96 points
Johnnie Walker 48 year old Master of Flavor, 41.8%
Master blender Jim Beveridge’s career finale draws on stocks from seven distilleries, producing a marriage of toffee, marzipan fruit, sweet grain, vanilla, and rich tropical fruits, with the smoke lapping in waves. Remarkably, the grain leads from the front, the flavors gathering momentum, drawing in ever richer notes encompassing soft fruits, sweet smokiness, citrus, lemon peel, and dried fruit, concluding with black fruits and vanilla essence. A work of genius. (288 bottles) Collectibles
Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2022)
Ruby grapefruit, wisps of smoke, dried cranberry, and oak, with the smoke building amid salted caramel, grilled peach, rose petal, and fragrant spices. With a heart of Longmorn, the blend combines Glen Keith, Strathisla, Caperdonich, Dumbarton, Schenley-era Strathclyde, and more. Complex and velvety smooth, it glides through honeyed nuts, Victoria plum, vanilla, and citrus for a dalliance with ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg, finally softening to melted chocolate. Heavenly. (101 bottles; 20 for the U.S.)
One to study intensely; the aromas come into focus with espresso foam, chocolate mousse, black currant sauce, maraschino cherry, raspberry, walnut, and white chocolate. It experienced a secondary maturation in tawny port pipes, with a finish in Chateau MontRedon barrels. Sumptuous mouthfeel with earthy red wine, morello cherry, red velvet cake, fresh cranberry, ginger, and dark toffee, ending with deep sticky port notes that pull the spices together. It’s a show stopper.
Watch out, because Miyagikyo has moves you’ve never seen before. Smoke builds as you nose, from sweet smoke, caramel, and vanilla to bonfire smoke with savory and spicy elements, tarry ropes, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. A multi-faceted tasting experience with sweet vanilla, chocolate, malt, spice, and cocoa, then cherry, raisin, and baked citrus, with a huge chewy mouthfeel and unrelenting flavor delivery through to the finish. Send more peat to Sendai! (2,820 bottles for the U.S.)
The oldest GlenDronach expression ever released, matured in two separate sherry casks—PX and oloroso—then married and finished in a single PX cask for 1 year. The age is apparent from the mahogany color. A sumptuous nose is laden with aged sherry and layers of baked dark fruits, black cherry, and peach pie. Wild berries and dark chocolate truffle cake punctuate the palate, with overtones of cigar box and rich espresso. (198 bottles) 
If bees could make single malt, they would make this. Deeply honeyed, with caramel, vanilla essence, mango, papaya, and waxy-green leaf aromas on the nose. This nectar is indulgent, with a silky mouthfeel, while the taste buds are immersed in molten pools of honey, rich dried fruits, sugary sweet candies, melon, poached pear, vanilla, toffee, and oak spices, with a sticky sweet finish of dried fruit that’s buzzing with peppery spice. (120 bottles for the U.S.)
Distilled just after midnight on January 1, 2000, this was fully matured in Matusalem oloroso sherry butts, and it’s glorious. Slivers of pata negra, tangerine peel, honey-roasted nuts, cinnamon, ground ginger, baked apple slices, and boozy vine fruit exude from the glass. Savor the richness of chocolate, sherry, fig, date, maraschino cherry, coffee grounds, treacle tart, and bramble, with a dry finish of toasted pecan, espresso, and licorice. Impressively good.
Layered, complex, and pleasurable, with a deep vinous character on the nose of rose hip, dried cranberry, peppercorn, and autumn leaves, from the influence of the Chateau Lacoste Borie finishing casks. Delving deeper, it pulls out aromas of black cherry, new leather, snuffed candlewicks, and Christmas pudding, then vine fruit, almond, and baked orange. Muscovado-sprinkled apple and pear, with citrus, chocolate-dipped cherry, and bramble on the palate. Perfect drinking strength: No water, please. (1,695 bottles)
A 5-year finish in American oak is embellished here by a further 18 months in sauternes casks. Floral and fruity on the nose, with light smoke, cherry, raspberry, and hints of fresh melon. The palate is spicy, with notes of barrel char and smoke, chocolate, and cooked dark berries. A balanced finish of fruit, honey, and spice, underpinned by rich notes of dark chocolate. Explosively tasty, big, and delicate all at once.
