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As this set came together, we couldn’t help but think “Cor, this is a bit good!” Huge Islay peat. Sherried Islanders. Campbeltown modern classic. Blended malt from the hottest bottlers around. Enjoy!

Jura 19 Year Old The Paps: Jura is an island with few people (around 200) and one road. It’s largely wild, full of deer, and has a landscape that’s dominated by three mountains known as the Paps of Jura. Matured for an impressive 19 years, the whisky started off in American oak bourbon barrels, before being finished in sherry casks of extraordinary quality, having previously held fine 40 year old Pedro Ximénez sherry. This is the pinnacle of Jura’s Sherry Cask Collection, previously only available in global travel retail.

Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength - Batch 016: Laphroaig is at once one of the best selling single malts in the world, and a cult whisky that happily plays up to its Marmite-esque ‘love it or hate it’ reputation. The distillery still runs traditional malting floors (four of them!), providing an impressive 20% of their not insignificant requirements rather than solely relying on specialist maltsters. This is also natural cask strength i.e. the whisky hasn’t been diluted at all after coming out of the cask (bourbon barrels here).

Isle of Harris - The Hearach First Fill Oloroso Cask Matured: The Hearach is the name of the lightly peated (12-15 PPM) single malt from the Isle of Harris distillery, and we’re big fans. It’s a project rooted in community, employing dozens on an island with a population of fewer than 2,000, with locals trained up to be distillers. Like many exciting younger distilleries, they pride themselves on longer fermentations (about 60% of their wash is fermented for 120 hours), manual distillation with a ‘human touch’, and transparency.

Glen Scotia 12 Year Old: When you see a whisky with a straightforward age statement name like this, from a 19th century distillery, you’d be forgiven for assuming it had always been around. This new (fantastic value) 12 Year Old, however, was only released in Aug 2025! No nonsense, 100% first fill bourbon, fruity, maritime Campbeltown goodness. After intermittent production and closure during the 1990s, Glen Scotia has really gone from strength to strength in the last decade, becoming essential and truly beloved by whisky geeks.

The Heart Cut x Barley Named Independent Bottler of the Year at Whisky Mag’s Icons of Whisky two years running (2024 & 2025), The Heart Cut has now bottled over 20 eclectic whiskies from some of the coolest distilleries around the world, always dealing with distilleries direct. No brokers or middle people. Plus, they’ve created this new ‘house’ blended malt. Truly extraordinary even before you hear that it’s a wife and husband duo, and that they started the business just a couple of years ago around the same time that their twins were born!

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Selecting 3x Lowland whiskies this month (and 5x between Dec & Jan) wasn’t done on purpose by the way! They were chosen on merit and it's just worked out that way. It does highlight however, how very good – and varied – things are happening in a whisky region that not so long ago only contained two active distilleries.

Daftmill 2011 Winter Batch Release 12 Year Old: It’s incredibly exciting to be able to bring you this. Daftmill’s one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, and grows all the barley on their own farm. Early releases sold out instantly! This is a slightly larger release, but production on the sixth generation family farm remains tiny, only making whisky during a few short months when farmwork is quieter, filling as few as 100 casks a year.

Tomintoul 10 Year Old: “The gentle dram” tells you something about what they’re going for. Founded in 1965, their classic and multi-award-winning 10 Year Old was launched in 2002, a couple of years after current owners Angus Dundee bought the distillery. We haven’t featured a Tomintoul since early 2021, and this malty, floral, softly fruity whisky is a wonderful way to ease ourselves into the new year.

Holyrood Ambir: Truly one of Scotland's new wave of innovative distillers, this fruity, buttery beauty is the distillery’s third release. Established in 2019 in Edinburgh’s historic old town, they take influence from the city’s rich brewing history. That’s certainly the case with Ambir, which features 4 speciality malts, and 10(!) different yeasts. Maturation is largely in first and second fill bourbon casks, with just over 10% in oloroso casks.

Ardnahoe Infinite Loch: A new Islay distillery! Well, it was founded in 2017, but its inaugural release only appeared in May 2024, followed by this (their first core release) in Sep. The distillery was built by top independent bottler and blender Hunter Laing who worked with Jim McEwan (legendary former Bowmore and Bruichladdich master distiller) to build the distillery and perfect their craft. A classic peated (40PPM), fruity Islay spirit.

Lindores Thiron 2024: Fans of whisky and history may recognise Lindores Abbey in relation to the first recorded mention of Scotch whisky (or at least distilled malt spirit). 523 years later – Drew & Helen McKenzie Smith returned distilling to the site, and hit the history books again fir this release. Lindores was a Tironensian abbey, and this whisky uses new French oak casks from trees grown in Thiron-Gardais.

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Two independent farm distilleries, three female master whisky makers, and even a trip to Japan! We’re starting 2026 in style. Happy New Year!

Filey Bay STR Red Wine Cask: One of two ‘field to bottle’ single estate whiskies this month, Filey Bay single malt is made at the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery in God’s own county. Their Flagship release is matured in bourbon casks, but this new permanent addition to the core range is fully aged in STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) red wine casks. These are a speciality pioneered by the late, great consultant Jim Swan, who offered vital guidance to Spirit of Yorkshire on the road from concept to reality.

