Twenty years is a long time to leave a cask to get on with it. Adelphi emptied this one in 2016, and it had been filled in 1995, a decade before most people started caring what Glen Elgin actually tasted like on its own.

The expert description

Glen Elgin 1995/2016 Adelphi Selection 20 Years Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a single cask and bottled at cask strength 53.1%.

The cask, number 3216, was filled in 1995 and bottled in 2016. It gave 210 bottles, which is few even by Adelphi standards. Like the rest of the house releases it is bottled without chill filtration and without added colour.

Twenty years does something to the Glen Elgin fruitiness. The fresh, almost tropical character that marks the younger bottlings pulls towards dried fruit and wax, and the weight the spirit takes from the worm tubs is given room to come through. That the strength still sits at 53.1% after two decades says something about how dry that cask lay.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried apricot and peach, honey on toast, and a waxy note like old furniture timber.

Palate

Deep and oily. Yellow fruit and caramel do the carrying, while the malt steps forward in the middle and the oak lays a dry spiced edge beneath.

Finish

Very long with mineral, white pepper and a final sweetness of honey and oak.

Specifications

Name: Glen Elgin 1995/2016 Adelphi Selection 20 Years Old
Distillery: Glen Elgin
Bottler: Adelphi Selection
Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 years
ABV: 53.1%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Single cask no. 3216
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2016
Number of bottles: 210
Edition: Single Cask
EAN no.: 5060383652314

Flavour profile

Fruity · Waxy · Malty · Mineral · Mature

Investment potential

Medium. Twenty years in wood, a single cask and only 210 bottles from a distillery that supplies almost entirely to blends. Age stated Glen Elgin bottlings over twenty years have become noticeably harder to find as the older stocks have been drawn down.

Did you know?

Glen Elgin was rebuilt in 1964 and went from two pot stills to six. The rebuild tripled capacity, but the distillery kept its worm tubs, a decision that is today the reason the whisky carries more body than the numbers suggest.

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

The expert description

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

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

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

Tasting notes

Nose

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

Palate

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

Finish

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

Specifications

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

Flavour profile

Lightly smoky · Citrus · Fruity · Vanilla · Spiced

Did you know?

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

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Two guys from Aberdeenshire, a couple of bourbon barrels and a good deal of patience. Glen Garioch is Little Brown Dog's closest neighbour, and they waited a long time for casks worth putting their name on.

The expert's description

Glen Garioch 10 Year Old Little Brown Dog Small Batch is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels and bottled at cask strength 56.2%.

The spirit ran off the stills at Glen Garioch on 17 November 2014 and went into glass on 17 February 2025. Little Brown Dog married two 1st fill bourbon barrels for this Small Batch, giving 337 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.

Glen Garioch sits in Oldmeldrum north-west of Aberdeen and has been distilling since 1797. It is the most easterly working malt distillery in Scotland, and the house style runs drier and more cereal-driven than the softer Speyside profile you meet an hour's drive west. 1st fill bourbon barrels lay vanilla and bright fruit over that cereal core without burying it.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pear tart straight out of the oven, kiwi and baked apple. There is a whisper of whipped cream behind the fruit, and a few minutes in the glass draws out something floral.

Palate

Full and juicy. Tinned pineapple, honeydew melon and rhubarb crumble, carried by a cask strength that gives the whisky body without scorching. Cereal malt sits under the fruit the whole way.

Finish

Crème anglaise and conference pear, fading into a dry twist of white pepper. Long and gently spiced.

Specifications

Name: Glen Garioch 10 Year Old Little Brown Dog Small Batch Single Malt Scotch Whisky 56.2%
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottler: Little Brown Dog
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 56.2%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 17 November 2014
Bottled: 17 February 2025
Number of bottles: 337
Edition: Small Batch

Flavour profile

Fruity · Tropical · Creamy · Spiced · Cask Strength

Did you know?

For years Glen Garioch put the distillery's surplus heat to work in greenhouses right next to production. Tomatoes were grown on steam from the whisky.

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

The expert's description

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

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

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

Tasting notes

Nose

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

Palate

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

Finish

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

Specifications

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

Flavour profile

Malty · Fruity · Dry · Spiced

Did you know?

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

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

The expert's description

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

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

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

Tasting notes

Nose

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

Palate

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

Finish

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

Specifications

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

Flavour profile

Fruity · Vanilla-sweet · Creamy · Soft · Spiced

Did you know?

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

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An 8 year old from Glen Garioch is not something you run into on shelves any more. This bottling belongs to the years when the distillery still kept a young expression in its standard range, and it shows a side of the house most people only know from older bottles.

Please note: This bottling has been colour-adjusted with caramel E150a.

The expert's description

Glen Garioch 8 Year Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40%.

The short age statement is the whole point. Eight years is enough for the cask to round the edges off, but not enough for it to take over, which is why the dry, cereal-driven character of the Glen Garioch spirit comes through so plainly. This is an official distillery bottling and has since been withdrawn from the range.

Glen Garioch has been distilling in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire since 1797 and is the most easterly working malt distillery in Scotland. The house has shifted style more than once over the years, and the younger bottlings from the early 2000s sit between the old peated era and the clean, fruity line the distillery follows today.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt and heather honey, dried apple and a trace of baked bread. Calm and understated — this is not a whisky that shouts.

Palate

Cereal and lightly sweet. Barley, honey and pear, with a dryness mid-palate that keeps the sweetness in check. The body is slender at 40%.

Finish

Short to medium. Malt and a dry, faintly bitter turn of oak at the close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Garioch 8 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Natural colour: No
EAN no.: 5010496001103

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Dry · Light

Investment potential

Medium. Glen Garioch 8 Year Old is a discontinued official bottling the distillery no longer produces. Interest in older Glen Garioch releases has climbed steadily among collectors, and the short age statements are becoming hard to find intact.

Did you know?

Glen Garioch was the first Scottish distillery to fire its stills with North Sea natural gas. The gas came ashore a few kilometres away, and the distillery sat close enough to be plugged straight in.

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

The expert's description

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

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

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

Tasting notes

Nose

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

Palate

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

Finish

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

Specifications

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

Flavour profile

Malty · Dry · Lightly fruity · Waxy

Investment potential

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

Did you know?

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

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Cask number 9711 sat maturing for 22 years before Gregor Hannah moved the contents into an oloroso cask that had just been emptied. Six months later 307 bottles were filled. A move like that can go either way — this one went the right way.

