Scotland's national poet has lent his name to several whiskies over the years, but few carry as close a connection to whisky history as this Arran edition.

A tribute to Robert Burns in single malt form, from the distillery closest to his homeland.

Expert Description

Arran Robert Burns is a Single Islands Malt Whisky from the Lochranza distillery, bottled at 43%.

The bottle is named after Robert Burns, Scotland's most famous poet, and is meant as an accessible tribute to his legacy. The whisky shows Arran's bright, fruity house style without a specific age statement or cask number.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Light fruitiness with a trace of vanilla.

Palate

Soft and approachable with Arran's signature citrus tone.

Finish

Short to medium with a mild sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Arran Robert Burns
Distillery: Arran
Region/Country: Isle of Arran, Scotland
Type: Single Islands Malt Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5060044482397
Serving suggestion: In a Glencairn glass at room temperature

Flavour Profile

Fruity · Soft · Citrus-forward · Light

Did You Know?

Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire, just a short sail from Arran — making the distillery's tribute to the poet more than just a name on the label.

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From one of France's finest Sauternes producers come the casks that gave this Arran its signature sweetness — a whisky that flirts with the dessert table.

Another angle on Arran's popular series finished in used wine casks.

Expert Description

Arran Sauternes Cask Finish is a Single Islands Malt Whisky finished in Sauternes wine casks and bottled at 50%.

The casks are sourced from one of the French region's finest producers and bring a sweetness to the whisky rarely found in Scotch. The sweetness from the noble sweet white wine layers over Arran's own citrus character, creating a dessert-friendly profile.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rich sweetness from the Sauternes casks with a trace of honey.

Palate

Sweet with notes of vanilla, caramel and Arran's well-known citrus note.

Finish

Medium length and soft with lingering sweetness.

Specifications

Name: Arran Sauternes Cask Finish
Distillery: Arran
Region/Country: Isle of Arran, Scotland
Type: Single Islands Malt Whisky
ABV: 50%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in Sauternes wine casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5060044481949
Serving suggestion: With sweet desserts, or strong cheese where the sweetness brings balance

Flavour Profile

Sweet · Wine-toned · Citrus-forward · Smooth

Did You Know?

Sauternes is a sweet white wine from the Bordeaux region, made from grapes affected by noble rot — a fungus that concentrates the grapes' sweetness before they become wine.

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The name refers to the Spanish bodega where the sherry casks live before they travel to Arran and are filled with new whisky.

Seven years in a 250-litre sherry hogshead gives this release a surprising depth for its age.

Expert Description

Arran The Bodega Sherry Cask is a Single Islands Malt Whisky matured in a 250-litre sherry hogshead for a minimum of 7 years, bottled at 55.8%.

The cask size gives more contact between whisky and wood than a standard cask, speeding up maturation and explaining why a relatively young whisky like this one still achieves a clear sherry character. The whisky is bottled non-chill filtered and with natural colour.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Clear sherry character with dried fruit and a light nutty tone.

Palate

Rich and spiced, carried by the sherry cask's power.

Finish

Medium length and warming.

Specifications

Name: Arran The Bodega Sherry Cask
Distillery: Arran
Region/Country: Isle of Arran, Scotland
Type: Single Islands Malt Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 55.8%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 250-litre sherry hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5060044483776
Serving suggestion: With a few drops of spring water

Flavour Profile

Sherry-matured · Spiced · Nutty · Full-bodied

Did You Know?

A 250-litre hogshead is smaller than a standard butt but larger than a Quarter Cask — that medium size is part of why this 7-year-old reaches a depth normally associated with older whisky.

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Compass Box has spent years fighting for the right to say what is in their bottles. It sounds like a technicality, but it is the heart of the house: if you believe a blend can be art, you have to be willing to show the recipe.

The Expert's Description

Artist Blend is a Blended Scotch Whisky from Compass Box, bottled at 43% and neither chill filtered nor coloured. It embodies the house mission of getting people to rediscover the pleasures of a well proportioned and artful blend.

Compass Box was founded in 2000 by John Glaser and works from a blending room in Richmond in London. The house owns no distillery but buys whisky from across Scotland and puts it together by flavour rather than by geography. That is a different method from the one the large blending houses use.

The nose and palate are full, round and generous, with toasted oak, vanilla and spice in both. The whisky is bottled without chill filtration, which is unusual for a blend in this bracket.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Toasted oak and vanilla first, with a round cereal sweetness underneath. There is spice in it, cinnamon and a little nutmeg, and a clear malty weight that is more than you expect from a blend.

Palate

Full and generous. Vanilla and toasted oak open, then the spices arrive along with a soft fruit sweetness. At 43% the body is good, and the absence of chill filtration is felt in the mouthfeel.

Finish

Pleasantly spiced and tingling, with a fine fading sweetness and a wisp of smoke at the close.

Specifications

Name: Artist Blend Compass Box Blended Scotch Whisky 43%
Bottler: Compass Box
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Artist Blend
EAN no.: 5060632880505

Flavour Profile

Spiced · Vanilla · Oaky · Malty · Soft · Lightly Smoky

Did You Know?

Compass Box fell foul of the Scotch whisky authorities in 2015 for stating the age of the individual components in their blends. The rules say that if you mention an age it must be that of the youngest whisky in the bottle, so disclosing the full recipe was technically against them. The house has campaigned for the rules to change ever since.

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Every single drop from Auchentoshan is distilled three times. Not some of it, not in special series, all of it. No other Scottish distillery does this consistently, and it is the whole reason the whisky is as bright as it is.

The Expert's Description

Auchentoshan 12 Years Old Double Cask is a Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon and sherry casks and bottled at 40%. It combines the distillery’s characteristic triple distillation with maturation in two cask types.

The third distillation removes the heavier, oily compounds and collects only the lightest and purest part of the spirit. The result is a soft, bright and fruity malt with less body than a double distilled whisky, but with far more clarity in the fruit.

