Tasting sets

Pour & Sip

Packed with some of our favourite drams from the last year 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 year 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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• Mackmyra Grönt Te: a Swedish single malt finished in casks seasoned with Oloroso sherry and green tea leaves.
• Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old: an unpeated, bourbon and sherry-matured Islay single malt.
• Balvenie 14 Year Old - The Week of Peat: an unusual smoky Speysider, distilled using Speyside peat!
• Legent Bourbon: East meets West in this spirit, a collaboration between America's Jim Beam and Japan's Suntory, finished in red wine and sherry casks.
• Teeling Brabazon Bottling Series 3: this fruity Irish whiskey has been matured exclusively in casks seasoned with Pedro Ximénez sherry.

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In this Pour & Sip box, we’ve been treated to whisky from a whole range of countries, and also a whole range of grains! From Irish grain to Finnish rye, one thing they all have in common is heaps of flavour. Want to find out the rest? They’re right here!

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Our second themed box! The Hebridean island of Islay is famed for its smoky, peated whisky – but there’s so much more to it than that! The island is only 25 miles long, but packs in nine distilleries (with more in the pipeline!). In honour of the famed annual whisky and music festival, which takes place in May each year, we thought we’d fill this month’s box with whiskies from the isle, showing you all the delicious versatility that it has to offer. Time to take your taste buds on a trip!

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Though the famed island of Islay is only 25 miles long, it packs in nine beloved distilleries – and there are plenty more in the planning pipeline! It may be most well-known for the smoky nature of its whiskies, and while that is a hallmark flavour it’s not always all about peat. In May the island celebrates its annual whisky and music festival, so we thought we’d fill this Pour & Sip box with five top-notch Islay drams to celebrate. Islay is notoriously difficult to travel to, and while many make the pilgrimage, with this Pour & Sip box you can enjoy the spoils of the isle from wherever you wish! Plus, this one comes with a very soft Laphroaig beanie, as well as a branded Talisker mug (to celebrate the Talisker Port Ruighe in April's box – better late than never, we say).

Kilchoman Sanaig: Peated to 50PPM (parts per million) the single malt is a blend of both sherry and bourbon-matured whiskies, with a higher proportion of the former, with the casks adding a balanced dose of dried fruits and spices to gentle peat smoke, coastal elements, and sweet citrus notes.

Caol Ila Moch: Moch is a peaty single malt named after the Gaelic word for ‘dawn’, and was the first release from Caol Ila without an age statement, instead being selected on the basis of its taste rather than age or cask types. Although Caol Ila peats its malt to the same level as many other well-known Islay distilleries, it’s known for its softer smokiness, making it a good introduction to peated whiskies.

Bowmore 15 Year Old: Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels, this single malt is then moved to ex-Oloroso sherry casks for its final three years of maturation, boasting the distillery’s distinctive maritime peat smoke, the tropical fruit from the bourbon maturation, and red fruit and spices from the sherry finish.

Bruichladdich The Organic 2009: This release is entirely distilled from Scottish-grown barley sourced from one farm, Mid Coul – organically certified by the Biodynamic Association, no less! Distilled in 2009 (from the 2008 harvest), it was then matured in American oak ex-bourbon and Tennessee whiskey casks for eight years.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask: This whisky spends the bulk of its maturation in ex-bourbon barrels before the whisky is transferred to small quarter casks for a few months – because of the smaller cask size, the interaction between the spirit and the wood is increased, so even though the spirit is only in the casks for a few months the flavour impact is huge.

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It's our birthday 🥳 and it's time to party with five great whiskies and extra treats: a Pour & Sip crystal whisky tumbler and some diddy Angostura bitters. (Yep, you guessed it, we'll be mixing up a celebratory Old Fashioned cocktail this month!)

Deanston Virgin Oak: A cask-finished single malt from this certified organic Highland distillery. It spent the majority of its life in ex-bourbon casks, before it was moved to brand new virgin oak casks from Kentucky. The virgin oak adds spicy flavours here among the creamy, fruity flavours from the maturation. If you were going to select a Scotch whisky to use in an Old Fashioned, you could certainly do worse!

Irish Single Malt #2 15 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company): An independent bottling of Irish single malt aged for at least 15 years and bottled at a healthy 50.2%. Seem a total mystery? Well there weren't all that many distilleries producing single malt on the island of Ireland 15 year ago... Enjoy a decadent symphony of creamy malt and honeyed orchard fruits in this Boutique-y treat.

