Bourbon meets sherry in this 18-year-old Ballechin, where two cask worlds have been blended to give the peat more layers to play in.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 18 years old 2006/2024 is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a blend of bourbon and sherry casks and bottled at 57.8%.

The whisky was distilled in 2006 and matured for 18 years across a combination of bourbon and sherry casks before being bottled in September 2024. The blended cask maturation gives the whisky both the bourbon cask's vanilla sweetness and the sherry's darker, nuttier depth, which together embrace Ballechin's signature peat smoke.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla and toasted almonds meet an earthy smoke, with a hint of raisin and old leather in the background.

Palate

Full-bodied and complex with caramelised sugar, dark chocolate and a lingering, warm smoke that ties the two cask types together.

Finish

Long and spicy with dried fruit, ash and a fine bitterness that lingers.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 18 years old 2006/2024 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 57.8%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 18 years
ABV: 57,8 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: a blend of bourbon and sherry casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: 2006
Bottled: September 2024
EAN no.: 5021944127108

Flavour profile

Peated · Sherry-matured · Spicy

Investment potential

This release is assessed to have medium investment potential, largely due to 18 years of maturation of Ballechin's peated style on a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. This is a general assessment based on available information about rarity and demand, not a guarantee of future value growth.

Did you know?

Edradour uses traditional Douglas fir fermentation vessels rather than the more common stainless steel — a choice that gives a slower, more complex fermentation.

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A single port cask, twenty years of patience and a number that anyone who's tasted it never quite forgets. Cask #347 has become something special.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 20 years old 2004/2024 1st Fill Port Pipe Matured is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured exclusively in a 1st fill port cask and bottled at 54.7%.

The whisky was distilled on 25 July 2004 and matured for a full 20 years in a single cask, cask #347, a 1st fill Old Port Pipe, before being bottled on the exact same date in 2024. The port cask has given the whisky a deep, ruby-red colour and a rich, fruity sweetness that meets Ballechin's powerful peat smoke in a full, complex balance. Only 691 bottles were drawn.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dark berries and caramelised sugar meet heather honey and a hint of leather, with earthy smoke deep underneath.

Palate

Luxurious and silky with sweetness from the port cask, layers of peat smoke, caramelised nuts and a fine spiciness of cinnamon.

Finish

Long, warm and lingering with dried fruit, sweet oak, ash and a hint of dark chocolate.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 20 years old 2004/2024 1st Fill Port Pipe Matured Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 54.7%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 years
ABV: 54,7 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill port pipe (cask no. 347)
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: 25/07/2004
Bottled: 25/07/2024
Number of bottles: Only 691 bottles
EAN no.: 5021944126736

Flavour profile

Peated · Sherry-matured · Creamy · Spicy

Investment potential

This release is assessed to have high investment potential, largely due to 20 years of maturation on a single rare 1st fill port cask and only 691 bottles. This is a general assessment based on available information about rarity and demand, not a guarantee of future value growth.

Did you know?

Port pipes are long, slender casks originally designed for transporting port from the Douro Valley — their shape gives the whisky more wood contact than a standard cask of the same volume.

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Some whiskies need decades to truly find themselves. This 20-year-old Ballechin is one of the clearest examples of what patience and good oak can do for a peated whisky.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 20 years old 2004/2024 Bourbon Barrels is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks and bottled at 52.8%.

The whisky was distilled in the spring of 2004 and spent a full 20 years in bourbon casks before being bottled in March 2024. Those long years on wood have given it an unusual depth, where Ballechin's forceful peat has gradually been softened by the vanilla and sweetness of American oak. With 2,016 bottles, this is one of the larger releases in the series, but still a rare chance to taste what two decades of maturation do to a peated Highland whisky.

Tasting notes

Nose

Smoked vanilla meets grilled pineapple and heather honey, with hints of leather and dried coconut. Malt and oak sit as a deeper undercurrent.

Palate

Silky in texture, where the bourbon cask's sweetness weaves together with layers of peat smoke, caramelised nuts, citrus oil and cinnamon.

Finish

Long, warm and lingering, with dried fruit, sweet oak, ash and a hint of dark chocolate.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 20 years old 2004/2024 Bourbon Barrels Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 52.8%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 years
ABV: 52,8 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbonfade
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: spring 2004
Bottled: 04/03/2024
Number of bottles: Only 2,016 bottles
EAN no.: 5021944125494

Flavour profile

Peated · Creamy · Spicy · Smooth

Did you know?

Edradour is still so small that the distillery's entire annual output matches what many larger Highland distilleries produce in under a week.

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Two Madeira casks, 19 years of patience and Ballechin's insistent peat — the result is a whisky that feels both sun-warmed and smoky at once.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 2004/2023 Madeira Cask 19 years old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in Madeira puncheons and bottled at 53.5%.

The whisky was distilled in April 2004 and matured for 19 years across two Madeira puncheons, cask no. 184 and 189, before being bottled in July 2023. The Madeira's characteristic, lightly oxidised sweetness has melted into Ballechin's peat smoke, creating a whisky with both sun-ripened fruit character and earthy smoke. Only 1,323 bottles were drawn.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried apricot and caramelised sugar meet an earthy, faintly medicinal smoke, with a hint of toasted nuts underneath.

Palate

Sweet and full-bodied with raisin, burnt sugar and walnut, before a warm, lingering peat smoke takes over.

Finish

Long, with notes of dried fig, soot and a fine, bitter cocoa tone.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 2004/2023 Madeira Cask 19 years old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 53.5%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 19 years
ABV: 53,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Madeira puncheons (cask no. 184 and 189)
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: April 2004
Bottled: 05/07/2023
Number of bottles: Only 1,323 bottles
EAN no.: 5021944123599

Flavour profile

Peated · Sherry-matured · Fruity

Investment potential

This release is assessed to have medium investment potential, largely due to 19 years of maturation on just two Madeira casks and a limited bottle count. This is a general assessment based on available information about rarity and demand, not a guarantee of future value growth.

