Nc'nean is Scotland's first certified organic whisky distillery, built on an old farm on the Morvern peninsula by entrepreneur Annabel Thomas.

Expert's Description

Nc'nean Organic Single Highland Malt Whisky is the distillery's core release, bottled at 46%.

The whisky is the vision of founder Annabel Thomas, who started production in 2017 with a clear mission to make whisky more sustainable without compromising on flavour.

Tasting Notes

Nose

The glass first greets you with shortbread, quickly followed by honey and a hint of vanilla.

Palate

The palate is full-bodied with malt, apple compote and creamy vanilla.

Finish

The finish is gently sweet.

Specifications

Distillery: Nc'nean
Region/Country: Highlands, Scotland
Type: Organic Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5060608100033

Flavour Profile

Fresh · Soft · Vanilla-sweet · Floral

Did You Know?

Nc'nean recycles 100% of its glass bottles and runs entirely on renewable energy, making it one of the most sustainability-focused distilleries in all of Scotland.

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Two casks with consecutive numbers, 800999 and 801000, were filled on the same day and emptied on the same day eleven years later. Neighbours the whole way through. They were vatted together into 480 bottles, and it is still single malt.

Please note: This bottle has wear and rust on the cap.

The Expert's Description

Ardmore 2010/2021 Signatory Vintage 11 Years Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks 800999 and 801000 and bottled at 46%. It was distilled on 6 May 2010 and bottled on 6 August 2021 in Signatory’s Un-Chillfiltered Collection, giving 480 bottles.

Vatting two casks rather than bottling them separately is a deliberate choice. You lose the individuality of a single cask but gain a larger, better balanced release where one cask’s quirks get evened out. As long as all the whisky comes from one distillery, the term Single Malt Whisky still applies.

Here there is no Islay past in the wood and no sherry, only plain bourbon casks. That gives Ardmore’s own peated character and malt sweetness a clear run, and the result is the most straightforward of Signatory’s Ardmore releases in this range.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Vanilla and pale malt first, with dry smoke as a firm undercarriage. There is honey, green apple and a light coconut note from the bourbon wood. Clean and precise with nothing heavy about it.

Palate

Malty and soft. Vanilla and baked apple open, then the smoke arrives as a dry earthy note alongside white pepper. At 46% the body is good, and the balance between sweetness and smoke stays even the whole way.

Finish

Medium length. Malt, vanilla and a dry ash note that lets go cleanly without bitterness.

Specifications

Name: Ardmore 2010/2021 Signatory Vintage 11 Years Old Single Highland Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Ardmore
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks no. 800999 and 801000
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 6 May 2010
Bottled: 6 August 2021
Number of bottles: 480
Edition: The Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Malty · Vanilla · Fruity · Dry · Spiced

Did You Know?

Ardmore’s peat comes from the mainland in Aberdeenshire, not from Islay. Mainland peat is formed from heather, moss and wood rather than seaweed and salt water, so it gives a dry, earthy and almost sooty smoke without iodine or tar. It is the same difference you can taste between a Highland and an Islay without seeing the labels.

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Six bourbon casks, brought together into one batch — that's the recipe behind this 13-year-old, which shows Edradour in one of its most classic and direct forms.

The expert's description

Edradour 2007/2021 Bourbon Cask 13 years old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 59.1%.

The whisky was distilled on 16 November 2007 and matured for 13 years across six selected bourbon casks, numbers 382, 383, 384, 386, 387 and 388, before being bottled in May 2021. The relatively high cask strength preserves the bourbon cask's vanilla sweetness in an intense, concentrated form, while Edradour's light, floral core character comes through clearly. 1,290 bottles were released.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla and honey, with a hint of green apple and pale oak.

Palate

Spicy and full-bodied with caramel, citrus peel and a fine peppery warmth.

Finish

Medium to long with lingering vanilla and a dry, spicy finish.

