A seductive Dalmore. Very fruity too, with Seville orange, peaches in syrup, clementine, pineapple, and bramble. Sugared almond, powdered vanilla, ginger, and lush sherry on the finish add depth and dimension. Consistent on the nose and palate, and with great balance. I’m glad they stopped the amoroso finishing when they did. I feel that any more sherry influence here would have been counterproductive. Very lovely!

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

There’s something enigmatic and highly attractive about this distillery and its deceased brother, Brora. Perhaps it’s the unpredictability; there are plenty of independent releases of varied and often questionable quality, and you’re never quite sure what’s going to turn up. Even iconic expressions such as the 30 year olds can vary from quite sublime to appalling and sulfury when in the wrong hands. When the malts from both distilleries are good, though — and the official bottlings tend to be — they’re very, very good. This Clynelish is a delightful surprise from the beginning, its nose some way removed from the official 14 year old, and more in common with some recent Diageo-release Broras, mixing soft maritime notes with squiggly peat and some fruit notes. The palate is complex and attractive, with savory peat, sweet pineapple, salt, light fish, drizzled lemon, pepper, chili, and cardamom. It all makes for a big, complex, evolving (and grown up) whisky — and great value for the price tag.

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Spring 2011)

A blend of two straight whiskeys: a very young 2 year old high rye content whiskey and a 16 year old rye whiskey with a lower rye content. Perhaps the spiciest American whiskey I have ever tasted, yet at the same time, quite tame and mellow. Complex notes of mint, clove, cinnamon, licorice root, pine nuts, and dark chocolate, with a surprising dose of gin botanicals throughout. A soft underbelly of caramel, sweet corn, and soothing vanilla provides an interesting counterpoint. Very easy-drinking, too (hard to believe it’s 46%). Intriguing, and a must-try for rye whiskey aficionados — even if only to satisfy your curiosity.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

For me, Talisker 30 year olds have paled in comparison to the same distillery’s 20 and 25 year olds. This, however, immediately shows promise. Gold in color, and while it’s another one that starts ever so slightly restrained, the giveaway peppery note soon reveals itself as smoked pimento and Szechuan pepper, mixed with extra virgin olive oil spread over hot smoked salmon. There’s also a touch of putty — something which you usually only see in youthful expressions — suggesting that here’s another refill maturation. As with many of these older whiskies, water isn’t the best option for the palate, but a drop does help release the sweet fruitiness that always lurks in Talisker’s heart, this time accompanied by an herbal note (mint and fennel). It’s almost as if it is looking back at itself as an 18 year old, but here the firm granitic grip of age takes hold. The palate starts slowly but opens well with a gentle, yet assertive revealing of the aromas on the nose. It seems to dip in energy just in the center before sparking back to life when the smoke emerges, like the last flash of defiance from an old-timer.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2011)

A polished whisky, light-medium in body with well-rounded flavors. Fruity (ripe orange, lemon gumdrops, candy apple), with creamy vanilla and a honeyed, toasted malt foundation. Soft, gentle oak throughout. What a lovely, gentle-natured whisky, straight down the middle! Bonus points for versatility.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

This is like a blast from the past, with much in common with the sherried Cask Strength of old, and a welcome treat for any fan of the big, sherried Macallans. All the red berry and blood orange notes are present on the nose, along with cocoa and a dusty smokiness. The palate is full, velvety and chewy, with Christmas cake, oranges, and some nuttiness. Nutmeg and cinnamon fill out the mouth feel, before a long and classic sherried finish.

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Spring 2011)

Credit to Glengoyne for coming up with something different. There are just 100 bottles of this malt available this year, with a further 100 or so released each Christmas from the same cask each year until 2014, effectively offering malt enthusiasts the chance to plot a work in progress. Better still, this first effort is one of the best releases ever to come out of the distillery. The name is spot on; it really is Christmas in a glass, with the almost feminine aromas of rosewater, flowers, candy stick, and fruit giving way to a huge sherry note on the palate. Dark chocolate, cherry, orange, and chili notes combine to offer up a bold and full malt. Some special bottlings from Glengoyne have been over-oaky or marred by sulfur, but not this one. This is clean, pure, and classy. Can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Spring 2011)

The latest limited release from this brand. This whiskey spent most of its life aging in a bourbon barrel and then spent 9 months in sherry casks. (“Twin wood” is synonymous with “finishing.”) This one’s triple distilled (think Bushmills distillery) and is the first Knappogue Castle to be aged in two types of wood. It’s a very nice whiskey, with an array of bright fruit lying on a bed of creamy vanilla, toasted nuts, marshmallow, marzipan, and powdered cocoa. Excluding the original 1951 Knappogue Castle release (from the long gone B. Daly distillery), this is my favorite of the “modern day” Knappogue Castle whiskeys.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

The fruit (orange marmalade, tangerine, fresh pineapple) is nearly as dominant as the leafy smoke. Sweet notes of nutty caramel, honeyed barley, toffee, and nougat round out the palate. Ginger, cinnamon, telicherry pepper, tobacco, and ash play a supporting role. Lingering fruity, smoky finish. For those who like sherried Islay whiskies.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

While last year’s vintage was a more delicate expression of Evan Williams, I loved it for its elegance, charm, and balance (and gave it a 95 rating). This one is darker in flavor and bolder, with more caramelized sugars (caramel, toffee, maple syrup) along with some underlying fruit. It’s also drier, spicier, and with more wood influence (resin and polished leather). It still maintains its balance on the nose and majority of the palate, but with more wood on the finish than I would prefer to rate it in the 90s. (One more thing to consider: it’s a single barrel bottling and no two barrels are alike.) Value Pick