The Double Cask maturation adds depth and warmth without the whisky losing the light, silky style Auchentoshan is known for. The distillery sits at Dalmuir just outside Glasgow and was founded in 1823.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Vanilla and bright citrus first, with toasted nuts and a light honeyed sweetness behind. There is a fine clean malty floor, and the sherry casks give a suggestion of dried fruit without taking up room.

Palate

Soft and silky. Vanilla sweetness and citrus open, then nuts and a touch of spiced oak from the sherry portion. At 40% it drinks easily, and the triple distillation is clearly felt in the light texture.

Finish

Medium length. Vanilla, malt and a light nutty dryness that lets go cleanly without bitterness.

Specifications

Name: Auchentoshan 12 Years Old Double Cask Single Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky 40%
Distillery: Auchentoshan
Region/Country: Lowland, Scotland
Type: Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks and sherry casks
Distillation method: Triple distilled
Edition: Double Cask
EAN no.: 5010496001769

Flavour Profile

Soft · Fruity · Vanilla · Nutty · Light · Spiced

Did You Know?

Auchentoshan sits at Dalmuir on the Clyde, practically within the suburbs of Glasgow. The distillery was bombed during the Second World War when German aircraft targeted the shipyards along the river, and one of the warehouses burned. The story goes that the whisky ran down into a pond on the grounds. That pond is still there.

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For decades this whisky went by a completely different name. Auchroisk was considered impossible to pronounce outside Scotland, so Diageo called it The Singleton instead. Only in 2001 was the distillery allowed to use its own name again, and it happened on this very bottle.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 10 Years Old Flora & Fauna is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at 43%. It belongs to the Flora & Fauna range, which United Distillers, today Diageo, launched in 1992 with 26 different single malts to show the differences between Scotland’s whisky regions.

Auchroisk was built in 1974 by Justerini & Brooks with one purpose: to supply malt for the J&B blend. The first single malt appeared in 1978, and from 1986 it was sold as The Singleton, because the name Auchroisk was judged too difficult for consumers outside Scotland. The name returned in 2001 with this very Flora & Fauna release.

Most bottles in the series are released at 43%, a few at cask strength, and some editions came in wooden boxes. For a number of Diageo distilleries that otherwise supply blends only, the series is the sole route to an official bottling.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Citrus-driven and fresh, with good weight. There is orange peel and a dry spiced note, and liquorice, tobacco and white pepper sit behind.

Palate

Fairly dry and spiced. Citrus opens, then salted caramel, nuts and pepper arrive. A little smoke mingles in the background. At 43% there is good body without weight.

Finish

Medium and dry. Orange peel, pepper and a lightly nutty close that lets go cleanly.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 10 Years Old Flora & Fauna Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 43%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Diageo
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Flora & Fauna
EAN no.: 5000281016085

Flavour Profile

Citrus · Spiced · Dry · Nutty · Salted Caramel · Lightly Smoky

Did You Know?

The name Auchroisk is pronounced roughly orth-rusk. It was precisely that pronunciation which led the owners to rename the whisky The Singleton in 1986, on the view that consumers outside Scotland would not dare ask for it in a bar. Fifteen years later they went back to the original name, and it has been on the label ever since.

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The Discovery range is built like a textbook. Three profiles, bourbon, sherry and smoke, and the rest of the label keeps quiet. You have to work out for yourself what a bourbon cask does to a Speyside, and that is the whole point.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 10 Years Old Gordon & MacPhail Discovery is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill and refill bourbon casks and bottled at 43%. It belongs to the bourbon category in the Discovery range, which highlights three fundamental whisky profiles.

Gordon & MacPhail is among Scotland’s oldest and most respected independent bottlers, and the Discovery range is the house’s entry point for anyone wanting to understand what the cask does. By using bourbon wood only, Auchroisk’s bright citrus-driven spirit is allowed to stand out clearly without sherry or smoke clouding the picture.

Auchroisk was built in 1974 by Justerini & Brooks to supply malt for the J&B blend. The result here is a fresh, fruity whisky that works equally well for beginners and for experienced drinkers wanting to meet Speyside in its purest bourbon matured form.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Vanilla first, followed by apple, lemon blossom and ripe bananas. A light pastry note runs beneath it all, along with a clean, fresh cereal character the bourbon casks have brought out rather than covered.

Palate

Lively notes of orange peel and black pepper open, then tropical fruit and a soft vanilla sweetness arrive. At 43% the body is good, and the whisky stays fresh all the way without turning thin.

Finish

Medium and rounded with oak and spice, where the citrus note lingers longest.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 10 Years Old Gordon & MacPhail Discovery Single Malt Scotch Whisky 43%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill bourbon casks
Edition: Discovery Bourbon Cask Matured
EAN no.: 5020613094871

Flavour Profile

Fruity · Vanilla · Citrus · Tropical · Fresh · Spiced

Did You Know?

Gordon & MacPhail has been bottling whisky since 1895 and has spent decades holding casks from distilleries long since closed. The house is known for filling its own casks at the distilleries rather than buying finished whisky, which gives control over the wood from day one. That is why their oldest bottlings are so sought after.

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Sixteen years in a single bourbon hogshead is a long, quiet exercise. Nothing dramatic happens along the way. The cask works slowly, and the result is a whisky where time has been spent rather than technique applied.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 16 Years Old Deerstalker Limited Release is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead and bottled at 48%. Cask 16377 gave 318 bottles in Deerstalker’s range of single cask releases.

A hogshead holds around 250 litres and therefore sits between a bourbon barrel and a sherry butt. The wood contact per litre is great enough to give clear cask character over sixteen years, but not so great that the whisky turns overly woody.

Auchroisk was built in 1974 to supply malt for the J&B blend, and official bottlings exist essentially only in Diageo’s Flora & Fauna range. Single casks like this one are therefore the main route to meeting the distillery at a higher strength.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Creamy and sweet, with vanilla and ripe pear first. Toasted nuts and a lightly spiced oak note sit behind, along with a fine honeyed sweetness that sixteen years have drawn out.