Did you know?

Madeira casks were historically popular for whisky maturation because the fortified wine from Madeira held up well during long sea voyages — a tradition that today lives on as a sought-after but rare cask type.

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Burgundy casks are known for their finesse in the wine world, and that same finesse shows up in this 17-year-old Ballechin, where the smoke gets company from something more delicate.

The expert's description

Edradour Ballechin 2005/2023 Burgundy Cask 17 years old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill Burgundy hogsheads and bottled at 53.5%.

The whisky was distilled in November 2005 and matured for 17 years across two 1st fill Burgundy casks, numbers 327 and 334, before being bottled in July 2023. The Burgundy cask's delicate red fruit character meets Ballechin's peat smoke and gives the whisky a surprisingly elegant, almost delicate profile for a peated whisky. 2,103 bottles were released.

Tasting notes

Nose

Raspberry and blackcurrant sit finely over an earthy smoke, with a hint of violet and fresh forest floor.

Palate

Delicate and fruity with red berries and a touch of pepper, before a soft, warm smoke emerges underneath.

Finish

Medium length with dry fruit acidity, light smoke and a fine, spiced finish.

Specifications

Name: Edradour Ballechin 2005/2023 Burgundy Cask 17 years old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 53.5%
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 17 years
ABV: 53,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill Burgundy hogsheads (cask no. 327 and 334)
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Distilled: November 2005
Bottled: 05/07/2023
Number of bottles: Only 2,103 bottles
EAN no.: 5021944123605

Flavour profile

Peated · Fruity · Fresh

Did you know?

The Ballechin name is used only for Edradour's peated bottlings — the unpeated core range is simply called Edradour, even though both whiskies come from the same stills.

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The label looks like something lifted from an old pharmacy, and that is deliberate. Elixir Distillers built the whole range around the idea of Islay as an element you could extract and bottle in its pure form.

The expert description

Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask is a Blended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill and refill bourbon barrels and bottled at 54.5%.

The range began in 2008 with small apothecary bottles and a code in place of a distillery name. Bourbon Cask is one of the core releases and brings together malt from several Islay distilleries, where the heavy barbecue smoke of the south coast meets the lighter, zestier style of the north. Elixir Distillers does not disclose which distilleries are involved.

The bourbon wood was chosen because it lets the smoke stand clearly in front. Where a sherry cask would lay dark fruit over the top, American oak contributes vanilla and coconut that push the peat forward instead of covering it. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured, and the 54.5% was chosen to give it full weight.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sugar and vanilla pod first, then tropical fruit, mango and pineapple, and behind it a thin ribbon of chimney smoke drifting in and out.

Palate

Cappuccino dusted with cocoa, warm vanilla brioche and fruit poached in maple syrup, while a peat fire builds underneath it all.

Finish

Long and sooty with salt, lemon peel and a dry ash note that stays well after the sweetness has gone.

Specifications

Name: Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask
Distillery: Elixir Distillers
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Blended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 54.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Elements of Islay
EAN no.: 5060880920435

Flavour profile

Smoky · Maritime · Fruity · Vanilla · Cask Strength

Did you know?

Elixir Distillers was founded by brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, the pair behind The Whisky Exchange. They are now building on Islay themselves with the Portintruan distillery, so a range that started by bottling other people’s whisky will end up with its own.

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Four and a half litres of whisky is not a bottle you lift with one hand. That is why it comes with a cradle, and why it ends up being the centrepiece of the evening rather than something standing on a shelf.

The expert description

Famous Grouse 4.5 Litre is a Blended Scotch Whisky bottled at 40% in a 450 cl bottle.

The bottle is supplied with a metal pouring cradle so it can be served without being lifted. That is a practical necessity rather than an accessory, since a full bottle at this size weighs far too much to handle freehand at a table.

The whisky inside is the classic Famous Grouse, created in Perth in 1896 and owned by William Grant & Sons since July 2025. Malt whisky from Scottish distilleries, with Highland Park historically among those providing the character, is bound together with grain whisky into a soft blend with no sharp edges. The format is aimed at parties, bars and collectors with shelf space.

Tasting notes

Nose

Calm and harmonious with dried fruit, honey and vanilla, and nuts plus a touch of citrus underneath.

Palate

Soft and round with clear fruit, ripe undertones and a lightly spiced edge.

Finish

Short to medium, clean and lightly sweet with malt at the close.

Specifications

Name: Famous Grouse 4.5 Litre
Distillery: The Famous Grouse
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 450 CL
Edition: Supplied with a metal pouring cradle

Flavour profile

Soft · Fruity · Honeyed · Malty · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Large bottles do not mature differently from small ones, since whisky does not develop in glass, but they do last longer once opened. The less air there is relative to liquid, the slower the oxidation, so a nearly full large format is better off than a nearly empty standard bottle.

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In 1896 a whisky merchant in Perth needed a name for his new blend. He chose the bird out on the moor. A hundred and thirty years later it still stands on the label, and the whisky behind it has never felt any need to reinvent itself.

The expert description

Famous Grouse is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40%.

Matthew Gloag created the blend in Perth in 1896 and took the red grouse as his mark. Customers started asking for the famous grouse, and in 1905 the family took the hint and named it The Famous Grouse. The family sold up in 1970, and since July 2025 the brand has been owned by William Grant & Sons.

The recipe rests on malt whisky from Scottish distilleries, with Highland Park historically setting much of the tone, bound together with grain whisky. The malt delivers fruit and spice, the grain delivers the softness, and the balance between them is why the bottle has been the best selling blend in Scotland for decades.

Tasting notes

Nose

Deep gold in the glass. A harmonious aroma of dried fruit and honey, with vanilla, nuts and citrus behind it.

