An unusual vintage bottling of Old Pulteney, in that maturation occurred in a mix of American bourbon casks and Spanish sherry casks that previously held heavily-peated whisky. The nose opens with a whiff of ozone; then lemon, vanilla, and coconut appear, along with fleeting wood smoke. Intense tropical fruitiness merges with milk chocolate, lemon sorbet, and lively spices on the palate. Spicy milk chocolate with a citric and softly peaty tang in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2014)

Highly fragrant and citric, mixing dried and sweet orange peels, moist sultana fruitcake. Lightly malty with gentle nuances of fruit syrup. Pretty and elegant in the mouth, where there’s orange barley water, mint, and crystallized ginger on top of a thick, honeyed delivery before the classic ‘Rothes sweet spices come through. Only a drop or two of water is needed. Recommended. £117

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

Good nose: fresh-ground corn, warm oak, and light cinnamon. Impressively friendly even at full proof: corn pudding, sun-warmed oak plank, rich and nuanced cinnamon spice, a powerful engine running strong. A splash of water brings out some sweet berries, revs up the oak and pulls out more spice, and opens up the finish into a full-throated roar of oak, corn, and sweet citrus. This is what happens when you let a good barrel run at full throttle. Sourced whiskey. (Kentucky only)

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)

Solsken comprises a parcel of smaller sherry and Swedish oak casks hand-picked by master blender Angela D’Orazio. The nose is like a basket of hot breakfast pastries, with honeycomb, tinned peaches, cinnamon, and hot teacakes with singed edges smoking from the grill. An amazing, golden taste that’s warm and soothing; sucked lozenges, mandarin segments, tame spices, and cobnut. The strength of the alcohol remains veiled in the shadows until the swallow…then it pounces. Mouth puckering finish of sharp fruit juices. €130

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

This expression from Aberfeldy was distilled in April 1995 and bottled in January 2014 after maturation in refill, remade sherry hogsheads (casks #2,488, 2,489, and 2,491). The nose is floral, with ginger and developing milk chocolate. Progressively sweeter, with slight sherry and vanilla notes. The palate is silky and sweet, with banoffee pie, peaches, and spicy oak. The finish is long, with cocoa powder and more spiced oak. £60

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2014)

Last year’s was a top-notch, defiantly sherried example of Bowmore. This year’s batch thrusts equally boldly, but starts in a more Japanese-accented fashion: think soy, miso paste, and salmon teriyaki. Light leather, with hickory campfire smoke coming through strongly. The big, oily, tarry palate is like a spent barbecue with a hint of skidding car tires on Bowmore High Street. So, still a belter, but why so limited? Beam Suntory, please sort it out! (6,000 bottles) £60

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

This wintery limited edition was finished in casks that previously held Bordeaux, Glühwein, and sherry. This achieves an appealing nose of orchard fruits and spices. Juicy apple, hints of conference pear, cinnamon, clove, vanilla tablet, and lemon pith. Apple is at the core of the flavor, but it’s rich with warming spices, strawberry, and zabaglione, tightening in the end to a conclusion of dried fruits, nut shells, and a twist of pepper. (Sweden, France, and Germany only) €65

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Meaning Swedish smoke, and they’ve nailed the juniper smoke perfectly here. Ripening lemons, fresh cream, Turkish delight, pine forests, and barley sugar aromas. Great poise and balance. A light, lacey structure comprising creamy fudge, honey, lemon, oak, and vanilla. It just dances on the tongue. Yet billowing puffs of smoke pulse from the center. Baked lemon peel ushers in a pleasurable rolling, smoky finish. This Röks! €59

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

A confectioner’s delight; Fry’s Five Centres, lime, lemon, kumquat, iced buns, fresh mint, and crushed cardamom that matches the chocolate aromas. Those re-charred, rejuvenated casks are very much in evidence here. It has a gilded, satiny sheen, glistening with lemon drizzle cake, butterscotch, orange matchsticks, and banana bread. Incontrovertibly, it inhabits a signature grain style, but it fizzles out with a sticky, sweet aftertaste, like licking the spoon from the icing bowl. £45

