Where the River Teith runs past Doune, a cotton mill once kept 1,500 people busy. The same water now powers a distillery, and the casks come from Kentucky. The label promises a chew of butter toffee and a slug of American cream soda. It delivers.

Expert description

Deanston Kentucky Cask Matured is a Highland Single Malt Whisky matured in 1st fill and 2nd fill bourbon casks from Kentucky and bottled at 40%.

This is the distillery's own bottling, with no age statement. The casks were hand-picked by master blender Julieann Fernandez, and the aim is an easygoing, sweet malt that works neat, over ice or in a drink.

The casks once held Kentucky bourbon. A first refill gives the most vanilla and caramel, while second fill casks are gentler. Together they add sweetness and soft spice without letting the oak take over.

The whisky is soft-filtered. The label itself warns that it may turn slightly cloudy over ice, and explains that the lighter filtration leaves in flavour a harsher process would strip out.

Deanston sits in the southern Highlands on the River Teith. The building is a cotton mill from 1785, turned into a distillery in the 1960s, and the distillery draws its own power from the river. The barley is malted without peat, so don't go looking for smoke.

Tasting notes

Nose

Honeyed barley and almonds, a little soft fruit and a hint of crème brûlée.

Palate

Butter toffee first, then something close to American cream soda. Sweet oak and a light touch of cinnamon underneath.

Finish

Toasted oak spice, ending on sweet barley.

Specifications

Name: Deanston Kentucky Cask Matured
Distillery: Deanston
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and 2nd fill bourbon casks from Kentucky
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5029704220137

Flavour profile

Honeyed · Caramel · Vanilla · Lightly spiced · Unpeated

Did you know?

The label carries signatures from the people who work at the distillery. Each one sits beside a job title, such as manager, mashman, stillman and chargehand, and every name was signed by hand.

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In Alexandria, right at the southern end of Loch Lomond, the copper stills come in two shapes. Some have the classic swan neck, others rise straight up without the bend you expect. Both end up in the same bottle, and after 18 years in American oak the result is baked apple and a soft drift of wood smoke.

Expert description

Loch Lomond 18 years is a Highland Single Malt Whisky matured in three types of American oak casks and bottled at 46%.

Master blender Michael Henry puts it together. The style rests on blending whisky from straight neck pot stills with whisky from more traditional swan neck stills, aiming for fruit, honey and soft smoke, a character Loch Lomond says you will only find in its own single malt.

All 18 years were spent in American oak of three kinds: bourbon, refill and re-charred. American oak usually brings sweetness and soft vanilla, and you can taste it: toffee and baked apple lead the way.

The bottle has collected medals along the way: gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2021 and at the International Spirits Challenge and The Scotch Whisky Masters in 2020, and The Whisky Exchange named it Whisky of the Year 2024.

Tasting notes

Nose

Green apple and grapefruit first, then honeysuckle and ripe oak.

Palate

Toasted oak and cigar box. Green fruit follows, apple and gooseberry, over a base of toffee.

Finish

Long and dry. Dried tea and tobacco leaf, a light medicinal peat smoke, and mild wood smoke at the very end.

Specifications

Name: Loch Lomond 18 years
Distillery: Loch Lomond
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Whisky
Age: 18 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American oak in three types: bourbon, refill and re-charred
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Distillation method: Pot stills with straight necks and traditional swan neck stills
EAN no.: 5016840239215

Flavour profile

Fruity · Lightly smoky · Honeyed · Oaky · Tobacco

Did you know?

Loch Lomond has a malt distillery, a grain distillery and a cooperage on the same site, so the casks come from the distillery's own workshop. Few Scottish distilleries can say the same.

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Berries arrive first, warm and dense like jam straight from the pot. Then the smoke drifts in, slowly, the way embers flare when a grill gets some air. Octomore 17.2 is malted to 81 ppm and should smell like a fire station, yet the Port casks have slipped a velvet glove over the whole thing.

Expert description

Octomore 17.2 is a 5 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky, matured in French oak casks, finished in Port barriques and bottled at 59.5%. It comes from Bruichladdich and is the second release in Octomore Edition 17, this year's instalment of the distillery's super heavily peated series, which went on sale on 1 September 2026.

17.2 and 17.1 begin in the same place: one batch of 100% Scottish mainland Concerto barley, malted to 81.0 ppm. After that the two part ways. 17.1 spent its entire life in 1st fill bourbon casks. 17.2 took a more winding road through the wood.

For the first four years the spirit sat in 2nd fill French oak casks that had held Californian red wine and then bourbon. The final year was spent in 1st fill Port barriques. According to Bruichladdich, Octomore has never been matured in that exact combination before.

The casks put the fruit at the front of the queue. Red wine oak and Port bring strawberry, blackberry and blackcurrant, while the smoke turns drier and more like embers than medicine. The distillery itself describes less smoke on the nose but smoke running through the whole structure. The whisky is non-chill filtered, free of added colour, matured entirely on Islay and reduced with Islay spring water.

Tasting notes

Nose

Ripe red berries and a soft, jammy sweetness. Raspberry and blackcurrant preserve, floral hints of Turkish delight, toasted oak, clove and aniseed. The smoke is dry and recalls the embers of a wood fire more than phenols. Behind it sit barley flour, fresh linen, leather and a touch of coastal iodine, and with time coconut and ginger appear in the glass.

Palate

Supple and viscous. It coats the tongue at once with wine-poached berries and spiced fruit: strawberry, blackberry, cassis, then barley sugar and dark syrup. The peat builds slowly, peppery and earthy, while lemon zest and lime oil brighten everything. Oak tannin and a steady warmth keep it balanced.

Finish

Long and round. Raisins, toasted oak and sweet malt slide into dry, salty, maritime notes and a little char. When the fruit has faded, peat smoke and gentle spice remain.

Specifications

Name: Octomore 17.2 Islay Single Malt Whisky
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Whisky
Age: 5 years
ABV: 59.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 2nd fill French oak casks, previously red wine and bourbon, finished in 1st fill Port barriques
Peat level: 81.0 ppm
Barley: 100% Scottish mainland barley, Concerto
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Bottled: 2026
Edition: Octomore Edition 17.2

Flavour profile

Heavily peated · Berry fruit · Port-influenced · Spicy · Maritime

Did you know?

Ppm is measured on the malted barley before distillation, not on the whisky in the bottle. Still, it is a useful yardstick: according to Whisky Advocate, 17.2 carries about twice the peat of a Port Charlotte 10 and roughly four times that of a Highland Park 12.

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The smoke arrives first, and it's easy to be fooled into thinking that's all there is. Then comes vanilla, then pear drops, and last the salt of Loch Indaal, cutting straight through it. Octomore 17.1 is the reference bottle of the year, and it carries its 81 PPM with surprising calm.

Expert description

Octomore 17.1 is a 5 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky, matured for its entire life in first fill bourbon casks and bottled at 59.7%.

Bruichladdich on Islay is behind Octomore, and 17.1 is the bottle the distillery itself uses as the yardstick for Series 17. The .1 release is matured in bourbon casks every year, which lets you taste what barley and peat do when no other cask gets in the way. It came out on 1 September 2026.

The barley is Concerto, grown on the Scottish mainland and peated to 81.0 PPM. That is roughly twice as much as Bruichladdich's own Port Charlotte 10 and about four times as much as a Highland Park 12.

The casks have held bourbon once before, and they give vanilla, sweetness and a hint of coconut, which helps keep the smoke in check. Before bottling, the whisky is reduced with spring water from Islay.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla milkshake and crumbly fudge, then green apple and a breath of sea spray. Dry peat smoke and toasted oak sit underneath. Give it a few minutes in the glass and yellow cherry, iodine, lemon balm and bay leaf appear.

Palate

Warm custard and pear drops open things up. Then the smoke builds in waves, dry and earthy, with the glow of smouldering oak and ash. Roasted hazelnuts, campfire marshmallows and a cool touch of menthol turn up along the way.

Finish

Salt cuts through the sweetness and sharpens the edges. In the end, a bit of sweet peat and campfire smoke lingers.