Nc'nean Organic Single Malt Whisky: Nc'nean is relatively new on the whisky scene, founded in March 2017 by Annabel Thomas. It was the first fully organic modern distillery in Scotland powered by 100% renewable energy, too! Thanks to long mash time, slow fermentation, and unusual yeast strains, there’s bundles of ripe, fresh stone fruit notes to enjoy.

Wilderness Trail Cask Strength Rye: Where lots of American distillers favour sour mash, Wilderness Trail makes its whiskey with a sweet mash. Fermented at a higher pH, the reason it’s less common is because it’s a little harder to control than its sour counterpart. There’s hallmark rye spice, though thanks to the mash and fermentation, there’s a wonderful creaminess and lots of sweet citrus flavours, too.

Aber Falls 2nd Release: North Wales’ first whisky distillery in over 100 years released their first expression in May 2021, and it sold out like hot cakes! This shiny new release is matured in ex-Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, as well as ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks. Rather unusually, it’s distilled entirely from Welsh malted barley in a combination of copper pot and stainless steel stills, and is brought down to bottling strength with rock-filtered water from the beautiful Aber Falls waterfall from which the distillery takes its name.

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Whiskies from Ireland, Illinois, Israel, and Scotland (they couldn’t all begin with the letter ‘i’!) are packed into April’s Pour & Sip box, with a mystery Scotch single grain, and smoky Highland single malt rounding off this wonderful selection. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive in! 

Whisky Works Glaswegian 29 Year Old: A well-aged single grain from a mystery distillery which ‘once stood at the heart of Scotland’s waterways’ in the eponymous Scottish city. Its years were spent in American white oak barrels, so there’s heaps of buttery sweetness to enjoy. 

FEW Rye Whiskey: Distilled in Evanston, Illinois, FEW Rye is made with a mash bill of 70% rye, 20% corn, and 10% malted barley – so there’s all those herbaceous, spiced notes from the lead grain among a melange of fruitier flavours. 

Milk & Honey Classic Single Malt: A single malt from Milk & Honey, Israel’s first whisky distillery based in Tel Aviv! It’s matured in ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks, as well as Burgundy red wine-seasoned STR casks (which stands for shaved, toasted and re-charred), imparting lots of red fruit and chocolatey flavours in this rich whisky. 

Cù Bòcan Signature: Cù Bòcan (pronounced ‘coo-bock-can’) is the name for Tomatin Distillery’s smoky series of single malts. This Signature expression is matured in a trio of ex-bourbon, ex-Oloroso sherry, and North American virgin oak casks, imparting creamy, tropical notes; spicier flavours; and zesty, refreshing nuances respectively. 

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We picked these whiskies specially for their festive flavour profiles, so expect range of ex-Port, red wine, and sherry casks bringing heaps of red fruit, seasonal spices, and chocolate notes. Not only that, but this special box comes with a pair of Pour & Sip branded socks, too. Just the thing to get you feeling Christmassy!

Teeling 13 Year Old Single Grain Red Wine Finish: This is the second (and oldest) Irish single grain from Teeling, made from 95% corn and 5% malted barley. Initially matured in ex-bourbon casks for nine years, it spent another four years in ex-Bordeaux red wine casks.

Penderyn Portwood: From the first distiller in Wales for over 100 years, Penderyn produces a super light and fruity new make spirit. This particular edition is matured in ex-bourbon casks and then finished in ex-Port barrels, bottled without chill-filtration or colouring.

Tamdhu Batch Strength (Batch 6): Tamdhu's Batch Strength single malt series is well-loved, and this is the sixth release! This edition spent its days entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry casks before it was bottled up at cask strength, a generous 56.8%.

Christmas Cake & Dark Chocolate & Medjool Dates & Cinnamon 8 Year Old: From the &Whisky range comes this slightly mysterious single malt. It's sourced from an undisclosed distillery in Scotland’s prolific Speyside region, and was matured for eight years in a decent proportion of first-fill Oloroso sherry octaves, which are much smaller than your average cask – just 50 litres!

Cragganmore 2008 (bottled 2020) Port Wood Finish - Distillers Edition: The 2008 vintage Distillers Edition single malt from Cragganmore, finished in ex-Port casks before being bottled in 2020. The whisky itself is a subtly smoky, woody, meaty affair, while the cask finish imparts all those jammy red fruits that we know and love from Port. 

