Inchgower makes its debut in the Special Releases range with this veteran bottling that was matured in in refill American oak. The nose offers a whiff of soy sauce, honey, and blotting paper. Salty and spicy on the palate, with green apple, walnut, and cloves. Jaffa orange and black pepper in the long finish. (8,544 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Part of Distell’s Malt Collection, this 19 year old offering of Tobermory Distillery’s peated spirit was finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for an unspecified period. The nose yields smoky caramel, raisins, and coal soot. Full-bodied, with blackcurrant, toffee, hot asphalt, and black pepper. Black pepper, peat, and chewy oak in the medium-length finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Named in honor of the family that owned Mortlach for many years, this was matured in sherry wood, like its 16 year old sibling. Milk chocolate, nuts, and coffee on the nose, with developing meaty aromas. Soft and slightly waxy on the palate, with almonds, apricots, and allspice. Milk chocolate and spicy orange in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

After 10 years maturing in bourbon casks, this expression from the 2018 Distell Malt Collection was then aged for a further 2 years in fino sherry hogsheads. The nose offers white wine, sultanas, ginger, and cocoa powder, plus white chocolate and tangerines. The palate is full, with sweet orchard fruits, ginger, and cinnamon, balanced by dry sherry. The finish is medium in length, with black pepper and cocoa. (1,710 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

It works like this: triple distilled single pot still whiskey matured in bourbon, sherry, and Malaga casks, which produce a complex drink with aromas of red fruits, spice, nutmeg-dusted custard tarts, blossom honey, dried raspberry, clotted cream, cracked black pepper, and sweet flowering jasmine. The sweetness and nutmeg flavors are swallowed up by an overwhelming force of clove, with a finish of bitter nut oils and burnt toast.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Bright, fresh, fruity, and clean, with a nose of fresh cream, pressed flowers, ripening green melon, green apple, and cut pear, mellowing into baked fruit tarts, rubbed lemon peel, and spice. It’s a very sweet mouthful of sugary candy, vanilla fudge, lemon bonbon, sherbet, and fermenting apple laced with a few tangy strands of citrus. A long-lasting sweet finish, with lemon and an initial spicy buzz. €84

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Distilled in 2003, this expression spent a decade maturing in bourbon barrels before a further 5 years in first-fill Portuguese moscatel wine barriques. It was bottled without chill-filtration. The nose offers fragrant spices and red apples sprinkled lightly with white pepper. Very fruity on the supple palate, with strawberries-and-cream notes, background citrus, almonds, and slightly musty oak. Black pepper and figs in the medium-length finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, this youthful Talisker appears at one of the original bottling strengths used by one-time owners John Walker & Sons Ltd. It is the first Special Releases Talisker since 2013. Peppery tweed, ozone, coconut oil, and subtle smoke on the nose. The palate features woodsmoke and chili, toffee, and green berries. White pepper, sea salt, and a savory note in the finish. £70

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

This 9 year old Deanston spent almost 8 years in bourbon barrels before being transferred into French brandy butts for a final 2 years of aging. Cognac notes on the early nose, rich and spicy, with toffee, nutmeg, instant coffee, and rhubarb crumble. The palate is sweet, smooth, and buttery, with brandy, honey, and polished oak. The finish dries with licorice and chili warmth, then, finally, tangy dark berries. (3,432 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

This follows Valkyrie in the Viking Legend series. Distilled using a proportion of Tartan barley grown on Orkney, which is said to produce additional smokiness. Matured mainly in sherry-seasoned American oak casks. Smoldering wood embers on the early nose, with heather in bloom and apple blossom. Vanilla, cloves, and smoky citrus fruit on the palate. The finish yields peat, aniseed, and nutmeg.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Beeswax candles, wafers in vanilla ice cream, dried apricots, a strand of garden bonfire smoke, dried-out wedges of honeydew melon, and fruit shortcake cookies. The palate revels in barley sugar, active spices, lime, orange, and grapefruit peel, and it’s beautifully weighted with fudge and vanilla sponge cake. A mouth-clinging finish saturates the taste buds with sweet, honeyed fruits.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Nobody was expecting this Spanish proposition, as the inquisitive John Glaser adds the first new permanent addition to the range in many years. Its chief weapons are Spanish red wine, spiced orange, cranberry, redcurrant, and ristras of dried red chili pods hanging in doorways. The ruthlessly efficient palate has red wine notes, spicy chili heat, and an almost fanatical devotion to the pepper. Pour a glass and fetch the cushions.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

One for the fruit fiends: honeyed apricots, tart kumquats, candied pineapple, dried kiwi, and layered spices—ginger, cardamom, licorice—on the nose. More candied fruit, grape soda, bubble gum, dried apricot, and kiwi flood the palate, along with licorice and earthy spice on the finish. Add water liberally—the high proof conceals some of the most entrancing flavors.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

Three is the magic number: bourbon, oloroso, and canteiro-seasoned madeira barrels bring forth an intense whiskey that radiates summer warmth with unctuous raisin sweetness, candied orange peel, honey, ground cumin, peppercorn, and toasted oak. Peppercorn and oak char follow fruity-sweet flavors of apple, cranberry, cherry, and sultana. This impressive grain whiskey is more assertively spicy than their malts, but displays even greater depth and character than Glendalough Double Barrel. €48

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Port Cask is the third and final release in Bowmore’s Vintner’s Trilogy. It was matured for 13 years in bourbon barrels, then 14 years in port pipes. Woodsmoke and blackcurrant on the mildly medicinal nose, with developing sea salt and vanilla fudge. Smoky dried fruit on the palate, with a hint of brine. Old oak, antiseptic, and black pepper in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Aromas of peanuts, sassafras, Cheerwine soda, nutty oak, and a sweep of cloves, allspice, and ginger, sprinkled with blackberries and cherries. There’s zippy citrus on the palate, a nice lift of heavier oak, roasted nut, dark chocolate, and baking spice flavors. But the richness stops short on the finish, which is light and quick. (Total Wine & More)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

Elegant and dry, this Breton whisky from Distillerie Warenghem charms with its nose of digestive biscuits, honey, barley, dry oak, dried apricot, apple rings, roasted coriander seeds, and white pepper. The flavor delivery is well balanced with orange, honey, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, and pepper, with the masterful spices quelling the fruitiness in the end. Breton is an endangered language, so pour a glass and raise a toast. Yec’hed mat!

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

A blend of three malts with a finish in sauternes barrels; the sweet wine gracing the whisky with a light, delicate frame. It takes a while to open up, unfurling flavors of brioche, egg custard, walnut baklava, ground cumin, and a conspicuous vanilla scent. Cinnamon commands the palate, supported by peach, nectarine, and vanilla, with a nuttiness and base notes of spice, rounding off with cinnamon, pepper, and baked orange.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)