Specifications

Name: Edradour 2007/2021 Bourbon Cask 13 years old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 59.1%
Distillery: Edradour
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 13 years
ABV: 59,1 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks (cask no. 382, 383, 384, 386, 387, 388)
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: 16/11/2007
Bottled: 19/05/2021
Number of bottles: Only 1,290 bottles
EAN no.: 5021944113279

Flavour profile

Spicy · Fresh

Did you know?

Edradour is one of the last Scottish distilleries to still run its entire production through a single, very small pair of copper stills — a scale that's almost closer to home distilling than most other Highland distilleries.

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December 2014, five months after the distillery opened. Cask 440 is a Spanish Oloroso butt filled with unpeated spirit, and it is among the earliest casks in existence from Ardnamurchan. Six hundred and ninety-three bottles, released to one Danish importer.

The Expert's Description

Ardnamurchan AD 12:14 CK.440 is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in an unpeated Oloroso Sherry Butt of Spanish oak and bottled at 59.1% cask strength. The cask was filled in December 2014 and gave 693 bottles released exclusively for FC Whisky.

This is the unpeated side of the distillery. With no smoke to contend with, the Oloroso cask can work directly on the spirit’s fruitiness, and a full butt of around 500 litres works slowly and in measured fashion. The result is a sherry profile where dark fruit and nuts get room without being forced.

The cask was filled five months after the distillery opened in July 2014, which makes it one of the very earliest casks in the house. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Raisins and dark orange first, with walnut and a dry sherry note behind. Beneath sit fresh malt and a lightly waxy fruitiness that is Ardnamurchan’s unpeated signature.

Palate

Full and dark. Dried fruit, walnut and bitter chocolate open, then spice and an oak tannin tighten things mid-palate. At 59.1% the concentration is considerable, and a fresh acidity beneath the sherry keeps it from turning heavy.

Finish

Long and spiced. Raisin, nut and dry oak, with a warmth that lingers.

Specifications

Name: Ardnamurchan AD 12:14 CK.440 FC Whisky Single Highland Malt Whisky 59.1%
Distillery: Ardnamurchan
Bottler: Adelphi
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 59.1%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Unpeated Oloroso Sherry Butt of Spanish oak, cask no. 440
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: December 2014
Number of bottles: 693
Edition: Single Cask CK.440 for FC Whisky
EAN no.: 5060383651652

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Dark Fruit · Nutty · Spiced · Cask Strength · Fresh

Investment Potential

Medium. The cask dates from the distillery’s first six months, and 693 bottles exist, released through one channel. Casks filled in 2014 are the oldest in existence from Ardnamurchan, and there will be no more.

Did You Know?

Ardnamurchan keeps its peated and unpeated production separate in different periods of the year, and the casks are marked accordingly. CK.440 is marked unpeated, so you know in advance there is no smoke in the bottle, a clarity very few distilleries offer on single casks.

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Six decades in one bottle. When Glenfarclas came to mark 185 years, the family went into the warehouses and brought out casks from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s — and married them into a single whisky.

The expert's description

Glenfarclas 185th Anniversary is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky composed from casks spanning six decades and bottled at 46%.

Around two thirds of the casks are Spanish sherry oak, the rest other cask types from the distillery own warehouses. The whisky carries no age statement, because one would have to follow the youngest cask in the marriage and would say very little about what is actually in the bottle. The outturn is 6,000 bottles.

Glenfarclas was founded in May 1836, and the anniversary release was bottled in May 2021 — exactly 185 years later. It is the kind of marker a family-owned distillery can make precisely because there are still old casks left in its own warehouses to draw on.

Tasting notes

Nose

Deep sherry and dried fruit, with raisin, fig and a dark syrup note. The oldest casks show up as a dusty, almost waxy depth behind.

Palate

Full and layered. Dark fruit and nuts from the old casks meet a fresher fruitiness from the younger ones, and the spice builds slowly through the palate. The 46% keeps the many layers apart.

Finish

Very long. Dried fruit, nuts and a dry oak note that keeps shifting.