Specifications

Name: Octomore 17.1 5 year Islay Single Malt Whisky 59.7%
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Whisky
Age: 5 years
ABV: 59.7%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks
Peated malt: 81.0 PPM
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: 17.1 in Octomore Series 17

Flavour profile

Heavily peated · Smoky · Vanilla sweet · Maritime · Citrus fresh

Investment potential

Medium. Octomore is released as an annual series in limited quantities, and the .1 bottle is the reference that collectors like to have in the row.

Did you know?

In Series 17, only 17.3 uses barley from Islay itself. It was grown in a single field, Irene's Field on Octomore Farm, two miles from the distillery, and peated to 132.1 PPM. 17.1 uses barley from the Scottish mainland instead.

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In Formula One the fastest part of the car is often the part nobody sees. A shaped floor, a millimetre of curve on a wing. Glenfiddich took that idea into the warehouses in Dufftown, split sixteen-year-old whisky across five kinds of cask and brought it all back together.

Expert description

Glenfiddich 16 year Aston Martin F1 Release No. 2 is a Speyside Single Malt Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels, port pipes, Oloroso sherry casks, wine casks and Fino sherry butts, bottled at 43%.

This is the second bottling from the partnership between Glenfiddich and the Aston Martin Formula One Team. Malt Master Brian Kinsman built it with Adrian Newey, the team's Managing Technical Partner and the designer behind some of the most successful cars the sport has seen. Kinsman's take is that real performance usually comes from what you can't see at first glance, and he set out to make a whisky that works the same way.

The backbone is whisky from 1st fill bourbon barrels, where Glenfiddich's familiar orchard fruit and soft vanilla come through, rounded off by a final spell in bourbon casks for extra sweetness. That base was then married with selected parcels that had each been fully matured or finished in one of four other cask types. Port pipes bring dark fruit and weight. Oloroso adds stewed fruit and a nutty edge. Wine casks layer in more fruit, and a small measure of Fino sherry pulls the whole thing drier so the sweetness never takes over.

Release No. 1 from 2025 used American oak only and leaned bright and dessert-like. Release No. 2 is darker and has more going on. The collaboration is planned as an annual series, and no bottle count has been published.

Glenfiddich sits in Dufftown in the middle of Speyside and is still owned by the family behind William Grant & Sons, who founded the distillery in 1887.

Tasting notes

Nose

Stewed fruit, almost compote, lifted by floral top notes. A little marzipan, then polished leather, like the seats of an old car.

Palate

Soft and silky. Buttery toffee, caramelised cane sugar and fresh apple and pear, before dry oak tannins step in and keep the sweetness honest.

Finish

Long, with oak and a sweetness that lingers.

Specifications

Name: Glenfiddich 16 year Aston Martin F1 Limited Edition Release No. 2
Distillery: Glenfiddich
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Age: 16 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrels, port pipes, Oloroso sherry casks, wine casks and Fino sherry butts
Distillation method: Double distilled in copper pot stills
Bottled: 2026
Edition: Aston Martin Formula One Team Limited Edition Release No. 2
EAN no.: 5010327345079

Flavour profile

Fruity · Toffee · Marzipan · Sherry influence · Oak

Did you know?

The very first spirit ran from Glenfiddich's stills on Christmas Day 1887. William Grant had built the distillery with his children in little more than a year.

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Eighteen years is a long time to leave a cask to its own devices. Outside the warehouse walls Islay has changed, while the casks listened to the Atlantic and kept their own counsel. Not one of them has ever left the island.

Expert's Description

Port Charlotte 18 year 2026 Edition is a heavily peated Islay Single Malt Whisky matured in bourbon, sherry, Virgin Oak and red wine casks and bottled at 52.3%.

It's made from 100% Scottish mainland barley, peated to 40 PPM, and comes as a limited release of 8,000 bottles. Everything happened on Islay: distilled, matured and bottled at Bruichladdich. This is the third year running with an 18 year old Port Charlotte, and each edition has had its own cask recipe.

The starting point was three types of cask: 40% first fill bourbon, 15% second fill sherry and 15% Virgin Oak. Part of the sherry-matured spirit was then moved into first fill red wine casks from the Rhône for five years, followed by two years in second fill bourbon, and that makes up 20% of the blend. The last 10% spent its time in refill sherry and wine casks. Everything was then married together for bottling.

Adam Hannett at Bruichladdich wanted casks that could carry full, dark flavours without flattening the distillery's elegant style. The red wine casks add dark fruit and spice around the smoke, while the bourbon keeps things bright.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Tropical fruit arrives straight away, followed by gentle wood smoke and warm spices. Underneath sit honey and soft apricot.

Palate

The sweetness is thick and toffee-like, with tropical fruit running through it. Then it turns earthier: old leather, charred oak and roasted almonds, before the peat smoke steps forward.

Finish

The peat smoke lingers, with a hint of minerality from the maturation on Islay.

Specifications

Name: Port Charlotte 18 year 2026 Edition
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Whisky
Age: 18 year
ABV: 52.3%
Size: 70 cl
Cask type: 40% 1st fill bourbon, 15% 2nd fill sherry, 15% Virgin Oak, 20% finished in 1st fill red wine casks from the Rhône (5 years) and then 2nd fill bourbon (2 years), 10% 2nd fill sherry and wine casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Number of bottles: 8,000
Edition: 2026 Edition

Flavour Profile

Heavily peated · Smoky · Tropical fruit · Toffee · Spicy

Did you know?

The red wine casks come from the Rhône. Adam Hannett picked them because wines from there have deep colour, firm tannins and the ability to age for decades.

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Walk up the track towards Ben Rinnes and you will find a distillery at the foot of the hill that has never minded borrowing timber from across the Atlantic. Billy Walker has made the cask the star of the show here, and this bottle shows it with just one barrel, picked for Denmark.

Expert's Description

GlenAllachie 12 year 2014 Single Cask Chinquapin Virgin Oak is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a Chinquapin Virgin Oak cask and bottled at cask strength, 63.6%.

This is a Single Cask bottling from cask no. 802189, and the box states in bold type that it was specially selected for Denmark. The whisky was distilled on 14 July 2014 and bottled in August 2026 after 12 years. The cask yielded just 280 bottles, so supply is limited. In the glass the colour is a deep, rich mahogany.

Chinquapin is a North American oak that grows in the Ozarks of Missouri. Billy Walker first took an interest in the wood through conversations with Andrew Russel, who runs Speyside Cooperage, and GlenAllachie has since used it in several releases. A virgin oak cask has never held another spirit or wine, so it gives far more to the spirit than a refill cask does. Here that shows up as baking spices, mocha and a dry, herbal edge of fennel, while heather honey and vanilla keep the sweeter side in balance. At GlenAllachie, picking the cask is never an afterthought. It is the whole point of the place.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Toasted aniseed, mocha and honeyed sweetness open things up, followed by orange zest, caramelised brown sugar and dried orchard fruits.

Palate

Baking spices, heather honey and mocha lead the way. Fennel, hazelnut and vanilla buttercream come through behind them.

Specifications

Name: GlenAllachie 12 year 2014 Single Cask Chinquapin Virgin Oak
Distillery: GlenAllachie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 63.6%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Chinquapin Virgin Oak cask, Single Cask no. 802189
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 14 July 2014
Bottled: August 2026
Number of bottles: 280
Edition: Single Cask selected for Denmark
EAN no.: 5060997780731

Flavour Profile

Spicy · Mocha · Honeyed · Nutty · Cask Strength

Investment Potential

Medium. A single cask of just 280 bottles, bottled specifically for the Danish market by a distillery now known for its cask experiments, makes for a bottle that will be hard to find again.

Did You Know?

GlenAllachie runs four stills and two separate spirit safes, one for each set. That is quite unusual, and it suits a distillery that has spent recent years doing things a little differently from its neighbours around Aberlour.

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Speyside usually talks in sweetness. Near Aberlour, a thread of campfire smoke has found its way into the conversation, and it hangs on behind the dark sherry fruit long after the first sip. Cask number 3916 spent eight quiet years in GlenAllachie's warehouses before it was picked out for Denmark.

Expert's Description

Meikle Tòir 8 year 2018 Single Cask Oloroso Sherry Hogshead is a peated Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in an Oloroso Sherry Hogshead and bottled at cask strength, 58.8%.