Benriach The Original Ten: Amazingly our first unpeated Benriach! We’ve recently mentioned Benriach alongside Glendronach and former owner/master blender Billy Walker. It was current master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie, however, who completely overhauled Benriach’s range back in 2020. Her CV from over 30 years in the industry is legendary, creating whiskies for Glenmorangie, Bowmore, and Laphroaig. This natural colour 10-year-old brings together 3 cask types: bourbon, sherry & fresh American oak.

Lochlea Orchard & Oak - Single Estate: Lochlea is an independent family owned farm and distillery, making single malt exclusively from the barley they grow and harvest themselves. (Much like Spirit of Yorkshire.) We’ve enjoyed Lochlea’s seasonal releases, but Orchard & Oak – matured in a trio of first-fill bourbon, fresh American oak, and Calvados casks – is part of their first ever core range (alongside the sherry and Port matured Dark Briar, and ex-peated and red wine cask Smoke Without Fire).

The Glenrothes 15 Year Old: Founded in 1878, Glenrothes has long been valued by blenders, and benefits from the unparalleled sherry cask programme of Edrington. Glenrothes’ casks are said to cost 10x the industry average, and they run their tall stills very slowly. The result is an elegant spirit that ages beautifully with rich, smooth, rewarding character. This relatively new 15 Year Old was first released at the end of 2024, using casks personally selected by master whisky maker Laura Rampling.

Nikka Pure Malt Red: It’s been a while since we’ve had a Japanese whisky. Let’s fix that. Nikka was founded back in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, the father of Japanese whisky. ‘Pure Malt’ refers to what we would now call a blended malt, here meaning a combination of single malts from Yoichi, and Miyagikyo. Of the three in this particular range, which also includes White and Black editions, the Red is the one that predominantly comes from Miyagikyo. What does that mean? It means it’s the fruity one!

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This month we’re taking a closer look at American whiskey, with two different bourbons (one made with rye, the other wheated) and a fabulous single malt drawn from a single cask that you won’t find anywhere except Master of Malt and Pour & Sip. There are also a couple of exciting Scotch whiskies to keep things balanced. A light, zesty blended malt with a little Campbeltown influence, and a big, complex, highly sought-after, heavily peated Campbeltown single malt!

Four Roses Small Batch Select: A quirk of history means Four Roses have 10 recipes, using five different yeasts and two different mashbills. The classic Small Batch uses all 10, while this excellent Small Batch Select utilises six. The focus is on spice, with herbal and light fruit supporting. If you only had room for one bottle of American whiskey in your drinks cupboard, then this rye-forward sippable non-chill filtered bourbon might just be the one!

Bardstown Bourbon Co. Wheated Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon: This Kentucky straight bourbon is part of Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Origin Series, which means it all comes from their own distillery. Wheated bourbons such as this swap some or all of the rye out in favour of wheat. Famous examples include Maker’s Mark and Pappy Van Winkle. This leads to a more approachable, milder, smoother style of bourbon that many favour.

Westland 7 Year Old Exclusive Single Cask - Cask 6205: A Master of Malt and Pour & Sip exclusive from Seattle craft distillers leading the way for American single malt, and using exciting full flavoured malts (including some common in dark beers, porters and stouts). Cask 6205 is a Jurançon French white wine casks used to finish this whisly. Westland is also a Certified B Corporation, meaning that they’ve met extremely high social and environmental standards.

Noble Rebel Orchard Outburst: A blended malt brand launched in 2023, with Orchard Outburst providing “zingy citrus & salty ocean waves” alongside crisp ripe orchard fruits. Loch Lomond distillery offers vast versatility, with malt whisky from Glen Scotia also used. Some is also fermented using Chardonnay wine yeast to help intensify the fruit and citrus flavours, before being matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at natural colour without chill filtration.

Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch No. 9: Campbeltown whiskies, especially those from J&A Mitchell & Co.’s independently owned Springbank and Glengyle distilleries, are in very high demand these days! We’re therefore delighted to share this Kilkerran single malt from Glengyle with you. Glengyle only operates for part of the year with the majority of production dedicated to their lightly peated style, making this heavily peated whisky an even rarer treat.

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This July we’re celebrating the spirit of independence (American or otherwise) throughout the box, from perhaps the most famously independent of classic Scotch distilleries to a cracking old indie bottling.

Leiper's Fork Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whiskey: Founder Lee Kennedy and others successfully campaigned to overturn laws restricting distillation to just 3 counties in Tennessee, opening the door for a new wave in a further 41 Tennessee counties! Since 2016, Leiper’s Fork’s been on a mission to resurrect the small-batch, pot-distilled whiskeys that once flourished in Middle Tennessee before Prohibition. Made the slow way – with a sweet mash rather than sour, and lower barrel entry strengths, this one's 4-5 years old.

Blended Grain 37 Year Old 1987 (Master of Malt): One of the Independent Bottlers of the Year  at the Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky 2023, Master of Malt just gave their range a bit of a relaunch with handsome new labels and new releases. Selected by (also award-winning) Head of Whisky Sam Simmons, this extraordinarily well aged grain whisky was distilled in Dec 1987 and is comfortably the oldest whisky to ever feature in Pour & Sip!