Specifications

Name: Glenfarclas 185th Anniversary Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%
Distillery: Glenfarclas
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Casks from six decades, around two thirds Spanish sherry oak
Bottled: May 2021
Number of bottles: 6,000
Edition: Celebrating Our 185th Anniversary - Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5018066200376

Flavour profile

Sherried · Dark fruit · Nutty · Spiced · Complex

Investment potential

Medium. 6,000 bottles of an anniversary release drawing on casks from six decades cannot be remade, and the composition rests on old stock that cannot be recreated. Anniversary bottles from family-owned distilleries tend to be collected rather than drunk.

Did you know?

Glenfarclas was founded in May 1836, and the 185th anniversary was marked by bottling in May 2021 — to the month, 185 years later. It is a detail that requires having casks from every decade in between.

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Wilson & Morgan has an Italian soul, but the whisky is Scottish through and through. This Highland malt is a textbook example of what sherry casks can do.

Expert's Description

Sherry Cask Malt Whisky is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Wilson & Morgan, matured for 6 years and bottled at 43%.

The source distillery is undisclosed, but the whisky is designed as an accessible introduction to the delicate aromas found in Highland single malts, shaped by cask no. 3544/3550.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Buttery cake and fruit meet a subtle wine-like sherry tone with a hint of nuts.

Palate

Balanced with apricot, peach, raisin and a hint of honey.

Finish

Robust yet easy-drinking, with lingering dried fruit.

Specifications

Name: Sherry Cask Malt
Bottler: Wilson & Morgan
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 6 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask Type: Sherry casks, cask no. 3544/3550
EAN No.: 8033749400581

Flavour Profile

Sherry-matured · Fruity · Nutty · Balanced

Did You Know?

Wilson & Morgan is an Italian family company from Livorno that has travelled to Scotland since 1992 to select and bottle casks — a rare European angle on Scotch whisky.

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271 bottles, one cask, and sixteen years of quiet maturation in a Refill Hogshead that let the spirit speak for itself.

Expert description

Teaninich 2004/2020 is a 16-year-old Single Highland Malt Whisky from independent bottler Lady of the Glen, distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2020 from cask no. 301139, a Refill Hogshead, at full cask strength of 53.2%.

This is a single cask release, meaning the entire run of 271 bottles comes from one and the same cask. This Limited Release is neither chill-filtered nor coloured, and the nearly 16-year maturation in a refill cask has given the whisky plenty of flavour without letting the wood dominate too heavily.

The result is a whisky that still lets Teaninich's cereal-driven core character shine through, while the cask strength adds an extra dimension of body and intensity.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh cereal, green pears and a light honeyed sweetness.

Palate

Round and full-bodied, with notes of vanilla, ripe fruit and a touch of ginger.

Finish

Medium to long, with lingering warmth and a dry, cereal-driven close.

Specifications

Name: Teaninich 2004/2020
Distillery: Teaninich
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 16 years
ABV: 53.2%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill Hogshead, cask no. 301139
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2004
Bottled: 2020
Number of bottles: 271
Edition: Limited Release

Flavour profile

cereal · round · full-bodied

Did you know?

Teaninich is one of only two Scottish distilleries that use a mash filter instead of a traditional mash tun, giving a cleaner, more cereal-focused spirit.

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Another bourbon cask, another heavily peated Glenturret – Coopers Choice keeps finding fine examples of the distillery's rare Ruadh Maor expression.

Expert's Description

Glenturret 2010 Ruadh Maor Heavily Peated is part of the Coopers Choice series from The Vintage Malt Whisky Co., founded in 1992 by Brian Crook, who has more than 20 years of experience in the whisky trade.

This release was distilled in December 2010 and bottled in 2020, after 9 years of maturation in a bourbon cask, Cask No. #186. The whisky is bottled at cask strength, 58%, non-chill-filtered and with natural colour – only 342 bottles.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Powerful smoke and peat, with a sweet vanilla tone in the background.

Palate

Full-bodied and salty, with tar, ash and a hint of citrus.

Finish

Long, dry and smoky.