Palate

Exceptionally soft and round with a pleasing fruitiness. Beneath it sit ripe, lightly spiced undertones that give it more to work with than expected.

Finish

Short to medium, clean and lightly sweet with malt at the close.

Specifications

Name: Famous Grouse
Distillery: The Famous Grouse
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5010314700003

Flavour profile

Soft · Fruity · Honeyed · Malty · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Famous Grouse has held a royal warrant since 1984, but the connection reaches back further: Matthew Gloag’s business in Perth supplied wine to Queen Victoria when she visited Scotland in 1842, more than fifty years before the first Grouse was blended.

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Five centilitres is enough to form an opinion. That is what the miniature is for, as a sample, as a place setting gift, or as the bottle that goes in a pocket when carrying a full one makes no sense.

The expert description

Famous Grouse Miniature is a Blended Scotch Whisky bottled at 40% in a 5 cl bottle.

The contents are identical to the full size bottle: the classic Grouse blend that Matthew Gloag created in Perth in 1896 and named after the red grouse. The brand has been owned by William Grant & Sons since July 2025.

Miniatures like this get used for three things, trying a whisky without committing, setting one at each place at dinner, or taking one along where a full bottle would be absurd. Malt whisky, with Highland Park historically among the load bearing names, bound together with grain whisky, gives the same soft profile in small format.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried fruit and honey, with vanilla, nuts and a touch of citrus underneath.

Palate

Soft and round with a fruitiness that carries all the way, and ripe, lightly spiced undertones.

Finish

Short to medium, clean and lightly sweet with malt at the close.

Specifications

Name: Famous Grouse Miniature
Distillery: The Famous Grouse
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 5 CL
EAN no.: 50792511

Flavour profile

Soft · Fruity · Honeyed · Malty · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Miniatures are a collecting field of their own. Some collections run to tens of thousands of bottles, and old miniatures from closed distilleries can be the only way to taste whisky that was never bottled at full size in that particular year.

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Glenturret is the oldest working distillery in Scotland, and it almost never makes peated whisky. Almost. The handful of casks that do get made end up here, and that is the entire reason Smoky Black tastes the way it does.

The expert description

Famous Grouse Smoky Black is a Blended Scotch Whisky made with peated malt, matured in oak casks and bottled at 40%.

The blend launched in 2015 as the successor to The Black Grouse and is built around a rare peated expression of Glenturret. This is not an Islay whisky poured into a blend. It is malt from a Highland distillery that carries its peat smoke from home, and it gives a different kind of smoke: drier, more bonfire-like and less medicinal than the west coast style.

Beneath the smoke sits the classic Grouse profile of honey and fruit, bound together with grain whisky. The master blenders select both malt and grain casks with enough character to carry the smoke rather than vanish behind it. The brand has been owned by William Grant & Sons since July 2025.

Tasting notes

Nose

Bonfire smoke and dry ash come through first, but honey, dried fruit and a note of toasted malt sit behind them.

Palate

Sweetness and smoke in the same mouthful. Vanilla and pale caramel carry it while the peat builds and lays dark chocolate and soot over the top.

Finish

Medium, dry and sooty with a final touch of pepper.

Specifications

Name: Famous Grouse Smoky Black
Distillery: The Famous Grouse
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Smoky Black
EAN no.: 5010314302504

Flavour profile

Smoky · Sweet · Soft · Malty · Peaty

Did you know?

Glenturret has been distilling since 1763, making it the oldest continuously working distillery in Scotland. For decades it also housed The Famous Grouse Experience, where visitors walked through the story behind the blend, and where many discovered for the first time that there was a distillery behind the bird on the label at all.

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At the foot of the Cairngorms, cold mountain water runs down the outside of the copper stills at Fettercairn. It looks as odd as it sounds, and no other Scottish distillery does it.

The expert description

Fettercairn 12 Years Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in American white oak and ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

Alexander Ramsay founded the distillery in 1824 in the village of Fettercairn in the Mearns, where the Grampians drop away towards the coast. The distinctive feature is the cooling rings: a ring fitted around the top of each pot still lets crystal clear mountain water run down the copper from outside. The cooling creates more condensation inside, so only the lightest vapours make it all the way up, and that is the source of the clean, sweet spirit the distillery is known for.

Twelve years in American oak lays vanilla and soft spice on top of that. The result is a Highland malt with no smoke and no sharp edges, where the fruit is allowed to do the carrying.

Tasting notes

Nose

The colour of sunlight and amber honey. The aroma gives vanilla, ripe pear and soft spices, with a touch of fresh oak behind.

Palate

Soft and rounded. Nectarine and tropical fruit first, then milk chocolate and sweet cream, while fresh pineapple is balanced by oak and a note of damp leaves.

Finish

Cinnamon, candied ginger and nutmeg develop alongside creamy coffee, and menthol and crunchy apples are what remain at the end.

Specifications

Name: Fettercairn 12 Years Old
Distillery: Fettercairn
Region/Country: Highland Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American white oak and ex-bourbon casks
EAN no.: 5013967013957

Flavour profile

Fruity · Soft · Vanilla · Creamy · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

When the warehouse at Fettercairn was built, the masons are said to have sealed a full bottle of whisky into the stone wall as a charm. As far as anyone knows it is still there, since nobody has fancied pulling the wall down to check.

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Ten years is not long in whisky terms, and that is exactly the point here. Fettercairn is allowed to be young, bright and fruity before the oak starts deciding how the whole thing should taste.

The expert description

Fettercairn 2008/2018 Mossburn 10 Years Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in an American standard barrel and bottled at 46%.

Mossburn is an independent bottler that sent out its first bottles in 2017 with the simple idea that whisky should be bottled at a minimum of 46%, without colouring and without chill filtration. This release was distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2018 from batch 30.1008.18.