Stowloch Ozark Highlands Whisky: Codified in Missouri law in 2022, Ozark Highlands spirits must be fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled in the Ozarks; use pure, chemical-free limestone-filtered Ozark Highland water; and if aged must be aged for a min of 4 years in Missouri-made oak barrels. Stowloch's made with heirloom, non-GMO grains, long fermentation, and a rye-less mashbill (like a wheated bourbon).

Torabhaig Sound of Sleat - The Legacy Series: The smoky breadcrumb trail to Torabhaig's first 10 year old continues with Sound of Sleat. Their island style revolves around “well-tempered” peat. 78 PPM is high (higher than most heavily peated Islay whiskies), but the peat used and crucially the tight cut points during distillation (only selecting the aromatics they desire) makes Torabhaig an entirely different experience..

Glenfarclas 15 Year Old Cheltenham Festival Edition: Although we featured a Glenfarclas of this age (and strength) back in 2021, when the opportunity to include this limited edition vatting presented itself we didn’t have to think about it very long. Sherry matured, mid-teen, 46% Glenfarclas has always been a sweet spot in the range, with this bottling marking 15 years of the distillery sponsoring Cheltenham’s famous cross country steeplechase.

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As July arrives, we're look stateside, with acclaimed bourbon, craft rye, and even single malt, alongside a pair of crackers from Scotland...

Glenglassaugh Sandend: Founded in 1875, with a tumultuous history, Glenglassaugh came back to life in 2008. It would later become a stable mate of Benriach and Glendronach, where it eventually got its chance to shine as a cracking single malt. This whisky is aged in a combination of bourbon, sherry, and manzanilla (a type of dry, coastal sherry) casks. It was named Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year in 2023, comes in a jaw-droppingly gorgeous bottle, and at 50.5% ABV is really rather good value too!

Bowmore 15 Year Old Sherry Oak: In May 2025 we shared a freshly release 12-year-old Bowmore. Now it’s the turn of the 15 Year Old in the same Sherry Oak Collection! Sitting alongside the core range, it celebrates European oak sherry casks, and once again maturation is in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks, with an additional oloroso cask finish. Here though, the bottling strength is higher. Bowmore distillery was founded way back in 1779, making it one of the very oldest distilleries in Scotland and the oldest on Islay.

Brother's Bond Bottled in Bond 7 Year Old Straight Bourbon: 98 and 97 point Double Golds in consecutive blind tasted San Francisco World Spirits Competitions (2024 & 2025) doesn’t happen by chance. The duo behind it? Actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, best known for starring roles in the US cultural phenomenon and UK cult hit The Vampire Diaries! Aged three years longer than a ‘bottled in bond’ bourbon needs to be, with an uncommon mash bill: 51% corn, 39% rye, 10% rye malt (i.e. high rye + no malted barley).

Jaywalk Bonded Rye: We’ve been fans of Allen Katz’s New York Distilling Company since 2013 when Dorothy Parker Gin landed in the UK (which has been regularly restocked on our drinks shelves ever since). But the story of Jaywalk begins with an investigation into historic New York rye varieties alongside Cornell University and just 10 seeds of Horton rye: a true heirloom grain with fruitier, less spicy characteristics! This bottled in bond release is made with 75% New York rye , 13% corn, and 12% malted barley.

Virginia Distillery Co. Blue Ridge Toasted Barrel Finish: After more than a decade of work by distillers and advocates, American single malt became the first new (official) American whiskey category in over 52 years back in Jan 2025. Virginia Distillery Co. was a founding member of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission, and this release – aged in first-fill bourbon barrels, then finished in new toasted oak from the Blue Ridge Mountains – was named Best American Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2026.

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We have Springbank this month, a huge coup! Plus another 100% floor malted gem, and a
dram with an entirely different coastal influence... We also rejoin the Strathearn story.

Springbank 10 Year Old: Springbank’s a cult whisky – it's unique, beloved, and production is limited by old school methods. They proudly malt, distil, mature and bottle everything on site. They malt 100% of the barley for their whiskies using their traditional floor maltings. Nobody else in Scotland can claim these things. Founded in 1828, it’s still independently owned. Funky, coastal, very Campbeltown.

Old Perth Manzanilla Limited Edition: Old Perth’s history dates back to 1908, brought back as a 100% sherry matured blended malt by the Morrison family in 2014. Unusually, that means a vatting of 11 handpicked manzanilla sherry casks here. Manzanilla’s essentially a type of dry, slightly salty (think sea spray) fino sherry that must be made around coastal Sanlúcar de Barrameda that can still be fresh and zesty in character.

Stauning HØST: Stauning’s whiskies are made from 100% floor-malted local rye and/or barley, and are double distilled in small direct-fired pot stills. It’s rare to malt rye, while double pot distillation is more like Scotch than classic rye except direct-fired stills (and their Maillard reactions) are now extremely rare in Scotland. HØST blends single malt and malted rye(!), matured mostly in American oak casks, but also using some Port barriques.

SPEY Chairman’s Choice PX Edition: Despite work starting in 1962, Speyside didn't produce spirit until 1990! In 2012 Harvey’s of Edinburgh took the reins. Their family’s SPEY brand (a cask of which is said to have been gifted to King George III by Lord Byron) thus became ‘SPEY from Speyside Distillery’. With their lease now ending they’re moving all the distillery’s equipment to a new site nearer the River Spey. So enjoy single malt from a newly ‘lost’ distillery! Matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry and bourbon casks.