Specifications

Name: Glenturret 2010/2020 Coopers Choice Ruadh Maor 9 Year Old Cask 186 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl 58%
Distillery: Glenturret
Bottler: The Coopers Choice
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Vintage: Distilled: December 2010, Bottled: 2020
Age: 9 years
Cask number/type: Bourbon Cask / Cask No. #186
Bottles: 342
ABV: 58%
Size: 70 CL
Filtration: Non-chill-filtered
Colour: Natural colour

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Salty · Powerful · Peated

Investment Potential

With only 342 bottles from a single cask and a rare, heavily peated version of Glenturret, this whisky belongs to the single cask releases that often attract collectors of smoky Highland whisky.

Did You Know?

Glenturret is considered one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, but it's only under the name Ruadh Maor that they occasionally produce a heavily peated style.

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The last chapter before the whisky. AD4 is the fourth and final Spirit release from Ardnamurchan, and the following year the distillery could finally write whisky on the label. Octaves are in play here too, the smallest casks in the house.

The Expert's Description

Ardnamurchan 2019 AD4 Spirit is a Highland Single Malt Spirit matured in sherry casks in the form of hogsheads, butts and octaves and bottled at 57.4% by Adelphi. Approximately 5,100 bottles were made. It is legally a Spirit because it has not spent the three years in cask that Scottish law requires.

Octaves are the addition compared with the year before. An octave holds around 50 litres, the smallest cask in common use, and with so little liquid per square centimetre of wood it works very fast. It is an efficient way to give young spirit more cask character than the years alone would allow.

AD4 is the last in the run of Spirit releases that spanned 2016 to 2019. In September 2020 the distillery’s first proper Single Malt Whisky arrived. The spirit is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Dark fruit and syrup first, more concentrated than the preceding years. There are raisins, dates and a clear spiced sherry note, and beneath sit fresh malt and a light peat smoke.

Palate

Full and sweet, almost dessert-like in the middle. Dark fruit, spice and burnt sugar open, then the cereal character and the smoke come through. At 57.4% the concentration is marked, and the small casks make themselves felt in the texture.

Finish

Medium to long. Spice, dark fruit and a dry, lightly smoky close.

Specifications

Name: Ardnamurchan 2019 AD4 Spirit Adelphi 57.4%
Distillery: Ardnamurchan
Bottler: Adelphi
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Spirit
ABV: 57.4%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry casks, hogsheads, butts and octaves
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2019
Number of bottles: Approximately 5,100
Edition: AD4 Spirit
EAN no.: 5060383650730

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Sweet · Spiced · Young · Cask Strength · Dark Fruit

Did You Know?

An octave holds around 50 litres and is the smallest cask used in ordinary whisky production. The name comes from it being roughly an eighth of a butt. Because the ratio of liquid to wood is so extreme, an octave can deliver in a few months what a butt takes years to give.

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Third year in the sequence, and now sherry casks only. Ardnamurchan put all of AD3 into hogsheads and butts from Spain, and the difference from the year before is obvious before you have tasted anything: the colour alone tells you what the wood has done.

The Expert's Description

Ardnamurchan 2018 AD3 Spirit is a Highland Single Malt Spirit matured in sherry casks in the form of hogsheads and butts and bottled at 55.3% by Adelphi. Approximately 5,000 bottles were made. The designation Spirit is because it has not spent the three years in cask that Scottish law requires before the word whisky may be used.

The two cask sizes do different things. A hogshead holds around 250 litres and works relatively fast, while a butt of around 500 litres moves more slowly and gives a more measured sherry character. Using both gives you speed and depth in the same release.

Ardnamurchan makes both peated and unpeated malt, and both styles feature in the house’s releases. The spirit is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Raisins and dried fig first, clearly sherried for something this young. Beneath sit fresh malt and a light peat smoke, along with a nutty note the butts have laid in.

Palate

Sweeter and rounder than you would expect from anything under three years. Dark fruit and spice open, then the cereal character comes through along with a peated undercurrent. At 55.3% the concentration is good, and the sherry carries the youth well.