The expert's description

Glen Grant 1998/2021 Lady of the Glen 23 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky from a hogshead finished in an oloroso cask, bottled at cask strength 50.4%.

The spirit went into cask in 1998 and was bottled in 2021 from cask number 9711. For its final months the whisky sat in a freshly emptied oloroso hogshead, a far more aggressive form of finishing than an older sherry cask would deliver. The result is 307 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.

Lady of the Glen is run by Gregor Hannah under the name Hannah Whisky Merchants, and the whole business model is single cask. He buys individual casks, follows them closely and often adds a short finish when he judges a cask needs a nudge. Glen Grant's light, dry spirit is a rewarding starting point for exactly that, because there is room for the sherry without losing the malt.

Tasting notes

Nose

Prunes and maple syrup first, then dark chocolate and coffee grounds. Behind that sit currants, cinnamon and a trace of old leather. Orange peel emerges after a couple of minutes.

Palate

Deep, dry sherry rather than sweet sherry. Dark fruit, walnut and cocoa, with a firm, almost bitter edge from the cask. Underneath it all the light Glen Grant malt keeps the whisky from turning heavy.

Finish

Long. Dark chocolate, dried figs and tobacco ebbing slowly into a dryness of oak and cinnamon.

Specifications

Name: Glen Grant 1998/2021 Lady of the Glen 23 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 50.4%
Distillery: Glen Grant
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 23 years
ABV: 50.4%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead finished in an oloroso cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1998
Bottled: 2021
Number of bottles: 307
Edition: Single Cask no. 9711

Flavour profile

Sherried · Dark fruit · Spiced · Dry · Cask Strength

Investment potential

Medium. A 23 year old single cask in 307 bottles cannot be repeated, and Glen Grant at that age from independent bottlers is growing steadily scarcer. The combination of high age, cask strength and a documented cask number is what collectors look for.

Did you know?

Lady of the Glen sells its casks as casks — Gregor Hannah routinely puts the cask number, fill date and bottling date openly on the label. It is a level of transparency many larger houses still hold back.

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Eleven years in bourbon barrels, then two years in casks that had held rum from Barbados. This is not a finish of a couple of months — it is long enough for the rum to settle properly into the whisky. The light Glen Grant spirit could carry it.

The expert's description

Glen Grant 2008/2022 Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited 13 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in rum casks and bottled at 47.5%.

The whisky was distilled in 2008 and spent eleven years in bourbon barrels before moving into rum casks from the West Indies Rum Distillery on Barbados for two years. Bottling took place in 2022 and produced 1,233 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.

Strictly Limited is the range in the Càrn Mòr family where the younger casks get their space, and where the strength always sits at 47.5%. Behind the range stands Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, with the fourth generation of the Morrison family at the helm and the Aberargie distillery in Perthshire on the books.

Tasting notes

Nose

Apple and pear first, then orange peel and cinnamon pastry. There is a toasted, biscuity cereal note behind it, and a trace of cocoa that only just shows itself.

Palate

Juicy and lightly tropical. Banana, ripe pineapple and stewed orchard fruit, with toffee and marmalade underneath. The rum shows up as a warm sweetness rather than as molasses.

Finish

Long and light. Burnt sugar, orange marmalade and biscuity malt sliding out into a drier close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Grant 2008/2022 Càrn Mòr 13 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Whisky 47.5%
Distillery: Glen Grant
Bottler: Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 13 years
ABV: 47.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon barrels finished in Barbados rum casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2008
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 1,233
Edition: Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited
EAN no.: 5060109229318

Flavour profile

Fruity · Tropical · Sweet · Spiced · Light

Did you know?

The Morrison family has been in Scotch whisky for four generations and once stood behind both Bowmore and Auchentoshan. Today they run Càrn Mòr and Old Perth, and they built the Aberargie distillery in Perthshire from the ground up.

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A litre bottle. That alone tells you where this whisky comes from — the big 100 cl bottles were something you bought in duty free or on export markets, and they largely vanished from shelves in Europe. The label reads The Pool of the Salmon.

Please note: There is wear to the box.

The expert's description

Glen Keith 10 Year Old Old Version is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Keith in Speyside, bottled at 43% in a litre bottle.

This is an official distillery bottling from the years when Glen Keith still ran under Seagram. The subtitle The Pool of the Salmon appeared on the distillery’s older labels, and the bottling was withdrawn long before Glen Keith gained its current series of single malts. The Highland regional wording on the label was standard practice then, even for distilleries sitting in the middle of Speyside.

Glen Keith was built in 1957 and 1958 on the site of an old meal mill directly behind Strathisla. Seagram used the distillery as its experimental plant, trialling triple distillation, different yeast strains and gas firing. Production was mothballed in 1999, and fourteen years passed before Chivas Brothers started it up again.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt and dried apple, with heather honey and a dry, almost floury cereal note. Behind it sits a faint waxiness that points to the age of the bottle.

Palate

Slender but firm. Barley, pear and pale caramel, with a dryness mid-palate. There is more body than 43% suggests, and an old-fashioned malty style modern Speyside rarely shows.

Finish

Medium. Dried fruit, malt and a dry oak note closing quietly.

Specifications

Name: Glen Keith 10 Year Old Old Version Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 100 cl 43%
Distillery: Glen Keith
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 100 CL
Edition: Old Version - The Pool of the Salmon
EAN no.: 087000653177

Flavour profile

Malty · Dry · Honeyed · Waxy

Investment potential

Medium. Glen Keith stood still for fourteen years, and the official bottlings from before 1999 cannot be recreated. A litre bottle carrying the old label wording is therefore one collectors keep an eye on — particularly since the distillery's modern releases only returned to the market in 2017.

Did you know?

Glen Keith was the first Scottish distillery to fire its pot stills with gas rather than coal. Seagram used the site as its testing ground, and if something new was to be tried, it was usually tried in Keith first.

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Vintage 1983 and no age statement. That is how it was written when the year told you enough on its own. The whisky was distilled in the middle of the Seagram years at Glen Keith, where the distillery was used to try things out before they were rolled out elsewhere.

The expert's description

Glen Keith 1983 The Pool of the Salmon is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Keith in Speyside, matured in oak casks and bottled at 43% in a litre bottle.