The cask is an American Standard Barrel, an ex-bourbon cask of around 200 litres. It is the smallest of the common cask sizes, so the wood works faster, and even after ten years there is plenty of vanilla and oak in the glass without the fruitiness of the distillery disappearing.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and young. Green apple and pear first, then vanilla, coconut and a light cereal note from the malt.

Palate

Bright and crisp with citrus peel, white peach and vanilla custard, while the oak lays a dry, lightly peppered edge underneath.

Finish

Medium and clean with malt, a touch of ginger and a final note of fresh oak.

Specifications

Name: Fettercairn 2008/2018 Mossburn 10 Years Old
Distillery: Fettercairn
Bottler: Mossburn
Region/Country: Highland Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American Standard Barrel
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2008
Bottled: 2018
Edition: Batch 30.1008.18
EAN no.: 5060033847244

Flavour profile

Fresh · Fruity · Vanilla · Lightly spiced · Young

Did you know?

An American Standard Barrel holds around 200 litres and is the cask American bourbon is legally allowed to use only once. That is why the Scottish industry has for decades brought its casks over from Kentucky in large numbers, and why so much Scotch whisky tastes of vanilla and coconut.

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Finlaggan is the name of the island in the loch from which the Lords of the Isles once ruled the Hebrides. The whisky carries the name but not the distillery, because who made it is something you do not get told.

The expert description

Finlaggan Cask Strength is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at cask strength 58%.

Behind the bottle stands The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, a family firm from Glasgow founded in 1992. They buy casks from an undisclosed Islay distillery and bottle them under the Finlaggan name, which is an entirely ordinary arrangement when a distillery sells casks on without wanting its name on the label.

Cask Strength is the heaviest in the range and is bottled without dilution, without chill filtration and without colouring. The 58% makes a difference you notice immediately: the smoke sits denser and oilier than the same whisky would at 46%.

Tasting notes

Nose

Deep peat smoke and burnt wood, enriched by subtle hints of iodine and seaweed of the kind Islay is known for.

Palate

Vigorous and full bodied with an intense wave of smoke and malt, and a slight underlying sweetness that balances the robust peat character.

Finish

Long and persistent with an enveloping warmth that gradually releases nuances of dark chocolate and spices.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Cask Strength
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 58%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Cask Strength

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peaty · Maritime · Spiced · Cask Strength

Did you know?

Finlaggan is a small island in Loch Finlaggan on Islay, and from here the Lords of the Isles governed much of the Scottish islands and the western seaboard in the Middle Ages. The ruins are still there, a couple of kilometres from the distillery nobody will put a name to.

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Eilean Mòr means the big island in Gaelic, and it is precisely that islet in Loch Finlaggan where the Lords of the Isles had their seat. The whisky is the more considered of the Finlaggan bottles, still peated but with the reins on.

The expert description

Finlaggan Eilean Mor is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at 46% in small batch.

The Vintage Malt Whisky Company of Glasgow stands behind the whole Finlaggan range, and the malt comes from an Islay distillery that is not named. Eilean Mor sits a level above the basic releases: the strength is raised to 46% and bottling happens in smaller runs rather than continuously.

Those extra points do more than the number suggests. The smoke gains carrying power, the texture turns fuller, and the light oiliness that marks Islay malt comes through more clearly than in the standard releases at 40%. The whisky is bottled without chill filtration and without colouring.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sweet peat smoke with medicinal notes and a touch of sea salt.

Palate

Full bodied with spicy peat smoke, tar and iodine, a light oiliness and a sweet malt sitting underneath it all.

Finish

The smoke falls back to embers. Long and slightly drying.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Eilean Mor
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Eilean Mor Small Batch
EAN no.: 5024720311005

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peaty · Maritime · Sweet · Medicinal

Did you know?

The Vintage Malt Whisky Company owns several brands that all stand for unnamed distilleries, Finlaggan from Islay among them and Tantallan from the Highlands alongside it. The model gives them access to casks they could never otherwise buy, in exchange for keeping quiet about where they came from.

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Old Reserve is the Finlaggan you reach for without making an occasion of it. Peated enough to be Islay, mild enough to drink on an ordinary Wednesday.

The expert description

Finlaggan Old Reserve is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

The Vintage Malt Whisky Company buys the casks from an Islay distillery that does not want its name on the label and bottles them under the Finlaggan name. Old Reserve is the slightly more mature of the two entry releases, and the bourbon wood is chosen because it lays vanilla and pale sweetness beneath the smoke rather than fighting it.

At 40% this is the softest end of the range. That makes it a sensible way to meet Islay for the first time, and a bottle you can keep on the shelf without having to be in the mood for it.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft peat smoke and vanilla, with a lightly salted edge and a note of dried citrus peel behind.

Palate

Round and malty with the smoke as a frame. Caramel and pale fruit in the middle, and a light ashy dryness that keeps the sweetness in check.

Finish

Medium and clean with smoke, malt and a final touch of pepper.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Old Reserve
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask
Edition: Old Reserve
EAN no.: 5024720900001

Flavour profile

Smoky · Malty · Soft · Vanilla · Maritime

Did you know?

On the smallest of the islands in Loch Finlaggan, Eilean na Comhairle, stood the Council Isle. The fourteen councillors who governed the Lordship of the Isles met here, and decisions taken on that small islet applied from the Hebrides to Ulster.

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There is Islay whisky you have to work up to. This is not one of them. Original is the way into the range and into the island, peat, salt and malt in the most direct form it can be done.

The expert description

Finlaggan Original is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company of Glasgow handles the bottling. It is a model where the distillery sells casks on without wanting its name on the label, and in return you get an island malt on a far more straightforward shelf than the official releases occupy.

The bourbon wood provides the bright frame and 40% keeps it light. This is not a whisky trying to impress. It is trying to be a good Islay dram, and it succeeds.