Palate

Creamy sweetness from the first sip, followed by a lightly oily, spiced flavour. There is vanilla, apple and a dry nutty note, and at 48% the body is good without the whisky turning heavy.

Finish

Long and spiced. Oak, honey and a dry close where the nuts linger longest.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 16 Years Old Deerstalker Limited Release Single Speyside Malt Whisky 48%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Deerstalker
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 16 years
ABV: 48%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-bourbon hogshead, cask no. 16377
Number of bottles: 318
Edition: Deerstalker Limited Release
EAN no.: 5030748100156

Flavour Profile

Creamy · Spiced · Vanilla · Nutty · Fruity · Honeyed

Did You Know?

A deerstalker is both a form of hunting in the Scottish Highlands and the name of the distinctive hat with peaks front and back that Sherlock Holmes made famous. The hat is never mentioned in Conan Doyle’s text; it came from the illustrator Sidney Paget, who drew Holmes in his own image of an English countryman.

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The cask was filled in 1996 and touched again in 2022. In between, the whisky world went from forgotten to overheated, and Auchroisk got its own name back. The cask simply lay there waiting.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 1996/2022 Signatory 25 Years Old is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured for 25 years in sherry cask no. 2 and bottled at 48.5%. The cask gave 684 bottles, and the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Twenty-five years in a sherry cask is a long time, and the strength of 48.5% tells its own story: a fair amount has evaporated along the way, and what remains is concentrated. Signatory bottles at cask strength without adjustment, so the figure on the label is what the cask gave.

Auchroisk was built in 1974 to supply malt for the J&B blend, and the distillery’s bright, citrus-driven style takes on an entirely different expression here. The sherry has had a quarter of a century to lay dark fruit and spice over the top.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Dark and deep. Raisins, fig and orange marmalade first, then walnut, dark chocolate and a dry old oak note. A fine leathery note sits at the bottom.

Palate

Full and concentrated. Dried fruit and sherry sweetness open, then nuts, cinnamon and a dry spiced oak arrive. At 48.5% there is good weight without sharpness, and twenty-five years of maturation shows in the texture, which is thick and oily.

Finish

Long and dry. Dark fruit, nuts and spiced oak that let go slowly and leave a lightly bitter chocolate note.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 1996/2022 Signatory 25 Years Old Sherry Cask no. 2 Single Speyside Malt Whisky 48.5%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 48.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry cask no. 2
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1996
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 684
Edition: Signatory Cask Strength Collection

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Dark Fruit · Nutty · Spiced · Full-bodied · Leather

Investment Potential

{'en': None}

Did You Know?

Signatory Vintage was founded in 1988 by brothers Andrew and Brian Symington in Edinburgh and later moved to Pitlochry, where they bought the Edradour distillery in 2002. The house is known for bottling without chill filtration and without colouring, and for printing cask number and bottle count on the label, so you can see exactly how little exists.

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Bordeaux casks are not common in whisky. They give something entirely different from sherry, more berry, more acidity and a dry tannic edge that a Speyside rarely comes near.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 2007/2021 Mossburn 14 Years Old is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured for fourteen years in a Bordeaux cask and bottled at 46%. It is number 25 in Mossburn’s Vintage Casks range and is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Red wine casks from Bordeaux have been used by several bottlers in recent years, because they add red berries and a dry tannic structure instead of sherry’s dried fruit. The effect requires a spirit with the right lightness, as the tannins can quickly take over.

Auchroisk’s bright, citrus-driven style suits that exercise well. The distillery was built in 1974 to supply malt for the J&B blend, and official bottlings are rare, so independent casks like this one are the usual way in.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Red berries first, with cherry and raspberry clearly to the fore. Vanilla and apple from the spirit sit beneath, and there is a dry, lightly tart note from the wine cask.

Palate

Fruity and dry at once. Red berries and a little marzipan open, then citrus, white pepper and a dry tannic edge arrive. At 46% the body is good, and the whisky holds its freshness all the way.

Finish

Medium and dry. Berries, oak and a lightly bitter close from the tannins.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 2007/2021 Mossburn 14 Years Old Vintage Cask no. 25 Single Speyside Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Mossburn Distillers
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 14 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bordeaux cask, cask no. 10.0407.30
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2007
Bottled: 2021
Edition: Mossburn Vintage Casks No. 25
EAN no.: 5060033847329

Flavour Profile

Red Berries · Dry · Fruity · Wine Cask · Fresh · Tannic

Did You Know?

Mossburn Distillers sits under the Swedish Molson family’s investment company and has bottled whisky from other distilleries since 2015 while building its own at Torabhaig on the Isle of Skye. The Vintage Casks range is the house’s numbered series of single casks, where every bottle carries its own number in the sequence.

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Rum and Speyside are not an obvious pairing. The rum pulls the whisky towards molasses and baked banana, and that suits a spirit which already brings the fruit.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 2009/2019 Hepburns Choice 10 Years Old is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky finished in a rum cask and bottled at 46%. The cask gave 182 bottles, and the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

A rum cask finish typically lasts from a few months to a couple of years. The rum’s sugarcane character lays molasses, brown sugar and baked fruit over the whisky’s own profile, without removing the underlying malt character.

Hepburns Choice is Hunter Laing’s range of single casks from younger whisky, often with a finish. Auchroisk was built in 1974 to supply malt for the J&B blend, and the distillery’s bright, citrus-driven style gives the rum cask something to work with.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sweetness first, with molasses and brown sugar clearly to the fore. Vanilla, banana and a light citrus note from the spirit sit beneath.

Palate

Sweet and full. Molasses and baked banana open, then vanilla, a lightly spiced oak note and a dry close to the sweetness arrive. At 46% the body is good, and the whisky holds its balance.

Finish

Medium and sweet. Molasses, vanilla and a dry, lightly spiced close.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 2009/2019 Hepburns Choice 10 Years Old Rum Finish Single Speyside Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Hunter Laing
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in a rum cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2009
Bottled: 2019
Number of bottles: 182
Edition: Hepburns Choice

Flavour Profile

Rum Finish · Sweet · Molasses · Banana · Vanilla · Fruity

Did You Know?