Aged 5 years in American oak barrels, this one starts with a rush of peat bonfire, cayenne pepper, and paprika, along with saline minerality, dried seaweed, and aging brine. The palate is rich and spiced, but also smooth and deep, with smokiness and peat lingering in the background. Powerful, and definitely helped by a few drops of water. Superb length on a finish of vanilla, with loads of spice and red fruit.
The nose brings forth a symphony of red fruit: cherry cobbler, cranberries, dried strawberries, and candied orange. Underneath the fruit, caramel syrup, macaroon, marshmallow, and medium-roast coffee emerge. The palate is a revelation, with hot peppery spice balanced by cinnamon swirl French toast, rich hot chocolate, dark-chocolate raspberry squares, and macchiato. Bottled at cask strength, this is a hot one, and it definitely benefits from water, which coaxes out sumptuous chocolate fudge and bold dark espresso beans.
Complex, intricate, and sophisticated aromas of red gooseberry, Seville orange, cumin, wood spice, honey, marron glacé, tobacco leaf, scorched oak, and the tartness of blush-pink brambles. After leaving a Graham’s vintage port pipe to be finished in barrels that held Tintilla de Rota, a sweet fortified Spanish wine, it emerges jammy and full-bodied, with damson, black currant jelly, soft licorice, cooking apple, vanilla essence, buttered gingerbread, marzipan, cocoa, and red grape skins.
Finished in a vintage port pipe after spending much of its life in Matusalem sherry butts, this fruity dram has aromas of plum pudding, fruitcake soaked in port and sherry, sliced almond, rose-flavored Turkish delight, marmalade, honey, and fragrant spices. Sweet and nutty on the tongue, with baked plum and orange, restrained port notes, marmalade, cocoa, and black coffee. The flavors ebb away with cocktail cherries, red Twizzlers, and black currant.
Cloves, baking spices, and fragrant dried herbs on the nose—very herbal overall, hints of cedar chest, touches of mature oak, and dark chocolate. The palate is chewy and creamy, with caffé latte and spiced chocolate laced with coconut shavings. There’s a milkshake-like quality to its thickness and depth, with deeper notes of baked red berries, blackberries, and cinnamon-chocolate babka. A chocolate-filled finish with custard, cinnamon, and berry tart. A loaded, generous dram. (3,000 bottles)
Blushing pinker than a Provençal rosé thanks to the Moscatel de Valencia casks, the aromas are outstanding: neroli, ruby grapefruit, persimmon, watermelon, and ground black pepper. Picture a Parisian boutique of fragrances and fine candles and you’re there. To taste, orange, grapefruit, and light toffee, then a long spicy stretch, becoming more polished, developing stone fruit characters, and ending with a grapefruit finish that still shows plenty of bite. (486 bottles for the U.S.)
The nose is rich and oily with Bramley apple peels, brown butter, walnut oil, and exotic woods. Hugely satisfying mouthfeel of toffee, nut, malt, and baked sugar as pepper and clove take flight, leaving baked apple, walnut, currant, and ripening plum. This achieves perfect center ground between the sweetness, spice, and mizunara wood, and the spice combination from the 9-month finish and single pot still is divine. (1,200 bottles for the U.S.)
Finished in barrels from cognac maker Ferrand, to great effect. A hint of barrel char on the nose, along with burnt brown sugar, baked peaches, taffy, grenadine, toasted almonds, nougat, cooked pears, crème de cassis, and banana flan. The palate is smooth and thick, with pastry shop flavors, manuka honey, and rhubarb pie. The finish is oak laden, but rich with cooked fruit, charred oak, iced coffee, and dark chocolate.
Buttery and sweet on the nose, with lots of sweet corn and hints of honey-roasted peanuts, plus candied orange slices and waffles with maple syrup. The well-balanced palate is rich, deep, and full of flavor, with tasty layers of honeyed lemon, honey cake, cherry, bitter chocolate, and a sprinkling of pepper spice. Even better on the finish—well integrated fruit and spice, with plenty of length.