Tasting notes

Nose

Peat smoke first, then malt and a pale sweetness, with a seaweed and salt note that recalls a coastline a couple of hundred metres away.

Palate

Direct and malty. The smoke carries while caramel and apple sit beneath, and a lightly peppered edge rises towards the close.

Finish

Short to medium, dry and smoky with a final scatter of salt.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Original
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask
Edition: Original
EAN no.: 5024720350004

Flavour profile

Smoky · Malty · Maritime · Peaty · Soft

Did you know?

The peat on Islay is not like mainland peat. The island bogs formed close to the sea out of moss, heather and seaweed, and that is why Islay smoke carries the salted, almost iodine-like note a Highland peat never gives.

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Port and peat smoke ought not to work together. One is sweet and grapey, the other ashy and salty. The combination has nonetheless become one of the most used in modern Islay whisky, and here is why.

The expert description

Finlaggan Port Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in port casks, bottled at 46%.

The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery, and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company has given it a spell in port wood after the main maturation. The port leaves red berries and a grapey sweetness that settle on top of the smoke rather than mixing into it, and that layering is the entire point of a finish.

At 46% the whisky has enough body to carry both, and it is neither chill filtered nor coloured. The reddish tone in the glass comes from the wood alone.

Tasting notes

Nose

Smoky and medicinal peat first, with a clear touch of red berries and grapes behind.

Palate

Plenty of port sweetness with the smoke lying underneath. Raisin, pepper, leather and red berries unfold as it goes.

Finish

Long with grape skin, dry smoke and a warm spiced close.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Port Finish
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in port casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Port Finish
EAN no.: 5024720313009

Flavour profile

Smoky · Fruity · Sweet · Spiced · Berry

Did you know?

A port cask, a pipe, holds around 550 to 650 litres, making it far larger than the bourbon casks the whisky sat in first. That means a port finish works more slowly than you might think, taking months where a small cask would have done the job in weeks.

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Red wine casks are rare in Scotch whisky, and there is a reason for that. The tannins can turn a whisky bitter and dry if you are not careful. Here they are used to pull the smoke towards fruit instead.

The expert description

Finlaggan Red Wine Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in red wine casks, bottled at 46%.

The malt comes from an undisclosed Islay distillery, and The Vintage Malt Whisky Company moved it into red wine wood at the end. Where a port cask gives sweet, concentrated fruit, the red wine cask gives something drier and more grapey, plum, berry and a light tannin edge that keeps the sweetness in place.

The result is the most fruit-driven of the Finlaggan finishes, but also the one where the smoke is allowed to stay in front. It is bottled at 46% without chill filtration and without added colour.

Tasting notes

Nose

Lovely peat smoke with sweet red berries, dried fruit, oak and vanilla behind it.

Palate

Salted and smoky with notes of sweet fruit, plum jam, red grapes, orange marmalade and berries.

Finish

Sweet malt notes and grape skin, while the bonfire smoke lingers long afterwards.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Red Wine Finish
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in red wine casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Red Wine Finish
EAN no.: 5024720322001

Flavour profile

Smoky · Fruity · Berry · Sweet · Maritime

Did you know?

Red wine casks are used far less often than sherry and bourbon wood in Scotch whisky. Wine casks are built thinner and have not held strong spirit before, which makes them less predictable, and the tannins can leave the whisky dry and tight if the cask is allowed to work too long.

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Sherry and peat smoke are the oldest pairing in Scotch whisky. The dark fruit settles like a blanket over the ash, and the result has been a favourite since somebody first happened to do it.

The expert description

Finlaggan Sherry Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in sherry casks, bottled at 46%.

The base whisky is the same peated Islay malt from an undisclosed distillery that the rest of the range is built on. The Vintage Malt Whisky Company has given it a closing spell in sherry wood, and that pulls it in a darker and fuller direction than either Original or the other finishes.

Sherry casks are the most used partner for smoke for a reason: raisin, fig and dark chocolate carry enough weight to meet the peat without either side disappearing. The whisky is bottled at 46% without chill filtration and without colouring.

Tasting notes

Nose

Peat smoke and dark dried fruit, with raisin, a touch of fig and a light nutty note from the wood.

Palate

Full and sweet with raisin and dark chocolate in front, while the smoke works its way up from below and lays salt and ash beneath the sweetness.

Finish

Long and warm with dried fruit, dry smoke and a final touch of spice.

Specifications

Name: Finlaggan Sherry Finish
Bottler: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company
Region/Country: Islay Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in sherry casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Sherry Finish
EAN no.: 5024720315003

Flavour profile

Smoky · Sherry matured · Sweet · Maritime · Spiced

Did you know?

Very few sherry casks in Scotch whisky have ever held sherry meant for drinking. They are sherry seasoned: new oak casks are sent to Spain, filled with sherry for a couple of years purely to give the wood character, and then shipped north. Genuine old bodega casks have become a rarity.

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Ketill Flatnöse was a Norse chieftain who ruled the islands along the west coast of Scotland in the late 800s. Islay Boys have borrowed his name for a whisky rather lighter on its feet than the man himself is said to have been.

The expert description

Flatnöse Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is a lightly peated blended malt bottled at 46% in small batch.

Behind the bottle stand Islay Boys, founded by Mackay Smith and Donald MacKenzie from the Rhinns peninsula on Islay. MacKenzie learned whisky production from Jim McEwan at Bruichladdich, and the firm has since built a set of brands around Norse island history.

This release is a blended malt, meaning malt whisky from several distilleries and not a drop of grain. The smoke is restrained and sits as an edge rather than as the main course, and 46% gives it body without making it hard. It is bottled without chill filtration in small batch, which means the contents can vary a little from run to run.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pear first, with a faint peach behind and a note of honey tying it together.