Hunter Laing was separated from Douglas Laing in 2013, when brothers Fred and Stewart Laing divided the firm between them after decades as partners. Fred took the cask stock and the independent bottlings with him, and in 2019 the family opened their own distillery, Ardnahoe, on Islay’s north-east coast.

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509 bottles from two hogsheads. The figure is printed on the label, and there is a reason for that. When you can count the bottles, you can also see that no more are coming.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk 2009/2022 Signatory 12 Years Old is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured for twelve years in two hogsheads and bottled at 43%. The release gave 509 bottles and is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Cask numbers 804051 and 804052 are printed on the label along with the distillation and bottling dates. That is Signatory’s standard and one of the reasons the house has become a reference point for independent bottlings.

Auchroisk sits in Speyside and was built in 1974 by Justerini & Brooks to supply malt for the J&B blend. The style is bright, citrus-driven and lightly spiced, and twelve years in refill hogsheads lets that character stand clearly.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Fresh and clean. Citrus and green apple first, then vanilla, honey and a lightly cereal note from the spirit.

Palate

Soft and fruity. Apple and pear open, then citrus, vanilla and a lightly peppered oak note arrive. At 43% the body is good, and the absence of chill filtration gives a fuller mouthfeel than the figure suggests.

Finish

Medium and clean. Citrus, vanilla and a dry, lightly spiced close.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk 2009/2022 Signatory 12 Years Old Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 43%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Two hogsheads, cask nos. 804051 and 804052
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2009
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 509
Edition: Signatory The Un-Chillfiltered Collection
EAN no.: 5021944116140

Flavour Profile

Fruity · Citrus · Vanilla · Fresh · Honeyed · Lightly Spiced

Did You Know?

Signatory today bottles at Edradour in Pitlochry, which the Symington brothers bought in 2002. Edradour was for many years Scotland’s smallest distillery with only three employees, and even after expansion the site works as distillery, warehouse and bottling plant for all of Signatory’s production.

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Koval is a distillery in Chicago making whiskey from millet, oats and other grains most Scots would never touch. Their used casks have ended up in Speyside, and the result is not what you expect.

The Expert's Description

Auchroisk Murray McDavid Cask Craft Batch 2 is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky finished in a Koval quarter cask and bottled at 44.5%. It is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

A quarter cask holds around 125 litres, half a hogshead, and therefore has markedly more wood contact per litre. The finishing works quickly, and that is the whole idea behind the range: to give a young whisky a clear imprint in a short time.

Koval in Chicago distils from unconventional grains such as millet and oats, and their casks carry the mark of it. Auchroisk was built in 1974 for the J&B blend, and the distillery’s bright style takes well to that kind of cask.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Sweetness and spice first. Vanilla and honey sit beneath a clear oak note, and there is a lightly nutty, cereal character from the American cask.

Palate

Soft and spiced. Vanilla and honey open, then cinnamon, a dry oak note and a light peppery edge arrive. At 44.5% there is good body, and the small cask shows clearly in the oak.

Finish

Medium and spiced. Oak, vanilla and a dry close with a little pepper.

Specifications

Name: Auchroisk Murray McDavid Cask Craft Batch 2 Koval Quarter Cask Single Speyside Malt Whisky 44.5%
Distillery: Auchroisk
Bottler: Murray McDavid
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 44.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in a Koval quarter cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Cask Craft Batch 2
EAN no.: 5060353304144

Flavour Profile

Quarter Cask · Spiced · Vanilla · Oak · Honeyed · Nutty

Did You Know?

Murray McDavid was founded in 1995 by, among others, Mark Reynier, who later bought Bruichladdich and then built Waterford in Ireland. The house has always had finishing as its trademark, and the Cask Craft range is their accessible entry to the principle: young casks, short finishes and cask types you do not see elsewhere.

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When this cask was filled in 1993, almost all of Aultmore’s production went into Dewar’s White Label, and nobody thought of the distillery as a name in its own right. Twenty-eight years later things look different.

The Expert's Description

Aultmore 1993/2022 Càrn Mòr 28 Years Old Celebration of the Cask is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured for twenty-eight years in a hogshead and bottled at 47.4%. The cask gave 233 bottles, and the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Twenty-eight years in a refill hogshead is a slow maturation. The cask does not give much colour, but it gives time, and it is the time that creates the soft, honeyed texture and the deep fruit found only in old whisky.

The strength of 47.4% shows how much has evaporated along the way. Càrn Mòr is Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers’ range of single casks, and Celebration of the Cask is the house’s line for the oldest and rarest casks in the warehouse.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Soft and deep. Honey, ripe pear and tropical fruit first, then vanilla, wax and an old, dry oak note. There is a fine mineral edge that Aultmore keeps even after this long.

Palate

Soft and oily. Honey and ripe fruit open, then vanilla, candied citrus and a dry, spiced oak arrive. At 47.4% there is good weight, and the texture is thick in the way only many years of maturation give.

Finish

Long and soft. Honey, fruit and a dry oak close that lets go very slowly.

Specifications

Name: Aultmore 1993/2022 Càrn Mòr 28 Years Old Celebration of the Cask Single Speyside Malt Whisky 47.4%
Distillery: Aultmore
Bottler: Càrn Mòr
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 28 years
ABV: 47.4%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1993
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 233
Edition: Celebration of the Cask
EAN no.: 5060109229356

Flavour Profile

Old Malt · Honeyed · Tropical Fruit · Waxy · Soft · Dry Oak

Investment Potential

{'en': 'Twenty-eight year old single malt from one cask is a limited category, and with only 233 bottles no more exists. Aultmore has drawn increasing attention as a distillery since official bottlings reached the market, and old independent casks from before that attention are harder to find year on year. Bottles like these are typically drunk rather than kept, which steadily reduces the number.'}

Did You Know?

