Bottles

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A shiny new Ledaig for us, the first release in the Sinclair Series! Ledaig is the name for the mega-peated whisky produced at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, which takes its name from one of the distillery’s previous monikers.

This is a whisky soaked in history, not only because the whole series is named after the distillery’s founder, John Sinclair. The smoky single malt was initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before an 18-month finish in Spanish Rioja casks.

If you thought Spain and the Scottish Islands didn’t have anything in common, think again – the reason for choosing these wine casks is a nod from the distillery to a bounty of Spanish treasure that was found off the coast of the Isle of Mull, which was lost there over 400 years ago! The holy trio of smoke, sweetness and spice awaits...

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The Arran Distillery is found on the Isle of Arran, an island off the west coast of Scotland. Founded back in 1993, the distillery is known for its many cask-finished whiskies, and while many have come and gone this Port Cask Finish (first released in 2010) has stuck around – and for good reason!

While this is a no-age-statement single malt, we do know that it initially spent around eight years in American oak, before it was moved to ex-Port casks for its finishing period. The creaminess of the initial maturation and bundles of jammy fruit from the finish both complement the savoury nature of the Island whisky itself, all presented at a generous 50% ABV.

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A burly, limited-edition whisky from Islay’s Kilchoman distillery! It was only founded in 2005 at the Rochside Farm, near Machir Bay – after which this whisky is named – and was in fact the first distillery to be built on Islay in 120 years. The small-scale producer is unusual in that it grows and malts its own barley on-site, where the maturation and bottling takes place, too. It only matures its single malts in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and this Cask Strength edition is no different!

Bottled up at a generous 58.6% ABV, there’s that Islay peat alongside vibrant citrus and herbaceous touches. 

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This Irish whiskey hails from the first distillery in Connacht for over 100 years! If that leads you to expect great things then you won’t be let down, because Drumshanbo Single Pot Still from The Shed Distillery is truly fabulous. It’s made with malted Irish barley, unmalted Irish barley, and Irish Barra oats – though using oats in pot still whiskey is a historical tradition, it’s much rarer these days. It’s fun to see them make a comeback!

Triple distillation and pot still whiskey are also commonly associated with Irish production, so this release holds a true sense of place. Matured in a combination of Kentucky bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, it’s cream, spices, and nuts galore in here!

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A classic Irish blend of malt and grain whiskeys, Roe & Co was launched in 2017, marking Diageo’s return to the growing Irish whiskey category! It’s solely matured in ex-bourbon casks (a high proportion of which are first-fill, meaning that this is the first time it’s been used to mature another whiskey), so there’s a lot of that creamy, honeyed bourbon influence to be enjoyed.

Roe & Co is powered by an awesome all-female team, with head distiller Lora Hemy and master blender Caroline Martin leading the line-up. Martin boasts nearly 40 years of experience under her belt, and over the course of two years she trialled over 100 prototype blends until finally landing on this winning recipe!

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Over in Speyside, you’ll find the Tomintoul Distillery, built in 1964. It’s gained the affectionate nickname ‘the gentle dram’, because of its mellow flavour profile. This is its Cigar Malt, a single malt specifically designed to be paired with cigars (though it is certainly just as delicious on its own!).

Master distiller Robert Fleming added some rarely-seen peated Tomintoul single malt to the expression, and all the malts used have either been fully matured or finished in Oloroso sherry butts sourced from Andalucia, Spain. Creamy malt, rich sherry, and a whisper of peat smoke make for a thoroughly toasty whisky.

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A fun and delicious release from Amrut over in India, Fusion gets its name because it’s not just made with Indian-grown barley, but peated barley from Scotland, too! Because of the hot climate, Amrut’s whisky isn’t matured for as long as its Scottish counterparts – up to 12% of the liquid is lost each year to the angel’s share (compared with just 2% in Scotland), so any longer in the cask and there wouldn’t be much left!

It’s a super versatile dram which was even named best whisky for a Rob Roy in the 2012 Ultimate Cocktail Challenge, though if you’re not up for mixing then it’s a superb sipper, too. Fresh fruit, gentle smoke, and spices galore!

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This is Scallywag from family-run independent bottler Douglas Laing, a blended malt inspired by the many cheeky fox terriers the family has owned! It’s comprised of a blend of Speyside malts, including whiskies from the Mortlach, Macallan, and Glenrothes distilleries. A generous 60% was drawn from first fill ex-Spanish sherry butts, bringing dark chocolate and spices to the flavour profile, with the rest coming from creamier ex-bourbon casks.

Cara Laing isn’t just the granddaughter of the brand’s founder, Fred Douglas Laing, she’s director of whisky for the company too, and worked for many iconic Scotch distilleries before landing in the role. She even became one of the youngest women to be appointed as a Keeper of the Quaich in 2014, an exclusive (and invite-only) community of people recognised for their outstanding contributions to Scotch whisky!

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A lesser-spotted age statement whiskey from Kentucky’s Bulleit Bourbon here! It spent its decade of maturation in charred American white oak, and thanks to its mash bill of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley, there’s a good balance of warming spices and creamy, vanilla-forward flavours.

Jenna Ba is the Bulleit Global Brand Ambassador, joining Diageo after collecting vast industry experience working in private members clubs and luxury hotels in London, to consulting for bars around the world. Jenna has an eye for innovation and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the pursuit of great drinks.