Palate

Pleasingly round, where walnuts and citrus blossom step forward and where the smoke registers without taking up room.

Finish

Medium and soft with malt, nut and a final touch of smoke.

Specifications

Name: Flatnöse Blended Malt
Bottler: Islay Boys
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Small Batch
EAN no.: 5060406110081

Flavour profile

Lightly smoky · Fruity · Soft · Nutty · Honeyed

Did you know?

Islay Boys bought the island only brewery, Islay Ales, in 2018 and have since been working to get their own distillery standing. They began as bottlers of other people whisky and have ended up wanting to make their own, which on Islay is the rule rather than the exception.

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The islands along the west coast of Scotland were governed from the sea, not from land. That is the world the Flatnöse name points back to, and the whisky has been given the same direct character to carry.

The expert description

Flatnöse Blended Scotch Whisky is a lightly peated blend bottled at 43% in small batch.

Where the Islay Boys blended malt sticks to pure malt whisky, this release is a proper blend with both malt and grain. The grain gives softness and a cereal sweetness that malt alone does not deliver, and the smoke therefore has a rounder base to stand on.

The name is taken from Ketill Flatnöse, the Norse chieftain who in the late 800s was king over the islands along the west coast. Bottling happens in small batch and without chill filtration, so the contents can vary a little from run to run.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt and sweetness first, with an appealing note of smoke settling in underneath.

Palate

Pleasingly smoky, where pepper steps clearly forward alongside the smoke. The cereal sweetness sits below and holds it together.

Finish

Medium and dry with smoke, pepper and a final malty sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Flatnöse Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottler: Islay Boys
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Small Batch
EAN no.: 5060406110029

Flavour profile

Smoky · Malty · Spiced · Soft · Sweet

Did you know?

Very few blends are bottled without chill filtration. The process removes the compounds that can turn whisky hazy at low temperature, and it is used on almost every bottle at this level because haze gets mistaken for a fault. Islay Boys chose to skip it and explain why instead.

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Rum casks and Scotch whisky have travelled together since the trading ships began running the same route both ways. Here that connection is made concrete: a lightly peated blend that has ended its life in Latin American rum casks.

The expert description

Flatnöse Rum Finish is a Blended Scotch Whisky finished in Latin American rum casks and bottled at 43% in small batch.

The base whisky is the same light, peated blend from Islay Boys that the rest of the Flatnöse family is built on. The difference lies in the closing period in rum wood, which among other things has contributed exotic demerara notes, the dark, almost molasses-like sweetness familiar from rum made on cane syrup.

The rum cask makes the whisky softer and rounder without the smoke disappearing. It is bottled without chill filtration in small batch, so the contents can vary a little from run to run.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft and sweet with demerara sugar, a light smoky edge and a note of ripe banana.

Palate

Lively and lightly spiced with vanilla and demerara in the background, while the malt and smoke keep it from turning too sweet.

Finish

Medium and soft with syrup, spice and a final touch of smoke.

Specifications

Name: Flatnöse Rum Barrel Finish
Bottler: Islay Boys
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in Latin American rum casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Small Batch
EAN no.: 5060406110227

Flavour profile

Sweet · Lightly smoky · Spiced · Vanilla · Soft

Did you know?

Demerara takes its name from a river in Guyana where the sugar cane grew along the banks. Today the word covers both a type of sugar and a style of rum, and it is the dark, molasses-like sweetness of that style the rum casks leave behind in the whisky.

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Grain whisky is rarely treated as something that deserves a fine cask. Murray McDavid did the opposite and put an eleven year old Girvan into a Ximenez-Spinola PX cask, and suddenly the cereal is no longer the dull part of the equation.

The expert description

Girvan 2011/2022 Murray McDavid 11 Years Old is a Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky finished in a Ximenez-Spinola PX cask and bottled at 46%.

Girvan was built in 1963 by William Grant & Sons on the Ayrshire coast and is today one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland. This release was distilled in 2011 and bottled in 2022 by Murray McDavid, who rank among the bottlers working most deliberately with wood.

The PX cask is the decisive part. Pedro Ximenez is the sweetest of the sherry styles, almost syrupy, and on a soft grain whisky it lays down a layer of dark fruit that a malt would have had to supply itself. The release yielded 1228 bottles, bottled without chill filtration and without colouring.

Tasting notes

Nose

Raisin and dark syrup first, then vanilla and coconut from the grain character, and a note of fig behind.

Palate

Soft and oily with dates, muscovado and dark chocolate. The cereal sweetness sits underneath and keeps it from turning heavy.

Finish

Medium and sweet with dried fruit, a touch of oak and a light spiced warmth.

Specifications

Name: Girvan 2011/2022 Murray McDavid 11 Years Old
Distillery: Girvan
Bottler: Murray McDavid
Region/Country: Lowland Scotland
Type: Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ximenez-Spinola PX cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2011
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 1228
Edition: Limited Release Select Grain
EAN no.: 5060353303642

Flavour profile

Sweet · Sherry matured · Creamy · Fruity · Spiced

Did you know?

Murray McDavid is based at the old Coleburn distillery near Elgin, which has been closed since 1985. The buildings are used today for warehousing and cask work, so a distillery that no longer distils has become the workplace of a bottler.

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In 1963 William Grant & Sons found themselves without access to grain whisky and built their own distillery in nine months. Girvan is the result, and these twenty-five years are what happens when you leave that plant to get on with it for long enough.

The expert description

Girvan Patent Still 25 Years Old is a Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks with some sherry wood and virgin oak, bottled at 42%.

The distillery was raised in 1963 on the Ayrshire coast in answer to a trade dispute with the large blending houses of the day, and it has supplied the backbone of the William Grant blends ever since. The Patent Still range was the first serious attempt by the house to sell grain whisky under its own name, and the twenty-five year old opened the series.