Càrn Mòr sits under Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, which the Morrison family runs from Perthshire, where they have also built the Aberargie distillery. Celebration of the Cask is the house’s range for the oldest casks in the warehouse, and every release comes from one cask, with number and bottle count printed on the label.

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Something happens to a blend when it puts on winter clothes. Christmas Reserve arrives in festive dress, yet the heart of it is the same calm, honeyed Speyside tone the house has traded on since 1827. A dram for the dark hours, once the tree is decorated and the house has gone quiet.

The expert's description

Ballantine's Christmas Reserve Limited Edition is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

Christmas Reserve is the house's festive release, a limited December bottling built on the same blending school George Ballantine founded when he opened his grocery shop in Edinburgh in 1827. The backbone is Speyside malt from Miltonduff and Glenburgie, two distilleries Ballantine's has drawn on for decades, and the source of the blend's soft, faintly floral centre.

The Christmas dressing is more than decoration. This one is made for the December shelf and disappears again once the new year has turned, which is exactly the sort of bottle that ends up standing unopened in the cabinet. Malt and grain whisky are married here, and the grain gives the round, almost creamy texture that lets it drink well without water.

Tasting notes

Nose

Flower honey and ripe apple first, then vanilla and a dry cereal sweetness. Behind it sits a hint of almond and pale oak.

Palate

Soft and round with caramel, pear and light cinnamon. Malt steps forward halfway through and lends a little weight before the grain settles as a creamy film.

Finish

Short to medium, dry and malty with a last note of honey and oak.

Specifications

Name: Ballantine's Christmas Reserve Limited Edition
Distillery: Ballantine's
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Christmas Reserve Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5000299603161

Flavour profile

Soft · Honeyed · Fruity · Creamy · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

George Ballantine was 19 when he opened his first shop in Edinburgh. He sold groceries for years before whisky became the main business at all, and the firm received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1895.

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Some bottles are built to impress. This one is built to be there. Finest is the workhorse of the Ballantine stable, the blend standing at the back of every bar from Glasgow to Barcelona, and it has never tried to be anything other than exactly what it is.

The expert's description

Ballantine's Finest is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

Finest is the house bestseller and has been for generations. The blend draws on more than 40 different single malts, with Miltonduff and Glenburgie as the load-bearing Speyside voices, and the grain whisky ties it together into something light, floral and very approachable. The Master Blender role has been handed down since 1827, and the recipe has stayed remarkably steady.

This is not a whisky that demands concentration. It is built to be drunk over ice, in a highball or in a simple cocktail, and it takes that treatment without falling apart. If you are teaching someone to drink Scotch, this is a sensible place to start.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale and light. Apple blossom, vanilla and a dry cereal note, with a hint of hay and pale oak behind it.

Palate

Light in the good sense, with honey, green apple and a little vanilla sweetness. The malt is there but it does not push forward.

Finish

Short, clean and slightly dry. No bitterness, no edges.

Specifications

Name: Ballantine's Finest
Distillery: Ballantine's
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
EAN no.: 5010106113127

Flavour profile

Light · Floral · Honeyed · Soft · Fresh

Did you know?

Ballantine's once kept its own guards at the Dumbarton warehouses. Two Scottish eagles, Glen and Nevis, were used for years to keep gulls and pigeons off the buildings, and they appeared on the company's own letterhead.

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Andalusia makes more than sherry. In Montilla-Moriles south of Cordoba they ripen Pedro Ximenez grapes under a sun that makes the rest of Spain look cool, and the result is a wine most whisky people have never heard of. Balvenie brought the casks home.

The expert's description

Balvenie 12 Montilla Wine Cask is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in European oak casks seasoned with Montilla wine and bottled at 47.3 %.

The release belongs to A Collection of Curious Casks, where Balvenie puts the spotlight on cask types the distillery does not normally use. Montilla is a Spanish dessert wine made from Pedro Ximenez, so the casks carry a sweetness close to sherry but with different acidity and a lighter fruit expression.

The whisky was selected by Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, who took over the baton from David Stewart, and it is hand filled in Speyside. Twelve years in European oak gives weight and spice, while the Balvenie honey character still sits clearly underneath.

Tasting notes

Nose

Flower honey, pale sugar and lightly toasted oak. A vinous note sits behind it, more fresh than heavy.

Palate

Sweet caramel first, then vanilla, dried apricot and warm spice. The higher strength gives it structure and keeps the fruit in place.

Finish

Fresh and balanced, with fruit and wood taking turns at a steady pace.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie 12 år Montilla Wine Cask
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 47,3 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: European oak casks seasoned with Montilla wine
Edition: A Collection of Curious Casks
EAN no.: 5010327526386

Flavour profile

Fruity · Honeyed · Spiced · Vinous · Full bodied

Investment potential

Medium. The Curious Casks series is made in limited parcels and not repeated, and Montilla casks are rare in Scotch whisky. That makes the release interesting to collectors following the Balvenie experiments with cask types.

Did you know?

Montilla-Moriles lies so far inland that the grapes often reach more than 15 per cent natural sugar without any added spirit. A Montilla PX can therefore be sweet without being fortified, unlike sherry.

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There is a handful of bottles the whole whisky world uses as a yardstick, and DoubleWood is one of them. It was not the first whisky to see two cask types, but it was the one that made the rest of Scotland understand why that was a good idea.

The expert's description

Balvenie 12 DoubleWood is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in American oak casks, finished in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 40 %.

DoubleWood is David Stewart's work. He was Malt Master at Balvenie for more than five decades and was already experimenting in the 1980s with moving fully matured whisky into a second cask type for the final months. Today the method is called cask finishing and almost everyone uses it, but DoubleWood from 1993 was the release that put it on the map.

The first nine to twelve years are spent in traditional American oak casks, which give vanilla, honey and a light, creamy texture. The whisky then moves into European Oloroso sherry casks for roughly nine months, and that is where the raisin, orange peel and spice arrive. The parcels are finally married in a large tun before bottling.

