Speyside Whisky

Another wonderful Tomintoul from the Vintage Single Cask range, this one was distilled back in 1994 and rested in a single Oloroso sherry butt! Eventually, it was bottled up at cask strength, with an outturn of 681 bottles at 57.4% ABV, packing oodles of dark fruit and toffee.

Nose: Toffee sweetness with hints of ripe damsons, plums and berries. Vanilla and custard aromas join the medley

Palate: Exotic mix of sweet toffee, raisins, plums, glacé cherries and nutty nougat

Finish: Sweet to start then drying slowly with cigar box spiciness

57.4% ABV

The well-balanced initial nose is characterized by notes of caramel and bitter orange. Allowed to breathe, it becomes exotic (mango, guava) and spicy (pepper, cinnamon). The deep attack is nobly malty and lush (rosemary, thyme). Red fruit (Morello cherry, pomegranate) brings freshness to the end of the palate. The silky finish is vanilla and herbaceous (gentian). The retro- nasal olfaction is tertiary (mushroom, date, tobacco).

60.5% ABV

The sweet earthiness of our coastal peated spirit is brought to life in Peated Virgin Oak Wood Finish. During finishing in American Virgin Oak casks, Glenglassaugh is shaped by intense notes of candy and fresh spice, as if a sweet shop by the beach, spiced by land and sea. Bottled at 46% with natural colour and is non chill filtered.

Colour: Antique gold.

Nose: Creamy vanilla with toasted oak spice flows over candy store confectionery and crisp freshly peated barley.

Palate: Crisp oak and hints of candied ginger, boiled sweets and brittle toffee, all surrounded by the most deliciously sweet peat smoke.

46% ABV

Distilled in 2008 at Glen Elgin distillery, this 10-year-old Speyside single malt was bottled in December 2018 by indie bottler Mossburn, and is the 19th whisky in its Vintage Casks series. Matured in a single cask, it has a sweet and spicy character, with notes of black pepper, caramel and oak spice.

59% ABV

The Cardhu 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky "The Scarlet Blossoms of Black Rock". As the fable goes, upon a hill of blackened rock grew a mysterious tree with scarlet blossoms of irresistible charm. Their sweet aroma of honeycomb and spice was so alluring, it transformed the dark hill into lush abundance. Where crimson petals had fallen, a distillery took root. The spellbinding scent filled the air, infusing Cardhu with its distinctively enchanting character.

In this golden malt, white grape and lychee aromas frolic with melodious fruits and meadow flowers. Composed in wine-seasoned wood, it has a heather-honeyed sweetness. Fragrantly, it charms with a creamy smooth texture and perfumed taste, enriched by lush red berries. Smoother still with water, the finish carries a warming pinch of white pepper. Like a single bloom, this Cardhu is remarkable to behold.

Bottled at cask strength from refill American oak casks and finished in red wine casks.

55.5% ABV

It’s rare to see a cask strength dram from Caperdonich, so the Caperdonich 21 Year Old at its natural 48% ABV is a gem for your whisky collection. This expression was bottled by the Chivas Brothers long after the distillery closed its doors for the final time, and it saw just 276 bottles drawn from a single oak barrel.

Aromas of orange zest, lemon curd and barley sugar fill the nose, complemented by notes of poached pear, creamy vanilla and summer blossoms throughout the palate.

48% ABV

A fruity, smoky single malt from Caperdonich, matured in barrels for 21 years before being bottled as part of the Secret Speyside Collection. Aromas of soft peat, bonfire ash and juicy oranges fill the nose, complemented by notes of herbal tea leaves, cool mint and wisps of peat smoke throughout the palate.

Caperdonich distillery was dismantled in its entirety back in 2011, making it not only closed, but firmly lost. As part of the Secret Speyside series, no fewer than six individual bottlings of Caperdonich single malt whiskies are now available to buy.

