1998 Vintage Whisky

A Connoisseurs Choice bottling from Gordon & Macphail of 1998 vintage whisky from Dailuaine distillery in Speyside.

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 1998 vintage Caol Ila from the fine folks at Gordon & Macphail, bottlers of the Connoisseurs Choice range of whiskies. A classic Caol Ila with an edge of fruit thanks to having been matured in first fill sherry butts.

A 1998 vintage whisky from closed Caperdonich, mothballed since 2002. This has been bottled by Gordon & Macphail for their Connoisseurs Choice range.

A single cask release of Arran whisky, distilled on 20th April 1998 and bottled in 2010. This whisky has been matured in a sherry cask bottled at cask strength.

The 2010 edition of the Royal Lochnagar entry in Diageo's Distillers Edition range of whiskies. This one was finished in casks that previous contained well aged muscat wine, adding a floral richness to the spirit.

A special bottling of Isle of Arran 1998 released to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the Scottish Bard, which was on Burns Night 2009.

A 1998 vintage whisky from Old Pulteney, bottled un-chillfiltered by Gordon & Macphail at cask strength. It's a vatting of two first fill bourbon barrels, distilled on 26th August and bottled on 13th September 2012.

A 1998 vintage Laphroaig bottled by Signatory for their Un-chillfiltered Collection. Distilled on 12th May 1998 and matured in a pair of hogsheads before bottling on 14th November 2012.

A vatting of two casks of 1998 Whisky from Braeval distillery. Matured in a Bourbon Barrel and bottled at 13 years of age. This has been bottled by Signatory at cask strength for their Cask Strength Collection.

Another of Edradour's outstanding Natural Cask Strength single cask bottlings. This is from the 1998 vintage and, judging by the colour and the relatively large number of bottles, it's a pretty safe guess that this was from a sherry butt. These releases are extremely popular - don't hang around if you fancy one.

An Old Malt Cask bottling from Douglas Laing of 1998 vintage whisky distilled at Laphroaig. Bottled in October 2012 from a refill hogshed.

A special whisky specially selected for the Springbank Society. This 1998 vintage whisky has been matured in Port butts for 7 years, before being 'finished' in Refill Bourbon Butts for another 7 years.

The second release in Ardbeg's journey to the new 10yo, Still Young was released in 2006 and continued the successful 'path to peaty maturity' as the marketing types called it. A refreshing dram with great intensity.

A cask strength edition of Hazelburn, Springbanks unpeated triple-distilled malt. This very rare 8yo was bottled for the Springbank Society in 2006.

Following on from Very Young and Still Young, Ardbeg Almost There showed the final stage in the evolution of young cask-strength Ardbeg 1998 before it blossomed into the Renaissance 10 yr-old. As you would expect, this is a mellower, more rounded, better balanced dram than the younger incarnations.

Ardbeg Renaissance is the end of the series that began with the 'Very Young' 6yo which now changes hands for silly money on eBay. This is the first 10-year old Ardbeg that is entirely comprised of spirit produced after Glenmorangie's takeover of the distillery in 1997. A fitting end to the series.

A 1998 vintage edition of Nikka's Coffey Malt whisky - made from a mash of malted barley but then distilled in one of the company's continuous Coffey stills rather than the more usual pot still. This gives it a profile between grain and malt whisky, with lots of complexity.

A single sherry cask of the little-seen Mannochmore, this is from the 1998 vintage and was bottled in 2009 for the Managers' Choice range.

A superpremium Glen Elgin 1998 bottled at full cask strength, this is part of Diageo's Manager's Choice series of single casks bottled in 2009.