Tasting notes

Nose

Honey and dried fruit first, then vanilla, cinnamon and a note of orange peel. A light nutty warmth sits underneath it all.

Palate

Round and soft with raisin, spiced oak and vanilla sweetness. The sherry influence is clear but never heavy, and the malt holds the balance the whole way.

Finish

Medium and warm with spiced sweetness and a last breath of sherry and oak.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie 12 år DoubleWood
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American oak casks, finished in Oloroso sherry casks
EAN no.: 5010327505138

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Honeyed · Fruity · Soft · Spiced

Did you know?

Balvenie is one of very few Scottish distilleries with its own barley field, its own floor maltings, its own cooper and its own coppersmith on site. Roughly a tenth of the malt is still turned on the distillery own floors.

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The cooper toasts the cask over an open fire and the wood turns from pale to honey gold. That smell is what this bottle is built around: warm timber, burnt sugar and a little smoke off the coals, long before anyone pours whisky in.

The expert's description

Balvenie 12 The Sweet Toast of American Oak is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in American oak, finished in new toasted oak casks and bottled at 43 %.

The bottle belongs to The Balvenie Stories, a series where every release is tied to a specific story from the distillery. Here the story is the cooperage. The whisky takes its first maturation in traditional American casks and then moves into new, heavily toasted oak where the sugars in the wood have been caramelised by the heat.

The second cask type is what matters. New oak gives quickly and generously, and the toasting turns the natural sugars in the timber into vanilla and caramel notes. Bottling at 43 % keeps the texture in place without letting the wood take over the whole glass.

Tasting notes

Nose

Warm vanilla, burnt sugar and pale caramel. Underneath sits a hint of coconut and freshly planed timber.

Palate

Sweet and wood driven with toffee, vanilla and a light peppery edge. The malt holds back the sweetness and gives it a little resistance.

Finish

Medium with toasted oak, caramel and a dry, warm close.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie 12 år The Sweet Toast of American Oak
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 43 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American oak, finished in new toasted oak casks
Edition: The Balvenie Stories

Flavour profile

Vanilla · Caramel · Oak driven · Soft · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Balvenie is one of the last distilleries with full-time coopers on its own site. They repair and rebuild casks there, and it is exactly that kind of cask this release is built around.

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One week a year Balvenie changes track. The peat comes in, the malting floors smell like nothing else all season, and the distillery makes a whisky it otherwise does not make. The rest of the year it waits in cask.

The expert's description

Balvenie 14 The Week of Peat is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in American oak casks and bottled at 48.3 %.

Each year the distillery sets aside roughly a week to run peated malt through production. The smoke comes from Scottish peat, and the malt sits at around 30 ppm phenols, which is striking for Speyside but mild next to the heaviest Islay bottlings. The whisky from that week is matured separately and released on its own.

Fourteen years in American oak lets the smoke settle down. It turns softer, more integrated, and lies as a layer beneath the familiar Balvenie honey sweetness rather than sitting on top of it. The release belongs to The Balvenie Stories series.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft peat smoke, flower honey and vanilla. Behind it sits buttery cake and a hint of sweet malt.

Palate

Round and balanced with light smoke, citrus, spice and sweet malt. The smoke lies underneath rather than leading the way.

Finish

Long and warm with a spiced close and a last, dry note of smoke.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie 14 år The Week of Peat
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 14 years
ABV: 48,3 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: American oak casks
Edition: The Balvenie Stories
EAN no.: 5010327525198

Flavour profile

Smoky · Honeyed · Spiced · Soft · Malty

Did you know?

Balvenie sourced the peat for the first Week of Peat batches from St Fergus in Aberdeenshire. That is the same area supplying several Speyside distilleries, and it gives a drier, earthier smoke than the maritime peat on Islay.

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The cask was filled in February 1979 and stood untouched while walls came down, colour television arrived and the internet was invented. When it was finally drawn in the summer of 1999, 350 bottles were left. This is one of them.

Please note: This is an older bottling from 1999, and the bottle carries the Danish white excise seal.

The expert's description

Balvenie 15 Single Barrel Cask No. 2423 is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in one single oak cask and bottled at 50.4 %.

The whisky went into cask on 23 February 1979 and was drawn on 14 July 1999 after fifteen years. The cask yielded 350 bottles, and the bottling is neither chill filtered nor colour adjusted. That combination was far from standard in the 1990s, when most distilleries still filtered and coloured as a matter of routine.

Balvenie Single Barrel bottlings from this period are among the releases collectors look for. The cask cannot be recreated, the spirit comes from a production era with different yeast strains and different barley varieties, and the bottle has now sat for more than two decades since it was filled.

Tasting notes

Nose

Old oak, wax and dried apricot. Behind it sit honey, pale tobacco and a faint mineral note.

Palate

Powerful and oily with honey, candied citrus peel and spiced oak. The high strength carries a dense texture without burning.

Finish

Very long, dry and oak driven with wax and a last, warm note of spice.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie 15 år Single Barrel Cask No. 2423
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 15 years
ABV: 50,4 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak cask, Cask No. 2423
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 23 February 1979
Bottled: 14 July 1999
Number of bottles: 350
EAN no.: 5010327505510

Flavour profile

Full bodied · Honeyed · Waxy · Spiced · Dry

Investment potential

High. A single 1979 cask drawn in 1999 in just 350 bottles cannot be recreated, and supply falls with every bottle opened. Older Balvenie Single Barrel bottlings have been climbing in value at auction over a long run of years.

Did you know?

When this cask was filled in 1979, Balvenie ran just five stills. The distillery has expanded several times since, so whisky from that era comes from a plant that in practice no longer exists.

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Before DoubleWood took over the shelf, this was the bottle people pointed at when someone asked for Balvenie. The broad cognac shaped bottle, the green label and a distillery that had not yet become a name everyone knew.

The expert's description

Balvenie Founder's Reserve 10 years Old Version is a Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks and sherry casks and bottled at 43 % in litre format.