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March marks a very exciting month for Pour & Sip, as we present to you our first themed box! We’re celebrating women in whisky with these five tasters, from blenders and distillers to business leaders and ambassadors – find out more about them here. These expressions will take you through taste to Scotland, Ireland, and Kentucky.

Compass Box Juveniles: A collaborative limited-edition blended malt, bringing together four single malts: fruity Strathmill, herbal Balmenach, waxy Clynelish, and red fruit-forward Glendullan. The whisky is drawn from a combination of refill hogsheads, re-charred hogsheads, and both first-fill and refill sherry butts.

Roe & Co Irish Whiskey: The first (and so far, only) release from Dublin’s Roe & Co, which marries a classic Irish blend of malt and grain whiskeys. It’s matured exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, a high proportion of which are first-fill. Full of tropical, creamy, and honeyed sweetness. 

Deanston 18 Year Old: A well-aged expression from Deanston, initially matured in second-fill casks before it was moved to first-fill American oak Kentucky bourbon casks for a shorter finishing period. A waxy, buttery Highland single malt.

Scallywag: A blended malt from independent bottler Douglas Laing, made with whiskies exclusively from the Speyside region. Malts from the Mortlach, Macallan, and Glenrothes distilleries feature, with 65% drawn from first fill ex-Spanish sherry butts, and the rest from ex-bourbon casks.

Bulleit Bourbon 10 Year Old: A high-rye bourbon from Bulleit, with a mash bill of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malted barley. It spent its 10 years of ageing in charred American white oak casks, with a rich balance of creamy sweetness and spicier notes.

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New year, new whiskies! We can’t wait to get stuck into another year of sharing our favourite whiskies with you all. So, without further ado, let’s see what we’ve got for you this month. From a Pour & Sip-exclusive Scotch to a New Zealand single malt, it’s a pretty awesome selection, if we may say so ourselves.

Compass Box Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask - Pour & Sip Exclusive: Pour & Sip Exclusive alert! This single cask blend is made up predominantly of Craigellachie malt and Cameronbridge grain whiskies, with smaller proportions of Clynelish and Laphroaig, and a Highland malt blend in support. Heavily-toasted French oak, first-fill and refill ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads, and ex-sherry butts are among the cask maturations, with all the whiskies married in an ex-Clynelish cask for 15 months before bottling in August 2021. Hallmark waxy, floral notes from Clynelish sit among ripe fruits, French oak spices, and savoury nuances. 

The Cardrona Growing Wings Solera - Sherry & Bourbon Cask: A cask strength single malt from Cardrona Distillery in New Zealand, matured in a combination of ex-Oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks. The whisky itself is packed with oily nuts and juicy dried from the sherry cask, along with creamier vanilla notes from the bourbon cask.

Tobermory 12 Year Old: From Tobermory Distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Mull comes this fabulous 12-year-old single malt. First released in early 2019, it was launched in celebration of the distillery returning to life after a two-year break! It’s matured exclusively in American oak casks before being bottled up, full of ripe orchard fruits, creamy malt, and a hint of coastal salinity. 

Jura The Loch: A spicy single malt from the wonderful Jura distillery, found on the Scottish island of the same name 60 miles from the mainland. It’s named The Loch after the distillery’s all-important water source, Market Loch, found 1,000 feet above sea level. The whisky itself is a blend of peated and unpeated spirits, matured in both American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and casks which previously held 30-year-old Pedro Ximénez sherry. 

Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain: Based in the Highlands, Loch Lomond has one of the most unique still set-ups in the whole of Scotland. It currently boasts three different still set-ups, with the original Lomond stills (a combination of pot and column stills), traditional pot stills, and Coffey column stills, giving it the option to produce a plethora of different spirits. This particular bottling is produced using heavily-peated malted barley distilled in a Coffey still, and matured in a combination of first and refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, adding a bundle of ripe fruit and sweet creamy notes to the smoky spirit.

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October’s whiskies span well-aged Scotch, redwood-inspired bourbon, and sherry-matured single malt from Denmark. Let’s take a look!

Craigellachie 17 Year Old: Thanks to worm tub condensers, Craigellachie whisky is often described as ‘meaty’. Matured in equal proportions of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, this 17 Year Old balances tropical fruit, smoke, and waxy richness.

Mosgaard Single Malt Whisky - Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish (Batch 8): From Danish micro-distillery Mosgaard, this is initially aged in new French oak casks, before being transferred to sweet ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for between one to one and a half years before bottling. 