The bottle carries a vintage rather than a number of years. The spirit dates from 1983, a period when Glen Keith produced for Seagram blends and was only rarely bottled as a single malt for the open market. The casks were oak, and together with the 43% that gives a calm, old-fashioned style.

Glen Keith held an unusual place in Scotch whisky. Seagram built the distillery as an experimental plant and ran triple distillation there for a period, something otherwise associated almost entirely with the Lowlands and Ireland. When production stopped in 1999, one of the more experimental addresses in Speyside disappeared for fourteen years.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried apricot and malt, with beeswax and a dusty library note. There is a muted floral quality that older Speyside often develops in the bottle.

Palate

Soft and oily. Honey, hazelnut and baked apple, with a lightly soapy-floral turn typical of spirit from this period. The dryness arrives late.

Finish

Medium and calm. Malt, dried fruit and a dry oak close with no sharp edges.

Specifications

Name: Glen Keith 1983 The Pool of the Salmon Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 100 cl 43%
Distillery: Glen Keith
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Size: 100 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Distilled: 1983
Edition: The Pool of the Salmon
EAN no.: 087000653177

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Floral · Soft · Waxy

Investment potential

Medium. A 1983 vintage bottling cannot be made again, and Glen Keith as a single malt from the Seagram years was only ever bottled in limited quantity. The litre bottle and the old subtitle make it easier for collectors hunting that specific period to recognise.

Did you know?

Glen Keith was built on the site of an old meal mill and stands right beside Strathisla, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. The two neighbours have more than a century between them in age, yet share the same small town.

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The series is called Closed Distilleries, and when the cask was selected in 2013 the name fitted precisely. Glen Keith had stood still since 1999, and a French bottling house got hold of a bourbon cask from 1995. It yielded 175 bottles.

The expert's description

Glen Keith 1995/2013 Part des Anges 17 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a bourbon cask and bottled at cask strength 55.5%.

The cask was filled in 1995 and emptied in 2013 after 17 years. The bottling gave 175 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour, and the whisky formed part of the Closed Distilleries series — Part des Anges' selection of whisky from distilleries that were silent or shut. The irony is that Glen Keith was started up again in 2013, the very year the bottle appeared.

Part des Anges is a French bottling house founded in 2005 by Thierry Richard and Laurent Buob. They have specialised in whisky from distilleries without a future, which has produced a set of bottles that now works rather like an archive of a period when Scotch whisky was shutting down instead of building.

Tasting notes

Nose

Concentrated and bright. Pineapple, yellow melon and vanilla pod, with a sharp orange peel on top. A cask that has had plenty of time without taking over.

Palate

Powerful and oily without being heavy. Tropical fruit, coconut and honey, with a firm peppery middle from the 55.5%. The malt sits clearly beneath it all.

Finish

Very long. Vanilla, pineapple and white pepper drying slowly into a note of pale oak.

Specifications

Name: Glen Keith 1995/2013 Part des Anges 17 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Whisky 55.5%
Distillery: Glen Keith
Bottler: Part des Anges
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 17 years
ABV: 55.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2013
Number of bottles: 175
Edition: Closed Distilleries

Flavour profile

Tropical · Fruity · Vanilla-sweet · Spiced · Cask Strength

Investment potential

High. 175 bottles from a single cask, a 17 year old from a distillery that sat silent for fourteen years, and a series that collects nothing but closed addresses. All three pull in the same direction, and Part des Anges bottlings are rarely seen in ordinary trade.

Did you know?

During the fourteen years Glen Keith stood silent, parts were stripped from the plant to keep other distilleries running. When the decision came to reopen, there was not much left to start from — the new distillery was in practice built inside the old walls.

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The spirit ran off the stills on 11 September 1996. Three years later Glen Keith closed, and fourteen years passed before production started again. This cask sat quietly through the whole of that period and was only emptied in 2023.

The expert's description

Glen Keith 1996/2023 Signatory Vintage 26 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky from a 2nd fill oloroso sherry butt, bottled at cask strength 58%.

The cask was filled on 11 September 1996 and emptied on 7 July 2023 — sherry butt number 7, which gave 635 individually numbered bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. The whisky belongs to Symington's Choice, where Andrew Symington selects the casks himself, and a 2nd fill oloroso butt is a deliberate call: there is sherry enough for depth and dried fruit, but not so much that a 26 year old spirit gets run over.

Glen Keith only got its own permanent single malt onto the market in 2017. For the decades before that almost the entire output went into blends, and the only bottles a whisky drinker could realistically find came from independent bottlers. That is precisely why a 26 year old from 1996 is one of the few ways to meet the distillery as it worked before the shutdown.

Tasting notes

Nose

Spicy and indulgent. Raisins, figs and dates first, then honey and a layer of soft vanilla. Leather sits behind it, along with a calm, dark spice note.

Palate

Velvety despite the 58%. Gingerbread and malt loaf, with blackstrap molasses and dried fruit filling the middle. A nutty bitterness arrives at the end and keeps the sweetness in check.

Finish

Very long. Dried fruit and spice drying slowly into walnut shell and a dry sherry note.

Specifications

Name: Glen Keith 1996/2023 Signatory Vintage 26 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 58%
Distillery: Glen Keith
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 26 years
ABV: 58%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 2nd fill oloroso sherry butt
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 11 September 1996
Bottled: 7 July 2023
Number of bottles: 635
Edition: Symington's Choice - Cask No. 7
EAN no.: 5021944123667

Flavour profile

Sherried · Dark fruit · Spiced · Creamy · Cask Strength

Investment potential

High. 635 bottles from one sherry butt, 26 years in wood, cask strength and spirit from the final years before Glen Keith closed. Symington's Choice is also Signatory's most attention-seeking range, and bottlings from it are rarely seen twice.

Did you know?

Glen Keith did not have its own official single malt in the range until 2017. The distillery was built in 1957 and for six decades supplied malt almost entirely to other people's blends, while the independent bottlers kept the name alive for whisky drinkers.

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Two hogsheads, filled on the same day in May 1997, emptied on the same day in February 2018. Exactly twenty years and eight months in between. Signatory has a habit of writing the dates out in full, and here it gives a neat picture of how closely the two casks tracked each other.

Please note: The image is a stock photo.

The expert's description

Glen Keith 1997/2018 Signatory 20 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky from two hogsheads, bottled at 46%.

