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Sherry casks play some role in every other dram in this set, and Glengoyne is another distillery known for using a significant amount of sherry casks as well as bottling at natural colour. Here comes the curve ball, though. Released this year, here’s a Glengoyne that uses no sherry casks whatsoever. White Oak is matured in first-fill bourbon and fresh oak casks with a low level of char. The idea is that the character of their slowly distilled spirit is allowed to shine through, and it’s already won gold medals at the International Spirits Challenge and the San Francisco Spirits Awards.

Founded in 1833, the distillery was purchased by Ian MacLeod in 2003, and famously lies on the Highland line. In fact, while the stills and most of the distillery buildings are in the Highlands (making it a Highland whisky), the maturing casks just over the road are actually sat in the Lowlands!

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October's theme – sort of inadvertently! – is oak. Fresh oak and types of oak explored across three quite different single malt whiskies. We also have a 95% rye Tennessee whiskey, and a welcome return of some quality Scotch blended whisky to Pour & Sip.

Cotswolds 5 Year Old 2018 - The Heart Cut #6: The Heart Cut is a new independent bottler from wife and husband duo Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni. Both have spent their whole careers in drinks, with Georgie named Whisky Ambassador of the Year 2020 at the Icons of Whisky. Their early releases are a real statement of intent, including a rare Cotswolds malt aged in a single fresh American oak cask. Big and impressive stuff.

Jimmy Rack Tennessee Straight Rye Cask Strength: By law a rye whiskey must contain at least 51% rye, but this is 95% rye! (5% malted barley for necessary enzymes, but no corn.) As a Tennessee whiskey it must also be filtered through maple charcoal after distillation (the Lincoln County Process), but all Daddy Rack whiskeys are further mellowed by a second maple charcoal filtering after maturation. “A bartender's dream”.

Benromach Contrasts Virgin Oak: The Contrasts range always varies from Benromach's core range, with this new release using fresh oak casks that haven’t previously been used to age anything else, which means they’re very active, imparting plenty of classic American oak vanilla and citrus notes. Benromach is also one of the only mainland distilleries where all their production is peated (albeit a relatively light style).

Maclean’s Nose: It’s been a while since we featured a Scotch blend, and this is a great one. Named after both a geological landmark on the Ardnamurchan peninsular, and in honour of famous whisky expert Charles MacLean MBE, it’s made up of 70% malt (both bourbon and sherry cask ‘West Highland’ single malt – presumably Ardnamurchan – alongside some Campbeltown single malt), and a base of 30% classic, unifying grain.

Isle of Raasay Columbian Oak: Oak is vital for making whisky, but different species have different qualities. For example Quercus alba American white oak used in bourbon barrels (and some sherry casks), and quercus robur European oak for traditional sherry butts. But quercus humboldtii from Columbia? You don’t see that every day! This lightly peated whisky was matured entirely in fresh Colombian oak barriques.

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The Heart Cut is a new independent bottler from wife and husband duo Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni. Both have spent their whole careers in drinks, with Georgie named Whisky Ambassador of the Year 2020 at the Icons of Whisky awards as well as working prominently across Bacardi and Diageo’s biggest malts. The Heart Cut’s early releases are a real statement of intent, including exciting whiskies from across America, England, Scandinavia and beyond.

Release #6 is from Cotswolds, a multi-award-winner at the forefront of English whisky. As with Kingsbarns last month, most of their spirit goes into ex-bourbon or STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, but once again this is something a little different. It’s a rare Cotswolds bottling matured in a single fresh American oak cask that had no prior contents. Big and impressive stuff.

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A new whiskey from Daddy Rack AKA J. Arthur Rackham, a Brit who's spent over 50 years in drinks, fulfilling his dream of creating a Tennessee whiskey when Daddy Rack launched in 2021 (we featured it in Pour & Sip that summer). Now he’s released a rye, which by law must contain at least 51% rye, but this is 95% rye! (5% malted barley for necessary enzymes, but no corn.)

As a Tennessee whiskey it must be filtered through maple charcoal after distillation (the Lincoln County Process), but all Daddy Rack whiskeys are further mellowed by a second light maple charcoal filtering after they’ve aged in barrels. The lighter than usual char of these barrels, and their position within the rickhouses, are all part of Rackham’s specification with each batch a blend of 20 selected barrels. “A bartender's dream”, and at cask strength an “uncut diamond”.

