogshead at 46%.

Of all the distilleries in Diageo's portfolio, Glen Spey is the third smallest and remains one of the most obscure. Virtually all of its output goes into blends, in particular, J&B (which at the time of writing is the sixth biggest whisky brand in the world). Douglas Laing have bottled this rarity from a single refill hogshead REF - DL13903. Aromas of nutmeg and cinnamon arrive with a citrus zest while the palate promises strawberry candy, spiced oak, coconut shavings and milk chocolate.

One of 347 bottles

A fruity, creamy Glen Elgin here from Douglas Laing, distilled in April 2011. Into a single refill hogshead it went, where it stayed for the next eight years. In January 2020, it was bottled for the Provenance series, with a release of just 359 bottles.

Distilled - April 2011

Bottled - January 2020

Refill Hogshead - REF - DL13789

Nose: Grassy & fresh .... green apples, barley sugar and caramelised nuts. 

Palate: An oak warmth initially then comes sherbet, meringue and clotted cream.

Finish: Long with runny honey and toffee balanced nicely by citrus peels (CSL).

Glenfiddich Fire & Cane is a bold fusion of smoky and sweet notes. By marrying peated whisky and malts matured in bourbon barrels, and then finishing in Latin rum casks, we created an exquisite whisky with campfire smokiness and toffee sweetness.

Fire & Cane is inspired by the early innovation of Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman, who in 2003, first ran peated spirit through the Glenfiddich stills, birthing the concept of what would become the innovative Experimental Series.

As the fourth expression of the Experimental Series, Fire & Cane fuses the brand?s smoky whisky with malts that had been maturing side-by-side in bourbon casks, showcasing Glenfiddich?s sweet and fruity signature style. Taking it a step further, all of the whiskies were finished in Latin rum casks to produce a surprising overlay of added caramel toffee sweetness.

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.

Mannochmore's delicate and fragrant addition to Diageo's Flora and Fauna range. One of the only bottlings you'll find with the distillery name on the front.

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.

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.

Tomintoul “With A Peaty Tang” has been made with peated malt barley to give it a deep smoky flavour. This makes “Peaty Tang” very unusual, most distilleries in the Speyside region do not use peat.