The casks were filled on 26 May 1997 and emptied on 26 February 2018 — hogsheads number 72609 and 72610, married into one bottling, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. The 46% is chosen rather than cask strength, and it suits a spirit like Glen Keith: bright and lightly waxy, where too much alcohol easily tramples over the fruit.

The spirit dates from 1997, which is two years before Glen Keith was mothballed. Seagram used the distillery as its experimental plant and ran trials on yeast strains and mashing here, so production varied more than at an ordinary Speyside distillery. That is exactly why the year on a Glen Keith matters more than on most others.

Tasting notes

Nose

Bright and clean. Pear, green apple and lemon peel, with vanilla and a dry malt note behind. After a couple of minutes a trace of beeswax emerges.

Palate

Soft and lightly oily. Honey, ripe pear and pale caramel, with a hint of toasted almond. The dryness only arrives at the end and keeps the whisky from turning dully sweet.

Finish

Medium. Malt, pear and a dry, faintly peppery close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Keith 1997/2018 Signatory 20 Year Old Speyside Single Malt 46%
Distillery: Glen Keith
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 20 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogsheads no. 72609 and 72610
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 26 May 1997
Bottled: 26 February 2018
EAN no.: 5021944094752

Flavour profile

Fruity · Malty · Honeyed · Dry · Soft

Investment potential

Medium. The spirit dates from 1997, from the final years before Glen Keith closed, and those bottlings exist in a number that cannot grow. A 20 year old from the period at an ordinary bottling strength is the kind of bottle that quietly disappears from shelves without being speculated on.

Did you know?

Seagram used Glen Keith to trial new yeast strains and mashing methods before putting them into service at other distilleries. That makes the older spirit less predictable than most — two vintages from Glen Keith can sit further apart than you are used to.

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Eighteen years entirely in 1st fill bourbon barrels. No sherry to cover anything up, no finish to turn the direction. Just the Glen Moray spirit and American oak, given long enough together for it to count.

The expert's description

Glen Moray 18 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 47.2%.

The bottling is the flagship of the Elgin Heritage range, where Glen Moray puts age at the centre rather than cask experiments. Eighteen years in 1st fill casks is unusually long — most distilleries move the spirit on after twelve to fifteen years, because otherwise the wood starts to take over. Here the oak stays in balance, and the 47.2% is pitched higher than the usual 40 so the texture does not thin out. The whisky is non-chill filtered.

Glen Moray sits in Elgin by the River Lossie, in the middle of Speyside. The site began as a brewery and was only converted into a distillery in 1897, and the old brewery architecture is still visible in the plant. Today Glen Moray is one of the most productive Speyside distilleries, yet the name has never grown as large as its neighbours.

Tasting notes

Nose

Toasted oak forms the base, with treacle toffee and caramelised autumn fruit on top. Apricot and yellow plum sit behind, and a layer of honey ties it together.

Palate

Full and spiced. Baked apple with cinnamon, vanilla and raisins sliding into ginger and a trace of lavender. The 47.2% gives the body the firmness that eighteen years in wood has earned.

Finish

Long and soft. Vanilla, dried fruit and a final turn of toasted oak that never sharpens.

Specifications

Name: Glen Moray 18 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Whisky 47.2%
Distillery: Glen Moray
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 18 years
ABV: 47.2%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Elgin Heritage
EAN no.: 5060116321661

Flavour profile

Vanilla-sweet · Fruity · Spiced · Full · Oaky

Did you know?

Glen Moray was not a distillery to begin with. The buildings in Elgin housed a brewery, and only in 1897 was the site turned over to whisky production. Several Speyside distilleries share that history, but few have kept so much of the original structure.

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One cask, no finish, no detour. Lady of the Glen is otherwise known for giving casks a final push in sherry or port, but here number 5586 was left alone for twelve years. 214 bottles, and that was that.

The expert's description

Glen Moray 2008/2021 Lady of the Glen 12 Year Old is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky from a single 1st fill bourbon barrel, bottled at cask strength 57.1%.

The cask was filled in 2008 and emptied in 2021 — bourbon barrel number 5586, which gave 214 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. A 1st fill cask at twelve years is a tight combination: the wood still has plenty to give, and the age is just long enough for it to come together rather than stay raw.

Glen Moray in Elgin is one of the higher-output distilleries in Speyside, and a large share of the spirit ends up in blends. That is exactly why single cask bottlings from independent bottlers are one of the better ways to meet the spirit without colouring and filtration — you get what the cask made, not what a blender decided.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla and coconut first, classic 1st fill bourbon. Behind that sit green apple, pear and a trace of lemon peel, plus a warm note of freshly baked cake.

Palate

Powerful and sweet without being cloying. Honey, vanilla and apple, with coconut and a touch of white pepper that the cask strength pushes forward. Cereal malt sits underneath and holds it in place.

Finish

Long and warm. Vanilla and pear giving way slowly to a dry, spiced American oak close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Moray 2008/2021 Lady of the Glen 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Whisky 57.1%
Distillery: Glen Moray
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 57.1%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrel
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2008
Bottled: 2021
Number of bottles: 214
Edition: Single Cask no. 5586

Flavour profile

Vanilla-sweet · Fruity · Coconut · Spiced · Cask Strength

Did you know?

Lady of the Glen does not stick to single malt alone. The range has also carried single grain from North British, which is rare among small bottlers — grain whisky is normally swallowed by blends and never appears under its own name.

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Rye casks are not something you run into in Speyside. Bourbon yes, sherry yes, port maybe — but casks that have held American rye whiskey remain a rarity. Glen Moray brought some over from Kentucky and let spirit from 2016 finish in them.

The expert's description

Glen Moray Elgin Curiosity Rye Cask Finish is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in Kentucky rye whiskey casks and bottled at 46.3%.

The spirit dates from 2016 and had its final maturation in casks that previously held American rye whiskey. Rye behaves differently from corn: where bourbon casks lay vanilla and coconut into the whisky, rye casks bring pepper, cinnamon and a drier spice note. The outturn is 1,637 bottles, and the whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Curiosity is the range where Glen Moray tests limits rather than repeats itself. The distillery has run cask trials as a standing part of the work for years, and the Curiosity releases have included casks from Chenin Blanc wine and rhum agricole. The rye casks here belong to the more successful end of those experiments.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft vanilla met by fresh lemon peel and a clear peppery note. The rye registers immediately — there is something sharp and dry sitting on top of the soft Speyside base.