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Benromach’s Contrasts range of limited releases showcases whisky that varies from their core range, whether that’s the level of peat, type of barley, or often the casks used. This is one of the newest additions, using fresh oak casks that haven’t previously been used to age anything else which means they’re very active, imparting plenty of classic American oak vanilla and citrus notes.

Founded in 1900, the modern era of Benromach began in 1993 when it was purchased by legendary whisky bottler Gordon & MacPhail. It had sat silent for over ten years, and took until 1998 to revive, concentrating on an old-school, all but forgotten lightly smoky Speyside style. This made it the only distillery on the mainland to use peat for essentially 100% of their production (still pretty much true today, although the newly reopened Brora would be another example).

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BACK IN STOCK SOON

It’s been quite a while since we featured a Scotch blend, and this is a great one. Created by Adelphi, owners of the excellent Ardnamurchan distillery (which featured in our August sets), it’s named after both a geological landmark on the Ardnamurchan peninsular, and in honour of famous whisky expert Charles MacLean MBE who has worked closely with Adelphi as ‘chief nose’ and mentor for many years.

It’s pleasingly old fashioned and made up of 70% malt whiskies (both bourbon and sherry cask ‘West Highland’ single malt – presumably Ardnamurchan – alongside some Campbeltown single malt), and a base of 30% classic, unifying grain. In other words, a very high malt content, a healthy proportion of sherry, and more than a lick of west coast. All bottled at 46%, natural colour, no chill-filtration. Drinkable and affordable, there’s much to admire.

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Oak is vital for making whisky, but different species have different qualities. You have quercus alba American white oak used in bourbon barrels (and some sherry casks), then quercus robur European oak for traditional sherry butts. Perhaps quercus petraea, sessile oak sometimes seen as Limousin oak or simply ‘French oak’. Japanese mizunara oak is quercus crispula, a type of quercus mongolica. But quercus humboldtii from Columbia? You don’t see that every day! (The only other example we can think of is Black Bottle Andean Oak.)

This lightly peated whisky from the Isle of Raasay – resident population 195 – was matured entirely in fresh Colombian oak barriques. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised when even their signature core release is partly matured in Chinkapin oak (quercus muehlenbergii, in case you’re wondering).

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Packed with some of our favourite drams from years of Pour & Sipping!

Whether you're new around here, or have been part of the club for a while, inside this Advent calendar you’ll find 24 wax-sealed drams, filled with whiskies that our members have enjoyed over the last couple of years of flavour exploration. Whether you're revisiting them, or enjoying ones you missed, they’re delicious, tried, and tested. Just solid gold hits for the festive run-in.

Happy Sipsmas! 

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From new releases to old favourites, Pour & Sip showcases five different whiskies each month – and here are 24 of them! Whether you're new around here, or have been part of the club for a while, inside this Advent calendar you’ll find some of our favourite wax-sealed drams, filled with whiskies that our members have enjoyed over years of whisky exploration. They’re delicious, tried, and tested – all you need to do is Pour & Sip.

Happy Sipsmas! 

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So it's September, and the weather is turning... Perhaps time for a big warming cask strength Speysider fully matured in Rioja casks? We thought so too. Classic stuff from Balvenie too, alongside Indian single malt, and exciting new releases from a pair of up and coming Lowland distilleries.

The Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask: Balvenie is a famous and much loved distillery, founded in 1892, and one of only a few that still runs its own traditional floor maltings (providing up to 15% of their malt requirements). This 14 Year Old was matured in American oak casks before being finished in Caribbean rum casks (as opposed to sherry casks like the DoubleWood) and has been part of the range since 2010.

Ballindalloch 2015 Vintage Release 8 Year Old: One of Scotland’s newest whisky-releasing distilleries, Ballindalloch Distillery was founded in 2014 to make Scotland’s first ‘single estate whisky’ i.e. all the barley is grown on the Ballindalloch Estate itself. They have a traditional ‘hands-on’ approach and use worm tub condensers. This is aged in a combination of 80% bourbon barrels and 20% sherry butts.