The composition is a marriage of whisky from 1st fill and refill bourbon casks with a smaller share from sherry wood and virgin oak. The bourbon casks carry the creamy vanilla character, while the others lay darker fruit and spice underneath. The 42% is pitched low enough to let the texture do the carrying.

Tasting notes

Nose

Masses of buttery vanilla, fresh apple and cinnamon stick, with dark peel and chocolate pralines behind.

Palate

Creamy and unctuous with white chocolate, citrus and lime, chewy caramels and pineapple, while soft American oak sits underneath.

Finish

Vanilla, ground cinnamon and a final cool note of mint.

Specifications

Name: Girvan Patent Still 25 Years Old
Distillery: Girvan
Region/Country: Lowland Scotland
Type: Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 42%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill bourbon casks with sherry wood and virgin oak
Edition: Patent Still
EAN no.: 5010327445038

Flavour profile

Creamy · Vanilla · Fruity · Sweet · Mature

Investment potential

Medium. Twenty-five year old single grain with an age statement from an official distillery has become noticeably harder to find as the old grain stocks have been drawn down. The Patent Still range was also the first of its kind from the house, which gives it a place in the record.

Did you know?

Inside the Girvan complex also stood the malt distillery Ladyburn, which ran only from 1966 to 1975 and is today one of the most sought after silent addresses in Scotland. On the same ground Ailsa Bay opened in 2007, so the site holds both a closed and a new malt distillery alongside the grain plant.

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Some bottles tell you everything about where they came from. This one tells you nothing, and lets you spend the time on what is in the glass instead.

The expert description

Glen Andrew is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky with clear sherry influence, bottled at 40%.

The whisky comes from an undisclosed Highland distillery. It is an entirely ordinary arrangement where a distillery sells casks on without wanting its name on the label, and the buyer bottles them under a brand name of their own.

The result is an approachable and uncomplicated single malt that has become a standing recommendation for anyone finding their way into the style. There is no smoke and there are no sharp edges, and 40% means it asks for neither water nor practice. The colour is deep gold and the sherry influence runs all the way through.

Tasting notes

Nose

Baked apple and caramel first, with floral undertones and a lightly nutty sherry note behind.

Palate

Soft and round with malt sweetness, light spice and a touch of oak. The mouthfeel is pleasant and balanced with no bite to it.

Finish

Medium with warmth and sweetness, and a final dry malty note.

Specifications

Name: Glen Andrew
Region/Country: Highland Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5024720620008

Flavour profile

Soft · Sherry matured · Fruity · Malty · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

A distillery can have good reasons for not wanting to be named. Often it is about protecting the price of the house own bottlings, and just as often the casks were sold on in large parcels decades ago, long before anyone imagined single malt would become something people collected.

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This bottle was filled while single malt was still something few people outside Scotland had heard of. The label, the cork and the 75 cl belong to another era, and that is the whole reason it is interesting now.

Please note: this is an old bottling from the 1970s in a 75 cl bottle.

The expert description

Glen Deveron 12 Years Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky from MacDuff, bottled at 40% in a 75 cl bottle.

MacDuff stands near Banff on the north coast where the river Deveron meets the Moray Firth, and the distillery was built in 1962. Glen Deveron was for decades the name on the official house single malt, while the MacDuff name was left to the independent bottlers. The range has since been replaced by The Deveron, which makes any Glen Deveron bottle a closed chapter.

This one dates from the 1970s and holds 75 cl, the standard European format before 70 cl came in during the 1990s. The bottle size alone dates it, and for a collector that is part of the point.

Tasting notes

Nose

Old fashioned and restrained. Wax, dried apple and malt, with a dusty note like the inside of an old cupboard.

Palate

Soft and malty with pale caramel and nut, and the oily texture the spirit of that era so often had.

Finish

Medium, dry and mineral with a final sweetness of honey.

Specifications

Name: Glen Deveron 12 Years Old
Distillery: MacDuff
Region/Country: Highland Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40%
Size: 75 CL
Edition: Old bottling from the 1970s
EAN no.: 5010752000802

Flavour profile

Malty · Waxy · Soft · Mineral · Mature

Investment potential

Medium. An official bottling from the 1970s under a brand name that no longer exists cannot by definition be recreated. Old bottles from this period also carry a different production reality behind them, and that is exactly what collectors of vintage bottlings are after.

Did you know?

The 75 cl format was the European standard until the 1990s, when 70 cl became the common measure across the EU. Bottle size is therefore one of the quickest ways to date an old European whisky bottle, long before you start reading the label.

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Glen Elgin does not make peated whisky. But a cask that has held Islay malt remembers what it contained, and that is the detour Murray McDavid has taken to get smoke into a Speyside malt.

The expert description

Glen Elgin Murray McDavid Craft Cask Peated Finish is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a bourbon cask and finished in a bourbon cask from Islay, bottled at 44.5%.

The release belongs to Cask Craft, the Murray McDavid range where the wood is the entire starting point. The series is put together by the house Head of Whisky Creations, Dean Jode, and this edition carries the subtitle Smoke & Citrus.

The method is simple and effective. The whisky sits first in an ordinary bourbon cask and is then moved into a bourbon cask that previously held peated Islay malt. The cask gives up the peat smoke it has absorbed, and the result is a Speyside fruitiness with a smoky edge it would never have had on its own. The whisky is bottled in natural colour as batch number PEAT-01.

Tasting notes

Nose

Citrus peel and ripe pear first, then a dry smoke note that creeps in, and vanilla beneath it all.

Palate

Fresh and fruity up front with orange and yellow fruit, while the smoke builds slowly and lays an ash and pepper note underneath.

