Pour & Sip November 2024 Box

It's November and we're feeling rather more Autumnal. Appropriately then, your packs are filled with plenty of sherry cask goodness (and just a little bonfire smoke). One of them though – surprisingly, given the distillery it's from – has no sherry influence at all...

Bonnington Pedro Ximénez Sherry Cask: Bonnington’s released Edinburgh’s first single malt in nearly a century in 2022. It was a John Crabbie & Co release (yes, as in the alcoholic ginger beer brand!), but this affordable limited release arrives under the distillery’s own name and is matured exclusively in PX sherry casks.

The Glendronach 12 Year Old: Glendronach, founded in 1826, has become synonymous with rich, sherried goodness. This reputation was built under the custodianship of previous master distiller Billy Walker, and continued following Brown Forman’s purchase of the distillery in 2016 under the expert eye (and nose) of master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie. They’ve just given the bottles a handsome redesign too.

Jura 16 Year Old Perspective No. 01: Jura is home to around 200 people and 6,000 red deer. And yet this is the home of one of the best-selling single malts in the world. This new series showcases and amplifies elements of the distillery’s house style and bottles them at natural colour, without chill-filtration, and at a higher strength. A soft, fruity sipper matured in bourbon casks, and finished in Oloroso sherry casks.

White Heather 15 Year Old: Created by master blender Billy Walker (mentioned above), this contains his GlenAllachie single malt alongside Highland malt, a small % of peated Islay malt, and a foundation of well-aged grain whisky. Initially matured in bourbon and sherry casks, it's married and placed into Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso puncheons and Appalachian fresh oak casks. Malt whiskies making up a pleasing 57-60% of the blend.

Glengoyne White Oak: Sherry casks play some role in every other dram in this set, and Glengoyne is another distillery known for using sherry casks. Here comes the curve ball, though. Here’s a Glengoyne that uses no sherry 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.