Paul John Brilliance: Alongside Amrut especially, Paul John has helped to firmly establish India on the malt whisky map, picking up many awards. Brilliance is unpeated (although they do also produce peated whiskies), made with Indian 6-row barley from the Himalayan foothills, and matured in bourbon barrels for 3-5 years in Goa’s tropical climate, driving more intense interaction between spirit and wood within a shorter time.

Glen Moray 8 Year Old 2015 Rioja Matured - Warehouse 1: Glen Moray, founded in 1897, is well respected and appreciated by whisky fans for their affordable and more than solid core ranges. The Warehouse 1 collection meanwhile is home to Glen Moray’s cask explorations and more limited releases, presented at natural cask strength and natural colour, without chill-filtration. This whisky spent its entire maturation in Rioja red wine casks for a deep, full-bodied sipper.

Kingsbarns Coaltown: Kingsbarns distillery was founded by the Wemyss family in late 2014, producing an unpeated, light, floral and fruity spirit with slow fermentation and distillation, and an early cut point. Normally filled into first-fill bourbon barrels as well as some STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, Coaltown is instead matured entirely in casks that previously held peated whisky!

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Glen Moray, founded in 1897, is a classic fruity, ‘toffeed’ Speyside single malt from Elgin. Well respected and appreciated by whisky fans for their always affordable and more than solid core ranges, they also release special treats such as this. Back in 2021 (wow, time flies!) we featured a whisky from their ‘Curiosity’ range, which has since been replaced by the Warehouse 1 collection as the home of Glen Moray’s cask explorations and more limited releases.

These are presented at natural cask strength and natural colour, without chill-filtration. While the distillery was a trailblazer for wine finishes dating back to the 1990s (albeit best known for their innovative use of white wine casks), this whisky spent its entire maturation in Rioja red wine casks for a deep, full-bodied sipper.

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Kingsbarns distillery was built by the Wemyss family, known for their Wemyss Malts independent whisky bottlings and also Darnley’s Gin. It opened in late 2014, producing a light, floral and fruity spirit with slow fermentation and distillation, and an early cut point. Ordinarily this would be filled into first-fill bourbon barrels as well as some STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, the latter being a speciality of the late, great consultant Jim Swan we’ve seen used elsewhere by Nc’Nean, Penderyn, Cotswolds, Lindores Abbey and Milk & Honey in Pour & Sip over the years.

Here, however, Coaltown (named after the mining village near Wemyss Castle, the family’s ancestral home) has been matured entirely in casks that previously held peated whisky. The barley is entirely unpeated, so the elegant, subtle smoky influence is imparted solely by the casks.

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Balvenie is a famous and much loved distillery, founded in 1892, and one of only a few that still runs its own traditional floor maltings (although it only accounts for up to 15% of their malt requirements). In a world where cask finishes have become standard practice, it’s also worth acknowledging true innovators.

Former Balvenie Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE (he recently stepped back and has been replaced by his apprentice Kelsey McKechnie) began experimenting with cask finishes back in the 1970s, first released one in the early 1980s, and by 1993 their famed DoubleWood 12 Year Old launched, all before pretty much anyone else had joined the party. This 14 Year Old was matured in American oak casks before being finished in Caribbean rum casks (as opposed to sherry casks like the DoubleWood) and has been part of the range since 2010.

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Named after the company’s chairman Paul P. John, this established Indian spirits producer turned its hand to single malt in 2007 with the first bottles hitting the shelves in 2012. Alongside Amrut especially, Paul John has helped to firmly establish India on the malt whisky map, picking up countless awards over the years.

Brilliance is unpeated (although the distillery does also produce peated whiskies), made with Indian 6-row barley from the Himalayan foothills, and matured in bourbon barrels for 3-5 years. While that may sound on the young side, maturation in Goa’s tropical climate is very different to Scotland! The ‘Angels’ share’ lost to evaporation is far higher (around 8-10% a year compared to around 2% in Scotland), with climatic conditions driving more intense interaction between spirit and wood within a shorter time.

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One of Scotland’s newest whisky-releasing distilleries and the continuation of family tradition, Ballindalloch distillery is built on the grounds of Ballindalloch Castle. The castle and its estate have been home to the Macpherson-Grant family since 1546. In 1869 they were involved in John Smith’s founding of nearby Cragganmore, becoming co-owners after Smith’s death right up until 1965.