Palate

Caramel and oak first, then forest fruit and a peppery middle. The rye character gives the whisky an edge it would not otherwise have had, and the citrus note keeps things fresh.

Finish

Medium and spiced. Pepper and cinnamon drying out slowly, with a final hint of caramel.

Specifications

Name: Glen Moray Elgin Curiosity Rye Cask Finish Speyside Single Malt Whisky 70 cl 46.3%
Distillery: Glen Moray
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in Kentucky rye whiskey casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2016
Number of bottles: 1,637
Edition: Elgin Curiosity - Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5060116324495

Flavour profile

Spiced · Peppery · Caramel · Fruity · Fresh

Did you know?

The Curiosity range has not only been about rye. Glen Moray has also put out releases using Chenin Blanc wine casks and rhum agricole casks under the same name, and at one point the three were sold together as a tasting set so the cask types could be lined up side by side.

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The number 57.1 is no accident. It is exactly 100 degrees on the old British proof scale, and the whole of Signatory’s 100 Proof range is built around that single figure. Same strength, different distilleries — number 22 in the run came from Glen Ord.

The expert's description

Glen Ord 2012/2023 Signatory 100 Proof Edition #22 is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 57.1%.

The spirit went into cask in 2012 and was bottled in 2023 after eleven years. 1st fill bourbon barrels and a strength above 57% make a powerful combination on a spirit of that age — there is plenty of vanilla and wood, but the malty core of Glen Ord is robust enough to carry it. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Signatory has run the 100 Proof range for many years as its most recognisable format. The idea is simple: the same fixed strength every time, so it is the distillery and the cask that change, not the frame. That makes the range one of the more useful tools if you want to compare Scottish distilleries directly.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla, coconut and freshly cut apple. Behind that sits a malty, cereal tone and a trace of pine that the high strength pushes forward.

Palate

Powerful and sweet. Vanilla, caramel and pear, with a peppery middle and a clear oak note. The malt holds its ground underneath and gives the whisky a dryness that balances the sweetness.

Finish

Long and warm. Vanilla and oak giving way slowly to pepper and a dry, cereal close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Ord 2012 11 Year Old Signatory 100 Proof Edition #22 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 57.1%
Distillery: Glen Ord
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 57.1%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon barrels
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2012
Bottled: 2023
Edition: 100 Proof Edition #22
EAN no.: 5021944126590

Flavour profile

Vanilla-sweet · Spiced · Cereal · Powerful · Oaky

Did you know?

The British proof scale was abolished in 1980, but it lives on on whisky labels. 100 degrees British proof equals 57.1% alcohol, and the figure comes from an old test in which spirit was mixed with gunpowder and lit to see whether it would burn.

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Glen Ord is one of those distilleries most European whisky drinkers never meet officially. The official single malt is called Singleton and sells mainly in Asia. To taste the spirit closer to home, the route runs through the independent bottlers.

The expert's description

Glen Ord 2008/2022 Signatory Vintage 13 Year Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky from two hogsheads, bottled at 46%.

The casks were filled on 7 October 2008 and emptied on 6 January 2022 — hogsheads number 318687 and 318690, married into one bottling, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. The 46% is Signatory’s standard choice for its unfiltered bottlings, and on a thirteen year old spirit from used hogsheads it is a sensible strength: enough to hold the texture, not enough to drown it.

Glen Ord sits at Muir of Ord on the Black Isle north-west of Inverness and has been distilling since 1838, on land that belonged to the MacKenzies of Ord. The spirit is relatively full and malty for a Highland whisky, and hogsheads with no sherry involvement let precisely that cereal core stand forward.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt and cornfield first, then pear and a trace of heather honey. There is a dry, almost floury note that is typical of Glen Ord from used casks.

Palate

Firm and malty. Barley, apple and pale caramel, with a dryness mid-palate and a hint of toast. Not sweet, more cereal-led and tighter than most Speyside whiskies of the same age.

Finish

Medium. Malt, a dry oak note and a final touch of white pepper.

Specifications

Name: Glen Ord 2008/2022 Signatory Vintage 13 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%
Distillery: Glen Ord
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 13 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogsheads no. 318687 and 318690
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 7 October 2008
Bottled: 6 January 2022
EAN no.: 5021944116249

Flavour profile

Malty · Dry · Fruity · Cereal

Did you know?

Glen Ord has its own maltings on site, and they are large — around 36,000 tonnes of malt a year. A big share of that output does not go to the distillery itself but to other distilleries in the same group, so Glen Ord supplies the raw material for whisky far beyond its own.

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Campbeltown once had thirty distilleries. Today it has three. Glen Scotia is one of them, and the 15 year old is where the town’s character shows most clearly — salt, oil and a peat that sits like a shadow behind rather than filling the foreground.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia 15 Year Old is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in American oak casks and bottled at 46%.

The whisky has spent fifteen years in a mix of 1st fill and refill American oak casks, with no sherry or wine casks to turn the direction. It is non-chill filtered, and the 46% is pitched high enough that the maritime minerality does not vanish. The bottling carries the silver label design Glen Scotia moved to in June 2022.

Glen Scotia has been distilling in Campbeltown since 1832 and sits a few hundred metres from the harbour. In the nineteenth century the town was the whisky capital of Scotland, until the market collapsed and the distilleries closed one after another. Glen Scotia barely survived, stood silent for several periods in the twentieth century, and is run today by Loch Lomond Group.

Tasting notes

Nose

Toasted vanilla and ripe fruit first, then a salted caramel sweetness. There are light spices and a hint of citrus, and behind it sits the maritime note Campbeltown is known for.

Palate

Rich and full. Spiced oak, dried fruit and honey, with a mineral tautness mid-palate that points straight at the harbour. The smoke is discreet and only arrives at the end.

Finish

Long and warm. Pepper, dark chocolate and a withdrawn smoke that lingers long after the fruit has gone.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia 15 Year Old Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 15 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill American oak casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
EAN no.: 5016840171218

Flavour profile

Maritime · Spiced · Fruity · Lightly peated · Mineral

Did you know?

Campbeltown is still recognised as a whisky region in its own right, even with only three working distilleries left. The town sits on the Kintyre peninsula, and the drive there from Glasgow is longer than to most Speyside distilleries — part of the reason so few make the trip.