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The Old Pulteney distillery has come through some turbulent times since it was founded in 1826 – not least when its Highland home, the fishing town of Wick, became a ‘dry’ town in 1920.

The creation and consumption of alcohol was banned for the next 25 years! Luckily the restriction was lifted, because now we can enjoy this exclusively bourbon-matured single malt from the coastal distillery. This 12-year-old expression is a brilliant balance of creamy cask sweetness and the hallmark maritime salinity of the whisky itself.

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The clever folks behind Darkness sure love a well-sherried whisky, which is exactly what this 8 Year Old is! After an initial maturation in ex-bourbon barrels, this single malt Scotch (from an unknown distillery) was transferred to custom-made Oloroso sherry octave casks for at least three months. Octave casks are much smaller than your usual sherry butt, and the increased surface-area-to-volume ratio makes for some super amped up cask influence – generous helpings of chocolate, dried fruit and toasty spices await!

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A whisky all the way from New Zealand’s Cardrona Distillery, which was built in 2015 in the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island. This is (excitingly!) the very first single malt from the distillery, dubbed Just Hatched because it’s been bottled at three years old – exactly how old it needs to be to be legally called a whisky! It spent its short maturation in a majority of ex-bourbon barrels alongside a small proportion of ex-sherry butts.

It was bottled up at cask strength, a fairly generous 64.4% ABV. Any prior judgements you have about a whisky this youthful, be gone! While this is a fabulous release in its own right, it’s also an exciting glimpse into what we can expect from the distillery in the future.

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This well-aged Highland single malt is from Deanston, known for its light, waxy new make spirit. This 18 Year Old became part of the distillery’s core range in 2015, having spent the majority of its time in second-fill casks, though it was then finished in first-fill American oak Kentucky bourbon casks. Expect heaps of buttery, vanilla-forward sweetness from the finish, bottled without chill filtration at 46.3% ABV.

Julieann Fernandez is Deanston’s master blender, though this wasn’t part of her original plan – she originally studied Forensic Science at university! It looks like her laboratory skills are being put to great use in the blending studios now.

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We’ve got a collaborative limited-edition whisky here from independent bottler Compass Box, which joined forces with Paris wine bar Juveniles Bistrot à Vins! Rather heart-warmingly, the blended malt was made to celebrate friendships. Four single malts make up the whisky, with fruity Strathmill, herbal Balmenach, waxy Clynelish, and red fruit-forward Glendullan, drawn from a combination of refill hogsheads, re-charred hogsheads, and both first-fill and refill sherry butts. Phew!

The woman in whisky in question here is Jill Boyd, who joined the team as whisky maker in 2018 – which is quite a role considering the many distilleries the bottler sources its liquid from. Seeing as wine experts also had a hand in creating this one, it’s not out of place alongside a cheese board!

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FEW Spirits is based in Evanston, Illinois, a city which has strong historical connections with distilling and alcohol — though not in the most positive way! The distillery describes its home as the birthplace of Prohibition (a law which it was under for over 100 years) and the home of temperance, a movement which also promoted abstinence from alcohol in the 1800s.

In a rather tongue-in-cheek move, founder Paul Hletko named his distillery
after the initials of Frances Elizabeth Willard, a key figure in the women’s temperance movement. Not letting history deter him, he made it instead, as FEW was the first distillery in Evanston in 160 years! This is its Rye whiskey boasting a mash bill of 70% rye, 20% corn, and 10% malted barley, so while there’s a good helping of spice in here, it’s also wonderfully fruity and earthy.

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This blended malt comes to us from the Mars Shinshu distillery, based at just over 798 metres above sea level with a glorious view of Mt. Komagatake. It opened in 1985, though it was forced in 1992 to close due to lack of demand. It opened up again in 2012 to much better circumstances, and one of the expressions to come from the distillery since its reopening is this one, Mars Maltage “Cosmo”.

The name is a nod to the distillery’s location, and the stunning night sky that can be seen from its mountainous spot. While it’s blended and bottled at the site in Japan, and does feature a proportion of Japanese whisky, you’ll also find malts in here from undisclosed Scottish distilleries. Lots of light, delicate florals and fruity notes to enjoy!

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Milk & Honey is Israel’s first whisky distillery, established in 2012 in Tel Aviv! While its very first limited-edition single malt was released in 2017 (which was also Israel’s first single malt), this is its first core single malt, which was released in 2020. The whisky is matured in ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks, as well as Burgundy red wine-seasoned STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) casks.

STR casks were pioneered by the legendary, late Dr Jim Swan (given the title ‘the Einstein of whisky’), and the charring helps sweeten the notes from the wine. With 300 or more days of sun each year, the warm climate accelerates the effects of ageing, so though this doesn’t carry an age statement it packs in plenty of flavour!

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Independent bottler Whisky Works decided to keep an air of mystery around this single grain Scotch, keeping the distillery from which it hails a secret! The name is a clue, and we know that it’s from a now-closed grain distillery which, according to the bottler, ‘once stood at the heart of Scotland’s waterways’.

It was exclusively matured in American white oak barrels for 29 years, stored in traditional dunnage warehouses — these are usually built with a slate roof, thick stone walls, and an earthen floor. This type of warehouse keeps very cool and doesn’t see much temperature fluctuation, allowing whisky to rest there for many, many years without much loss to the angel’s share. The vanilla, tropical-forward flavours imparted by the oak go gloriously well with the orchard fruit and buttery grain sweetness of the whisky, making for an easy-sipping, yet complex expression.