Strathearn Single Malt Batch 02: Strathearn was founded in 2013, earlier than most ‘craft’ minded young distilleries, helping to blaze the trail. Douglas Laing then purchased the distillery in 2019 and doubled down on the use of heritage varieties of barley and long fermentations (144 hours). Their “inaugural” release was drawn from (bourbon, fresh oak, and sherry) casks laid down by both Douglas Laing and the previous owners, with Batch 02 featuring more bourbon and less fresh oak for a more naturally creamy and fresh dram.

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As summer beckons, we’ve brought summer fruits via Jerez, Veneto, and Great British whisky making! Plus a cult world blend, and Michelin-starred action.

The Lakes Signature: English whisky has come of age. Perhaps none more so than The Lakes. Distilling single malt since 2014, their Whiskymaker's Reserve range included the World Whiskies Awards’ World's Best Single Malt in 2022. Signature leads directly on from that range’s seven limited releases. The Lakes have a proactive and demanding approach to maturation - they tinker, taste, intervene, move cask positions, recask spirit, blend during maturation, marry for over a year etc. to build and layer flavour.

Ichiro's Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky: When we think of Japanese whisky, Suntory and Nikka usually come to mind. Ichiro Akuto, however, is the multi-award winning rock star founder of Chichibu (the first new Japanese distillery in 35 years when it started producing in 2008) who’s done more than anyone to disrupt that duopoly and lead a new wave of independent Japanese whisky makers. This is his ‘world blend’, bringing together whiskies from America, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland, alongside Chichibu!

Kingsbarns Balcomie: Kingsbarns distillery was built by the Wemyss family and opened in late 2014. It produces a light, floral and fruity spirit thanks to slow fermentation and slow distillation with a high, early cut point. Here, that’s been aged exclusively in American oak oloroso sherry butts selected to complement that fruity character. Balcomie is part of the core range alongside Coaltown (ex-peated casks), with but representing a departure or variation from Kingsbarns' signature Doocot style (90% bourbon, 10% STR red wine).

Glencadam Riserva di Amarone: Founded back in 1825, Glencadam was purchased by family owned Angus Dundee in 2003. It’s located in Brechin, a few miles from the coast between Aberdeen and Dundee. It'sknown to produce a light spirit thanks to plenty of reflux, and can be both floral and notably creamy. Riserva di Amarone has a pronounced Amarone Italian red wine cask finish, after starting out in bourbon casks, all aged in the distillery’s traditional dunnage (traditional stone walled and earthen floored) warehouses.

Highland Park 16 Year Old - Between You And I: Founded in 1798 (officially licensed 1826), Highland Park is celebrated for its unique lightly peated heather smoke character. Here it's teamed up with the best Swedish chef outside of Sesame Street. In fact, Björn Frantzén is the only chef with 3 restaurants that each have 3 Michelin stars. That’s one hell of a foodie collaboration! Aged largely in fresh Swedish oak casks (said to give a distinctly nutty spiciness, and a distillery first), a handful of bourbon, and sherry casks are also used.

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Seeing as St. Patrick's Day falls in March, we've filled this month's box with four Irish whiskeys! Plus a Mortlach, because who doesn't love a splash of Scotch? Get stuck into some classic styles and new releases in this one.

J.J. Corry Anfa No.2: Created in partnership with Drinks by the Dram, the second edition of this blended whiskey is full of fresh fruit notes, wrapped up in wave after wave of vanilla and honeycomb.

Sailor's Home Stormchaser: This release brings together triple-distilled Irish single malts aged in virgin oak and bourbon casks, with two pretty unique cask finishes: craft Irish stout barrels, and Madeira casks.

Dingle Lúnasa: This is the fourth release in the nine release-strong Wheel of the Year series, this is a triple-distilled single malt, initially aged in bourbon casks before it was finished in casks that previously held bourbon from the Widow Jane distillery, bottled at a generous 50.5% ABV.

Jameson Single Pot Still - Five Oak Cask Release: Jameson's first single pot still whiskey since the 1960s, released in 2022 and matured in five different barrel types: bourbon and first-fill sherry casks, as well as three types of virgin oak made from Irish, European, and American oak.

Mortlach 15 Year Old - Distillery Labels (Gordon & MacPhail): Gordon & MacPhail's Distillery Labels series was created to honour the bottler’s long-standing relationships with over 100 distilleries across the country, and here it's celebrating Mortlach, matured in first-fill and refill sherry casks.

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Three different styles of Irish whiskey this month, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Plus two single malts from longstanding Scotch distilleries both still drawing inspiration from their storied pasts.

Ballechin 13 Year Old Batch 1 - Cask Strength Edition: All tiny distilleries celebrating more traditional methods owe a debt to Edradour. ‘Scotland's Little Gem’ is a surviving farm-scale distillery dating back to 1837, purchased by top independent bottler Signatory in 2002. In 2006 the first peated malt from Edradour was release under the Ballechin name. This excellent cask strength edition was aged in oloroso and bourbon casks.