Finish

Medium length. Raisins, malt and a lightly smoky dryness that lets go cleanly.

Specifications

Name: Ardnamurchan 2018 AD3 Spirit Adelphi 55.3%
Distillery: Ardnamurchan
Bottler: Adelphi
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Spirit
ABV: 55.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry casks, hogsheads and butts
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2018
Number of bottles: Approximately 5,000
Edition: AD3 Spirit
EAN no.: 5060383650426

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Young · Dark Fruit · Nutty · Lightly Smoky · Cask Strength

Did You Know?

The Ardnamurchan peninsula is so remote that the road out there is single track along much of its length. The distillery sits at Glenbeg overlooking Glenmore Bay towards the island of Mull, and it is one of the remotest distilleries in Scotland. Seven years of work went from the idea to the finished distillery.

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The bottle did not say whisky, and that was deliberate. Scottish law requires three years in cask before the word can be used, and Ardnamurchan had not got there yet. So they called it Spirit and sent it out anyway, so people could follow the distillery from the very beginning.

The Expert's Description

Ardnamurchan 2017 AD2 Spirit is a Highland Single Malt Spirit from Ardnamurchan Distillery, bottled at 53.6% by Adelphi. It is the distillery’s second annual release of young spirit and may not be called whisky, because it has not spent the three years in cask that Scottish law requires.

Ardnamurchan was built by the independent bottler Adelphi on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula on Scotland’s west coast. There had never been a legal distillery on the peninsula before the site opened in 2014. The distillery makes two styles, one peated and one unpeated, matured in American and Spanish oak.

The run of Spirit releases spans 2016 to 2019, and AD2 is the second in the sequence. The distillery’s first proper Single Malt Whisky arrived in September 2020. The spirit is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Young and direct. Fresh malted barley first, then pear, green apple and a clear cereal sweetness. A light peat smoke sits beneath it all along with a clean, almost bready note you only meet in spirit that has not had time to be rounded off.

Palate

Powerful and raw in the good sense. Malt and grain fill the middle of the mouth, while the cask’s vanilla has only just begun to report in. There is a peated undercurrent and a peppery warmth, and at 53.6% the texture is oily and full.

Finish

Medium and dry. Grain, malt and a lightly smoky edge that lets go sooner than an older whisky would.

Specifications

Name: Ardnamurchan 2017 AD2 Spirit Adelphi 53.6%
Distillery: Ardnamurchan
Bottler: Adelphi
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Spirit
ABV: 53.6%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2017
Edition: AD2 Spirit
EAN no.: 5060386504023

Flavour Profile

Young · Malty · Fruity · Lightly Smoky · Cask Strength · Grain Forward

Investment Potential

Medium. The Spirit releases were made during a short window before the distillery could call its spirit whisky, and they will never come again. For anyone collecting a distillery’s history from the first bottle, AD2 is a link in a sequence that cannot be recreated.

Did You Know?

Ardnamurchan draws all its electricity from a hydro generator on the river beside the distillery. The location is so remote that producing its own power was easier than running a supply network out there. The environmental case was there too, but the practicality came first.

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Most know Wolfburn for its clean, unpeated style, but Morven is the exception that proves the rule. It is the house's careful handling of smoke for the curious drinker.

The expert's description

Wolfburn Morven Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky 46% is a Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky and bottled at 46%.

The whisky was created by distillery manager Shane Fraser as a lightly peated release, the only one of its kind in Wolfburn's core range. It is designed as a gentle introduction to smoky whisky, without compromising the distillery's clean, craft-driven base style.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Raisins and honey with a light hint of smoke.

Palate

Soft and rounded with a discreet twist of peat.

Finish

Medium length with a mild, smoky finish.

Specifications

Name: Wolfburn Morven Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky 46%
Distillery: Wolfburn
Region/Country: Thurso, Caithness, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Edition: Created by Distillery Manager Shane Fraser, lightly peated
EAN no.: 0634158496370

Flavour Profile

Lightly peated · Soft · Sweet

Did you know?