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Balblair Vintage 2003 replaces the previous 2002 expression, matured in second-fill bourbon barrels, with the contents of eighteen making up this first release. Tinned peaches and apricot jam on the nose, with underlying honey and caramel. Early malt, then zesty lemon notes on the palate, which also features freshly-cut grass and hazelnuts. The medium-length finish yields white pepper and cocoa powder.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2014)

This was inspired by Stewart Laing’s childhood journeys by steam locomotive from Glasgow to Speyside with his father. Hunter Laing’s blended malt includes contributions from Blair Athol, Teaninich, and Clynelish and raises toffee sauce, dried banana chips, and spring foliage, with a fringe of fresh mint. You can appreciate the cool, clean taste; ripe banana and chocolate-dipped fudge blooming into late notes of mocha, ginger, and chocolate mousse. Dry finish of ginger cookies and espresso. All aboard! £40

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

The latest releases from Glengoyne distillery are 10 year olds, one matured in sherry wood and one in bourbon barrels, as was the case with release 5. 9,000 bottles are available globally. Initially savory on the nose, slightly earthy, with sherry, new leather, lemonade, and a hint of ozone. Spicy and zesty, with developing stewed fruits, dark chocolate, and deep sherry notes on the palate. The finish is long and persistently spicy, mildly smoky, with quite dry sherry notes.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2014)

After regular bourbon maturation, this is finished in a barrel made from toasted wood with no charring (and no age statement). The wood character of the nose is restrained; corn, vanilla, some nuts and light citrus, but just a light hint of oak spice. Complex mouth: corn pudding, cornmeal, sugar cookies, caramel, pawpaw, jackfruit, and a real creaminess that stretches into the finish…where we get the delayed oak. Mature whiskey smooth, young whiskey lively, and a good price, too. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)

Lombard’s blend of Speyside malts pleases with an agreeable nose of orchard blossoms, flower honey, caramel, dry hay, and pears baked in brown granulated sugar. It’s homey and comforting, favoring its floral and fruity side. This is a light, sweet whisky that sweeps around the mouth, radiating maltiness, apple, grapefruit, dried mango strips, and mingling spices. A studiously long finish of sucked caramel candy and beeswax follows. A smart choice for the beginning of the evening. £30

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

A limited edition blend with more than 75 percent malt content, containing grains from 1978 and 1979, and malts from 1982. A genteel nose exudes white chocolate, vanilla slice, butterscotch, fresh apricots, and salted pecans. Commanding and rich, it luxuriates in bitter orange, ripe apricots, marmalade, dairy toffees, cinnamon, and raspberry, with a finish of Seville orange rind. It’s a little blander with water, toward baked lemons and barley sugar, so resist and take it as it comes. £190

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Originally created by Lombard for the Freemasons, this has a flavorsome nose of dark chocolate chip cookies, light spices, coconut macaroons, malt, and bright, fresh bananas. The palate is light and unobtrusive, with honey and malt reinforced by the spices running underneath. A shift develops to some later cocoa and chocolate notes, and the mocha finish fades gracefully. A finely balanced concoction, and you will rarely find this quality and flavor for the price

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

The nose is sweet (think barley sugar/boiled sweets) with little bits of wheat chaff flying around in the background with dried flower petals and drying cut grass. Opens dramatically with water into almond milk/horchata and flowers. The palate is sweet and lifted with those gentle florals to the fore. Instead of Tormore’s normal nagging rigidity, this flows sweetly over the tongue, leaving fruit leather, stewed rhubarb, and with water, rosewater and fresh wild strawberry. A lovely Tormore! £118

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

Golden, lifted, and aromatic. The fleshy ripeness of the 13 year old is still there, but that little sulfur edge has now gone, revealing the ripe fruits massing underneath. Now you find pineapple and light chalk. The flowers have become daffodils and bluebells rather than lily, along with a soft, vanilla ice cream plumpness. Sweet and full, and just a shade lighter than the 13 year old. Muscly, but sweet; that’s the paradox of the Craigellachie character. £83

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)