Glen Garioch 12 Year Old: Founded in 1797, Glen Garioch (pronounced ‘Glen Geery’) is one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. The stills have the country's steepest descending lyne arms, reducing reflux for a hearty, robust Highland malt. Fruitiness comes from clear wort and increased fermentation times in more recent years. This bourbon and sherry cask matured 12yo from their core range is nonetheless bottled at a generous 48% and non-chill filtered.

Saints & Sinners & Rebels & Rogues 18 Year Old: &Whisky is all about no nonsense, tasty, peerless value whisk(e)y. This Irish blend is no exception. It’s made with well-aged malt and grain whiskeys from across the whole isle of Ireland (we can’t say any more…), and is described as “dancing whiskey” by Dave Worthington! Its age almost belies its quaffable every day drinker credentials. Delicious, fruity, and creamy, classically Irish.

Glendalough Pot Still Irish Oak Finish: Glendalough (pronounced ‘Glen da-Loch’) are craft distillers who also release whiskeys sourced elsewhere (like this one). Pot still Irish whiskey is a quintessentially Irish style (in this case made with a 1:2 ratio of malted and unmalted Irish barley). Here it's unusually finished in fresh Irish oak casks from trees in the Wicklow mountains selected under a Continuous Cover Forest Management System.

Temris 5 Year Old P.X. Sherry Cask Finish: A new Irish single malt whiskey here, completing three different styles of Irish whiskey in this box. ‘Temris’ is an ancient (Proto-Celtic) word meaning ‘sanctuary’ or ‘sacred place’, which they liken to their goal of creating a “haven of flavour”. It’s natural colour and non-chill filtered, initially aged in bourbon casks then finished in casks that previously held rich, sticky Pedro Ximénez sherry.

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St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, so a duo of single pot still Irish whiskeys is just the ticket! Still room for three intriguing Highlanders though…

The Dalmore 17 Year Old: Officially released 3 March 2026, this new release couldn’t be hotter off the press! It enjoyed a lengthy finish in a combo of Apostoles, Amoroso, and Matusalem Oloroso sherry casks from the distillery’s exclusive century-long partnership with González Byass. Some of these true bodega casks held quality sherry for 30 years! Not all sherry casks are created equal, folks. Before that, it started life in bourbon casks. It’s like the 15 Year Old’s older brother, in silk slippers.

Green Spot 10 Year Old 100 Year Anniversary Limited Edition: This is single pot still Irish whiskey. A quintessentially Irish style made with both malted and unmalted barley. Green Spot was first advertised in The Irish Times back in 1925, with this limited edition marking its 100th anniversary. It’s aged in bourbon and sherry casks like the regular Green Spot, but where that’s aged between 7-10 years and bottled at 40%, this is aged for at least 10 years and bottled at 46%. Nice.

Boann Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Madeira Cask: For a new wave Irish distillery, Boann was top of our list: independent, family owned, innovative, award-winning, using local Irish grains and has a sustainability focus. Single pot still is a uniquely Irish style made with a minimum 30% malted barley and a minimum 30% unmalted barley, plus an optional up-to-5%-total other cereals (both oats and rye used here). Boann’s also reproduced ‘heritage mashbills’ with more of these other grains (but can’t label them single pot still… currently.)

GlenWyvis The Drover: GlenWyvis is unique. With nearly 4,000 members, it’s community-owned and run as a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society. It’s not all been plain sailing (the project has long since fallen out with its originator, with whom they’re locked in legal disputes), but the whisky is certainly shaping up nicely. The Drover is a limited release of 3,000 bottles matured in a wonderfully integrated combo of 37% Sauternes wine barrique, 30% Madeira hogshead, 21% first fill bourbon barrel, and 12% first fill oloroso sherry hogshead.

The Ardmore Legacy: Founded in 1898, Ardmore has unusually continued to produce an old fashioned peated style of Highland whisky right through to today. Ardmore’s underrated single malt has both fans who hunt independent bottlings, and those who’ve found this release in particular a perfect gateway to smoky whiskies. Legacy combines 80% (Highland) peated (12-14 PPM), and 20% unpeated malt, for a so-affordable-why-would-you-ever-not-have-a-bottle(?) lightly peated yet fragrant treat.

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It's May! As we enter the month in which Islay holds its annual festival of music and malt, we've once again made the famous whisky island the focus of our set. That doesn't mean everything is peated though, and we've rounded the set off with a curveball from the Highlands aged in casks that previously held a famous Italian wine...

Kilchoman Batch Strength: A new release matured in a combination of re-charred red wine casks, oloroso sherry butts, and bourbon barrels. It’s bottled at 57% ABV for a “colossal” single malt with all the rugged power of the farm’s bull Rory.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie - Scottish Barley: Bruichladdich’s flagship unpeated single malt release, made with 100% Scottish barley. It’s bottled at a hearty 50% ABV, which is a chunk higher than equivalent releases from almost any other distillery (usually 40-46%). This bottling strength is said to help bring the barley notes to the fore.

Islay Whisky 8 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company): The very Best Small Batch Islay Single Malt 2024! So say the knowledgeable folk who judge Whisky Magazine’s World Whiskies Awards. Launched at the tail end of 2023, this Islay 8 Year Old is part of their new ‘core range’.