Morven is named after a mountainous area in the west of Scotland, and the name fits well with the whisky's role as the distillery's only peated release, a kind of change of landscape in bottle form.

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Straight neck stills sound like something for technical nerds, but the result is anything but dull. Inchmurrin 12 Year Old is a fruit salad in glass form – peach, apple and pear meeting dark chocolate and exotic spice.

Expert's Description

Inchmurrin 12 Year Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in American oak and bottled at 46%.

The whisky is distilled on Loch Lomond's distinctive straight neck pot stills, which help give Inchmurrin its pronounced fruitiness. After 12 years in a combination of ex-bourbon, refill and re-charred American oak casks, the whisky comes across as a lively, sweet and versatile dram.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Pear, red apples and ripe blueberries with cereal, allspice, ginger and pepper in the background, balanced by a sweet toffee tone.

Palate

Peach, red apples and pears create a juicy fruit salad, while grapefruit gives a zesty edge to creamy fudge and vanilla.

Finish

Medium length finish with fruity sweetness, drying oak and a peppery close.

Specifications

Name: Inchmurrin 12 Year Old Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery: Loch Lomond
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American oak (ex-bourbon, refill and re-charred)
Distillation method: Straight neck pot stills
EAN: 5016840155218
Serving suggestion: In a tulip glass, ideally with a few drops of water

Flavour Profile

Fruity · Creamy · Spiced

Did You Know?

Inchmurrin's high fruitiness comes from both the straight neck still distillation and an unusually long fermentation time – a combination unique to Loch Lomond.

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Rich local barley, canny local knowledge, soft water from the River Teith and first fill bourbon casks. And then time. A great deal of time.

Expert description

Deanston 18 years is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in first fill bourbon casks and bottled at 46.3% without chill filtration and without added colouring.

First fill casks are the ones taking Scotch for the first time after bourbon. The wood is still active and gives vanilla, coconut and a clear sweetness — over eighteen years that becomes a deep, honeyed character without the oak taking over. It is the house signature, sweet honeyed fruit with a long swell, pushed as far as it goes. Deanston has distilled in a converted cotton mill at Doune since 1966.

Tasting notes

Nose

Deep honey and ripe fruit. Baked apple, vanilla and coconut, with a light floral note and malted cereal underneath.

Palate

Full and creamy. Honey, vanilla fudge and ripe fruit, with spice from the oak and a waxy mouthfeel that the absence of filtration preserves.

Finish

Long and warm, with honey, malt and a soft oak spice fading slowly.

Specifications

Name: Deanston 18 years Single Highland Malt Whisky 46,3%
Distillery: Deanston
Region/Country: Highlands Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 18 years
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: First fill bourbon casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5029704218073

Flavour profile

Honeyed · Waxy · Fruity · Creamy · Spiced

Investment potential

Medium. Eighteen year age statements keep getting rarer, and Deanston's 18 year old is the oldest standing release in the house range.

Did you know?

A bourbon cask may only be used once in the United States. That is why thousands of used casks sail to Scotland every year to begin a second — and often third and fourth — life. Without that American rule, Scotch whisky would look completely different.

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Ballechin's most approachable expression is also one of its most characterful — a solid peated Highland whisky without unnecessary fuss.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 10 years old Peated Cask is a Single Highland Malt Whisky bottled at 46%.

This 10-year-old release is one of the more approachable bottlings in the Ballechin series and serves as a solid introduction to the distillery's peated style. At a moderate strength of 46%, the whisky shows Ballechin's earthy, powerful smoke in an accessible and well-balanced form, without compromising on character.

Tasting notes

Nose

Earthy smoke and fresh malt, with a hint of citrus and a touch of tar.

Palate

Full-bodied smoke meets a soft sweetness of honey and caramel, with a lightly salty undercurrent.

Finish

Medium length with lingering smoke and a dry, spicy finish.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 10 years old Peated Cask Single Highland Malt 46%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Double distilled
EAN no.: 5021944087846

Flavour profile

Peated · Fresh

Did you know?

