Sweet grain-driven aromas dominate the nose: blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, orange marmalade on toast, honey-roasted peanuts, toasted coconut, brown sugar, and cherry cordial candies. The palate is equally expressive, chewy with peanuts and roasted pecans, milk chocolate, orange, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, and big chunky oak, which turns mouthwatering on the lengthy, peppery, nutty finish. Though a proof this high can get unwieldy, it never shows a hair out of place.  

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

The youthful age statement may take many scotch drinkers by surprise, but don’t let double-digit bias prevent you from enjoying this exciting yet easy-drinking peat bomb. Salt water and seaweed, smoke and sweet peat tussle on the nose, while vanilla, fresh berries, and ample nuttiness spread out and take hold. The structured, balanced palate is creamy, nutty, and spiced, showcasing brown-sugar bacon, smoked salt, milk chocolate, pepper, and well-integrated oak, all wrapped up like a cigar with flakes of ash and sustained smoke. This precocious youngster shows more complexity than some whiskies twice its age, making it a remarkable find. Number 6 in the 2020 Top 20

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

A blend of eight whiskies including Oban, Brora, Cambus, and Lagavulin, producing a sweet yet complex dram that may surprise regular Blue Label drinkers. The nose has peach, marmalade, brown sugar sprinkled on caramel, fine pepper, soft peatiness, oiled wood, and campfire smokiness. The sugary palate yields toffee apple, fudge, vanilla, dried fruit, peach, and gentle spice, then fiery smoke, pepper, cocoa, milky coffee, and chocolate. Legendary indeed.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Spirit, not cask, drives this whisky’s character, with bright notes of lemon and lime, green apple candy, guava, vanilla, and ginger nut cookies creating an inviting and zesty nose. More lemon and lime, plus tangerine, on the palate, along with lively spices—ginger, white pepper, and cinnamon—toasted almonds, baking chocolate, and leather. With water, the profile flips as spices turn savory and chocolate and nuts take on a sweeter tone; the transformation is unexpected, but lovely. Tobacco, coffee bean, and leathery oak on the finish. (144 bottles; U.S. exclusive)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Elijah Craig always impresses with value, but until now has been confined to bourbon. This foray into rye whiskey sticks close to Elijah Craig’s bourbon roots by using only the minimum-required 51% rye in its formulation; however, it does achieve a nice departure in flavor. Aromas include butterscotch, caramel-nut clusters, and peppery spice. The spice ramps up on the palate, carried forward by the full body, hearty proof, and mouth-coating texture, as cherry cola, baking chocolate, and darker fruits emerge. Priced a notch below comparable peers, this rye delivers powerful flavors that feel excitingly untamed, and will impress bourbon and rye lovers alike. Number 7 in the 2020 Top 20

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2020)

An intense syrupy nose of fermenting fruit, with honey, ripe plum, grape, Braeburn apple, passion fruit, pineapple, and taffy, with flashes of cinnamon and snuff. Lush, weighty sweetness to taste, with honey, vanilla, mandarin, baked apricot, peach, molten caramel, oak, baked apple, and bananas in custard. What a find! As Blackadder celebrates 25 years in business, this will banish any doubts you have about grain whisky’s flavor. (273 bottles, 60 for U.S.)—

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

An intense syrupy nose of fermenting fruit, with honey, ripe plum, grape, Braeburn apple, passion fruit, pineapple, and taffy, with flashes of cinnamon and snuff. Lush, weighty sweetness to taste, with honey, vanilla, mandarin, baked apricot, peach, molten caramel, oak, baked apple, and bananas in custard. What a find! As Blackadder celebrates 25 years in business, this will banish any doubts you have about grain whisky’s flavor. (273 bottles, 60 for U.S.)—