Meikle Tòir is GlenAllachie's peated brand, and the name is Gaelic for a big pursuit. The malt is peated to 44 PPM, with peat from St Fergus on the Scottish mainland, which the brand describes as rounded rather than coastal. The first Meikle Tòir Single Casks only appeared in 2025, so the series is still finding its feet. This one was distilled on 7 June 2018, spent all eight years in the same Oloroso Sherry Hogshead, cask no. 3916, and was bottled in August 2026. Just 364 bottles exist, selected specially for Denmark.

Oloroso is the dry, nutty style of sherry, and it shows. Dark chocolate, mocha and dried fruit sit alongside the smoke instead of being flattened by it. The colour is a deep chestnut, with no colouring added and no chill filtration, so what reaches the glass is close to what left the cask.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Smoked orchard fruit, think apples and pears hung a little too close to the fire. Dark chocolate and mocha follow, then orange zest, heather honey and finally campfire smoke.

Palate

Sandalwood, black cherries and campfire smoke arrive first. Ginger, dried fruit and mocha come after.

Finish

The smoke lingers with mocha, warm spice and dried fruit, and a touch of nuts at the very end.

Specifications

Name: Meikle Tòir 8 year 2018 Single Cask Oloroso Sherry Hogshead Speyside
Distillery: GlenAllachie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 58.8%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oloroso Sherry Hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 7 June 2018
Bottled: August 2026
Number of bottles: 364
Edition: Single Cask selected specially for Denmark, cask no. 3916
EAN no.: 5060997780809

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Sherry-Matured · Dark Chocolate · Spiced · Cask Strength

Did You Know?

GlenAllachie made its first peated spirit in 2018. This whisky was distilled on 7 June that year, which makes it part of the brand's earliest vintage.

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The smoke in this bottle doesn't come from Islay. It comes from peat cut at St Fergus on Scotland's north-east coast, softer and sweeter than the kind most people expect from a peated malt. Here Billy Walker's team has set it against brand new oak instead of Sherry, and that changes the conversation between smoke and cask completely.

Expert's Description

Meikle Tòir 7 year 2019 Single Cask Virgin Oak is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a virgin oak cask and bottled at cask strength, 61.9%.

It was distilled at GlenAllachie near Aberlour on 17 May 2019 and bottled in August 2026 after seven years in cask. Cask number 2716 yielded 288 bottles, and the label states that this release was selected specially for Denmark. Meikle Tòir is pronounced mee-kuhl tor and means big pursuit. It's the name for the peated side of GlenAllachie, a project Billy Walker started in 2018. The spirit is made from peated malt dried over mainland peat from St Fergus, and this one sits at 47 PPM. That's clear smoke, but nowhere near extreme.

The first single casks in the range were Sherry casks. This one starts from a different place: fresh oak that has held nothing before. Virgin oak gives up more wood and spice than a used cask, and you can read it in the label's notes of cinnamon, baking spices and sandalwood. The whisky is non-chill filtered with no added colour, so it keeps the golden mahogany shade the cask gave it.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Cinnamon, grilled honeycomb and poached orchard fruits lead the way. Baked orange, salted caramel and baking spices follow, with sandalwood and toasted hazelnuts underneath.

Palate

Roasted almonds, mocha and cinnamon buttercream open the palate. Then come toffee, poached orchard fruits and grilled honeycomb.

Specifications

Name: Meikle Tòir 7 year 2019 Single Cask Virgin Oak Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Distillery: GlenAllachie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 61.9%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Single Cask, virgin oak
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 17.05.2019
Bottled: August 2026
Number of bottles: 288
Edition: Specially selected for Denmark. Cask no. 2716
EAN no.: 5060997780793

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Spiced · Sweet · Nutty · Fruity

Did You Know?

GlenAllachie's peated production runs for only about six weeks a year and yields roughly 100,000 litres of alcohol. The rest of the year the distillery makes unpeated whisky.

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Barley and rye both grow beneath the Lomond Hills in Fife. A young distillery between Kinglassie and Glenrothes uses the two together, and what ends up in the glass tastes of pepper, toasted wood and toffee rather than anything you'd expect from Scotland.

Expert's Description

Inchdairnie RyeLaw Vintage 2018 Appalachian Wood is a Fife Single Grain Scotch Whisky made from malted rye and malted barley, matured in new charred oak casks and bottled at 46.3%.

RyeLaw is Inchdairnie's flagship. Vintage 2018 is the second release, following Vintage 2017, which made its debut in 2023. Each vintage gets its own oak origin. This one comes from the Appalachian forests of the eastern United States, which is what the Appalachian Wood variant on the label refers to. According to the distillery, the change made for a spicier and more complex whisky, with longer maturation than the first release.

The mash bill is 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley, both grown in Scotland. The label says the rye comes from a single farm and the barley is spring barley. The grain is hammer milled, mashed and fermented outdoors. Distillation is double, in pot stills, with the second run in a Lomond Hill still the distillery designed itself. Scotland has no rye whisky category, so RyeLaw is officially a Single Grain Scotch Whisky, even though rye is the main grain.

Maturation is a single stage: new charred oak casks in Fife, from 2018 until bottling in 2025. New charred oak brings vanilla, caramel and baking spice, plus a dry, tannic finish. That suits the pepper of the rye, and it's where this differs from a whisky matured in used casks. The bottling has no added colour and no chill filtration.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Wood and rye spice lead, with clear oak underneath. Vanilla custard and caramel sit on top, and with a little time orange peel and marzipan come through.

Palate

Peppery rye from the first sip, then drying oak. Behind the pepper there's ginger, clove and a layer of dark treacle.

Finish

Long and dry, with pepper and oak spice. Soft toffee notes settle in at the very end.

Specifications

Name: Inchdairnie RyeLaw Vintage 2018 Appalachian Wood Fife Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Distillery: Inchdairnie
Region/Country: Fife, Scotland
Type: Fife Single Grain Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: New charred oak casks from the Appalachian Mountains
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled in pot stills, second distillation in a Lomond Hill still
Distilled: 2018
Bottled: 2025
Edition: Vintage 2018 Appalachian Wood
EAN No.: 5060916320222

Flavour Profile

Peppery · Spiced · Oak · Toffee · Vanilla

Did You Know?

RyeLaw means hill of rye. The name comes from the Ryelaw farm close to the distillery.

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Most people picture rye in Kentucky or Pennsylvania. A young Fife distillery chose it for its very first release instead, mashed from malted rye, fermented outdoors and run through a Lomond Hill still.

Expert's Description

RyeLaw Vintage 2017 Ozark Wood is a Lowland Scottish Rye Whisky matured in new, charred oak casks from the Ozark Mountains and bottled at 46.3%.

This is the first release from InchDairnie in Fife. The label says Scottish Rye Whisky, while shops often file it as Fife Single Grain Scotch Whisky. The reason is the mash bill: 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley, all made at a single distillery. Scotland has no legal definition of rye whisky, so it lands in the single grain category even though rye is what you taste.

The grain is hammer-milled, mashed through a mash filter instead of a traditional mash tun, fermented outdoors and distilled in a Lomond Hill still. The spirit dates from 2017 and came from just one week of production. It went into new, charred oak casks made from Ozark Mountain wood in the USA. New oak brings more vanilla and a firmer wood presence than refill casks, and here it works as a soft base under the rye's peppery spice. The origin of the oak changes from year to year, and the 2018 vintage, for instance, rests in oak from the Appalachians. The whisky was bottled in 2022, non-chill filtered and without added colour, and only 200 casks went into bottle for this inaugural release.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rye spice leads, clear and upfront, with mellow oak resting on a layer of vanilla. The aroma is peppery and fragrant rather than sweet.

Palate

Pepper rolls in waves but is wrapped in a thick, oily mouthfeel. Sweet biscuit, cereal and dried fruit follow.

Finish

Sweet spice and ripe oak that linger.

Specifications

Name: RyeLaw Vintage 2017 Ozark Wood
Distillery: InchDairnie
Region/Country: Fife, Lowland, Scotland
Type: Lowland Scottish Rye Whisky
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask Type: New charred oak casks from the Ozark Mountains
Non-chill Filtered: Yes
Natural Colour: Yes
Distillation Method: Distilled in a Lomond Hill still
Distilled: 2017
Bottled: 2022
Edition: Vintage 2017, Ozark Wood
EAN: 5060916320000
No box included

Flavour Profile

Spiced · Peppery · Vanilla · Cereal · Dried fruit

Did You Know?

