This is so much more than a pumped-up version of Peat Chimney; this has sweet smoke from singed green wood twigs, light honey, peach, all balanced with TCP-soaked bandages. Nothing harsh or off-putting, it’s just a delight. Sweet honey, orange, generous malt, and caramel, but it’s the smoke coiling its way throughout that makes the greatest impression on the palate and finish. These blended malts tend to move quickly, so grab one while you can. Perfect for winter drinking. (12,000 bottles) £42

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

A very solid and sound Bowmore with saline notes, some dried hot pepper, and masses of menthol, which give a buzzy, nose-cleaning effect. The smoke gently glides along throughout. The palate is quite thick and shows sweetness and a slow release of soft fruit, with a tingle of salt. The smoke slowly increases until it concentrates on the back palate, giving an effect like burning pine logs on the beach. Becomes nicely funky in time. Recommended.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)

Rich amber. A slight agricultural note to start, and although sweet and soft, also a little indistinct. This is a palate whisky, with plenty of integrated smoke, rich fruitcake, and, as its name suggests, plenty of chocolate. It fades quickly when neat. Water, surprisingly, rectifies this: the nose opens to show complex dark depths, while the palate is lengthened and given extra aromatic lift. Rich and rather lovely. £85

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2015)

This cask strength, 29 year old 1982 expression in the Wemyss Malts range is the company’s first bottling of a single malt distilled at the Northern Highland distillery of Teaninich. Just 201 bottles have been released. The insistently fruity nose features overripe pears, heather in bloom, soft fudge, salted popcorn, cinnamon, and ginger. Soft and peachy on the palate, with darker spice notes, walnuts, and plain chocolate. The finish is lengthy, with more plain chocolate and some spiced oak. £110

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Summer 2012)

The Wemyss range — overseen by Susan Colville — has been quietly building a deserved reputation for being among the most consistently enjoyable single cask bottlings. This new example hails from the mighty Benrinnes distillery, but shows a milder side to its make — there is indeed ginger aplenty, along with cumin, crystallized fruit, and jellied peach, but behind is a deep earthy and slightly leathery note typical of ‘The Ben.’ It’s these bass notes that dominate on the richly chewy palate. Best neat. £51

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2011)

A divine, lilting nose of exotic summery fruits that brings a smile to your face. Split papaya, fleshy mango, and candied peel join freshly squeezed OJ and sugar-dusted marshmallows. The thick, syrupy texture fizzes attractively on the palate with flavors of warm marmalade on buttered granary toast. After some mid-palate heat, there is flavored sherbet candy, mint, and burnt orange on the finish. Fruity, but happily not sugary sweet like some grains. (171 bottles for Europe and Asia) £85

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2015)

Bunnahabhain, along with Bowmore, is Islay’s greatest user of ex-sherry casks; a throwback to the days when it was part of Highland Distillers. Its rich, thick, and ginger-accented spirit matches the attention of European oak extremely well. In this red tea-colored example, you have resin, saddle soap, ginseng, and treacle toffee on the nose, and a fusillade of roasted spices on the palate before the finish reveals sweet gingerbread. A big huggable bear. £60

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2012)

Just 279 bottles of this 22 year old single cask Glen Scotia have been released by Wemyss Malts, with maturation taking place in a bourbon cask. Fleetingly, very sweet, crunchy apples on the nose, then caramel, milk chocolate, sherbet dips, plus a hint of brine. The palate is sweet and peppery, with spicy toffee, grapefruit, melon, and walnuts. The finish is medium in length, spicy, with table salt in the tail. £90

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

Highly fragrant and citric, mixing dried and sweet orange peels, moist sultana fruitcake. Lightly malty with gentle nuances of fruit syrup. Pretty and elegant in the mouth, where there’s orange barley water, mint, and crystallized ginger on top of a thick, honeyed delivery before the classic ‘Rothes sweet spices come through. Only a drop or two of water is needed. Recommended. £117