Mac-Talla Mara: An intense cask strength nod to Islay whisky’s maritime ‘from the sea’ character, matured in American oak casks and bottled with neither chill-filtration nor added colour. Mac-Talla reflects the Morrison family’s connection to the island and its whiskies spanning five generations.

Tomatin 12 Year Old 2010 Italian Collection - Barolo Cask: Hold on, this isn’t from Islay! Nope, here’s something entirely different. A limited edition released towards the end of last year as part of a trio of Italian red wine cask finished whiskies. While the Amarone and Marsala releases were intriguing, we couldn’t resist bringing you the Barolo cask.

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May brings a celebration of Islay single malts coinciding with the isle’s festival of music and malt – plus a curve ball or two…

Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà: The first peated Bunnahabhain (their whiskies are usually unpeated) we’ve featured in Pour & Sip. Toiteach a Dhà (pronounced ‘Toch-ach ah-ghaa’) is Gaelic for "Smoky Two", being the follow up to one of their previous smoky releases named simply Toiteach. Matured in bourbon and sherry casks, this second version has a higher proportion of sherry casks.

Kilchoman Sanaig Cask Strength 2024 Edition: Kilchoman's 20th anniversary is this year! Peated to a hearty 50 PPM (phenol parts per million), yet distilled to preserve some lighter floral and citrus notes, this one of their richer offerings. A much anticipated limited edition cask strength version of Sanaig, their predominantly sherry matured style (either finished or fully matured in American oak oloroso sherry hogsheads from Bodegas José y Miguel Martín).

Bowmore 12 Year Old Sherry Oak: Not the classic Bowmore 12 Year Old here, but rather a brand new 12yo whisky from their brand new Sherry Oak Collection! This particular release is aged in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks, with an additional oloroso cask finish. Bowmore distillery was founded way back in 1779, making it one of the very oldest distilleries in Scotland and the oldest on Islay, with a peat level of 25-30 PPM.

SRV5 8 Year Old Blended Malt (Thompson Bros.): Really very affordable whisky lovingly put together by whisky geeks (off of the brilliant Dornoch Castle Hotel and the celebrated Dornoch distillery), for whisky geeks. 'Station Road Vat 5' is the 1k litre European oak ‘solera’ vat (never emptied to less than a third) where this non-chill filtered, natural colour blended malt (North Highland, Islay & Speyside single malts) slowly integrated over many months.

Godawan Series 02 - Fruit and Spice: An Indian whisky that takes its name from the endangered Great Indian Bustard (contributing to their preservation). It's matured in bourbon barrels and finished in cherry wood casks. In Scotland, only oak casks are allowed, but in other countries woods such as cherry offer opportunities for innovation. The north Indian climate plays a big role too, with temperatures often reaching 50°C!

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New whiskies. Unreleased whiskies. Sought-after whiskies. Islay whiskies. A Norwegian whisky? Unpeated through to heavily peated. May is huge!

Aberargie Inaugural: One of the most exciting releases of 2026 hit shelves in March, and widely sold out. Why? It’s the first ever Aberargie. Built by the Morrison family on their own farm, they grow all the barley they use. Yes, it’s another (of still only a tiny handful) exciting single estate farm distillery, and they’ve already been calmly distilling since 2017! Inaugural uses 52% Golden Promise (heritage) and 48% Laureate (modern higher yielding) barley, and a 50:50 split of first-fill bourbon and sherry casks.

Bunnahabhain 15 Year Old An Cuan Garbh No. 1 - The Westering Home Collection 2026: This one couldn’t be hotter off the press! Unpeated and finished in White Port (made with white grapes – think citrus and toasted nut notes) casks. A match made in heaven for often nutty, subtly coastal Bunnahabhain – An Cuan Garbh being Gaelic for ‘the rough seas’. Part of the second series in the Westering Home collection, this is a release of 7,571 full-sized bottles worldwide.

Big Peat Fèis Ìle 2026: Not officially released until 22 May 2026, this special Big Peat marks the 40th anniversary of the legendary Fèis Ìle (the annual Islay festival of music and malt, with a little more emphasis on the latter…). Big Peat is of course a legend in its own right, known to include Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and more, and even a teeny smidge of Port Ellen (now we really are talking legendary!) Here it's also had a Pedro Ximénez sherry cask finish. Still smoky and unapologetic, but richer and more indulgent.

Kilchoman Maury Cask Matured: This limited edition – only released in March 2026 – is full maturation in Maury wine casks. (Since 2021, for those wondering). Think kind of Port-style fortified wine from southern France, made with at least 75% Grenache Noir grapes. Strawberry jam and honeyed dates notes. Bold stuff from Kilchoman, a family-owned distillery we love, founded in 2004. All the malt they use is peated to a hearty 50 PPM (phenol parts per million), but distilled to preserve some lighter citrus character.

Bivrost Yggdrasil 2025: From the northernmost distillery in the world, at 69.39°N. Arctic whisky. Bivrost literally means ‘shaking road’ in ancient Norse, and is the Viking term for the Northern Lights. Yggdrasil is their ‘core whisky’ but it’s released annually. Distilled between 2018 and 2021, this release used Pilsener Malt (Planet and Popino Nordic barley) as well as some heavily peated malt. Lager and Old English ale yeasts are used, as well as glacial meltwater. It was matured in oloroso sherry seasoned, in-house charred casks.