InchDairnie convinced the Scotch Whisky Association that rye had been used at some Scottish distilleries when Alfred Barnard toured them in 1886-87. That argument is what made it possible to call a Scottish rye whisky exactly that.

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This is not Islay, and it is not the Highlands either. At the foot of the Lomond Hills in Fife, a young distillery has fired up the peat, and the smoke settles over green Lowlands farmland like ash from a winter bonfire. The name is KinGlassie RAW. Smoke, no detours.

Expert description

KinGlassie 8 year RAW Edition is a Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46.3%.

It comes from InchDairnie, a Fife distillery founded by Ian Palmer, where the first new make ran from the stills on 21 December 2015. KinGlassie is named after the neighbouring village of Kinglassie and is the distillery's first single malt. RAW is also its first peated whisky, distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2025 as a limited edition.

The barley is grown in Fife and kilned over mainland Scottish peat to at least 50 ppm. The peated malt is only distilled for a short spell each winter, so the volume is limited right at the source.

All eight years were spent in ex-bourbon casks of American oak. No sherry, no finish. The bourbon wood brings vanilla and a little sweetness but leaves the smoke up front, where it belongs. It is non-chill filtered and carries no added colour.

RAW was released on 8 May 2025 alongside KinGlassie Double Matured, which spent five years in ex-bourbon casks followed by three years in first fill Amontillado sherry casks. They are the distillery's first ever single malt releases.

Tasting notes

Nose

Scorched heather and wet bonfire wood arrive first. Behind them sit chalk and flint, then slowly caramelised banana, lemon zest and toasted vanilla.

Palate

Ash smoke and black pepper, then smoked bacon and salted toffee that make it rounder than you expect. Green apple and ginger run alongside, and at the back you find sourdough crust, damp oak and a flash of citrus.

Finish

Dry and peppery. Spent coffee grounds and liquorice root linger.

Specifications

Name: KinGlassie 8 year RAW Edition Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery: InchDairnie
Region/Country: Fife, Scotland
Type: Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 year
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2017
Bottled: 2025
Edition: RAW Edition
EAN no.: 5060916320147

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peated · Malty sweet · Peppery · Citrus fresh

Did you know?

The distillery sits between two springs, Flowers of May and Goatmilk Hill. The hills behind it are the Lomond Hills, and InchDairnie is quick to point out that they have nothing to do with Loch Lomond.

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Once a year, when December closes in over Fife, somebody lights the peat. A few days of it, then it's over. The rest of the year Inchdairnie makes something quite different, but those days are where KinGlassie comes from.

Expert description

KinGlassie Double Matured 8 Year is a Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in ex-bourbon and Amontillado casks and bottled at 46.3%.

It is Inchdairnie's first single malt. Ian Palmer founded the distillery, and the first spirit ran from the stills in December 2015. The name has mostly been tied to RyeLaw, the rye whisky, so a heavily peated single malt was not what most people expected. The bottle reached the market on 8 May 2025 alongside its sibling, KinGlassie Raw.

The barley is grown in Fife and peated to 50+ ppm with mainland peat from St Fergus in Aberdeenshire. The distillery runs this peated make only once a year, in December, for less than a week. The spirit is double distilled and double condensed, which gives it extra copper contact and strips out sulphur notes along the way. This bottle is from 2017.

The casks come in two acts. Five years in ex-bourbon American oak first, which gives vanilla and sweetness to build on. Then three years in Amontillado casks from Montilla, which add almonds, nuts and tobacco on top. The smoke doesn't disappear, it just gets company. The whisky is non-chill filtered and of natural colour. In 2026 it won Gold at the World Whiskies Awards.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sea spray and seaweed arrive first, then lemon, peach and a little smoky orange zest. Further down sit dried tobacco leaf and walnut.

Palate

Mineral and fresh, with peppery smoke building steadily. Strawberry and vanilla, ginger biscuits with pecan and a hint of leather.

Finish

Long and dry, with ash, peat smoke and a small bitterness at the end. Stewed fruit and ginger linger.

Specifications

Name: KinGlassie Double Matured 8 Year Fife Single Malt Whisky
Distillery: Inchdairnie
Region/Country: Fife, Scotland
Type: Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-bourbon casks and Amontillado casks
Peated malt: 50+ ppm
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled and double condensed
Distilled: 2017
Bottled: 2025
Edition: Double Matured
EAN no.: 5060916320185

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peated · Sherry-matured · Nutty · Fruity · Maritime

Did you know?

KinGlassie is also the name of a small village close to the distillery in Fife. The name comes from the Irish Saint Glaisne and roughly means church by the burn.

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Laphroaig sits right at the water's edge on Islay's south coast, where the seaweed smells of iodine and peat smoke settles into your coat. They've been making whisky here since 1815, and it has never once apologised for itself. For this bottle, though, they've left the door open a crack for something softer. Sherry.

Expert's Description

Laphroaig 10 Year Old Sherry Oak Cask Finish is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks, finished in European oak Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 48%.

The starting point is the classic Laphroaig 10 Year Old. After the bourbon casks, the whisky moves into hand-picked sherry casks and rests there for twelve to eighteen months. It arrived in 2021 as a permanent addition to the Laphroaig range, and the distillery calls it "the sweet one". That's relative, because the smoke is still very much there.

The spirit is the same as ever. Peated malt, part of it still malted on the distillery's own floors, then double distilled. The sherry casks add honey and fruit on top, but they don't take over. Laphroaig picks the casks to suit the peat, not the other way round. The result is full-bodied and round, with maple syrup and bacon sitting next to pine needles and sea salt.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sweet and smoky in the same breath. Manuka honey, grilled bacon and maple syrup come first, then tar and pine needles. Further back there's dark chocolate, cedar wood and a whiff of iodine.

Palate

Round and full. Dark chocolate, honey and vanilla meet a peat fire and toasted wood, with salt spray running underneath it all. The iodine stays in the background, a reminder of where the bottle comes from.

Finish

Long, sweet and spicy. Chestnut honey lingers well after the sip, and the smoke retreats slowly with a faint medicinal edge.

Specifications

Name: Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Cask Finish
Distillery: Laphroaig
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 48%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, finished in European oak Oloroso sherry casks
Distillation method: Double distilled
Edition: Sherry Oak Cask Finish
EAN no.: 5010019000545

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Sherry-matured · Honeyed · Maritime · Spicy

Did You Know?

The box tells you how to say the name itself: La-Froyg. There's good reason, as hardly anyone gets it right on the first try. The company behind it is still called D. Johnston & Co., after the Johnston brothers who founded the distillery.

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Down the side of the box, in small slanting handwriting, it says "The powerful one". The rest of the bottle backs that up in fewer words: 58.3%, no water added, no chill filtration. Batch 017 was bottled in November 2023, and what lands in your glass is what came out of the casks, apart from a filter that catches flecks of charred wood. The smoke is blue, the seaweed is in your nose, and a thick sweetness runs underneath it all.

Expert's Description

Laphroaig 10 year Cask Strength Batch 017 is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured for ten years in charred oak casks and bottled at cask strength, 58.3%.

This is the distillery's original Cask Strength, and every batch stands on its own. Laphroaig doesn't blend one batch to match the last. The casks decide, and once they're emptied they're gone. Batch 017 went into bottle in November 2023. It's made from peated malt and nutty barley, with the peat smoke Laphroaig itself calls blue.

The only thing done to the liquid is barrier filtration straight from the cask, which takes out char particles from the burnt oak. It is non-chill filtered, and the strength has not been reduced. The charred casks add vanilla, nuts and toasted oak to the peat, while ten years on Islay bring the salt and the sea.

The distillery itself drinks it with a splash of water. The whisky goes slightly hazy, and the aroma and sweetness open up without flattening your palate.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sweet, lively and smoky with a flick of citrus. Candied apple slices, crème brûlée and sugary pastry, with iodine and peat fire behind them.

Palate

Sweet fruit first: stewed apple, vanilla cream and pears in syrup. Then salt, peat and crisp seaweed. Clove and cardamom arrive last, leaving a trace of liquorice behind.

