Henric Moulin is a passionate ‘grain to glass’ whisky maker who established Sweden’s third pot still distillery in 2008. This 25-cask batch puts up a nose of cantaloupe, green grapes, fruit syrups, Black Jack candy, kid leather, and a whiff of peat smoke. Soft in the mouth, it’s peppery, with herbal notes, slabs of vanilla fudge, and a little milk chocolate. Water adds a dash of creaminess, but it’s preferable neat. The wax-dipped bottles will appeal to Maker’s fans. €90

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

Distilled on June 20, 1999 and bottled in November 2013, this expression from the Perthshire distillery of Edradour was matured for 14 years in a sherry butt. The outturn was 687 bottles. The nose is notably sweet, with jammy aromas —strawberry and raspberry— while hazelnuts and walnuts lurk in the background. The same fruit and nut notes from the nose carry over, along with sultanas, candied peel, Jaffa orange, and spicy leather. The lengthy finish is viscous and gingery. £70

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Summer 2014)

This verdant Tasmanian whisky is the combined product of American oak and French oak port cask aging. You get waxy palm fronds, hazelnut shells, toasted spices, and celery tops laid over a groveside box wedged full of freshly-picked Florida oranges.Soft, honeyed, and gently spicy on the palate before the herbal and botanical notes overgrow it, leaving clove, pepper, and aniseed balls on the finish. Water cuts through the greenery to show lemon meringue pie with a grapefruit edge.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

A few years ago, Broger branched out from eau de vie into whisky making in their Carl artisan still. This one is made from 100% Voralberg Riebel maize matured for four years before finishing in Sauternes casks from Château d’Yquem. There are pronounced sweet aromas, with kernels of cooked corn and potato scones. Fruity, clean-cut, and refreshing lemon sherbet and light butterscotch, but the sweetness is kept in check, even with a cream and sugar finish. A handsome introduction. €48

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

From Finger Lakes distilling; one of two craft ryes I’m revisiting this issue. An interesting aroma of dry hay, dried fruit, and burlap that’s appealing to anyone who’s spent time on a farm. Smooth but not laid-back on the tongue, there’s plenty of good stuff going on here. Peppery rye, some soft fruit, that fresh burlap, and an urgent but not unwelcome heat. Maybe a little overdone on the fruit, but well-done overall.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Summer 2014)

All four of these Catskill whiskeys are in exceptionally beautiful bottles. Pleasant, homey smell of furniture polish, dried mint and grass, golden syrup, and sweet dough, wrapped in a thin layer of oak. Brightly sweet, more mint and grass, some cashew richness, and an insistent singing thread of oak that broadens to the finish, where the sweet and the oak balance with a new note of melon. A bit of astringency at the end, but this is right decent whiskey. Price is per 375 ml.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Summer 2014)

Can you get sweet peat? For that’s what we have here. Very fragrant, with delicate wood smoke mixing with citrus and roasted barley. When water is added, there’s a mossy note and the sweet warmth of cow’s breath. Continues in this vein in the mouth, with the peat now becoming like hot embers. Again, citric on the end, though more like Amalfi lemon with light bite. Very good. ¥24,000/700 ml

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2014)

In the Straits of Øresund, between Denmark and Sweden, sits the beautiful island of Hven. This is the first in a series of seven whiskies to mark the brightest stars of the Big Dipper asterism. Candied peel, walnut shells, warm marmalade, vanilla pods, and haylofts intermingle before Red Delicious apples shoulder in. It’s a lively, youthful dram of baked orange, milk chocolate, and vanilla tablet with a touch of pear. Best neat, as water subtracts from the experience. €90

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

This year’s Ardbeg Day bottling is named in tribute to World Cup host Brazil’s national colors: Auri (Gold) and Verdes (Green). Very restrained to start: grassy, sweet with vanilla pod, shoreline, and smoke wrapped in a woolen blanket. The palate shows more smoke, light chocolate, Ardbeg oiliness, and soot. It’s fresh and charming, but ultimately is a quarterfinalist beaten on penalties.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2014)