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Black label, gold lettering. That is how Glen Scotia 15 Year Old looked until the distillery changed design in June 2022 and moved to silver. The whisky inside follows the same recipe — it is the packaging that has become history.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia 15 Year Old Old Version is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in American oak casks and bottled at 46%.

This is the bottling in the old design with a black label and gold lettering that Glen Scotia used until the summer of 2022. The whisky has spent fifteen years in 1st fill and refill American oak casks and is non-chill filtered. There is no sherry or wine cask in play, so it is the salty, oily character of the distillery that carries the bottle.

Glen Scotia has not had an easy history. The distillery was founded in 1832, and through the twentieth century it stood silent for several periods while the whisky industry in Campbeltown shrank from around thirty distilleries to three. That distilling continues in the town at all is down to equal parts stubbornness and luck.

Tasting notes

Nose

Salted caramel and toasted vanilla, with ripe fruit and a layer of light spices. The citrus note only arrives after a couple of minutes, and beneath it all sits a sea-like tone.

Palate

Full and spiced. Oak, dried fruit and honey, with a taut minerality in the middle. The smoke is held back and shows itself as a dry shadow rather than as peat.

Finish

Long. Pepper and dark chocolate first, then a slow, salted close that lingers.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia 15 Year Old Old Version Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 46%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 15 years
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill and refill American oak casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Edition: Old Version - black label
EAN no.: 5016840171218

Flavour profile

Maritime · Spiced · Fruity · Lightly peated · Salty

Investment potential

Medium. The design with a black label and gold lettering was replaced in June 2022 and will not return. Label variants are a well-established collecting category, and a fifteen year old in the discontinued packaging is easier to place in time than most — bottles like that disappear quietly as the remaining stock is drawn down.

Did you know?

Glen Scotia sat so close to closure for decades that the distillery was run several times with a minimum of staff. The plant is still one of the smallest in Scotland by output, and some of the equipment is older than many of the distilleries that closed around it.

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Eight years is young for a Campbeltown. The spirit is still raw at the edges, the salt stands out sharply, and there are not many years of oak to soften anything. Then Lady of the Glen moved the cask into tawny port, and suddenly the youth made sense.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia 2016/2025 Lady of the Glen 8 Year Old is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in an ex-tawny port cask and bottled at cask strength 56.5%.

The whisky was distilled in 2016 and bottled in 2025 from cask number 8924, which gave 231 bottles, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. The choice of tawny over ruby is worth noting: tawny port has spent a long time in wood and is oxidative, nutty and drier, where ruby is fresh and berry-sweet. That suits a young, salty spirit better, because it adds depth rather than sweetness.

Lady of the Glen is run by Gregor Hannah and buys individual casks from across Scotland. The firm always bottles at cask strength, unfiltered and uncoloured, and it often goes for younger casks where there is still distillery to taste. An eight year old Glen Scotia is exactly the kind of cask the larger houses would typically have left alone for longer.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sea salt and seaweed meet red fruit and dried berries. The port lays a nutty sweetness on top, and there is a trace of dark chocolate beneath it all.

Palate

Full and intense. Dark fruit, spiced oak and chocolate, carried by a lightly oily texture. The cask strength pushes the salt forward, so the sweetness is never allowed to take over.

Finish

Long and warm. Balanced sweetness with maritime nuances and a final touch of spice.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia 2016/2025 Lady of the Glen 8 Year Old Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 56.5%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Bottler: Lady of the Glen
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 56.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in an ex-tawny port cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2016
Bottled: 2025
Number of bottles: 231
Edition: Single Cask no. 8924

Flavour profile

Maritime · Dark fruit · Port-finished · Spiced · Cask Strength

Did you know?

Glen Scotia still mashes in a 2.8 tonne cast iron mash tun. It is old-fashioned equipment that most distilleries have swapped for stainless steel, and it is one of the reasons the spirit carries that heavy, oily body.

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Glen Scotia distils peated spirit for only a few weeks a year. The rest of the time the plant runs unpeated, so by the time the festival bottle appears the raw material is already a rarity at the distillery. The 2025 release added five months in Spanish red wine casks on top.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Campbeltown Festival 2025 is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks with a finishing period in Ribera del Duero red wine casks, bottled at 54.3%.

The whisky is nine years old and built on the distillery peated spirit. Main maturation took place in 1st fill bourbon casks, and the final five months were spent in casks from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain — a region known for powerful tempranillo wines. The combination of peat smoke and dark wine fruit is unusual, and the bottling is a limited edition, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.

Campbeltown Malts Festival is held every spring, when the three distilleries in town open their doors and each releases a special bottling. It is the one time a year that Campbeltown fills up with whisky people, and the festival bottles are usually gone as fast as they arrive.

Tasting notes

Nose

Creamy vanilla and salty sea air, with peat smoke settling on top. Behind it come dark berries and a vinous, almost preserved note.

Palate

Full and oiled. Smoked malt meets juicy blackberries and ripe red fruit, with a trace of liquorice underneath. The cask strength holds the smoke and the wine fruit in tension against each other.

Finish

Long and soft. Well-integrated smoke, dark fruit and a spiced, almost luxurious close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Campbeltown Festival 2025 Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 54.3%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 9 years
ABV: 54.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks with five months in Ribera del Duero red wine casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 - Limited Edition

Flavour profile

Peated · Maritime · Dark fruit · Wine-finished · Spiced

Investment potential

Medium. Festival bottlings are made in one run for one weekend and are not reissued. This one is also built on the distillery peated spirit, which is only produced a few weeks a year, and that combination of peat and Spanish red wine cask has not appeared before in the series.

Did you know?

The distillery was originally called simply Scotia. The Glen came later, and on old bottles and nineteenth-century documents the name still appears without it. It is a detail that can date an old label immediately.

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Out at the end of the Kintyre peninsula, where the wind tastes of salt and Campbeltown Loch slaps against the quay, Glen Scotia makes whisky the way it always has. Every year when the town festival comes round, the distillery lets a special bottle out into the world.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Campbeltown Festival 2026 is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks with a six-month finishing period in 1st fill Ruby Port casks, bottled at cask strength 53.9%.

The whisky is seven years old and built on the distillery medium-peated spirit, which master blender Ashley Smith only distils a few weeks a year. The first seven years were spent in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks, where the coastal style was allowed to unfold, and then came the six months in Ruby Port. That finish is what draws thick, preserved red fruit in and lays it as a sweet contrast over the smoke. The whisky is non-chill filtered and carries natural colour.