Finish

Very long. Black pepper, old leather and a sweet, grassy smoke that slowly turns to tarry peat.

Specifications

Name: Laphroaig 10 year Cask Strength Batch 017
Distillery: Laphroaig
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 58.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Charred oak casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Bottled: November 2023
Edition: Batch 017
EAN no.: 5010019000828

Flavour Profile

Peaty · Smoky · Spicy · Maritime · Sweet

Did You Know?

Laphroaig is pronounced roughly "la-froyg", and the distillery prints that on the box itself, so nobody has to guess at the bar. It's more useful than it sounds, because the spelling trips up almost everyone.

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Glen Moray has been making whisky in Elgin since 1897. This Speyside starts out in American oak and ends its days in Spanish sherry casks, where dried fruit, nuts and warm spice move in.

Expert description

Glen Moray Sherry Cask Finish is a Speyside Single Malt Whisky matured in American oak casks, finished in Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez and bottled at 40%.

Oloroso is the dark, dry style of sherry, and that is what the casks held before. The whisky gets its main maturation in American oak, which brings the vanilla. At the end it is moved into the sherry casks, which add dried fruit, nuts and dark chocolate. The result is a Single Malt Whisky where the sweetness of the oak is still there, but the sherry sits clearly up front. There is no age statement on the bottle.

The distillery is owned by La Martiniquaise, and this is an original bottling from Glen Moray itself.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried fruit, cinnamon and toffee come first in the glass, with a soft vanilla note behind them.

Palate

Vanilla-tinged oak meets dark chocolate and nuts, and gradually warm spice unfolds across the tongue.

Finish

Long and spicy, with a faint tingle on the tongue.

Specifications

Name: Glen Moray Sherry Cask Finish
Distillery: Glen Moray
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez after maturation in American oak casks
EAN no.: 05060116321548

Flavour profile

Sherry-finished · Fruity · Spicy · Smooth

Did you know?

Glen Moray was not built as a distillery. The site in Elgin started out as a brewery, and whisky arrived in 1897.

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Port Askaig is where Islay starts for most people. The ferry from the mainland pulls into the small harbour on the east coast, and from here visitors fan out to the island's distilleries. The label says Gateway to Islay. Inside the bottle, thirteen years in a single Pedro Ximénez sherry butt, where dark, sticky sweetness has sat right up against the peat smoke.

Expert's Description

Port Askaig 13 year Juul's 100th Anniversary is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a Pedro Ximénez sherry butt and bottled at 57%.

It was bottled for Juul's Vin og Spiritus to mark the shop's 100th anniversary, 1926-2026, by Elixir Distillers. The whisky was distilled on 14 March 2013 and has matured for thirteen years. Only 337 bottles were made. It is non-chill filtered and has no added colouring.

Port Askaig is a brand, not a distillery. Elixir Distillers of London has owned it since 2009 and picks its own parcels of Islay malt to bottle under the name. They don't say which distillery is behind the whisky, and that goes for this one too. The name comes from the village of Port Askaig, the island's ferry port.

The cask does most of the work. PX stands for Pedro Ximénez, a grape that is dried in the sun and turned into a very sweet, dark sherry. A butt is a large sherry cask of around 500 litres. According to the back label, the cask builds layer on layer of dried fruit and chocolate, set against clean, salty peat smoke and lemon peel.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Peat smoke and dark chocolate come first. Then raisins, dates and treacle, a little soot and orange peel, and right at the bottom something close to leather.

Palate

Dark sherry fruit and caramel open, then the smoke takes over, heavy and dense. Figs and toffee, followed by black pepper, ginger and clove, and a touch of salt.

Finish

Long. Peat smoke, dark chocolate and dried fruit hang on, the spice arrives late, and in the end it's the salt from the coast that remains.

Specifications

Name: Port Askaig 13 year Juul's 100th Anniversary
Bottler: Elixir Distillers
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 13 year
ABV: 57%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: PX Sherry Butt
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 14.03.2013
Number of bottles: 337
Edition: Juul's 100th Anniversary
EAN no.: 5061035824332

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Sherry-matured · Dried fruit · Dark chocolate · Salty

Did You Know?

Juul's Vin og Spiritus opened on 29 October 1926 under the name S. Juul Vinhandel og Bodega. Throughout 2026 they are celebrating with special Single Casks, tastings and anniversary releases, and this bottle is part of the celebration.

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A blackcock perched on a Highland crag, peat smoke drifting low across the heather. The Famous Grouse made its name on a soft, round blend, but in Smoky Black the blender has put peat on the table. Not at full force, more like the warmth of a woodfire in a room that still has space for sweetness.

Expert description

The Famous Grouse Smoky Black is a Blended Scotch Whisky made with peated malt from Islay and Highland, bottled at 40%. It belongs to the Blender's Editions series, where the house Master Blender puts together a new selection of malt and grain whisky each time.

According to the label, Smoky Black rests on a secret blend of Islay malts and rare peated malts from Highland. The producer singles out peated Glenturret, which it describes as Scotland's oldest working distillery. The grain whisky gives the blend its soft, sweet base, and the peated malts add the smoke on top without taking over. The colour is adjusted with caramel.

Smoky Black arrived in 2015 as the successor to The Black Grouse. It has not been discontinued, and it suits anyone who wants smoke in the glass without starting with a Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Whisky.

Tasting notes

Nose

Round and aromatic, with soft smoke up front. A rich, warm sweetness sits behind it.

Palate

Dried fruit and spices, aniseed and cloves in particular, with the smoke as an even base. The body is soft, and the smoke never pushes.

Finish

Long and sweet, with the smoke lingering at the end.

Specifications

Name: The Famous Grouse Smoky Black
Bottler: Matthew Gloag & Son Limited
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 100 CL
Natural colour: No
Edition: Blender's Edition
EAN no.: 5010314302511

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peated · Soft · Dried fruit · Spiced

Did you know?

The black grouse on the label is a leftover from the name change. Before 2015 the bottle was called The Black Grouse, and when it got a new name and a new design, the bird stayed.

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Turquoise, yellow and a pineapple on the label. Underneath sits a Scottish blend that has been packed off on holiday with mango and pineapple for company. It is for people who would rather have ice cubes and sunshine than a heavy dram by the fire.

Expert description

Grant's Tropical Fiesta is a Blended Scotch Whisky Spirit Drink flavoured with natural mango and pineapple and bottled at 30%.

The base is Blended Scotch Whisky from William Grant & Sons, blended and bottled in Scotland and then infused with natural mango and pineapple flavourings. At 30% it falls below the 40% minimum for Scotch whisky, which is why the label says Spirit Drink rather than plain whisky. Think of it as a mixer's bottle, not a cousin to a Single Malt Whisky.

Tropical Fiesta is one of Grant's fruit-flavoured expressions, built for easy summer drinking. The producer's own serve is a highball: 5 cl over ice, topped up with lemonade or soda and finished with a chunk of fresh pineapple. The whisky is still in there, just standing a little further back.

Grant's has been family-owned since 1887, and the bottle still carries the family crest and the motto Stand Fast.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and slightly zesty, full of tropical fruit. Ripe mango and pineapple lead the way.

Palate

Soft and mellow. Juicy fruit arrives first, sweet pineapple and mango, with the whisky keeping quietly out of the way underneath.

Finish

The fruit lingers for a while, then a faint touch of malt closes it off.

Specifications

Name: Grant's Tropical Fiesta Blended Scotch Whisky Spirit Drink
Distillery: William Grant & Sons
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky Spirit Drink
ABV: 30%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5010327253916
Serving suggestion: 5 cl over ice in a highball glass, topped up with 15 cl lemonade or soda and garnished with a chunk of fresh pineapple

Flavour profile

Fruity · Tropical · Mango · Pineapple · Soft · Light

Did you know?

Hold the bottle up to the light and you can make out the Grant's crest and the words Stand Fast moulded into the glass itself, just below the label.

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Peel an orange on a terrace in July and the smell is out in the air before the knife is done. Grant's has tried to bottle that moment. Scotch whisky at the bottom, Sicilian oranges on top, and not much more to it than that.

Expert's Description

Grant's Summer Orange is a Spirit Drink with Blended Scotch Whisky and natural orange flavouring, bottled at 35%.

