Initially, this is Macallan in effusive Willy Wonka mood, with lots of toffee, chocolate, greengage, and light oiliness. The aroma thickens with water, and with it a more serious mien: brogues buffed to a high sheen. The palate is equally rich and layered, with cereal, black cherry, discreet oak. A complex mix, as befits a gentleman’s dram that every gentleman should have. £95

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Last year saw the release of the Yamazaki “component” range, examples of the cask types that help make up its single malt releases. Now, Hakushu has joined in. The name doesn’t lie, this is very smoky, heathery, fragrant with orris-like dryness alongside Hakushu’s classic vegetal notes of elderflower, bamboo, and moorland grass. The palate shows praline, ripe lychee, and kiwi working alongside this mix of integrated smoke and clean focus. It also makes a fantastic Hiball.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Chapter II of Arran’s The Devil’s Punch Bowl embraces whisky from a total of 27 casks. These are seventeen oloroso sherry hogsheads (from 1997 and ’98), six standard bourbon barrels (2002), and four peated bourbon casks (2004). Juicy dark berries, malt, and soft cinnamon on the nose. Robust and fruity on the palate, with more dark berries, plain chocolate, a suggestion of vanilla, and black pepper. Long and drying in the earthy, mildly smoky finish, with aniseed and licorice.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

More obviously sherried on the nose than either Sigurd or Ragnvald; buttery, with figs, sultanas, vanilla, a hint of leather, and ripe oranges. Rich and silky on the complex palate; overt sherry, ginger, and lots of old leather and sweet smoke. Spice is quite muted here. The finish is lengthy, with plain chocolate, wood smoke, figs, and tingling spices. Luxurious and accomplished. (Travel Retail exclusive.) €1,000

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

Is this bottled by Duncan Taylor or Ben & Jerry’s? Ludicrous amounts of white/milk chocolate and macadamia nut, with green fennel underneath. With water, it opens into dark chocolate chunks (see what I mean?) and cappuccino. One sip makes you worry you’re putting on weight, such is the thickness of its impact. Okay, it’s more about the wood rather than the distillery, but you can’t deny that it puts a smile on your face. Completely bonkers and somehow wonderful. £49

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Bottled as 350 ml twin-pack along with the American oak version, this is deeply resinous, with clove, shoe leather, high-grade engine oil—an Aston Martin workshop, not a back alley garage—alongside dried fruits. Similar in tone to some old Caribbean rums with liqueur chocolate and Friar’s Balsam. The tannins yield slightly, showing chicory and raisin. ‘Old style’ Macallan, and another which, while strong, is best neat. £350

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

3 year old peated malt whisky, aged in Oregon oak. Rich nose of peat—burning leaves, a touch of sweet diesel—and fresh oak. There's no stinting on the peat; it's young, it's in your face. Whiskey to stand toe-to-toe with Portland's hopped-to-blazes beers. Not just peat: creamy malt makes a solid floor and an exit that may be the most complex part of the experience. Refined for a 3 year old. Limited annual release.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2013)

The youngest of the Manse Brae triumvirate, and also the freshest. Here is Rothes at its liveliest, with sweet cereal and the typical spiciness of the distillery undercut by citrus peels, dessert apples, and hot malted milk. On the tongue it is quite delicate, but it is how it behaves mid-palate which is the killer, just stopping and allowing the fruits to liquefy in the center of the tongue. Fantastic price as well. (Travel Retail exclusive.) €40

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Pear drops, green apples, lots of toffee, and more spice on the nose than in the Sigurd expression; also fresher and fruitier. Voluptuous mouthfeel, with sherry, toffee, vanilla, nutmeg, and a wisp of fragrant smoke. Toffee remains in the finish, with notes of cocoa powder, smoky oak, and citrus spice. Very well balanced.(Travel Retail exclusive.) €400

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

These releases are all the same age, but this one tastes the oldest, and in a higher weight class. Deep and dark in personality. Chewy, with some tobacco and roasted nuts thrown in the mix, along with the toffee, dark pit fruit, oak spice, and leather on the finish. Price is per 375 ml.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2013)

This expression of Jura is by leading London wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd, and was bottled in the company’s Berry’s Own range at 35 years of age after maturation in sherry hogshead #889. The nose offers sweet sherry and caramel, sultanas, cinnamon, and rum baba, with an elusive wisp of smoke. Full-bodied, very fruity on the palate, with mixed spices, pine cones, and old sherry notes. The finish is long, nutty, and luxurious. £200

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

Rich aroma of vanilla and corn, crimped and spiced with oak. Authoritative strength, full and solid; sharp oak and dry mint, with vanilla and cornbread arriving toward the finish, which is the only jarring note. There's too much woody bite at the close. Still, very much a sipping whiskey; don't put anything but a bit of water or a single cube of ice in this. By far, the best of the Total Wine store brands I've received. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2013)

Very much in the Elijah Craig style: thick and chewy, with layers of toffee, molasses, and vanilla cream. Notes of caramel-nut fudge, cinnamon bun, and blackberry brandy keep it fun. There’s just the right amount of dried oak spice on the finish to round things out. Very good, solid, affordable bourbon. (Capital City Package exclusive.)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2013)

As befits an elder of the church, this has a serious attitude, which with the youngest component being 18 years old isn’t a surprise. Full-bodied, but with elegance, not bludgeoning power, this is a refined Rothes: malted barley, creamy oak, oxidative depths. Sweet with stewed plums and red fruit. The palate is unctuous with little hints of geranium and becomes slightly funky with water, though I’d go neat to get the full effect of bitter orange and sweet honeycomb. (Travel Retail exclusive.) €99

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Just 279 bottles of this 22 year old single cask Glen Scotia have been released by Wemyss Malts, with maturation taking place in a bourbon cask. Fleetingly, very sweet, crunchy apples on the nose, then caramel, milk chocolate, sherbet dips, plus a hint of brine. The palate is sweet and peppery, with spicy toffee, grapefruit, melon, and walnuts. The finish is medium in length, spicy, with table salt in the tail. £90

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2013)

This marks the biggest identity change since Clark Kent morphed into Superman; the plodding Paddy brand has been reshaped for this limited edition into a young and feisty pot still whiskey. It's meant to recreate the taste of 100 years past, which begs the question: what happened? This has raspberry, violet, and pear, but there's a mysterious stranger at the heart, a pepper and oily center: a bit like a gypsy in a wedding dress. But it scrubs up well. €75

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Winter 2013)

Here you have the sweetness of rising bread alongside scallop and wreathes of smoke, all lit by west coast sunshine; the peat isn’t dank, but bright and flaming. The palate is sweetly seductive before the smoke begins to come through, then it sweetens like golden syrup, then the shore comes back, and so it continues. Water ups the impact of each, so be careful, as it can then seem disconnected. Sweet, beachy, smoky. Very Islay.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)

Canadian whisky makers tend to mash their grains separately, then blend them as mature spirits, allowing the individual grains to shine. This all-wheat whiskey was matured in used barrels, further accentuating these grain flavors. Sweet and light on the nose, the palate overflows with toffee and vanilla. Then, a vaguely earthy dryness follows glowing white pepper. Robust without the weight of corn, this luscious sipping whiskey provides guiltless pleasure with oodles of butterscotch custard, orange soda, and tingling spices.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2013)