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

If Cragganmore is sometimes overlooked, then what of this poor Lowlander whose qualities are consistently overlooked? Again, here we have a pale color suggesting use of refill casks, but whereas Cragganmore was reticent to the point of being mute, this is expressive and lively. The nose, with intense floral notes of lilac blossom, freesia, and chamomile, is a revelation. These are backed with a thick, unsalted butter note that suggests that the cask might not have been as quiet as first imagined. Give it time, and out come boiled sweets and a fresh green note, like a just-whittled stick. A hint of wheat chaff and fragrant grasses brings to mind lying in a summer meadow watching the dust motes dance in the sunshine. The mouth is sweet and lemon-accented with a pickup of a pleasant chalkiness on the nose that gives it the suggestion of a fino sherry or Vin Jaune. I like its energy, and feel that the addition of water reduces its vibrancy, so for drinking purposes I’d have a glass of ice cold water on the side. All in all impressive, with just a hint of soap on the finish taking it below the 90 mark.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2011)

Poor old Auchroisk. Not only couldn’t anyone pronounce it correctly (it’s “Oth Rusk,” in case you’re interested), but in recent years it’s seen its Singleton prefix hijacked by other larger distilleries — Glendullan, Dufftown, Glen Ord — leaving it somewhat forgotten by malt mavens. Part of the old J&B stable, it continues to make a malty/nutty spirit, a style which is also somewhat out of favor in the world of single malts. Maybe this bottling (in a rather spiffing retro pack) will redress the balance. The color is full gold, and though initially the nose shows the high bottling strength to the max, beneath the prickly heat is eucalyptus oil alongside those signature nutty/cereal notes. But here’s the difference; there’s sweetness, too: toffee and thick clover honey, even a touch of sawdust and pencil shavings before a drop of water brings out malted milk and powdered hazelnut. In other words, there’s plenty of distillery character, but good cask development. In the mouth, when neat, the needling alcohol slightly numbs the tongue and the effect from start to finish is a bit fragmented. Add water, however (not too much), and there’s a soft, creamy effect across the tongue with praline, almond, and a dark chocolate note as well. Be careful with the water though, as you need to retain the zesty acidity on the finish.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2011)

Aged in bourbon casks, then sherry casks, then finished in bourbon casks. An interesting (and original?) approach, but is it worth all the effort? I think so. The sherry notes are clean, not cloying, and there’s plenty of oak resin on the palate for texture, and to balance the sherry’s sweetness. Liqueur-ish fruit (orange, raspberry, cherry, caramelized peach), along with a good peppering of dried spice (vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, anise). Distinctive resin on the finish props up the rest of the flavors.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

Matured in a bourbon hogshead. Floral nose. Soft, creamy, and elegant, with honeyed malt, custard, subtle butterscotch, and delicate fruit (orange, peach) peppered with spice (powdered vanilla, nutmeg). Well-balanced, gently dry, and easy drinking. A charming whisky (for a lazy Sunday afternoon, perhaps?)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

Connemara is the peated Irish whiskey from the Cooley distillery, and this one is their (and Ireland’s) smokiest offering yet. This is the first time I ever detected dung (albeit subtly) in a whiskey — and only on the nose, thankfully. It’s curiously intriguing. The style of peat used, along with the youth of this whiskey, has a distinct impact of the whiskey’s flavor. It’s sweet and smoky, which works well. Throw in some bacon fat, diesel oil smoke (like at a boat dock), anise, ginger, honeyed malt, barley, lime, and pear. Underneath all that peat lies what seems like a fairly young whiskey, because it is very brisk and vibrant, but not excessively so. Bonus points for distinctiveness.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

Unusual, insofar as this is the one chance a year that drinkers get to try Caol Ila’s other expression: the unpeated version, which — and here’s a bit of history for you — helped save the distillery during the lean period of the whisky loch in the early 80s. Rather than this just being Caol Ila with the peat stripped out, the team made it in a different fashion — but there are still hints of commonality. For example, the grassy note that usually lies beneath the smoke is the lead aroma here, and it’s not any old grass, but wet grass — like skidding on a football (soccer) field. The mind keeps looking for smoke, but apart from a hint of birch smoke (which could come from the (refill) cask), it’s whistle-clean and fruity, and with a touch of water, fills with an aroma of toffee popcorn, custard, and pears. The palate continues in this light fashion with melon balls and fruit cocktail. This potentially bland fleshiness is given a perkiness thanks to the high alcohol and, again, a jag of acidity. Bizarrely, on the finish, I pick up slight saltiness. A fun dram.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2011)

Aged in a refill sherry puncheon, and the sherry is evident in appearance and on the palate. Soft and sweet, with caramel-coated mixed nuts, toffee apple, rhum agricole, currant (red and black), plum, cinnamon, and surprising brisk mint (especially toward the finish). A pleasing, non-aggressive expression of a mature, sherried whisky. (Not available in the U.S.)£340

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

The rich, sweet Sauternes dessert wine adds its signature. Quite lush, with golden raisin, crème brûlée, rhubarb pie, honey-kissed citrus, and creamy vanilla. A lovely example of a dessert whisky — comforting, warming, and embracing. (I would also enjoy this after a brunch of crepes, fresh fruit, and maple syrup.)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)