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Prunes, forest honey, vanilla seeds, dark chocolate cookies, and Brazil nut, with hints of chocolate orange and ground pepper: I’m hooked. Cocoa, Whoppers, baked orange, jellied peel, jumpy peppery spices, tamarind bark, and milk chocolate pralines on the palate, and chocolate, stewed fruits, and walnut once the strength dies down. This is the complete package, and a prime contender as one of the year’s tastiest new Japanese whiskies.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Why do I get the feeling I’m about to tuck into dessert? Just-cooked berries with brown sugar crumble, marzipan, toasted coconut flakes, vanilla, and orange wedges on the nose. More fruit cobbler, brown sugar, sweet toasted nuts, Nutella, and rich spice on the palate, which turns from chewy to silky with water. The finish goes on for days, laden with red fruit, roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and well-integrated spice.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Fragrant, exotic spices permeate the nose, like a perfumy incense shot through with sandalwood; there’s also black currant, cooked plums, crushed raspberries, dark chocolate, and pineapple. The intensity of the nose builds on the palate, as rich flavors of lime zest, mango, raspberry jam, and dark chocolate swirl with the pull of oak tannins. The finish loses none of the tension between spirit and cask, balancing the dueling richesse of dark chocolate-covered pineapple and polished oak. (90 bottles; U.S. exclusive)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

The most muscular whiskeys can sometimes feel like bullies, attempting to subdue your palate, but this one shows its strength without aggression. Deeply sweet and nutty on the nose, with pralines, butterscotch, and maple syrup, along with candied orange peel and cherry juice. The palate has a strong backbone of spice—ginger, chiles, and black pepper—while generous oak fills out the frame, and over all of it, dark fruit flavors drip: boysenberry syrup, cherry juice, and blackberry jam. The lengthy finish sprinkles a bit of tobacco and a generous amount of cocoa powder.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Sweet notes of grape jelly, cherry pie, orange peel, and brown sugar balance on the nose against mature whiskey aromas of earth, leather, and antique closet. A powerful palate is driven by rich dark-chocolate fudge, blackberry tart, almond, tangerine slices, raisin bread, and spiced oak. A lengthy finish offers leather and spice, cinnamon, chocolate-covered blueberries, strawberries, cocoa, and oak. Water makes the flavors of this powerhouse even more impressive.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

This year’s barrel-strength release, comprised of several aged bourbons, offers bakery shop notes on the nose, along with vanillin, fragrant orange, soft spice, new leather, and drying tannins. The mouthfeel is soft and viscous, with emerging flavors of candied orange slices, allspice, black pepper, and scents of aged oak. The finish is notably smooth, as sweeter notes of tiramisu and cola are deftly balanced with an overlay of spice and dusty oak.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

Distilled in Tennessee from a mashbill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. Licorice, candied melon, breakfast cereal, cream soda, vanilla ice cream, and strawberry tart on the nose. A rich palate offers balanced spice, banana, cherry cola, strawberries and cream, chocolate, and baking spice. The finish is smooth, with light earthiness, tobacco leaf, and fragrant oak, followed by brown sugar, coconut, chocolate, and spice at the back.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

Let this whisky glide into your glass without hesitation: aromas of poached pear, hazelnuts, honey, marmalade, and ginger jam turn bright and fresh with water. The oleaginous palate is waxy in both texture and flavor, slick with candied citrus and subtle spice that builds into a resonant crescendo. That spice wave meets with savory hazelnut, tobacco, and leathery oak on the finish, lasting for minutes without slackening. (300 bottles; U.S. exclusive)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Initially tight on the nose, the gentle vanilla and delicate spice are draped in leather and dusty oak floorboards. Maturity is present on the palate as well, not only in the full body, but also in the form of intense vanilla and citrus furniture polish, like orange oil. At the same time, it’s quite lively, as a burst of dark fruits, cassis, and licorice rises from the depths before the drying oak finish.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2020)

A lively, expressive nose greets with sweet notes of corn muffin, grape jelly, cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, cherry candy, and balanced oak. The palate offers rich notes of sweet almond, vanilla ice cream, blackberry tart, dark chocolate, coconut flakes, loads of baking spice, and balanced, rich oak. Excellent length and balance on a finish of dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, espresso, and more spice and oak. Great sipping, with water or without.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

The nose has vanilla galore, along with nuts, milk chocolate, cooked cherries, orange oil, cinnamon, and iced tea; water highlights the grain to great effect. Chewy and textured in the mouth, with plenty of chocolate, peanuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cayenne pepper, plus lively orange zest. It finishes lengthy and satisfying: dark chocolate and that orange zest integrating seamlessly with cinnamon, brown sugar, and polished oak.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)