Pour & Sip January 2026 Box

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!