You looking for adventure, my friend? Follow me. Enveloped in sweet aromatic smoke, this wraps you in a headlock, enabling smoke to snake into your nostrils and blow out both ears. Blistering smoky precision, with shredded lemon peel, île flottante, toffee, jasmine, and cinnamon bark. A palate of lemon meringue pie, vanilla, light toffee, and pepper conceals its true strength. For hedonists: Rowdy, with a chance of peat for all. (278 bottles, 90 for U.S.)—

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Fruit and grain drive this solid sipper, with aromas of banana, cantaloupe, almond paste, and lemon-ginger tea to start. In the mouth, it’s rounded and full, showing zingy lemon, biscuity malt, cooked bananas, and milk chocolate. Water brings out brighter fruit flavors: strawberry, lemon, and green apple hard candies. The finish comes full circle, with bananas, lemon, almonds, and vanilla. (216 bottles; U.S. exclusive)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

The sweet, mineral, herbal smoke of this whiskey is a rare treat, calling up memories of the shells of grilled oysters, smudging a bundle of sage, and lightly charring marshmallows over a campfire. Subtly smoky on the palate, well-woven with sweet confectionary notes of meringue, candy cigarettes, and powdered dried lemon zest. It finishes mild and still sweet, vanilla and coconut on the final breath. Curious, unique, and delightful.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Form a line, sherry lovers: This blend of 10 year old corn and 5 and 11 year old ryes is driven by its finishing casks, like many single malt scotches. Though the nose is reticent and hints at the luxe flavors, the palate is a sherry bomb: brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate, raisins, hazelnuts, nougat, and figs, with sprinklings of spice and subtle saline. Drying tannin and mouth-puckering saltiness on the finish, with raisins and chocolate. The sherry is the point here, but it integrates splendidly with the muscular whiskey. (1,887 bottles)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2020)

Very aromatic with fruit leather, red fruit, mild caramel, hints of oak, and slight nose prickle. A lush, sweet, fruity palate restrained by peach pits, earthy tones, and mild oakiness develops hints of spent shotgun shells that could sometimes be found in very old sherried malts. A pleasing glow turns hot and peppery before gradually fading into unusually enjoyable rich red grape skins. Long, complex, and well-balanced.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2020)

Dhavall Ghandhi’s latest one-off creation uses casks that held colheita (single vintage aged tawny port). Fragrant and appealing, with spices, apple jelly, pink Turkish delight, plums, warm coffee grounds, Seville orange peel, forest honey, and cedar boxes. Flavors of cherry, toffee, pepper, clove, and an early surge of high alcohol, it develops a creamy mouthfeel with cranberry, sultana, and sweet cinnamon buns, finishing with leather, tobacco, and prune juice. £65

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Fantastically nutty sherry notes, like a good amontillado, with aromas of cooking apple, plum, pecan pie, pencil shavings, and wood spices. The sherry cask adds depth, flair, subtlety, and expressiveness to both the nose and palate. To taste, there is orange peel, nuts, crystallized grapefruit peel, fresh plum, clove, and pepper. The sweet light flavors keep it aloft as more base notes help to fill it out. (4,090 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Cherry, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry sorbet, plum skin, juicy sultana, sweet barley notes, and a smudge of fine spices indicate the influence of the Israeli red wine casks. The palate is fruity but not sweet, with red grape, pepper, malt, vinous notes, and ascendant peppery oak spices, then a dry finish of vanilla cream, raspberry cordial, and spices. Delicious, but after the first sip, further flavor shifts are subtle.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Dark and mysterious, with prune juice, leather boots, aniseed, Brazil nut, and tobacco. There’s oloroso and PX influence on the palate, with prune, dried fig, baked orange, dark muscovado, chocolate-covered toffee, and hazelnut, with a finish of cocoa and smoky espresso notes. It nearly has the body and texture to sustain these heavy-duty flavors, but it’s a bit like a skinny kid in a leather jacket trying to act tough. £48

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Tomer Goren, head distiller at Milk & Honey Distillery in Tel Aviv, excels at warm climate single malt production under the intensity of the Mediterranean sun. His ethos is beautifully captured within this kosher-certified flagship bottling, matured in bourbon and shaved, toasted, and re-charred casks. It exudes a nose of golden syrup, vanilla, marshmallow, jasmine, dried apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper. Flavorful and juicy, the palate has satisfying depth, with caramel, vanilla, shortbread, honey, and orange, daubed with vivaciously spicy black pepper. Number 20 in the 2020 Top 20

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

This is a new recipe, replacing the old 12 year old. Rounded and warming on the nose, with stewed fruits, orange peel, and a hint of lime. Voluptuous in the mouth, with honey, milky coffee, figs, and dried fruit. Black currants, licorice, and lively spices in the finish. A really satisfying, well-structured dram.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2020)

This is a spicy prospect, with pepper, lemon bonbons, and dense peat smoke, though the toffee and sweet lemon are well-balanced against the smoke. Sweet lemon meringue pie, candied peel, and a twin assault of smoke and clove-led spices on the palate, though the sweetness mounts a fight back. Great crescendo of flavor as Big Peat tries to show he is the perfect house guest for the holidays. (900 bottles for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Sliabh Liag is the first legal whiskey distillery in Co. Donegal in over 175 years, and though the blends are sourced, this latest iteration is a big step up in quality. Soft fruit, strong barley notes, and graham cracker aromas, with supporting grain notes, stone fruits, vanilla, and orange blossom. The palate is soft and graceful, offering orange fondant, apricot, peach, nectarine, ground ginger, citrus peel, and green apple.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Distilled from 95% New York-grown corn and 5% malted barley. Vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate, orange zest, ginger snaps, fresh flowers, leather, and allspice on the nose. The mouthfeel is light, with notes of herbs, orange slices, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, almonds, and brown sugar. A smooth, spicy finish brings on a finale of orange tart, ginger, dried almonds, and a pleasant cereal note. Light but well spiced, with depth and balance. Best Value

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

The Whistler is emerging as a standout Irish whiskey for the quality of its flavors. After a 15-month finish in Château du Breuil calvados casks, look for aromas of caramel apple clafoutis, pressed cider apples, and layers of honey, vanilla, ground spice, and floral top notes. Green apple, honey, barley, and vanilla ride a tide of peppery spices, leaving light brown sugar, apple cereal bars, and a long, spicy finish. (3,000 bottles for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Made from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, and aged at least 3 years. The nose is freshly sweet, with notes of orange tea, orange peel, nectarine, licorice, dark chocolate, leather, and dried flowers. A creamy palate offers marmalade, fruitcake, baking spice, and barrel char. The finish is light but lengthy, with bursts of dark fruit tart, black currant, and vanilla bean. Excellent complexity for a whiskey this young.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2020)

With a heart of Glenburgie, its bourbon barrel finish delivers a heady hit of vanilla, red apples, and brown sugar sweetness on the nose, with support from baked hazelnut cookies and ground black pepper. Toffee apple, pear, vanilla, salted caramel, and a gentle pepperiness dissipate to reveal caramel, heather honey, pecan pie, cocoa, and dark chocolate. Try this with orange or cocoa bitters in your next Old Fashioned. £28

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)

Dried cherry, orange peel, and red fruits on the nose complemented by aromatic spices, toffee, hazelnut, plum jam, polished wood, macaroons, and a little oak toastiness. It’s thick and mouth coating, with toffee, fig, nutty chocolate, pepper, oak char, bitter cacao, and dark cherry. The blend has a 35% malt content and spent a minimum finishing period of a year in oloroso sherry hogsheads.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2020)