We can thank Bangalore’s climate for the arrival of this 2009 distillate. Honeycomb, vanilla shortbread, crispy tart shells, graham crackers, and malt extract make for an attractive proposition. It tiptoes onto the tongue, but within seconds you get the thundering sense of its full strength approaching. Dried fruits, wood spices, malt loaf, chewy caramels, shortbread biscuits, with Horlicks malted milk on the finish. A dash of water triggers a sensation of plump raspberries dipped in chocolate. £59

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

This batch of 1,420 bottles was created with slightly older malts, a 16 year old grain from a refill hogshead and a 14 year old Lowland malt disgorged from an Islay cask. Sugar mice, dried hay, sharpened pencils, hints of lemon, with subtle smoke like the burning of a distant stubble field. Sweet cereal notes, black pepper, and ginger parkin build to a conclusion of Brazil nut, mocha, and chocolate ganache. (UK & Netherlands only) £45

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

Distilled from a mash of malted two-row Canadian barley, and matured indoors for exactly 1,221 days in a first-fill bourbon barrel, Cask 8 is glowingly warm with soaring notes of acetone and sweet esters on a base redolent of linseed oil, gunnysacks, and grassy cereals. The palate is sweetish, like gummy bears, and very spicy. Pepper, ginger, and hot cinnamon bathe in a weighty, creamy body. A longish finish shows soft, oaky barrel notes. (Distillery only) C$70

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Summer 2014)

Organic rye, all grown on the Myer farm in the Finger Lakes by John Myer himself. 100% rye, converted with enzymes; the Myers do everything in-house. Nose is bent with rye oiliness and a faint peppermint brightness. In the mouth it’s rye bitterness all the way through, a crisp, fresh-chewed mint in a mouthful of sweet grassiness, and then a very quick finish: wham, bam, and gone. Simple and clean; could add depth and polish.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Summer 2014)

Located in the heart of Vermont’s syrup belt, Saxtons River distillery makes both a Vermont maple-flavored rye and a maple-flavored bourbon whiskey. The rye is the better of the two and does a solid job of mixing oak, cinnamon, black pepper, and rye spice notes with vanilla and rich maple syrup. The rye whiskey is a little young, but the maple syrup complements it well and is more companion than cover.

Reviewed by: Geoffrey Kleinman (Summer 2014)

New distillery in Lancaster, Penn. “Locally sourced” grain, copper pot still, unaged. Rich new-make smell, warm, full grain, rye oil, and anise. Light spirit: sweet, more grain and a character like pizzelles; sweet crisp anise cookies. Easily enjoyed, with a finish of more sweet grain and anise. Interestingly schnapps-like, given the area’s German roots.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Summer 2014)

Still Waters distillery’s owners invited customers to select their next single cask release. Noting the soft cereal notes, stewed apples and raisins, and hot spices in an oily body, they recommended this one. A fruity nose with barrel tones and icing sugar blossoms in the glass while the hot, spicy palate shows hints of licorice, cloves, and vanilla. A good dash of water mollifies a drying tendency without dampening the flavor or creaminess. (Distillery only) C$100

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Summer 2014)

An official Strathclyde from Chivas Bros., presented in its squat bottle from their under-appreciated Cask Strength Edition series. I found a peculiar nose comprising shafts of lemongrass, garlic bulb, root ginger, taffy candy, and green tea. As an Iron Dram, it’s oily and bold, with coconut, fresh mint, and green pea, with a savory note tugging at the taste buds. Dilution highlights scallions, a light creamy toffee, and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Curiously intriguing: for bold flavor explorers only. £43

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2014)

Bright gold. Very citric, sweet candied orange and tangerine marmalade, with a hint of pink grapefruit. As I said, citric. There’s meadow hay and some sherbet as well. Water brings out lucerne grass. The palate is equally delicate and ‘up,’ and quite acidic (no bad thing) with light, nutty chocolate and macadamia nut. When diluted, there’s poached pear and charred oak. The finish is effervescent. Light, easy-going, keenly priced. The rehabilitation of Cardhu continues. £41

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2014)