Black Bottle Island Smoke - Alchemy Series: One of Scotland’s oldest whisky brands, Black Bottle was originally created back in 1879. The Alchemy Series was unveiled in early 2021, with this Island Smoke edition a blend of peated malt and unpeated grain whiskies, 20 components, with a blended malt from 1984 said to be at its core.

Tomatin 12 Year Old: A classic combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks brings out all sorts of tropical fruits and rich spices in this Speyside single malt.

Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon: Named after Pipe Dream, the 14th tallest tree in the world, Pipe Dream is made using a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, so expect a helping of peppery spice peeking out from the layers of vanilla and honey.

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August’s hand-picked selection of whiskies treats us to delicious creations from Japan, Scotland, and England, with unusual cask-finishes and unique Scotch galore!

Compass Box Hedonism: A blended grain from independent bottler Compass Box, Hedonism brings together grain whiskies from a range of Scotch distilleries, resulting in a sumptuously soft, decadent bottling.

Filey Bay Moscatel Cask Finish: The first cask-finished release from Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery, initially matured in ex-bourbon casks, and finished in Spanish oak hogsheads which previously held Moscatel sherry, known for its floral, honeyed, and citrus-forward flavours.

The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky - Distiller’s Reserve: A Japanese single malt matured in a trio of cask types: Bordeaux wine casks, sherry casks, and native Japanese Mizunara oak, the last of which imparts distinctive notes of sandalwood, coconut, and incense.

Glen Moray Rhum Agricole Cask Finish Project: Originally matured in American oak, this single malt was rested in casks which previously held rhum agricole from Martinique for around 24 months before bottling, bringing a flourish of bright, grassy, tropical freshness to the whisky.

Benromach Contrasts Peat Smoke: Lesser-spotted smoky Speyside whisky produced using heavily peated barley and matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels. Released as part of the distillery’s Contrasts series, smouldering smoky notes sit alongside the bright fruity, creamy flavours imparted from the maturation.

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We've pulled out all the stops this month – we're taking you from smoky Scotch to fruity English whisky, and even an extra special, Pour & Sip-exclusive Australian single malt!

Starward Red Wine Barrel - Pour & Sip Exclusive: Our very own Pour & Sip-exclusive single malt from our friends at Starward in Australia! It was distilled in 2017, and matured in a single American oak ex-red wine barrel (number #10361, if you were interested) until it was bottled in June 2021. Just 396 precious bottles of this were drawn from the cask and it’s presented at a generous 55.4%, amplifying all that juicy red fruit from the wine, and toasty vanilla from the American oak itself. 

anCnoc Peat: Peaty anCnoc (pronounced ‘a-nock’) single malt, released to mark the 125th anniversary of Knockdhu Distillery. Weighing in at 40 PPM (parts per million, a measurement of peatiness), it’s matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks and finished in Spanish oak butts, resulting in a sweet and smoky whisky.

Highland Park Cask Strength - Release No.2: For the second release in Highland Park’s Cask Strength series, master whisky maker Gordon Motion selected a large proportion of sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks, along with a much smaller amount of ex-bourbon casks to use. The distinctive Highland Park flavours and fragrant smoke are bolstered by the classic fruitcake and spices from the sherry casks.

Old Perth Cask Strength Blended Malt: A historical blended whisky, Old Perth is made entirely from malt whiskies from various Scotch distilleries, relaunched in 2014 matured entirely from ex-sherry casks. This is the Cask Strength edition, so all of those spicy, earthy, red fruit-forward flavours are presented at 58.6% with a viscous, oily mouthfeel.

Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky: The first single malt whisky ever distilled in the Cotswold region, this is produced from barley grown in the Cotswolds and is fermented over a very lengthy 90 hours. It’s then aged in a combination of 30% ex-bourbon and 70% STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) ex-red wine casks, so the bright fruit notes from the fermentation are joined by a flurry of chocolate and dark fruit richness.

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With International Women’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day falling in March, we couldn’t pick just one to celebrate in this month's Pour & Sip box – so we’ve gone and picked five excellent whiskies that nod to both days! 

J.J. Corry Lasóg - Pour & Sip Exclusive: ​​It’s our very own exclusive whiskey from our friends over at J.J. Corry in Ireland! Called Lasóg, it's a blend of 60% well-aged malt and 40% grain Irish whiskeys, with the grain bringing a delicate vanilla-forward sweetness to the juicy barley notes.

Aberfeldy 16 Year Old: From Aberfeldy's core range, this single malt is finished in first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks, bringing heaps of festive dried fruits and spices to the whisky. 