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This month’s pack runs the gamut from fun cask, to souped up American classic, to rarely seen. Plus something well-aged and truly timeless...

Highland Park 17 Year Old 2007 (cask 5358) - Connoisseurs Choice (Gordon & MacPhail): Legends collide. We’ve rightly featured Highland Park several times over the years, including at cask strength, but never this old, and never as an independent bottling. Established in 1895 G&M have been filling different distilleries’ new make into their own casks, and aging them in their own warehouse for four generations. This Highland Park was aged for 17 years in a first fill sherry butt, and celebrates 130 years of G&M.

Maker's Mark 46: A household name whisky, but this one has a twist. All Maker’s is made with the same wheated mashbill (70% corn, 16% soft winter wheat and 14% malted barley) producing an approachable, ‘milder’ style of bourbon, but Bill Samuels Jr. – son of founders Bill and Margie – has created his own signature edition by fitting 10 seared French oak staves inside each barrel and maturing it further. Bigger. Bolder. Still smooth. No rye? No problem.

Glen Moray 2014 Tequila Finish - Warehouse 1: Glen Moray, founded in 1897, is a well-respected classic fruity, ‘toffeed’ Speyside single malt from Elgin with an always affordable and more than solid core range. They also release special and sometimes experimental treats in their Warehouse 1 collection. Distilled in 2014, this whisky spent 8 years in bourbon barrels before being moved into Tequila casks. (It was only in 2019 that these casks were actually permitted by the Scotch Whisky Association!)

Clydebuilt Anchorsmith: With their Ardgowan distillery now up and running, the award-winning Clydebuilt blended malt series is coming to an end. Anchorsmith one of the final two bottlings, created by master whisky maker Max McFarlane (previously lead whisky maker at Edrington, working on whiskies like Highland Park). It’s a blend of six single malt whiskies from the Highlands, Lowlands, and Speyside, all fully matured in first-fill oloroso sherry casks.

Roseisle 12 Year Old (Special Release 2024): Only the second whisky ever released from Roseisle distillery! Dubbed ‘Origami Kite II’, it's matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon and refill casks. The distillery was founded in 2009, and showed what a modern, energy efficient distillery built by the big boys could look like. Both a workhorse (for blends), and a chameleon, it’s able to produce various styles. Integrated and inviting, we’re told this release is a “marriage of three spirit streams”.

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As we were putting your set together this month, two of the featured whiskies hadn’t even been released yet! We have two intriguingly beer-influenced drams, and the oldest whisky to ever feature in Pour & Sip too! Enjoy.

Meikle Tòir The Original 5 Year Old: Meikle Tòir (“mee-kuhl tor”) is a peated single malt from the usually unpeated GlenAllachie distillery. Celebrated master distiller Billy Walker began making the first peated whiskies at GlenAllachie (for just 6 weeks a year) back in 2018, shortly after he acquired the distillery. Meikle Tòir uses mainland peat (35 PPM here), with a lengthy 160-hour fermentation to retaian a sweeter side. The Original is aged in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels, fresh American oak casks, and rye barrels.

Girvan 40 Year Old 1985 (Master of Malt 40th Anniversary Bottling): Master of Malt, the award-winning online retailer behind Pour & Sip began life as a mail order independent bottler way back in 1985! Girvan, meanwhile, was founded in 1963 in the town of the same name. It’s owned by William Grant & Sons (the family owned company off of Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Ailsa Bay single malt distilleries, the latter on the same site as Girvan). A batch of just 473 bottles, matured in refill sherry butts.

Berry Bros. & Rudd 12 Year Old Speyside Sherry Cask - The Classic Range: Not simply one of the oldest wine merchants in the world, Berry Bros. & Rudd – founded in 1698(!) at 3 St James's Street, London – also bottles some incredible whiskies. BBR’s previous Classic Range of blended malts was replaced last year by new single malts including this age statement Speysider matured in oloroso sherry butts. Classic Speyside stuff, while also being an absolutely perfect everyday sipper.

Nc'nean Quiet Rebels Simon: We love this organic, certified B Corp distillery, powered by 100% renewable energy. We also love their Quiet Rebels series, celebrating the humans behind the whisky with releases selected by, and named after, members of the team. Still unreleased at the time of writing, Simon here means distiller Simon Hewitt, whose very own Nc’nean single malt started life in shaved, toasted and re-charred (STR) red wine casks, but was finished in stout casks from famed Scottish brewery Innis & Gunn.

Timorous Beastie x WEST Brewery Beer Cask Finish: Douglas Laing's long been one of our fave indie bottlers. From their ‘Remarkable Regional Malts’ range, Timorous Beastie's a blended malt exclusively containing Highland malts such as Glen Garioch, Dalmore & Glengoyne. There’s a twist, however, as this one's been finished in casks that previously held WESTWERK03 – a rich, strong (8.4%) malt-forward limited edition Doppelbock, which was itself barrel-aged for 80 days in former Timorous Beastie whisky casks!

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Plenty "for relaxing times" here, but also to get the pulses racing. PX, rye, Bordeaux, that Weller… and something new from Ian Rush’s mates. (No, really - they just released a Welsh whisky with him!)