The family returned to whisky distilling when Ballindalloch Distillery was founded in 2014 to make Scotland’s first ‘single estate whisky’ (a term now used by other farm distilleries such as Lochlea) i.e. all the barley is grown on the Ballindalloch Estate itself. They have a traditional ‘hands-on’ approach, use worm tub condensers, and didn’t release any whisky before it was 8 years old. This is some of the first widely available, aged in a combination of 80% bourbon barrels and 20% sherry butts.

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August sees whiskies from Scotland, England and Ireland while encompassing regenerative farming, one of Diageo's 'Classic Malts', the latest batch of a whisky named World’s Best Single Malt in 2021, a stout cask finish, and even a little peat too!

GlenAllachie 10 Year Old Cask Strength - Batch 11: Founded in 1967, GlenAllachie was scarcely ever seen as a single malt for a long time. That changed when a group led by master distiller Billy Walker bought the distillery in 2017. Matured in Pedro Ximénez, oloroso, red wine and fresh oak casks, Billy still finesses every batch. It’s bottled at natural cask strength (also natural colour without chill-filtration), and if you fancy a bottle it’s had a smart redesign too.

Glenkinchie Distillers Edition - 2022 Collection: If you take a closer look at their production, a clear wort and long fermentation start things off light and fruity, but then downward angled lyne arms and lead to a worm tub condenser. The reduced reflux and copper contact would usually mean a ‘heavier’, more full-bodied spirit. It’s a fascinating balance. This release also had a secondary maturation in American oak Amontillado sherry casks.

Cu Bocan Creation #6: Tomatin Distillery was established back in 1897, with limited batches of intriguing lightly peated spirit released under their Cù Bòcan (say ‘coo bawc-can’) brand since 2013. Creation #6 uses rum casks (from Jamaica), but also features whisky matured in rich Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Three words folks: rum and raisin! And some subtle smoke, of course. It’s bottled at natural colour without chill-filtration.

Fielden Rye Whisky: The artist formerly known as The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD) has ceased production in Oxford, is upping sticks, and is moving to Yorkshire where they’ll double down on their commitments to regenerative farming and the use of heritage grains. It’s aged in American oak casks and a selection of ex-wine casks (including Sauternes and Moscatel).

Teeling Stout Cask Finish: The Teeling family’s Dublin whiskey connections run deep, having established a distillery back in 1782. Two centuries later John Teeling would found Cooley distillery in 1987, and later revive Kilbeggan too. It would however be John’s sons, Jack and Stephen, who finally brought Teeling whiskey back to Dublin and in 2015 founded the first new distillery in the capital in 125 years! This Teeling is finished in Galway Bay Brewery 200 Fathoms Imperial Stout casks.

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The Teeling family’s Dublin whiskey connections run deep, having established a distillery back in 1782. Two centuries later, the family were also the first to break Irish Distillers’ monopoly (at the time they owned both of the only surviving Irish whiskey distilleries) when John Teeling converted an old potato alcohol plant into the Cooley distillery in 1987, and later revived Kilbeggan too before selling them to Beam Suntory in 2012.

It would be John’s sons, Jack and Stephen, who finally brought Teeling whiskey back to Dublin and in 2015 founded the first new distillery in the capital in 125 years! Since then, Teeling has collaborated with the craft beer maestros at Galway Bay Brewery by providing the casks for their 200 Fathoms Imperial Stout. The Teeling whiskey in this set was then finished for three months in those 200 Fathoms Imperial Stout casks on their return!

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The artist formerly known as The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD) has ceased production in Oxford, is upping sticks, and is moving to Yorkshire where they’ll double down on their commitments to regenerative farming and the use of heritage grains, as well as focusing on whisky. All the farmers Fielden work with follow their way of farming developed by archaeobotanist John Letts: they plant a mix of heritage grains in clover, never use chemicals, and nurture the soil. In their words they “farm fields full of life, for whisky full of flavour.”

A natural evolution of TOAD’s batch released rye whiskies, Fielden Rye is made with 90% maslin (a mix of rye and wheat that varies field by field) and 10% malted barley, with heritage rye probably making up about 70% of the mashbill. It’s aged in American oak casks and a selection of ex-wine casks (including Sauternes and Moscatel).