Rabbit Hole’s core bourbon brand now carries the name Cavehill, though the liquid remains unchanged. The nose starts with dried red fruits, drying oak tannins, raspberry jam, and an earthy note. A palate of spiced oak, milk chocolate, caramel, white pepper, and sweet black cherry is followed by a lengthy finish of orange peel, honey, sweet lemon cake, creamy chocolate, and pepper spice. Rich flavors, creating an easy whiskey to savor.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2019)

Using Cardhu and Glendullan, among other Speyside single malts, to focus on Black Label’s orchard fruit attributes, this has a nose of apple pie, vanilla sponge cake, caramel, and aromatic pan-roasted spices. Sweet and spicy with a glossy mouthfeel, it yields flavors of Fruit Pastilles, vanilla cream, sharp apple, currants, and baked sugar with a gentle undercurrent of spice. Ginger and pepper with jellied fruits and hints of citrus to finish.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

The smoky black peat, toasted spice, lemon peel, toffee, swept autumn leaves, and dried fruits on the nose give this expression greater affinity to regular Black Label than the rest of the range. Lagavulin and Caol Ila, among other Islay single malts, are included in this blend. The palate begins with a smooth array of caramel, smoke, and spice, transitioning through darker toffee notes to thick treacle, toasted hazelnut, and peppercorn, with brief flashes of fruitiness on the finish.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

With Clynelish and Teaninich at its heart, this expression spotlights Black Label’s rich fruit character, with a nose of marmalade on well-done toast, nectarine, liquid honey, candied peel, dry spices, and bourbon biscuits. Rounded orange notes with creamy vanilla and peppery spices; the spices are amplified with touches of oak char as the marmalade flavors die back. Sweet, spicy, creamy finish of orange fondant.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

This is a bold whiskey that meanders leisurely through a lot of flavor territory. The sweet aromas span toasted coconut, nougat, and marzipan, coupled with distinctive meaty smoked bacon and cherry cough drop notes. Cherry and red berry fruit also string through the palate, with bright citrus, chili-pepper honey, and flickers of spice—allspice and clove—dancing through the sweetness on a long finish.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2019)

Blending a 2 year old straight bourbon made at Ben Milam Distillery with two Tennessee straight bourbons (one aged 3 to 4 years and the other 10 to 11 years), this whiskey balances youth and maturity adeptly. The nose has peanuts, cinnamon hot chocolate, horehound candy, and Coca-Cola syrup, while on the palate, orange, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, peanuts, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon are held in balance by the oak. The finish rides a good length with chili-chocolate, roasted peanuts, oak, and a hint of tobacco leaf.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2019)

Fresh, clean floral scents, light honey, golden syrup, and a hoppy edge hail this latest collaboration created by finishing Jameson whiskey in barrels seasoned with Chicago-based Revolution Brewing’s Fist City pale ale. The taste begins with fresh hoppy notes, slightly herbal, with gentle spices and an active pepperiness that grows larger in the headlights. The long spicy aftertaste follows the vestiges of the creamy nougat, vanilla, and green apple flavors.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

This “single field, single vintage, single malt,” was distilled in 2013 from Islay barley, peated to 114 ppm and aged in first-fill American whiskey barrels. The nose offers sweet, fragrant woodsmoke from logs on an open fire, with milk chocolate, salted caramel, and orange. The fragrant smoke carries over on the palate, with pears, melons, and developing barley sugar. Dark peat and licorice in the finish. (24,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2019)

Distilled in 2000, this expression has been aged in freshly charred American oak hogsheads. Tangerines, ginger, and white pepper on the nose, with developing nutmeg. Big sweet fruit notes on the palate, with milk chocolate and caramel. Tangy citrus fruit and dark chocolate in the spicy, warming finish. (600 bottles for the U.S.)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2019)

Terrific nose of apple strudel, vanilla fudge, honey, raisins in syrup, and poached pears. A golden, honeyed dram, with fudge and a spike of ginger spice, followed by apple muffins, apple peelings, a touch of oak char, and a finish of sweet caramelized sugar. In case you are wondering, Beldorney is Duncan Taylor’s term for Wardhead, which is a blended malt of primarily Glenfiddich, with a small amount of Balvenie.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

Distilled in 2004, this expression was finished for 2 years in amontillado sherry-seasoned hogsheads. Soft and floral on the delicate nose, with vanilla ice cream and ripe pears. Smooth on the palate, with malt, milk chocolate, honey, nuts, and red apples. Drying in the spicy finish, with black coffee and light wood tannins. £120

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2019)

The nose is a little attenuated but shows off tarte au citron, cigar smoke, blood orange, and some gentle spices. The rich, fruity palate has a flawless, immaculate quality with tangy orange, spice, caramel, ground almond, vanilla, and orange sherbet, but what it gains in smoothness it loses in producing a substantial firework moment to really stimulate the palate. A polished blend in search of some perfect imperfections.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

Distilled at Lorraine’s G. Rozelieures, this whisky from an erudite and cultivated independent bottler has a nose of peach, orange buttercream, asphalt, toasted oak, and black peppercorn. On the palate there is citrus, vanilla, and spice, developing more tangy flavors of candied peels, orange buttercream, and ground pepper. As it softens, a little smoke curls around a taste of taffy candy. Hot smoke, spice, and diminishing citrus notes signify game over. (1,0000 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

A vibrant nose, thanks in part to Hillrock’s on-site malting floor and kiln: baby back ribs, grilled corn, tobacco leaf, pecans, nutmeg, figs, and clean mineral smoke. The dry palate is savory, smoky, and mouthwatering, with spiced nuts, grilled sausages, orange oil, grilled apples, clove, nutmeg, and hints of rubber. It finishes with coffee ice cream, smoked salt, tobacco leaf, dark chocolate, and lingering savory smoke. (60,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2019)

This is a blend of single malt whiskeys from a number of U.S. distilleries, and malt indeed shines throughout. On the nose, there’s cooked apple and pear, with nutmeg, chamomile, milk chocolate, and salt water taffy, followed by a biscuity sweet palate packed with floral and stone fruit notes, milk chocolate, toasted almonds, cinnamon, and salinity. The dry, round finish has vanilla biscotti, gentle oak, warm almonds, and tobacco leaf.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2019)

Initial vanilla and fruit aromas are quickly overtaken by savory notes of fresh dill, licorice, earth, and alpine herbs. The palate serves up some figgy fruit, dried cherry, and sassafras leaf, but the style is clearly oak-driven, perhaps hinting at roasted chestnuts and some dusty, stale spices. Even with water, it remains a bit hot, and while somewhat angular oak lacks integration and holds it back from greatness, there’s still a lot to enjoy for wood fans.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2019)

A rich, fruity nose of baked apple, fruitcake, sliced almond, honey, and white pepper. At cask strength this is quite a bumpy ride, with warm apple, sultana, and caramel revving up to a jagged peak of ginger, pepper, and clove. When your taste buds emerge on the other side, it settles into a more pleasing caramel and toffee sweetness. Perfect for armchair mountaineers.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)

Lime syrup, grapefruit peel, Smarties candy, ripe peach, and orange peel zested over vanilla frosting make for an attractive nose. Fruity and tangy with green apple, lemon, vanilla, burnt oak, clove, and pepper, developing more candy sweetness than fruit flavors in the latter phases. As the spiciness blooms, extra layers of vanilla and toffee are added. A tangy fruit finish with a citrus edge.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2019)