The label doesn't call it whisky, and there's a good reason. Scotch Whisky has to be at least 40% and can't have flavouring added. Summer Orange breaks both rules, so officially it's a Spirit Drink. The base is still Blended Scotch Whisky, a blend of malt and grain whisky, and you can taste it under the orange.

It reached Europe in 2022 as the first flavoured expression from Grant's. The flavour comes from natural orange flavouring and orange extract, and the label points to oranges from Sicily. It's sweet and fruity without tasting like a liqueur. The whisky still gets to be part of it.

Grant's is a family brand from William Grant & Sons, who also own Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. Summer Orange is made for mixing. Pour it over plenty of ice, top up with soda or lemonade and drop in a slice of orange. You end up with a long drink that works for people who normally steer clear of whisky.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Fresh orange peel straight away, a bit like orange sweets. Behind it sit lime and a quiet hint of malt.

Palate

Sweet and juicy. Orange takes the lead, but there's soft malt sweetness underneath and a touch of vanilla cream. A small sour edge of lemon keeps it from turning sticky.

Finish

Short to medium. Orange peel, a little oak and malt, fading out quietly.

Specifications

Name: Grant's Summer Orange
Distillery: William Grant & Sons
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Spirit Drink with Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 35%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5010327253848
Serving suggestion: Long drink with ice, soda or lemonade and a slice of orange

Flavour Profile

Orange · Sweet · Fresh · Malty · Citrus

Did You Know?

The label says 1887. That's the year William Grant built Glenfiddich with his children, and the first spirit ran from the stills the same year. It happened on Christmas Day.

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The wind on Octomore Farm comes straight off the Atlantic and finds very little to stop it. Irene's Field is the name of the barley plot, and two miles away sits the distillery that turns its harvest into some of the smokiest whisky ever poured.

Expert description

Octomore 17.3 5 year is an Islay Single Malt Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks and 2nd fill wine casks and bottled at 60.9%. It is Edition 17.3 in Bruichladdich's Octomore Series 17, and at 132.1 ppm in the malted barley it is the most heavily peated of the 2026 releases.

Everything happens on Islay. The barley is 100% Concerto from the 2019 harvest, grown in Irene's Field on Octomore Farm. It was distilled in 2020 at Bruichladdich Distillery, then matured and bottled on site, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. The back label calls it The Impossible Equation and sets out age, cask types, barley origin and variety like a sum on a blackboard. Adam Hannett's signature sits on the bottle on behalf of the distillery.

Five years in wood, no more. The bourbon casks are 1st fill and bring vanilla and coconut. The rest is 2nd fill European oak that previously held Ribera del Duero, Sauternes, Eiswein and Syrah, and those casks add sweetness, ripe fruit and dark spice on top of the smoke instead of pushing it aside.

Tasting notes

Nose

Coastal peat with salt, tar and a medicinal edge underneath. Above it sit salted caramel, smoked apple, green apple and pear, lemon zest, marzipan and vanilla cream. Give it a few minutes in the glass and beach bonfire and dried apricots appear.

Palate

Full-bodied and firm, with pepper from the first sip. Salted caramel, toasted coconut and praline arrive first. Then charred peat takes over, dry and ashy, with a mineral saltiness running right through.

Finish

Long, dry and smoky. Citrus oil and sea salt linger, and in the end only earthy peat is left, staying with you well after the last sip.

Specifications

Name: Octomore 17.3 5 year Islay Single Malt Whisky
Distillery: Bruichladdich
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Whisky
Age: 5 years
ABV: 60.9%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon and 2nd fill casks from Ribera del Duero, Sauternes, Eiswein and Syrah
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2020
Edition: 17.3
EAN no.: 5055807422031

Flavour profile

Super heavily peated · Smoky · Salty · Caramel · Fruity · Spicy

Investment potential

Medium. Octomore appears in limited annual series, and at 132.1 ppm the 17.3 is the most heavily peated in the lineup, which appeals to collectors who follow the range.

Did you know?

The 132.1 ppm figure is measured in the malted barley, not in the whisky in your glass. A good share of the phenols is lost during distilling and maturation, so what ends up in the bottle sits well below the number on the label.

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In Fife, below the Lomond Hills, the fermentation vessels sit outdoors and the weather gets a say in the spirit. That is how Inchdairnie works, and it is where this peated malt was made before Lady of the Glen sent it into a small Madeira cask to finish. Think bonfire ash on the nose and crème caramel on the tongue.

Expert's Description

Inchdairnie Finglassie 7 year Rare Cask is a Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a hogshead, finished in a refill ex-Madeira quarter cask and bottled at 60%.

Finglassie is the name independent bottlers use for Inchdairnie's peated malt spirit. This one was distilled on 5 December 2018 and bottled on 6 April 2026 from cask no. 1A, with no chill filtration and no added colouring. Only 115 bottles exist. The cask was split in two: the first half came out as the festival bottling for the 2025 Fife Whisky Festival, and this is the second half.

The whisky spent its first years in a hogshead before moving into a refill quarter cask that once held Madeira. A cask that small means a lot of wood contact, and here it lays caramel and walnut over the peat smoke.

Inchdairnie sits near Glenrothes and was founded by Ian Palmer, with the first spirit run in December 2015. The distillery has four copper pot stills from Frilli, uses local Fife barley, and ferments in stainless steel washbacks that stand outdoors without active temperature control. Lady of the Glen is Gregor Hannah's bottling company, also based in Fife, founded in 2012 and known for single cask releases. His signature is printed on the Limited Edition label of this bottle.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Bonfire ash and fresh eucalyptus leaf lead, with a floral edge and a hint of fruit behind them.

Taste

Crème caramel opens the palate, followed by walnut and ripe fruit, with the smoke running through it like a thin thread.

Finish

The smoke lingers, and caramel and walnut echo after it.

Specifications

Name: Inchdairnie Finglassie 7 year Rare Cask Madeira Quarter Cask Lowland
Distillery: Inchdairnie
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Lowland, Scotland
Type: Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 60%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead finished in refill ex-Madeira quarter cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 5 December 2018
Bottled: 6 April 2026
Number of bottles: 115
Edition: Rare Cask Limited Edition

Flavour Profile

Peated · Smoky · Fruity · Floral · Caramel · Walnut

Did you know?

Instead of a traditional mash tun, Inchdairnie uses a mash filter press with 45 membranes. Among Scotch malt distilleries, only Teaninich does the same.

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Locals around Largo Law in Fife will tell you there is gold buried in the hill, and that the sheep give it away when their wool turns yellow. A ghost guards the hoard. It promised a shepherd the secret at eight o'clock, provided no cock crowed and no horn sounded. Tammie Norrie, the cow-herd, blew his horn anyway.

Expert description

Cameronbridge 23 year The Hidden Gold of Largo Law is a Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky matured in a refill hogshead and bottled at a cask strength of 63.3%.

The spirit was distilled at Cameronbridge in Fife on 5 June 2003 and spent 23 years in cask number 800299 before bottling on 31 July 2026. Only 228 bottles were filled, with no chill filtration and no added colour.

Cameronbridge is one of Scotland's big grain distilleries. It dates back to 1824, belongs to Diageo today and runs continuous column stills. Most of the output goes into blends and neutral spirit for gin and vodka, and only a small share is set aside to become single grain whisky. A single cask bottling like this one is the exception.

A refill hogshead has been used before, so it gives up less wood than a fresh cask and leaves room for the grain's own sweetness. After 23 years that sweetness has turned toward caramel, vanilla and coconut.

Lady of the Glen is an independent bottler from Fife, founded in 2012 by Gregor Hannah. This bottle belongs to the Samhain Series, a limited run where every label illustrates a local legend from the area around the distillery. The artwork is by Edinburgh-based artist Steven Shand, and the series was released in October 2026. The label tells the rest of the story: Norrie dropped dead on the spot, and a cairn now marks Norrie's Law.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla fudge and honeycomb toffee lead, followed by coconut and baked apple. Sweet cereal and caramel sit underneath, and the nose closes on polished oak.

Palate

Rich and concentrated. Butterscotch and vanilla cream take up most of the room, then toasted coconut, orchard fruit and toffee. Spice arrives late, and the grain sweetness stays with you throughout.

