25 Year Old Whisky

The first Knockando in Diageo's special releases line-up and a bit of a swerve from normal. Firstly, there's no vintage on the bottle, unlike their other expressions, and secondly it's matured solely in first fill sherry casks, for a heavily rich flavour.

The most recent extension of the revamped Ardmore brand (sister distillery to Laphroaig in the Jim Beam portfolio)is a cask-strength 25 year-old expression. Full and rich, with more than a hint of peat.

A fantastic aged dram from Tullibardine, the top of their relaunched 2013 range. Honey, spice and fruit packed in with cream toasted oak.

Formerly a travel retail exclusive that hit the general market in late 2012, the Grant's 25 is a well aged and much respected blended whisky. With components ranging from very old grain from the company's Girvan distillery through to rich and smoky drams this is a well-balanced and suitable pinnacle to the Grant's range.

Previously a travel retail exclusive, Glenrothes 25 is a well aged example of the distillery's style - rich and fruity.

Jim Murray was very taken with this recently-launched Chivas Regal 25yo, describing it thus: "beautiful delivery...unbelievably juicy and mouthwatering...unadulterated class...leaves you demanding another glass. Brilliant!"
Whisky Bible 2010: Scotch Blend of the Year (18 Years & Over); 95 Points

A fourth entry in the Diageo Special Releases range for Dalwhinnie, following on from a IWSC Best In Class winner. This time it's a 25 year old whisky distilled back in 1987.

An update to the much vaunted Bunnhabhain 25 year old, keeping the same age statement and presentation but upping the ABV to 46.3% to bring it line with the rest of the range. A great whisky at 43% but even better now with a little more oomph.

A super-premium entry in Glenlivet's range, this has been finished for a couple of years in Oloroso casks - so an extra depth of flavour and silky sweetness is the order of the day.
IWSC 2012 - Gold Medal - Whisky - Scotch

The latest Talisker 25yo is another destined for the pantheon of fantastic expressions of Skye's finest. With a deceptive power hidden in a palate of incredible elegance, this is a classic iron-fist-velvet-glove Talisker par excellence.

After its well-deserved plaudits at the 2012 World Whisky Awards it was only a matter of time before the Speyburn 25 got a bump, and this edition combines all of the great flavour of the earlier versions with a snazzy new look. .
World Whiskies Awards 2012 - Best Highland Whisky and Best Highland 21 years and over

A 25 year old release of 1979 Bunnahabhain bottled around 2004 by Direct Wines as part of their First Cask series.

A very elegant cut crystal decanter produced in 1990 to celebrate the Queen Mum's 90th birthday. A 25 year-old blend presented in a silk-lined box.

A more sherried style, with the soft, creamy complexity and gentle, sophisticated palate and mouthfeel that Bunna's aficionados treasure. Handsomely presented, this is a delicious, contemplative dram. Picked up the top prize in its category at the World Whisky Awards 2010.

Talisker super-premium releases from Diageo have been uniformly excellent. This is no disappointment - a bit more sherry influence has made this an absolute cracker. Roars across the palate, then caresses the tastebuds on the finish.

A Talisker 25yo from Diageo's Special Releases is always a thing to cherish - and this is no exception, with a very clean, citric emphasis when compared to some of the earlier releases. As we've come to expect from Talisker, this is nothing short of superb.

Silver Medal Winner (The Malt Maniacs Awards 2009)

A 1979 whisky distilled at Dailuaine and aged for 25 years. Bottled by Signatory for their Cask Strength range.

There has yet to be a bad version of Talisker 25 yrs - distinguishing between the various releases is just a question of degrees of excellence. This particular edition weighed in with a mere 95 points from Jim Murray, who described it as 'Krakatoa on the tastebuds'. In this instance, it's difficult to disagree.

Released in 2005, this was the third Talisker 25yo to be released and was acclaimed at the time as being the best so far. Thankfully the standard has remained at an extraordinarily high level ever since.

Please welcome the 2011 entry into the ranks of superb Talisker 25 year olds. Where previous version of Tally 25yo have been released at fullstrength, 2011's edition is the first to be bottled from refill casks at Talisker's traditional strength of 45.8% (80 proof) with a slightly larger outturn than usual to let more people join in on the fun.