W.L. Weller Full Proof (Barrel 457) - (Master of Malt Exclusive): Hugely exciting this. A Master of Malt and Pour & Sip exclusive ‘Sazerac Barrel Select’ bottling of W.L. Weller Full Proof wheated bourbon! An extra special single cask edition of what was already a hard-to-find highlight from Buffalo Trace Distillery. Wheated bourbons such as this swap rye for wheat. Other famous examples include Maker’s Mark and Pappy Van Winkle.  W.L. Weller in fact uses the exact same mashbill as the legendary (also Buffalo Trace Distillery) Pappy Van Winkle.

Auchroisk 14 Year Old 2011 - Cask Masters (Brave New Spirits): A single cask (22074022/2011) from Glasgow-based independent bottlers Brave New Spirits. This Auchroisk (our first from this distillery built back in 1974, say "OH-thrusk") has been finished in a single first-fill Saint-Estèphe barrique. Saint-Estèphe in the northernmost part of the Médoc is one of Bordeaux's most celebrated appellations. 343 individually numbered bottles were produced at a ‘Golden Proof’ of around 50% ABV.

Penderyn 12 Year Old: Our previous forays into Penderyn’s limited edition Icons of Whisky range included Bad Wolf 10 Year Old, their first general release with an age statement. This year, they’ve released 12, 21, and 25-year-olds! Penderyn was the first (legal) distiller in Wales in over 100 years, leading the way for Welsh whisky this century, and helping to establish a Welsh single malt Geographical Indication (GI). They primarily use Faraday stills (a unique cross between a pot and column still) for a unique, light, Welsh malt whisky.

Arbikie Highland Rye 1794 The PX: Scottish rye whisky from the Stirling family’s ‘field to bottle’ single estate distillery! The mashbill is 60% winter rye, 25% spring malted barley, and 15% winter wheat - 100% of which is grown on their 2000-acre family farm. They’re also B Corp certified and have won a slew of sustainability awards. Maturation here is initially in new charred American oak, before a finish in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks (uncommon for rye). Arbikie’s ryes were the first in Scotland in over a century.

Toki Black: The Toki range brings together malts from Suntory’s Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries alongside grain whisky from their Chita distillery. But while the original Toki was built around fresh and fruity (unpeated) Hakushu aged in American oak, Toki Black (launched Sep 2025) introduces peated Hakushu for a refined smoky twist on an adaptable staple. It’s slightly richer, with the inclusion of rare Hakushu grain another point of difference. Suntory is Japan’s oldest whisky producer, dating back to 1923.

Pour & Sip

Pour & Sip is 5 years old this month! Discover a couple of very different Highlanders, some Islay peat, pre-prohibition style rye, and a honeyed/zesty treat from the Compass Box aces. Plus we've chucked a smart Pour & Sip tumbler in too!

Ardnahoe Bholsa: Founded by top independent bottler Hunter Laing back in 2017, they worked with the legendary Jim McEwan (previously of Bowmore and Bruichladdich) to build the distillery and perfect their craft. Stewart Laing and his sons Andrew & Scott are producing classic peated (40PPM), fruity Islay spirit. This is the second core release. The sherry influence is dialed up, with this non-chill filtered, natural colour single malt matured predominantly in oloroso sherry casks.

Balblair 10 Year Old Single Malt - Living Souls: An independent bottling of Balblair, a ditillery we haven’t featured since 2021. Founded in 1790, long fermentations and small stumpy stills now produce a fruity, meaty spirit. The distillery also features in the Ken Loach movie ‘Angels’ Share’. This 10 year old is non-chill filtered, natural colour, and was finished in Limousin Oak XO octaves (i.e. small casks that previously held Cognac). Living Souls say that it’s “Ideal for enjoying a classic book while relaxing by a cozy open fire.”

Dad's Hat 6 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company): Founded in 2011, Dad’s Hat creates an ‘old-school’ pre-prohibition Pennsylvania style Rye - 80% grain, 20% malt (15% barley, 5% rye malt), no corn, and a sweet mash. They use local farms for their grains, temperature controlled fermenters, and perform five to seven day low-and-slow ferments to develop a complex flavour. This natural cask strength limited (289 bottles) indie release comes via That Boutique-y Whisky Company's baseball card themed USA Series.

Compass Box Nectarosity: Compass Box have been vital and inspirational blenders and whiskymakers for over twenty years, championing transparency in whiskymaking (and occasionally getting into trouble for it!). That’s why we can tell you Nectarosity is 34.4% Linkwood (22.6% first-fill Palo Cortado sherry cask + 11.8% refill sherry puncheon), 22.8% Clynelish (10.7% second-fill fresh oak + 12.1% first-fill bourbon), and 7.1% Balmenach (first-fill bourbon) malts, plus 15.9% Girvan, and 19.8% Cameronbridge grains.

The Glendronach - Ode to the Valley: Glendronach, founded in 1826, has become synonymous with rich, sherried goodness, now overseen by master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie. She tells us that “Ode to the Valley sings of an abundance of ripe fruit, it is the landscape of The Glendronach Distillery in full glory”. Here, their usual signature high quality Spanish sherry casks are joined by fruity Ruby Port casks from the Duoro Valley in Portugal. It’s part of The Master’s Anthology, a new trilogy of malts worth seeking out.