Founder's Reserve was the Balvenie core bottling through the 1980s and 1990s, named after William Grant, who founded the distillery in 1892. It was phased out in the early 2000s when DoubleWood 12 took over as the entry bottle of the house, and it has not been in production since.

This is the older version in the distinctive broad bottle that looks more like a cognac bottle than a whisky bottle. The label calls the whisky a Highland Malt, which was common practice at the time, when Speyside was often treated as part of the Highland region rather than as a designation of its own.

Tasting notes

Nose

Honey, pale cereal and peeled apple. A soft sherry note sits behind it along with a hint of almond.

Palate

Round and malty with honeyed sweetness, vanilla and a lightly nutty middle. The sherry is discreet and pulls mainly towards raisin.

Finish

Medium, soft and dry at the end with malt and a touch of oak.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie Founder's Reserve 10 år Old Version
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43 %
Size: 100 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks and sherry casks
Edition: Old Version in cognac shaped bottle

Flavour profile

Honeyed · Malty · Soft · Nutty · Lightly sherried

Investment potential

Medium. The bottling is discontinued and exists only in the quantities made at the time, and the litre format left the market along with intra-EU duty free. Discontinued Balvenie bottles in original condition are sought after by collectors.

Did you know?

William Grant built Balvenie in 1892 by reusing materials from the disused Balvenie New House, and the distillery still stands in the shadow of the 13th century ruins of Balvenie Castle.

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Tun 1509 is not a cask but a vat. A large, old wooden tun standing in warehouse 24, where whisky from several barrels is left to sit together for months until the edges have worn off and the whole thing speaks with one voice.

The expert's description

Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 4 is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks and sherry casks, married in Tun 1509 and bottled at 51.7 % without chill filtration.

The series works by having David Stewart select a small number of casks, empty them into the large wooden tun known as Tun 1509 and let the contents stand and find each other over several months. Batch 4 is assembled from 23 casks, few enough that each individual cask can still be felt.

Bottling happens without chill filtration and at high strength, so the oils and fatty acids filtration would otherwise strip out are allowed to stay. That gives a denser texture and a fuller mouthfeel than the standard bottlings of the distillery carry.

Tasting notes

Nose

Honey, dried fruit and cinnamon. Behind it sit vanilla, ginger and a note of old oak.

Palate

Full and oily with malt, honey and warm spice. The high strength gives it an edge without turning sharp.

Finish

Long and warm with spice, dried fruit and a soft close of oak.

Specifications

Name: Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 4
Distillery: Balvenie
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
ABV: 51,7 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks and sherry casks, married in Tun 1509
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Batch 4
EAN no.: 5010327525983

Flavour profile

Full bodied · Honeyed · Spiced · Sherry matured · Cask strength

Investment potential

Medium. The Tun 1509 batches are made in limited runs and never repeated, and the early batches are the hardest to find. The series has an established following among Balvenie collectors.

Did you know?

Tun 1509 is named after the vessel itself, which was brought back into use after standing idle for years. It holds around 8,000 litres and sits in warehouse 24 on the distillery site.

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A litre of Bell's is not a bottle you buy for the display cabinet. It gets bought for the house, put at the back of the cupboard and pulled out when someone drops by. That is its function, and it has held it for decades without complaint.

The expert's description

Bell's Original 100 cl is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

Original was previously called Specially Selected and took its current name in 2008. The blend is built around Blair Athol in Pitlochry, regarded as the home distillery of the house, supported by malt from several other distilleries and by grain whisky, which supplies the light, round texture.

The litre format is a practical decision more than a collector decision. The larger bottle is still around, mainly in airports and with retailers who have the shelf space, and it is meant for households where the whisky gets drunk rather than kept.

Tasting notes

Nose

Light and cereal led with vanilla, apple and a dry malt note. A little caramel sits underneath.

Palate

Soft and simple with honey, cereal and a hint of nut. No edges, no surprises, and that is deliberate.

Finish

Short and dry with a last malty warmth.

Specifications

Name: Bell's Original 100 cl
Distillery: Bell's
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 100 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
EAN no.: 5000387905504

Flavour profile

Light · Malty · Soft · Honeyed · Dry

Did you know?

Bell's took over Blair Athol in 1933 and has used the distillery as the fixed pivot of the blend ever since. The visitor centre in Pitlochry remains one of the busiest in Scotland.

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There is whisky you read about and whisky you drink. This belongs to the second kind. It has no ambition of ending up in a collection, and that is exactly why it has stayed on the shelf for close to two hundred years.

The expert's description

Bell's Original is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

The story starts in Perth in 1825, where Thomas Sandeman opened a spirits business. Arthur Bell joined in 1851 and made blending the heart of the trade, and his name is still on the bottle. Through the 1970s and 1980s Bell's was the best selling blend in Britain.

The backbone of the blend is Blair Athol in Pitlochry, which the house took over in 1933. Malt from a number of other distilleries joins it along with grain whisky, and the result is deliberately kept light and approachable rather than complex.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and light with green apple, cereal and a suggestion of vanilla. A dry malt note sits behind.

Palate

Mild and smooth with honey and pale cereal. The malt peeks through halfway without taking up room.

Finish

Short and clean with a last touch of malt.

Specifications

Name: Bell's Original
Distillery: Bell's
Region/Country: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
EAN no.: 5000387905474

Flavour profile

Light · Fresh · Soft · Malty · Cereal

Did you know?

Arthur Bell refused for years to put his own name on the bottles, believing the whisky should speak for itself. It was his sons who put the name on the label after his death in 1900.

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Glencoe is the glen where the mountains close in on the road and the light only reaches the bottom for a couple of hours a day. A whisky carrying the name of that valley is not supposed to be light. It is meant to hold some of the same weight, and it does.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 10 Glencoe is a Blended Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 46 % without chill filtration.

A blended malt consists purely of malt whisky from several distilleries, meaning no grain whisky at all. Glencoe is built on malt from the Ben Nevis distillery at the foot of the highest mountain in Scotland and is bottled with ten years as the guaranteed minimum age.

