Broadly speaking, Speyside whiskies can be classified as falling into one of two camps. At one end of the spectrum there are the light, grassy, 'lunchtime whiskies' (please note that TWE advocates responsible drinking!) such as Glenlivet; at the other end lie the rich, sweet, sherried qualities of Glenrothes and Macallan. Read More »
The only distillery bottling of Glenlossie, other than a Manager's Dram. Almost all of their whisky goes into Diageo's blends, which is a shame as this is a classic spicy speysider.
Released in early 2012 as a replacement for the dwindling 1994 vintage, this 1998 Glenrothes is described as having citrus notes with rich vanilla and cinnamon.
A special bottling of Cragganmore for Diageo's whisky fan club, the Friends of the Classic Malts, released in 2010. This one has been matured for slightly longer than the regular expression, sitting in casks for at least 14 years.
The third bottling of benromach's Origins series is made exclusively with the Optic barley variety and has been fully-matured in sherry casks - this should be delicious.
A 14 year old limited edition Balvenie which finished its maturation in casks which had previously held Caribbean Rum. Expect vanilla and toffee notes as the rum contributes extra sweetness to the flavours.
A 2000 vintage whisky from Benromach, Gordon & Macphail's distillery near the town of Forres. This was distilled in 2000 and has been finished in Port casks, continuing the experiments started by the previous generation of the Urquhart family.
The 1998 vintage of Cragganmore's entry in the Distillers Edition range of whiskies from Diageo. The whisky has been finished in port casks before bottling, giving it a bit of red wine depth as well as some more sweetness.
A cask strength release of 1997 vintage Longmorn bottled by distillery owners Chivas Brothers as one of their Cask Strength Editions. 14 years old and at a natural strength of 59.6%.
A 2013 addition to The Balvenie's range, as a younger sibling to the 15 year old single cask. This is exclusively matured in first fill bourbon casks and each bottle is part of a batch that is at most 300 bottles - all taken from the same cask.
A special sampler set from Glenfiddich, the Explorer's Collection brings together 20cl bottles of their 12, 15 and 18 year old whiskies in a gift pack, along with a tasting glass.
A vatting of seven first-fill bourbon casks of 2001 Benromach bottled at full strength towards the end of 2010. Kudos to owners G&M for bottling when the whisky's ready rather than waiting until it was a 10yo.