48% ABV

This version distilled on 15 August 1997 was first matured in a second-fill bourbon cask until December 2020, before being finished for one month in an Oloroso sherry cask. Its incredibly well-balanced and extremely serene palette of flavours and aromas wavers charismatically between a surprisingly youthful malty and herbaceous freshness and wonderfully mature notes of fruit and honey.

long, serene. At the start of the finish, fresh fruits (pear, white peach) pair perfectly with tertiary (moss, chestnut) and heady (iris, lily) flavours. The very end of the finish reveals vanilla and praline. On the retro-nasal olfaction, malted barley returns to centre-stage, while lime blossom honey, citrus fruit zest (mandarin) and roasted notes (coffee) gradually gain the upper hand

52.8% ABV

This single malt lies at the heart of the Auchroisk range, it being the only official bottling. Released in the Flora and Fauna series in 2001, having previously been marketed as The Singleton of Auchroisk.

The nose is light, with a playful zestiness. Cr?me anglaise, cut grass and delectable nuttiness creep in.
The palate is a little sweet with a pleasant softness.
A soft finish, with dry green cereal notes.

43% ABV l 700mL

Part of the Secret Speyside Collection, this sumptuous single-malt whisky has been maturing for three decades. Braes of Glenlivet is exactly the kind of distillery that the series was made to showcase: underappreciated and sublime. This expression demonstrates its qualities nicely!

Aged in American oak barrels and hogsheads and distilled in 1989, before the distillery changed its name to Braeval.

THIS ITEM WILL SHIP FROM OUR HAMILTON WAREHOUSE.

This was a surprise when it was released in 2018 as the distillery was closed from 1993 onwards and finally dismantled in the early 2000s. It was matured in refill American oak hogsheads and bottled at a cask strength 52.1% and the result is a lively vibrant expression with pastry, green apples and coconuts at the fore. Always a pleasure to sample  malt from a ghost distillery knowing that nothing quite like it will ever be produced again.

Aged for 20 years exclusively in sherry casks. Full flavoured and meaty as you'd expect from Mortlach.

From Diageo's 2020 Special Releases comes a cracking Cardhu single malt! This 11 year old expression was drawn from refill, new, and ex-bourbon American oak, resulting in a wonderfully honeyed flavour profile. Appropriately, continuing the Rare by Nature theme introduced in the 2019 Special Releases, the label features a rather handsome bee on it!

Nose: An orchard fruit-led delight, with oodles of crisp apple, pear and even some grapes coming through. Over time, the fruit turns a little more tropical, especially juicy pineapple and Galia melon. Rhubarb and custard boiled sweets, pencil shavings and a gentle cinnamon prickle add to the fruit.

Palate: Densely creamy and mouth-filling, with icing sugar adding to the fruit-forward palate. There's marmalade on toast, raisins and gentle white pepper in there, too.

Finish: Medium-long, with more of that pepper and cinnamon warmth cutting through.

Overall: A classic Speysider, and the perfect late-summer sipper.

A 21 year old blended malt from the MacNair's Lum Reek range, produced by the GlenAllachie Distillers Company. Built around a blend created by Billy Walker of peated Islay and Speyside whiskies, alongside with GlenAllachie single malt, this expression packs a satisfying peaty punch. It features whisky drawn from a combination of Oloroso, virgin oak and red wine casks.

Nose: Matured oak and cigar box, with a good whiff of woody smoke gliding through.

Palate: Cedar spices, milk chocolate, apricot, earthy peat, black pepper and a hint of charcoal.

Finish: Thyme honey, bonfire embers, dark chocolate tart.

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a limited release of 5352 bottles. This is a special release in an unusual way - this is something of a yeast experiment. For this whisky the distillery used both the conventional cerevisiae yeast and the more unusual (in the whisky world) pombe yeast . Pombe is Swahili for beer, and this is a yeast known from East Africa.

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a vatting of two batches. One part made using the pombe yeast and matured in ex-bodega sherry casks. The other part made using standard yeast and matured in refill European oak butts.

Nose: A deep and rich fruitiness is the first that greets my nose. It seems almost Japanese in style. Complex and clean. Apples, green and fresh on one hand and ripe and baked on the other. Freshly baked gourmet bread with a butter and floral honey spread.

Taste: Creamy, rich and most certainly full-bodied. A bit off-kilter but in a charming way. It could very well be the yeast used that has me confused and amused. Still very fruity, but not just apples now, I also get ripe banana and hints of honey melon and bitter oranges. Dry-ish.

Finish: Medium to long finish. Still fruity - which is not surprising. Creamy and rich all the way.