The 46 % and the absence of chill filtration are chosen to keep the oils in the whisky. That gives a thicker texture and a more complex nose than an equivalent blended malt at 40 % would carry, and it is one reason the bottling has stayed in the range.

Tasting notes

Nose

Ripe banana and orange marmalade first, then spiced oak and toasted nuts.

Palate

Soft and mouth filling with an elegant fruit sweetness. Orange and banana step forward first, then spice and dark chocolate add depth.

Finish

Long and soft, with chocolate and spiced notes travelling together all the way out.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 10 år Glencoe
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Glencoe

Flavour profile

Fruity · Spiced · Full bodied · Nutty · Soft

Did you know?

The Ben Nevis distillery was founded in 1825 by John Macdonald, known as Long John for his height. The name was later sold on as a trademark and ended up on a whisky quite different from what the distillery makes itself.

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Ben Nevis has never tried to be elegant. The spirit is heavy, waxy and a shade unpolished, and that is exactly why the Japanese bought the distillery. They wanted raw material with muscle, not with manners.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 10 years is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks and sherry casks and bottled at 46 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

The distillery sits in Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, and has been running since 1825. Nikka bought it in 1989, and a large share of production has found its way into Japanese blends since, which has made official bottlings a smaller part of the house than at most others.

The ten year old is the standing release of the distillery and one of the clearest expressions of the house style. The combination of bourbon and sherry casks gives both honey and dried fruit, but it is the weight of the spirit itself that carries the whisky, not the wood.

Tasting notes

Nose

A flower shop, honey and citrus fruit, with cream toffee behind. A faintly waxy note sits under it all.

Palate

Spiced at the start with a turn towards honeyed sweetness. Spice and acidity give a warm feel in the mouth, and the texture is thick without being heavy.

Finish

Long and powerful with dark chocolate and spice.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 10 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks and sherry casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
EAN no.: 5026673000234

Flavour profile

Full bodied · Honeyed · Spiced · Waxy · Fruity

Did you know?

Ben Nevis supplied new make spirit to Japan for many years, where it was matured and later sold on as Japanese whisky. That was entirely legal at the time, and binding rules for what may be called Japanese whisky only arrived in 2021.

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Twenty-five years in cask, the final thirty months of them in Oloroso. That is a long time to let a whisky work, and longer still to wait and find out whether the decision was right. The Italians at Wilson & Morgan have a habit of getting it right.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 1996/2021 Wilson & Morgan 25 years is a Highland Single Malt Whisky matured in casks no. 1819 and 1820, finished in Oloroso sherry casks for 30 months and bottled at 52.1 %.

Wilson & Morgan is an Italian whisky house, run by the Rossi family from Treviso since 1992. The house is known for buying casks early, letting them lie long and finishing them in carefully chosen sherry wood, and that method suits Ben Nevis well, since its spirit carries the weight needed to take the treatment.

The whisky was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2021 from two casks kept together throughout. The thirty months in Oloroso are not a short finish but a genuine second maturation, and it reads clearly in the dark fruit and the spice.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dark fruit, walnut and orange peel, with a waxy undertone from the spirit and a hint of leather.

Palate

Powerful and dense with fig, raisin and bitter chocolate. The sherry takes up room, but the Ben Nevis weight holds back and lets the spice come through.

Finish

Very long and dry with dark fruit, tobacco and a warm spiced close.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 1996/2021 Wilson & Morgan 25 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Wilson & Morgan
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 52,1 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Casks no. 1819 and 1820, finished in Oloroso sherry casks for 30 months
Distilled: 1996
Bottled: 2021

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Full bodied · Spiced · Waxy · Dry

Investment potential

High. Twenty-five year old Ben Nevis bottlings are scarce, because most of the 1990s spirit went into blends, and Wilson & Morgan releases from that decade are sought after by collectors of Italian bottlings.

Did you know?

Italy was the largest single malt market in Europe through the 1970s and 1980s, long before the British discovered the category themselves. It is one reason several of the finest old casks today carry Italian names on the label.

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A refill hogshead gives up very little. It has been used before, the sugar layers are spent, and so it takes twenty-six years to reach where a first fill cask would have been at ten. In return, what you taste is the spirit and not the wood.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 1998/2025 Lady of the Glen 26 years is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in a refill hogshead, cask no. 176, and bottled at 43.2 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

The whisky was distilled on 11 May 1998 and bottled on 4 April 2025. The cask yielded 276 bottles, and the strength of 43.2 % is what the cask gave after twenty-six years rather than the result of dilution. That says something about how long it lay and how much evaporated along the way.

Lady of the Glen is run by Gregor Hannah under Hannah Whisky Merchants and works consistently with natural colour, no chill filtration and bottling at the strength the cask offers. It is a line that lets the character of the distillery come through, and with Ben Nevis that is precisely the point.

Tasting notes

Nose

Tropical fruit with pineapple and passion fruit up front, then sweet malt and light pastry.

Palate

Soft and balanced with fruity sweetness, a creamy texture and discreet spice. The low cask strength makes it remarkably easy to drink for its age.

Finish

Long, warm and complex with fruit, malt and a last touch of oak.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 1998/2025 Lady of the Glen 26 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 26 years
ABV: 43,2 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill hogshead, cask no. 176
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 11 May 1998
Bottled: 4 April 2025
Number of bottles: 276

Flavour profile

Tropical fruit · Soft · Creamy · Malty · Lightly spiced

Investment potential

High. Twenty-six years in cask, 276 bottles and a single refill hogshead is a combination that cannot be repeated. Lady of the Glen has built a steady following among single cask collectors, and their older Ben Nevis casks disappear quickly.

Did you know?

A hogshead holds around 250 litres and is typically rebuilt from 200 litre American bourbon barrels by adding extra staves. The slightly larger volume gives a lower wood to liquid ratio, so the whisky matures more slowly.

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