Finish

Long and warm, with caramel, vanilla, sweet oak, coconut and a touch of spice.

Specifications

Name: Cameronbridge 23 year Lady of the Glen The Hidden Gold of Largo Law Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Distillery: Cameronbridge
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Lowland, Scotland
Type: Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky
Age: 23 years
ABV: 63.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill hogshead no. 800299
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Column distillation
Distilled: 5 June 2003
Bottled: 31 July 2026
Number of bottles: 228
Edition: Samhain Series The Hidden Gold of Largo Law

Flavour profile

Sweet · Vanilla · Caramel · Coconut · Spicy

Did you know?

Around 1819 a man digging sand at Norrie's Law uncovered a stone coffin holding silver scale armour, a shield and a sword handle. Some take it as a sign that the legend of the treasure has a grain of truth in it.

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The North Sea rolls in over Brora, on the Sutherland coast, and a distillery that has never tried to taste like anything but itself. Wax, honey, a little fruit. This cask was left alone for twelve years and bottled before anyone had the chance to tinker with it.

Expert's Description

Clynelish 12 Year Rare Cask is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a hogshead and bottled at 54.5%.

It was distilled at Clynelish on 9 September 2013 and bottled by Lady of the Glen on 11 March 2026, which makes it twelve years in one and the same cask, no. 231584. This is a Single Cask release with just 295 bottles filled. It is a Limited Edition, and the label carries the signature of Gregor Hannah, the man behind Lady of the Glen.

Clynelish was built in 1967 at Brora and has been known ever since for one of the waxiest styles in Scotland. That thick, almost candle-like richness is what people go looking for. A hogshead is a quiet partner for it. It adds warmth, banana and vanilla but leaves the spirit in front. The whisky is non-chill filtered and has no added colouring, so what you taste is the cask and the distillate, not a filter.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Heather honey and orange blossom come first, then the soft, slightly oily wax that is Clynelish's signature. Fruit sits just underneath, with a thread of smoke far in the back.

Palate

Dried banana and vanilla from the cask, fruity sweetness and wax that settles on the tongue. At 54.5% it has some bite.

Finish

Long and waxy. The honey lingers, with a faint echo of smoke.

Specifications

Name: Clynelish 12 year 2013 Rare Cask Highland
Distillery: Clynelish
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 54.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 9 September 2013
Bottled: 11 March 2026
Number of bottles: 295
Edition: Rare Cask Limited Edition

Flavour Profile

Waxy · Fruity · Honeyed · Floral · Banana

Did you know?

Clynelish stands right next to the old Brora distillery. When the new plant opened in the late 1960s, the old one was renamed Brora and closed in 1983. It only reopened in 2021, so the two still sit as neighbours on the same stretch of coast.

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Locals on Islay say Loch Indaal turns red at sunset. Some blame the light. Others remember Kranna Dubh, the sea-dragon that Fionn mac Cumhaill woke with a thrown stone and sent back to the deep with an enchanted sword. Here the legend is bottled, nine years after the spirit first went into the cask.

Expert's Description

Bowmore 9 Year Fionn Slays The Kranna Dubh is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a 1st fill bourbon cask and bottled at cask strength, 57%.

The spirit was distilled at Bowmore, the oldest working distillery on Islay, on 28 March 2017. Lady of the Glen bottled it on 29 July 2026, after nine years in one and the same cask, number 56. Only 268 bottles exist. The sea-dragon on the label is no coincidence either, since it has long featured on Bowmore's own bottles.

This release belongs to the Samhain Series, where Lady of the Glen pairs single casks with Scottish folklore. The series takes its name from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marks the turn from harvest to winter. This year it runs to seven releases, and this is the only one from Bowmore. The story on the label follows Fionn and his two hounds, Bran and Seeolang, across Islay. To amuse them he hurls a huge standing stone into Loch Indaal, and the splash wakes a dragon that has slept beneath the dark sands for a thousand years.

A 1st fill bourbon cask gives a lot to a nine-year-old spirit. Here it shows up as milk chocolate and toffee, while sea salt and lemon make sure you never forget which island this comes from. Like every Lady of the Glen release, it is non-chill filtered and keeps its natural colour.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sweet and soft to begin with, then sea salt, lemon and a hint of sea spray. The sweetness stays in the background throughout.

Palate

Milk chocolate and toffee meet tobacco and a whisper of lightly smoked ham. Lemon peel and gingerbread build after a few seconds.

Finish

Long, with dark chocolate cherries and buttered malt loaf.

Specifications

Name: Bowmore 9 Year Fionn Slays The Kranna Dubh
Distillery: Bowmore
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 9 years
ABV: 57%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 28 March 2017
Bottled: 29 July 2026
Number of bottles: 268
Edition: Samhain Series

Flavour Profile

Sweet · Maritime · Lightly smoked · Citrus · Chocolate

Did you know?

Lady of the Glen takes its name from the Green Lady said to haunt Stirling Castle. The Fife-based bottler was started in 2012 by Gregor Hannah.

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A tiny black elf trails a knight through a battle on Islay. He offered his help, got laughed at, and went over to the other side instead. The story is printed on the label, and in the bottle sits seven-year-old Laphroaig, peated and powerful, exactly as it left the cask.

Expert's Description

Laphroaig 7 year The Eighth Part Measure of a Carle is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a refill barrel and bottled at cask strength, 58.6%.

It belongs to the Samhain Series from Lady of the Glen, a run of Single Cask releases where every whisky carries a Scottish myth or legend on its label. The bottler is Hannah Whisky Merchants of Fife, founded in 2012 by Gregor Hannah. The title is the elf's nickname in the story: a very small, brownie-like creature known as the Eighth Part Measure of a Carle.

The spirit comes from Laphroaig, where peated malt and double distillation deliver the smoke, seaweed and medicinal edge the distillery is known for. It went into cask no. 66 on 29 November 2018 and was bottled on 29 July 2026, seven years and eight months later. A refill barrel has held whisky before, so it adds less vanilla and wood sweetness than a 1st fill cask and leaves the spirit in charge.

Only 137 bottles were filled from the cask. The whisky was bottled without dilution.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Tar and creosote first. Vanilla, coconut and green apple follow from the cask.

Palate

Ripe peach, blackcurrant and candied lemon sit on top. Underneath runs Laphroaig's own smoke, in the form of salted liquorice.

Finish

Long and dry. Cloves, ginger and nutmeg, wrapped in something close to cigar leaf.

Specifications

Name: Laphroaig 7 year The Eighth Part Measure of a Carle
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Hannah Whisky Merchants
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 58.6%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Single Cask, refill barrel no. 66
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled
Bottled: 29 July 2026
Number of bottles: 137
Edition: Samhain Series, The Eighth Part Measure of a Carle

Flavour Profile

Smoky · Tarry · Fruity · Spicy · Liquorice

Did You Know?

The labels in the Samhain Series are drawn by Edinburgh-based designer Steven Shand. The series is named after Samhain, the Celtic festival marking the turn from harvest to winter, and the forerunner of modern Halloween.

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There is a corner of south-east Islay that locals call the Enchanted Cape, and Trudernish sits on it. Ardbeg took the name for its first permanent 15 year old, a whisky where the smoke has settled down and something creamy has moved in underneath.

Expert description

Ardbeg Trudernish 15 year is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks, new charred oak casks and Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 48.8%.

It is the first 15 year old in Ardbeg's core range, released in September 2026 alongside a fresh look for the whole line-up. The spirit spent fifteen years in a mix of three cask types. According to Ardbeg, the casks bring the rich vanilla, while the years bring the mellow creaminess. At 48.8% it is bottled stronger than the 46% used for several of the distillery's other core releases.

Ardbeg is known for heavily peated whisky, and that is still the backbone here. The peat has just been rounded off, so it sits next to the vanilla instead of shouting over it.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla cream and fudge come first, followed by woodsmoke and earthy peat. Think vanilla ice cream with fudge sauce, next to a fire that is dying down. A few dried herbs drift in at the edges.

Palate

Creamy and full, with a silky texture. Peat and gentle smoke are tucked into the vanilla, along with pine needles and damp forest floor. Dark liquorice, chocolate lime and mint follow, then orchard fruit and nuts in milk chocolate.