Finish

Medium with citrus, dry smoke and a final malty sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Glen Elgin Murray McDavid Craft Cask Peated Finish
Distillery: Glen Elgin
Bottler: Murray McDavid
Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 44.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask finished in a bourbon cask from Islay
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Cask Craft Smoke and Citrus batch PEAT-01

Flavour profile

Lightly smoky · Citrus · Fruity · Vanilla · Spiced

Did you know?

Glen Elgin was in its time one of the few Diageo malts to get an official bottling in the Flora & Fauna range. For most malt drinkers that was where they first met the distillery, and for many the only time, before the independent bottlers took over.

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Old Malt Cask is the range where Hunter Laing always lands on 50%. Not because the number is magic, but because it leaves the cask room to speak without the strength taking over. Here it is a refill hogshead filled in October 2008.

The expert's description

Glen Garioch 2008/2022 Old Malt Cask 13 Year Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a refill hogshead and bottled at 50%.

The cask was filled in October 2008 and emptied in February 2022 after 13 years. A refill hogshead gives less wood than a 1st fill cask, and that is exactly why the dry, cereal-driven core of the Glen Garioch spirit stands out so clearly here. The bottling produced 352 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.

Hunter Laing runs Old Malt Cask as the workhorse of its ranges. The company was carved out of Douglas Laing in 2013 when the brothers split the portfolio, and Stewart Laing took Old Malt Cask across to the new firm. Since then they have built Ardnahoe distillery on Islay.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dry apple fritters, malt and a hint of heather honey. Over the fruit sits a dusty, almost papery note you often meet in Glen Garioch from used casks.

Palate

Cereal and firm. Green apples, pear and pale caramel, with a peppery edge from the 50%. Not sweet, more taut and malt-driven.

Finish

Medium and dry. Malt, a little baked apple and a peppery warmth that lingers on the palate.

Specifications

Name: Glen Garioch 2008/2022 Old Malt Cask 13 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 50%
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottler: Hunter Laing
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 13 years
ABV: 50%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: October 2008
Bottled: February 2022
Number of bottles: 352
Edition: Old Malt Cask
EAN no.: 5060354278703

Flavour profile

Malty · Fruity · Dry · Spiced

Did you know?

When brothers Fred and Stewart Laing divided Douglas Laing between them in 2013, Old Malt Cask followed Stewart into Hunter Laing. The range carried on largely unchanged — the same fixed bottling strength, a new owner's name on the label.

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Signatory is based at Edradour in Perthshire, and the Small Batch range is where they marry a handful of casks from the same distillery rather than chase the one perfect barrel. Number 14 in the series came from Glen Garioch.

The expert's description

Glen Garioch 2011/2023 Signatory Small Batch Edition #14 is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 48.2%.

The batch was distilled in 2011 and spent 12 years in 1st fill bourbon barrels. The 48.2% is not cask strength but the strength Signatory chose to gather the batch at, and the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured. The point of a small batch is to gain the breadth of several casks without losing the distillery voice.

Signatory Vintage has been bottling single malt since 1988 and bought Edradour distillery in 2002, where the warehouses sit today. Andrew Symington built the company on one simple principle: buy the casks early, leave them alone for a long time, and do as little as possible to them before bottling.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh orange peel and honey, with dried barley behind. There is a confectionery streak to it — coconut macaroon and soft vanilla, clearer once the glass has stood a while.

Palate

Creamy and round. Toffee, vanilla custard and butterscotch, with baked orchard fruit and toasted almonds. The spice is restrained and arrives only at the end.

Finish

Medium to long. Vanilla and caramel first, then a warming wave of spice and a dry American oak close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Garioch 2011/2023 Signatory Small Batch 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Whisky 48.2%
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 48.2%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2011
Edition: Small Batch Edition #14

Flavour profile

Fruity · Vanilla-sweet · Creamy · Soft · Spiced

Did you know?

Signatory is one of very few independent bottlers that owns a distillery of its own. Edradour was for years Scotland's smallest, and the warehouses there now hold Signatory's whole portfolio of casks bought in from other houses.

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The label reads Pure Malt and the bottle holds 75 cl. Two small details that place this whisky somewhere quite different in time from what stands on the shelves today. This is Glen Grant as it was sold in the 1980s.

The expert's description

Glen Grant 10 Year Old Old Version is a Highland Pure Malt Scotch Whisky from Speyside, bottled at 43%.

Pure Malt was the term used before Single Malt became the fixed standard, and 75 cl was the European bottle size until 70 cl took over in the early 1990s. The label calls the whisky Highland, which was common practice then — Speyside was for many years treated on paper as part of the Highland region, even for distilleries sitting in the middle of Rothes.

Glen Grant was founded in 1840 by brothers John and James Grant and has since been one of Speyside's largest houses. The style is light and dry, and that is no accident: the distillery runs tall pot stills fitted with purifiers, which send the heavier vapours back and let only the lighter spirit pass.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt, apple skin and a dried floral note. There is a waxy depth behind the bright fruit that you often find in bottlings from this period.

Palate

Dry and firm, with barley, green apple and a hint of honey. The body is slimmer than a modern Speyside, yet there is more oily texture than 43% would promise.

Finish

Medium. Malt and white peppercorn, with a dry, almost mineral close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Grant 10 Year Old Old Version Highland Pure Malt Scotch Whisky 43%
Distillery: Glen Grant
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Highland Pure Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 75 CL
Bottled: 1980s
Edition: Old Version
EAN no.: 8700065013

Flavour profile

Malty · Dry · Lightly fruity · Waxy

Investment potential

Medium. Bottlings from the 1980s carrying the Pure Malt wording and the 75 cl bottle cannot be remade, and the supply only shrinks with the years. Glen Grant from this period also has a reputation for being fuller than the modern releases, which keeps collector interest alive.

Did you know?

Major Grant once had a safe cut into the rock in the distillery's garden, where he kept a bottle of whisky and two silver cups. Guests walking the garden were served on the spot, and the safe is still there.

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