Dingle Single Malt: Dingle Distillery’s first core whiskey, it's triple distilled and then matured in a combination of ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry and ex-bourbon casks, in proportions of 61% and 39% respectively. It’s brought down to bottling strength with local water from a 240-feet well, and presented at 46.3%. 

Benriach The Smoky Twelve: Based in Speyside, Benriach only peats its malt for a brief period each year, called ‘smoke season’. The smoke is full of sweeter, aromatic notes compared to the meaty, savoury smokiness of the Islands. The Smoky Twelve is a blend of peated and unpeated malts drawn from a trio of cask types: ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Marsala wine casks. 

Brenne Estate Cask French Single Malt Whisky: Estate Cask is made with local Cognac-grown malted barley. The whisky is then initially matured in French Limousin oak casks before it’s moved to ex-Cognac casks for a finishing period – Brenne claims that it was the first single malt in the world to be aged exclusively in these two cask types.

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Say hello to July’s Pour & Sip selection, packing in whiskies from Scotland, Tennessee, and Taiwan! From historical blends to shiny new releases, we’re so excited to get stuck into this one.

Daddy Rack Small Batch Straight Tennessee Whiskey: Made with a mash bill of 80% corn, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley, as well as going through The Lincoln County Process (whereby the spirit is filtered through maple charcoal before it’s filled into cask, as Tennessee whiskey legally has to), Daddy Rack is also maple charcoal-filtered after it’s been in the cask, too. It’s all about the salted popcorn and caramelised sweetness here!

John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend: This limited-edition blend was created in 2020 in honour of the brand's 200th anniversary, inspired by John Walker & Sons’ Old Highland Whisky which was first sold back in the 1860s. It also features whiskies from distilleries that were in production at that time, though the exact blend remains a mystery.

Kavalan Concertmaster - Port Cask Finish: From Taiwan’s King Car Distillery’s Kavalan range, this was released for the Concertmaster series. It’s made with whiskies initially matured in American oak before being finished in a range of Ruby Port, Tawny Port, and vintage Port casks – jammy fruit, dry spices, and wood influence galore.

Glen Scotia 18 Year Old: This 18 Year Old release spent its first 17 years in a combination of refill ex-bourbon casks and refill American oak hogsheads. Then, Glen Scotia malt master Iain McAlister vatted the two cask types together in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks for a 12-month finishing period. It’s light and creamy, while retaining a rich oiliness and subtle coastal influence.

Bowmore Vault Edition - Peat Smoke: While this release in Bowmore’s Vault Edition series was made to showcase the distillery’s smoky character, a delicious combination of sea salt and fruity sweetness keeps it balanced. The Atlantic sea spray which washes against the sea-facing wall of the maturation warehouse helps add a savoury maritime complexity to the whisky slumbering inside.

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April brings with it another five globe-trotting whiskies, from Scotland's Highlands, the Isle of Skye, Israel, Finland, and Canada! There's a whole load of different cask types to enjoy among the whiskies, so let's get stuck in.

Milk & Honey Apex - Pomegranate Wine Cask Finish: The Apex series from the Milk & Honey distillery in Tel Aviv is all about innovation and exceptional casks – as such, this whisky was initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before a six-month finishing period in casks which previously held Israeli pomegranate wine.

Glenfarclas 105: A magnificent cask strength Highlander, Glenfarclas 105 was first released all the way back in 1968 when Glenfarclas was the first distillery to release a cask strength single malt. It's aged in a combination of both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks, bottled at a burly 60%.

Talisker Port Ruighe: From Scotland’s stunning Isle of Skye comes this rich, oily Talisker single malt. Port Ruighe (pronounced 'Portree') is named after the Gaelic spelling of the once bustling trading port on the island. After a maturation in a combination of ex-bourbon, refill European oak, and heavily-charred casks, this single malt was appropriately finished in ex-Port casks.

Teerenpeli 5 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company): It’s That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s first ever Teerenpeli bottling from Finland. It's aged for five years in Oloroso sherry casks housed in sea containers sat outside the distillery which are subject to some crazy temperature fluctuations, from -35°C to +30°C.

Pike Creek 10 Year Old: Pike Creek 10 Year Old is a Canadian whisky finished in ex-rum barrels. While there is a good proportion of rye in the mash bill, there's some corn in here too, and it's matured in warehouses without any climate control, which means loads of spirit and wood interaction.