Ballechin takes its name from a small distillery near Edradour that closed in the 1920s — Edradour revived the name in 2003 for its own peated series as a tribute to local whisky history.

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In Bordeaux, a 225-litre wine cask is called a barrique, and that number gives this release its name. Tullibardine 225 is the distillery's tribute to the sweet French dessert wine cask.

The expert's description

Tullibardine 225 Sauternes Finish Single Highland Malt Whisky 70 cl 43% is a Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, matured in Ex-bourbon casks with a 12-month finish in 225-litre ex-Sauternes casks from Château Suduiraut and bottled at 43%.

After a long maturation in ex-bourbon casks, the whisky is transferred to 225-litre ex-Sauternes casks from the renowned Château Suduiraut, a Premier Cru Classé. A further 12 months of maturation follows, creating an elegant, golden whisky with no added caramel colouring, true to Tullibardine's philosophy.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Citrus, grain and a good measure of vanilla.

Palate

Sweet with a hint of pineapple and orange.

Finish

Long with lingering citrus and a light sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Tullibardine 225 Sauternes Finish Single Highland Malt Whisky 70 cl 43%
Distillery: Tullibardine
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-bourbon casks with a 12-month finish in 225-litre ex-Sauternes casks from Château Suduiraut
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5060074861308

Flavour Profile

Fruity · Sweet · Elegant

Did you know?

Château Suduiraut, which supplied the casks for this whisky, is one of the most respected Sauternes wine houses, classified as Premier Cru Classé as early as 1855.

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There is a texture in Clynelish that nobody quite explains. Candle wax, beeswax, something that coats the tongue and stays there. Whisky people simply call it waxy and leave it at that.

Expert description

Clynelish 14 years is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 46%.

The distillery sits on the coast in Sutherland, where the original Clynelish was founded in 1819 by the Marquess of Stafford. When a new distillery was built across the road in 1968, the old one was renamed Brora and closed in 1983. Clynelish is today one of the main ingredients in Johnnie Walker, but the 14 year old is where the distillery character stands at its clearest: maritime, waxy and with a freshness you do not find further south.

Tasting notes

Nose

Citrus peel and sea salt first, then wax, vanilla and heather. A cool, mineral note runs underneath it all and points straight at the coast.

Palate

Creamy and lively. Ripe fruit, malt, honey and a suggestion of smoke, carried by that distinctive waxy mouthfeel. The 46% gives bite without tightening things up.

Finish

Long, dry and elegant, with maritime nuances, pepper and a mild spiced warmth fading slowly.

Specifications

Name: Clynelish 14 years Coastal Single Highland Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Clynelish
Region/Country: Highlands Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 14 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
EAN no.: 5000281016528

Flavour profile

Waxy · Maritime · Citrus · Honeyed · Lightly Smoked

Did you know?

The waxy character is unintentional. It comes from feed pipes at Clynelish that are not fully cleaned, letting an oily layer build up and mark the spirit. When the system was thoroughly scrubbed in the 1970s the wax vanished, and it took years to coax it back.

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Tomatin has sold whisky to the world for more than a century without ever shouting about it. This 12-year-old is proof of why it never had to.

Expert's description

Tomatin 12 år Single Highland Malt Whisky 70 cl 43% is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 43%.

Tomatin 12 Year Old is the distillery's best-selling release and serves as the perfect introduction to the house's soft, easy-drinking Highland character.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sherry and fruit sweetness, raisins, orange and distinct malt.

Palate

Toffee and spice, creamy and full.

Finish

Short with a soft malt sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Tomatin 12 år Single Highland Malt Whisky 70 cl 43%
Distillery: Tomatin
Region/Country: Highland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: No
Natural colour: No
EAN no.: 5018481100206

Flavour Profile

Round · Spiced · Fresh

Did you know?

Tomatin was founded in 1897 by local man John MacDougall, shortly after the Highland Railway decided to route its line past the site.

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