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

The latest single cask expression of 1991 Glen Scotia from Wemyss Malts has been matured for 22 years in a sherry butt, which yielded 807 bottles. The nose provides sherry and cigar boxes, cherries, sultanas, raisins, orange peel, plum pudding, and finally warm leather. Full bodied, with sherry on the palate, plus brine, dried fruit, bitter coffee, and polished old, dark oak. Medium to long in the fruity finish, with salt, plain chocolate, and wood polish notes. £105

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2014)

The nose is sweet (think barley sugar/boiled sweets) with little bits of wheat chaff flying around in the background with dried flower petals and drying cut grass. Opens dramatically with water into almond milk/horchata and flowers. The palate is sweet and lifted with those gentle florals to the fore. Instead of Tormore’s normal nagging rigidity, this flows sweetly over the tongue, leaving fruit leather, stewed rhubarb, and with water, rosewater and fresh wild strawberry. A lovely Tormore! £118

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

Distilled in 1986, this single cask from Blair Athol distillery in Perthshire yielded 268 bottles, and the nose offers sweet fruits, principally apple and orange, plus walnuts, vanilla, and brittle toffee. Becoming softer and creamier with time. Dark fruit notes on the palate, notably blackcurrants and cranberries, with caramel and cinnamon. The finish is quite viscous, with a little oak, freshly-squeezed lemons, and licorice twists. £85

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2013)

Glenrothes always has a spicy element, but this example ups the ante considerably and, true to the label, it’s fresh-cut ginger root alongside galangal and coriander, a hint of green grass, and even a little bite of jelly babies, alongside black currant leaf. Rothes’ normally languid air is here frothily exuberant, with just sufficient vanilla thickness to offer a brake. Uplifting and good. £107

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2013)

Sweet oak and cod liver oil are what greet you, with fleshy, lychee-like fruits behind. The smoke here is very polite, giving way to fruit jelly cubes and peaches, to develop alongside crisp apple. The palate is clean with nutty oak, with the smoke continuing in the background, offering an extra layer of complexity. Fresh, belying its age, while it has typical tongue-coating oiliness it remains understated. Caol Ila basking in the summer sun. (U.S. only)

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2013)

Wemyss Malts has bottled this 23 year old hogshead-matured example of Glen Garioch from the Aberdeenshire village of Oldmeldrum. Just 322 bottles were yielded by the cask. Cigarette tobacco, brittle toffee, and a hint of aniseed on the nose. Vanilla develops, along with strawberries, apples, and pears. Rich malt, walnuts, cooked apple, and cinnamon on the palate. The spicy finish features old leather and pepper. £105

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2014)

The latest Wemyss single cask release of Clynelish from the distillery at Brora in Sutherland runs to 258 bottles and has been matured in a hogshead. Freshly-sliced green apples on the nose, slightly peppery, with grated nutmeg and salted caramels. Relatively full-bodied, with lots of soft fruit, principally Jaffa oranges, and sweet spice. Spicy caramel and cocoa powder in the slowly drying, medium-length finish. £75

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2014)

The new Wemyss Family Collection includes two blended malts; this is the better of the pair. Raisin, date, fruitcake, stewed apple and plum, cumin, coriander, allspice, and new leather leave little mystery about the role played by the sherry hogshead. Gingerbread, plum, and dark orange draw the mouth. Fruity sweetness, but never sugary; there are jam tarts, walnut, and minimal interference from the spices until the dry finish. (6,300 bottles) £47

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2017)

This is Mortlach in musing mode. An aroma that initially brings to mind a woolen mill, then opens into sweet spice, light syrup, with the sense of the distillery’s weight always present. A rippling kind of muscularity with some rapeseed oil. With water the palate starts lighter and more fruity than you’d expect, then comes rooty weight with, yes, a distinctly gingery slant. Water shows more beeswax/honeycomb. Substantial and spicy. £85

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)