Ruby Port is a deliberate counterpoint to tawny. Where tawny is oxidative and nutty, ruby is young, fresh and berry-sweet, and it is exactly that fresh sweetness that can hold its ground against peat smoke. On a seven year old spirit eighteen months of port would have been too much — six months hits the point where the two sides can still be told apart.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sweet peat and sea salt, quickly giving way to ripe red cherry and soft vanilla fudge. A touch of cream and red berries settles on top, like raspberries stirred into cream.

Palate

Juicy mandarin meets thick jam of blackcurrant and red berries. Underneath it all lie layers of smoky embers, earthy and warm, and a light coastal saltiness that keeps the sweetness in check.

Finish

Long and warming with cinnamon and clove, a soft salted note and peat smoke that hangs on well after the last sip.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Campbeltown Festival 2026 Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky 53.9%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 53.9%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill ex-bourbon casks with six months in 1st fill Ruby Port casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Bottled: 2026
Edition: Campbeltown Malts Festival 2026 - Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5016840371212

Flavour profile

Peated · Maritime · Fruity · Port-finished · Spiced · Creamy

Investment potential

Medium. Festival bottles are made in one run for one weekend and are never reissued. This one is built on medium-peated spirit that the distillery only makes a few weeks a year, and seven years is young enough that the batch is small. The run of festival editions is also collected as a series by people who follow Campbeltown.

Did you know?

In 1930 one of the distillery former owners, Duncan MacCallum, threw himself into Campbeltown Loch after years of financial trouble. Locals still say his spirit walks the buildings at Glen Scotia.

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If you are only going to taste one Campbeltown whisky to understand what the region is about, this is it. Bourbon casks for the base, Pedro Ximénez for the sweetness, and underneath it all the salt of a town that sits with the sea on three sides.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Double Cask is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks with a finishing period in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, bottled at 46%.

The name comes from the two cask types. The bourbon casks lay vanilla and bright fruit into the spirit, and the PX casks add the dark, syrupy sweetness that Pedro Ximénez sherry is known for. The order means the sweetness comes last and settles as a layer over the salt rather than soaking through it. There is no age statement, which gives the blender freedom to build the batch by taste rather than by year.

Thomas Rydberg of Whisky & Rom Magasinet awarded the bottling 90 points. That is a high score for a whisky with no age statement, and it says something about the Glen Scotia spirit having enough body to manage without many years of cask time behind it.

Tasting notes

Nose

Baked fruit and vanilla, with spiced wood behind. The PX sherry gives a dark sweetness that sits clearly over the salty base note.

Palate

Round and soft. Caramel, dried fruit and a touch of spice, with the oily texture that marks the house. The salt only comes forward on the second sip.

Finish

Pleasant and lasting. The sherry sweetness holds on while a maritime, lightly dry note takes over at the end.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Double Cask Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks with a finishing period in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks
Edition: Double Cask
EAN no.: 5016840151210

Flavour profile

Sherried · Soft · Fruity · Spiced · Maritime

Did you know?

Glen Scotia still ferments in nine stainless steel washbacks. That is a small number for a distillery today, and the short, controlled fermentation times are part of what gives the whisky its firm, malty character rather than a fruity, floral profile.

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Campbeltown was a harbour town before it was a whisky town. The ships that carried whisky out came home with other things in the hold, and rum was part of that trade. Putting a Campbeltown malt into demerara casks is therefore less contrived than it sounds.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Double Cask Rum Cask Finish is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in bourbon casks with a finishing period in demerara rum casks, bottled at 46%.

Demerara rum comes from Guyana and is heavier and more molasses-driven than the light rum of Barbados or Cuba. The casks therefore add dark sweetness and a clear syrupy note rather than bright tropical fruit, and that suits the oily Glen Scotia spirit well. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured and carries no age statement.

Rum and whisky share more than you might think. Both mature in oak, both take colour and spice from the cask, and a used rum cask has already given up most of its sharpness by the time the whisky moves in. What remains is sugar cane as a warm undertone rather than a dominant flavour.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dark melted sugar and molasses, with banana, toasted coconut and ripe peach. The maritime note sits under the sweetness and only becomes clear after a couple of minutes.

Palate

Full and oiled. Caramel, brown sugar and tropical fruit, balanced by a light peat smoke and a touch of spice. The sweetness is warm rather than cloying.

Finish

Short to medium. Maritime nuances take over as the sweetness falls away, and the close is dry and spiced.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Double Cask Rum Cask Finish Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 46%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks with a finishing period in demerara rum casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Edition: Double Cask Rum Cask Finish
EAN no.: 5016840261216

Flavour profile

Tropical · Sweet · Maritime · Lightly peated · Spiced

Did you know?

West Highland Malt Distillers bought Glen Scotia in 1919 and went bankrupt around five years later. The distillery changed hands several times in that period, and each new owner inherited a plant that was harder to run than the year before.

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The harbour sits a couple of hundred metres from the distillery, and the name is not chosen at random. This is the most straightforward Glen Scotia in the range — 40%, lightly peated, and with the salt of Campbeltown Loch as the thing you remember afterwards.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Harbour Classic is a lightly peated Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks and bottled at 40%.

The bottling works as the entry point to the distillery range. 1st fill bourbon casks lay vanilla and bright fruit in, and the light peating gives a smoke note that sits as a breath rather than a layer. The 40% makes the whisky easy to drink, but it also makes it less concentrated than the rest of the line-up.

Glen Scotia is a small distillery with only one pair of pot stills. Capacity is modest by modern standards, so the entire output has to cover the standard range, the festival bottles and the casks sold on to independent bottlers.

Tasting notes

Nose

Briny sea spray and sea breeze first, with floral violet notes and soft vanilla behind.

Palate

Ripe peach and crisp apple, with chewy fudge and a bright sweetness. The peat arrives late and settles as a dry, tangy edge beneath the fruit.

Finish

Short to medium. Tangy peat and maritime smoke that clears cleanly without hanging on.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Harbour Classic Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky 40%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks
Edition: Harbour Classic
EAN no.: 5016840161219

Flavour profile

Maritime · Lightly peated · Fruity · Floral · Soft

Did you know?