Finish

Long and soft. It glows with peat embers, vanilla pod and toasted nuts, and the very last note is smoke.

Specifications

Name: Ardbeg Trudernish 15 year Islay Single Malt Whisky
Distillery: Ardbeg
Region/Country: Islay, Scotland
Type: Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 15 year
ABV: 48.8%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, new charred oak casks and Oloroso sherry casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Ardbeg's core range
EAN no.: 5063547001461

Flavour profile

Smoky · Peated · Creamy · Vanilla · Nutty

Did you know?

The Trudernish well is famously hard to find, hidden in a thick copse of trees. According to Ardbeg, anyone who takes a pebble home from the beach at Trudernish will one day return to Islay.

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A decanter with a hole in the middle and whisky all the way round. Macallan has drawn time as a circle with no start and no end, and in this chapter it is Jerez de la Frontera holding the pen. The casks come from the sherry town. The whisky, twenty years in the waiting, comes from the Macallan Estate.

Expert's Description

Macallan TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask 20 year is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in sherry-seasoned oak casks and bottled at 44.8%.

This is the third chapter in the TIME : SPACE Collection, following the two releases that marked Macallan's 200th anniversary, TIME : SPACE and TIME : SPACE Mastery. This time the cask is the main character.

The whisky began life on the Macallan Estate in a selection of predominantly European oak casks that had held sherry, hand-picked by Macallan's Whisky Mastery Team. After all those years it was married in a selection of the very first 200 casks seasoned in Macallan's own Valdespino bodega in Jerez de la Frontera. The casks were built in Macallan's own cooperages in Jerez and shipped to Scotland, where they were filled in 2024, the anniversary year. Most are still quietly maturing whisky for future releases. Only a small handful were allowed to give this twenty-year-old a second chapter of sherry influence.

That makes it the first Macallan influenced by casks seasoned with Valdespino sherry since Macallan took over Valdespino. It is also the first time Valdespino sherry has been used to season oak casks for Macallan. Kirsteen Campbell, Master Whisky Maker, stands behind the release, and the colour is entirely natural, taken from the wood alone.

The bottle is the collection's familiar circular decanter. The box takes its shape from the palomino grapes grown in Valdespino's vineyards, and its warm golden hue is meant to recall the Andalusian sun.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sherry-soaked raisins, figs and medjool dates, with sweet frangipane, cinder toffee and caramelised nuts. Dark chocolate truffles, cinnamon, star anise and ginger lay a foundation under it all.

Palate

Rich and layered. Sultanas, dates and apricots meet sticky ginger cake, treacle toffee, bramble jam and chocolate-coated cherries. Cloves and cinnamon sticks build warmth, before cocoa nibs and polished oak take over.

Finish

Warming wood spices, a hint of espresso and waves of gentle oak.

Specifications

Name: Macallan TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask 20 year
Distillery: Macallan
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 year
ABV: 44.8%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Predominantly European sherry-seasoned oak casks, married in the first casks seasoned with Valdespino sherry
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: TIME : SPACE Collection, chapter three

Flavour Profile

Sherry-matured · Dried fruit · Spicy · Chocolate · Full-bodied

Investment Potential

High. Macallan is one of the most traded names at auction, and this is a collection release in a distinctive circular design that is also the first whisky influenced by Valdespino casks. Collectors remember a first like that.

Did you know?

For the launch, Macallan released the documentary Mastery Beyond Reason, narrated by photographer Steve McCurry. Sommelier Josep Roca features in it, and the film follows the oak from the forests of the USA and Northern Spain through Macallan's own sawmills and cooperages to the bodega in Jerez.

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Somewhere in a warehouse in Ballindalloch, cask 664 spent more than fifteen years doing nothing at all. The sherry had been emptied out long before the spirit went in, but the wood still remembered it. When the cask was finally drained in November 2024, there was enough for 237 bottles, and every one of them went to Denmark.

The Expert's Description

Glenfarclas 2008 Single Cask #664 is a Speyside Single Malt Whisky matured in a 1st fill sherry cask and bottled at a natural cask strength of 59.9%.

Nothing else went into it. No other casks were vatted in, and nobody adjusted it to match a house style. The cask was filled in 2008 and bottled on 7 November 2024 as a Special Release made specifically for the Danish market. It gave 237 bottles. Once they are gone, that is the end of it.

A 1st fill cask is one that held sherry and is being used for Scotch whisky for the first time. That makes it the most active cask there is, and after more than 15 years it has pushed a lot of colour, sweetness and dried fruit into the spirit. You see it in the glass before you taste it. The distillery does not say which style of sherry the cask held.

The bottle comes from J. & G. Grant. The Grant family bought Glenfarclas in 1865 and still owns it, which is getting rare in Scotland. Water comes from springs on Ben Rinnes, and the spirit is double distilled in copper stills heated by gas flames right under the base. That gives a heavy, oily new make that can handle a long stay in an active sherry cask without being buried by the wood. It is non-chill filtered, so whatever the cask gave it is still in the bottle.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Raisins and figs up front, with caramel and candied orange peel close behind. Give it a few minutes and roasted nuts start to come through, along with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Palate

Big and full, as you would expect at close to 60%. Prunes and dark chocolate, a shot of espresso, burnt sugar, with spiced oak running underneath.

Finish

Long and warming. Cocoa and dried fruit hang on with the spice, and right at the end a fresh streak of orange peel lifts the whole thing.

Specifications

Name: Glenfarclas 2008 Single Cask #664
Distillery: Glenfarclas
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 59.9%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill sherry cask, cask no. 664
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Distillation method: Double distilled in direct-fired copper stills
Distilled: 2008
Bottled: 7 November 2024
Number of bottles: 237
Edition: Special Release, Specially Bottled for Denmark

Flavour Profile

Sherry-matured · Cask strength · Dried fruit · Dark chocolate · Spicy

Investment Potential

Medium to high. One cask, 237 bottles and a release for a single country. Glenfarclas single casks have a loyal following among collectors, and a bottling that will never be repeated rarely gets easier to find as the years go by.

Did You Know?

In 2007 Glenfarclas launched The Family Casks, a run of 43 single cask bottlings with one cask from every single year between 1952 and 1994. The range has since grown with younger vintages, while the 1952 and 1953 stock ran out long ago. Cask 664 is not part of that series, but it comes from the same habit of letting one cask speak for itself.

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Royal Brackla has been distilling near Nairn, on the edge of the Highlands, since 1812. One old sherry cask started to seep, and that is how a small bottling made only for Denmark came about.

Expert's description

Royal Brackla 2014 Little Brown Dog 12 year is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a refill sherry butt and bottled at 53.7%.

The spirit was distilled at Royal Brackla in 2014 and spent 12 years in a refill sherry butt, meaning a sherry cask that has been used before. In the end the butt began to leak. In March 2026 the whisky was moved into two casks, and LG Whisky bought one of them. LG Whisky was also there when Little Brown Dog bottled it on 27 July 2026. The result is 276 bottles, all of them for Denmark.

The cask was picked as a fruity spice bomb with an old-school sherry influence, balanced tannins and a very good integration between whisky and sherry.

Royal Brackla was the first distillery allowed to carry "Royal" in its name, and most of what it makes disappears into blends. That is why it is rare to meet it as a single malt from one cask.

Tasting notes

Nose

The colour is close to maple syrup. The nose opens with something like a pencil case, then moves on to sweet aged balsamic and cherry lips.

Palate

Jamaican ginger cake, Medjool dates and pipe tobacco. Sweet and spicy at the same time.

Finish

Cardamom cookies and glazed ginger.

Specifications

Name: Royal Brackla 2014 Little Brown Dog 12 year Refill Sherry Butt Single Highland Malt Whisky 53.7%
Distillery: Royal Brackla
Bottler: Little Brown Dog
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 year
ABV: 53.7%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2014
Bottled: 27 July 2026
Number of bottles: 276
Edition: Exclusive to Denmark, selected by LG Whisky

Flavour profile

Sherry-matured · Fruity · Spicy · Lightly sweet

Did you know?

Little Brown Dog began as a label on sample bottles. Andrew Smith shared his first bottling samples with friends under that name, borrowed from his own dog, who came along to tastings and distillery visits.

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