Tasting sets

Pour & Sip

We've found a tiny number of these down the back of the sofa! There's still time to enjoy an awesome Pour & Sip countdown to Christmas.

The 2024 Advent may have Sold Out, but this one's packed with some of our favourite drams from 2021/late 2020...

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 a 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!

Pour & Sip

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.

Pour & Sip

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.

Pour & Sip

We're revisiting some old faves this month (with more sherry in two cases), plus a household name from America whose premium releases you may have overlooked…

High Coast Silent Mills Collection - #2 Sandö: High Coast produces both unpeated and peated spirit. The Silent Mills editions all build on the same peated, bourbon cask matured base as Timmer from their Origin range but introduce other cask types into the mix. For the second release, Sandö, that means 22% of the final whisky has been aged in oloroso sherry casks for added dried fruit tang and roundness. The peat level is around 45 PPM.

Ardnamurchan AD/ Sherry Cask Release: Ardnamurchan also makes both peated (30-35PPM) and unpeated spirit. Both are used in this release, just as they are in the excellent core AD/ release. The difference? The Sherry Cask Release is 100% sherry cask matured. Full maturation in a mix of oloroso and Pedro Ximénez butts. As Chris in our curation team noted recently, “Ardnamurchan is slowly taking over my everyday drinkers shelf at home!”

Glasgow 1770 - The Original: In 2015 whisky distilling returned to the city of Glasgow for the first time in a century. Like others in this set, Glasgow Distillery produce both peated and unpeated spirit. The Original is unpeated. Their fresh and fruity flagship whisky is matured in first-fill bourbon casks, then finished in fresh American oak casks that have had no prior contents. It’s non-chill filtered and natural colour.

Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Matured: A classic Speyside name, Aberlour is known to work well with sherry casks, with maturation here taking place in both bourbon and sherry casks as the name implies. Compared to the 14-year-old, this 12-year-old offers a crisper, more citrussy take from the popular distillery. A little more of the new make’s green apple is on show (alongside trademark leafy blackcurrant character).

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select: Jack Daniel’s is world famous. You know most people enjoy ‘JD’ with cola. But let’s be clear: within the slightly more premium offerings is good stuff. Their single barrels are excellent, as are their bottled-in-bond releases. The difference between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey? The Lincoln County Process. Tennessee whiskeys are filtered through maple charcoal prior to ageing for smoothness.

Pour & Sip

Whiskies from Scotland, America, England, and even Finland is this set, from classics, to limited editions, and exciting new wave distillers! All quite different, there's surely something for everyone. One of the oldest single malts we've featured too. Enjoy!

Glen Grant 18 Year Old Rare Edition: ‘The Major’, aka James Grant, inherited the distillery in 1872, and is responsible for the distillery's 22-acre Victorian Garden and also the tall, slender stills with their purifiers. This contributes to Glen Grant’s light character, with the still’s unique boil balls aiding further reflux. Glen Grant is easy-going at young ages, but also ages wonderfully. This very highly-awarded 18-year-old malt shows that.

Glen Scotia 14 Year Old - Icons of Campbeltown Release No.2: Glen Scotia’s usually unpeated, and also rarely seen in wine casks. This is ‘medium’-peated, and spent six months in Barolo red wine casks! The inspiration came from the Campbeltown Market Cross’ depiction of St. Michael slaying a dragon, but also the times when the community came together to fight historic blazes (not least at Dalintober Distillery in 1899).

Kyrö Oloroso Malt Rye Whisky: Their 100% malted wholegrain Finnish rye spirits have won many fans and awards, are made with incredible attention to detail, and provide great concentration and depth of flavour. Since we last featured them, their core range has expanded including this Oloroso Malt Rye (initially matured in new American oak and bourbon casks, but then as the name suggests finished in oloroso sherry casks).

Wire Works Bourbon Barrel: Undoubtedly one of the leading lights of English whisky, and also a whisky coming of age. Here the distillery’s oldest whisky to date has matured exclusively in first-fill bourbon casks. A small amount of peated barley is combined with unpeated (10PPM total), and a blend of yeasts are used including used brewer’s yeast from local brewers with long 6-day fermentations for fruity esters.

Bluegrass Toasted Oak: Craft distillers in the heart of Kentucky, Toasted Oak uses a classic mashbill of 75% (yellow) corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. After a standard 3 years in fresh, charred American oak casks, it rested in lightly toasted casks for 21 days. Doesn’t sound long, but these lightly toasted (but not charred) barrels give up wood sugars easily and quickly. Such finishes are increasingly popular.

Pour & Sip

PLEASE NOTE: Your Gift Subscription e-gift card to recipient can be sent right away, but the Free Gift Set to purchaser won't arrive before Christmas now, of course!

Free Gift: Christmas Whisky Tasting Set worth £25.95

Perfect for your loved ones to crack open on Christmas Day itself as they look forward to the delights still to come with their Pour & Sip Gift Subscription! You are good to them. Alternatively, gift the set to somebody else on your Christmas list, or even keep it for yourself! We won’t tell.

The set includes an array of treats: tip-top single malt Scotch from Speyside and the famed whisky-isle of Islay, limited edition Swedish whisky (partly matured in cloudberry wine casks!), an easy-drinking Irish blend, and a Highland blended malt created by one of our very favourite independent bottlers and whiskymakers.

Free Christmas Whisky Tasting Set

• Glenfarclas 10 Year Old
• Timorous Beastie
• Mackmyra Stjärnrök
• Peaky Blinder Irish Whiskey
• Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength - Batch 013

Offer valid until 25/12/2021 or while limited promo stock lasts.