Glen Scotia runs only one pair of pot stills. That makes it one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland by capacity, and it is a large part of why whisky from this house turns up less often than from the big Speyside plants.

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The name points back to the years when Campbeltown had thirty distilleries and called itself the whisky capital of the world. The casks behind the bottle point somewhere else — towards a deep char that lays a layer of burnt wood and cocoa into the whisky.

The expert's description

Glen Scotia Victoriana is a Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in heavily charred bourbon casks and Pedro Ximénez sherry butts, bottled at cask strength 54.2%.

The batch is built from two components: ten to twelve year old whisky from 1st fill bourbon casks and sixteen to eighteen year old whisky from refill European oak. The two are brought together, given their finishing period in heavily charred casks and PX butts, and then rested for six months before bottling. There is no age statement — it would have been misleading for a whisky that deliberately marries two ages.

A heavy char is not the same as an ordinary toast. The inside of the cask is burnt until a layer of charcoal forms, and that layer works both as a filter and as a flavour source. It is why Victoriana picks up cocoa, burnt sugar and a dry smoke note that comes from no peat at all.

Tasting notes

Nose

Crème brûlée and plenty of vanilla, with cedarwood that reads more like perfume than timber. Behind it sit toasted sugar and citrus peel.

Palate

Rich and robust. Roasted sugars, dark fruits and spice, with toffee apple and caramelised sugar at the centre and ripe berries running underneath. The charred wood is clearly discernible but measured.

Finish

Long and warm. Dark fruit and spice first, then a gentle smoke from the charred oak and a dry bitterness at the close.

Specifications

Name: Glen Scotia Victoriana Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 54.2%
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Region/Country: Campbeltown, Scotland
Type: Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 54.2%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks and refill European oak with a finishing period in heavily charred casks and Pedro Ximénez butts
Edition: Victoriana
EAN no.: 5016840192220

Flavour profile

Dark fruit · Chocolate · Spiced · Lightly smoky · Cask Strength

Did you know?

By the time Duncan MacCallum had to close Glen Scotia in 1928, the golden age of Campbeltown was long past. The town had already lost most of its distilleries, and the Victorian era that Victoriana refers to lay some fifty years behind.

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Not every hero wears a cape — some wear a label with a bird. Glen Spey 12 year is one of the quiet classics from Diageo's Flora & Fauna series: a distillery that rarely performs as a soloist, here caught in a bottle in its purest form. Fruity, light and genuinely accessible.

Expert's description

Glen Spey 12 year Flora & Fauna is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 43% as part of Diageo's Flora & Fauna series. Glen Spey distillery sits at the heart of Rothes, Speyside, and is one of the smallest in Diageo's portfolio. Founded in 1878 as Mill of Rothes by James Stuart, acquired by W. & A. Gilbey in 1887 and since 1962 part of IDV, later Diageo. Almost all production goes into the J&B blend, and official single malt bottlings have historically been rare.

The Flora & Fauna series was launched in 1992 by United Distillers (now Diageo) as a tribute to distilleries that don't normally appear as single malt. The 26 original labels depict plants and animals from each distillery's local environment. Twelve years in oak casks at 43% produces a classic, balanced Speyside profile: fresh, floral and gently fruity with a creamy mid-palate.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh and floral with light citrus — lemon, grapefruit and clementine — underpinned by green apples, pears and a faint vanilla sweetness. Freshly cut grass and a hint of malted bread.

Palate

Soft and silky on the palate with orchard fruit — green apples and pears — combined with toffee, vanilla and a discreet spiced oak element. Orange and light almond round off the mid-palate.

Finish

Medium-length and clean with fresh fruit and a gentle sweetness. Classic, uncomplicated Speyside finish.

Specifications

Name: Glen Spey 12 year Flora & Fauna
Distillery: Glen Spey
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Non-chill filtered: No
EAN no.: 5000281016108

Flavour profile

Floral · Fruity · Light · Creamy · Fresh

Did you know?

The name "Flora & Fauna" is credited to whisky writer Michael Jackson, who helped United Distillers market the series in the early 1990s. The labels depicting local plants and animals have since become highly sought after by collectors.

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August 1991. A cask is filled at Glen Spey in Rothes. The world pays no attention. And then it waits — 24 years and six months — until Gordon & Company pulls bottle number 30 of 291 in February 2016 and puts the cork in. That is the definition of patience.

Expert's description

Glen Spey 1991/2016 The Pearls of Scotland 24 year is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Speyside matured in a single cask for 24 years and bottled at 49.5% by Gordon & Company. The Pearls of Scotland is Gordon & Company's series of cask strength bottlings — "a pearl is something valued highly for its beauty and rarity" is the philosophy behind it. Each release is single cask, bottled at cask strength, without colouring or chill filtration.

24 years in a single cask produces a whisky of rare complexity. Glen Spey's light, floral base character has had time to transform: the fruit has become jammy and concentrated, the oak has added vanilla depth and a light nutty resinousness, and the natural strength of 49.5% still holds everything in balance. Cask no. 2533 yielded exactly 291 bottles — no. 30 is the one you see here.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dense and malty with dark chocolate and a sharp green apple note. Blueberry and vanilla reveal themselves slowly, followed by pale honeycake and a faint suggestion of leather.

Palate

Vanilla-first, full and creamy with apple and orange as supporting elements. The tannins from the extended cask life are balanced by natural sweetness — never sharp, always well-integrated.

Finish

Long and creamy with rich toffee and a gentle oak note. Warm and slowly fading — the classic hallmark of a well-aged single cask.

Specifications

Name: Glen Spey 1991/2016 The Pearls of Scotland 24 year
Distillery: Glen Spey
Bottler: Gordon & Company (Distillers) Ltd. – The Pearls of Scotland
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 24 years
ABV: 49.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Single Cask
Bottled: February 2016
Number of bottles: 291 (bottle no. 30)
Cask no.: #2533
EAN no.: 5060371830663

Flavour profile

Malty · Chocolatey · Creamy · Fruity · Vanilla-rich

Investment potential

High — a 24-year single cask bottling from 2016, now over 10 years old as a release. Only 291 bottles exist, and Glen Spey single malts of this age are extremely scarce.

Did you know?

Glen Spey was the first Scottish distillery to come into English ownership when W. & A. Gilbey — a London wine merchant — acquired it in 1887. It opened the door for English capital in the Scottish whisky industry.

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