Typically pale and slightly broader than in previous years, with a little more fleshiness that rubs alongside squid ink and white pepper. Huge smoke mingles with the sharp tang of brine and a touch of bran. Water brings out lanolin. There’s little oak getting in the way of the distillery character here and while water settles the waves, it just doesn’t have the extra dimension that elevates the decent to the great. It does make a great highball tho’. (31,428 bottles)

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

First impression is of molten Reese’s peanut butter cups. This 13 year old single grain whiskey has been finished in second-fill red wine casks from Ànima Negra in Mallorca, however this wine cask has given the whiskey a kick in the Balearics. The grain character takes a drubbing, the nose engulfed by jam pots and loganberry. It is gentle and deliciously fruity, reminiscent of strawberry, raspberry pop tarts, and citrus groves. Black pepper and caramelized sugar to close. (417 bottles) €90

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Initial maturation in sherry and bourbon wood from the U.S. and Sweden, finished in fermented birch sap wine casks. Concentrated heather honey, wax, fresh mascarpone, fruit tarts, and toasted oak. It draws the mouth in: fruity, but not sweet. Stewed, dark fruits from the hedgerow and orchard (cherry, apple, plum, mulberry, and rhubarb), then a delayed splurge of spices and pepper, ending with Brazil nut, espresso, and bitter cacao. It’s all rather austere, serious, and forbidding. €65

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Corn and oak on the nose, with a slice of fruit from sherry cask aging. Nose is strikingly different from the other two Hillrocks reviewed; sweeter, and softer. It’s clearly bourbon at the front, but as the flavors move back in the mouth and into the finish, the sherry takes over and dominates, becoming quite fruity at the close, though with a firm grip of charred oak. The sherry’s too much for a bourbon, especially at this price. Partially sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)

Distilled in 2008, this is the youngest whiskey in the group. A vast departure from last year’s release — which was delicious — particularly on the palate. This year’s is thinner and less complex, with unintegrated spice, botanical, and vegetal notes dominating. Yes, there’s some honey, vanilla, bright fruit, and a hint of toffee, but it doesn’t help. Easily the weakest whiskey in this year’s Antique Collection, and a bit of a disappointment.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2014)

This single cask (#10328) bottling was distilled in the summer of 2006 and matured in a refill hogshead. The nose is initially slightly mashy, with savory notes, becoming more floral, with caramel. Bold and spicy on the palate, with roasted meat and underlying citrus fruit and herbal notes. Mildly metallic dark chocolate in the medium-length finish.  £42

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2014)

Batch 1 of this new blend brings oxidized apple, maple syrup, crispy potato skins, soft spices, and nutmeg grated over eggnog. Rich strands of citrus, mint, and raisins mingle, building in intensity to greater spiciness at the swallow, where ginger and burnt sugar emerges. Undiluted, there is a hot, spicy, slightly acrid finish dominated by the ginger. Water adds melon, mandarin, and apple and manages to keep the ginger in check. £40

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Part of this Pittsburgh distillery’s series of “Whims” one-offs. Truly interesting nose: a combination of new-barrel bourbon reek and Irish raw barley grassiness, yielding mint, vanilla, juicy wet grain, and faint cinnamon. Hot entry of vanilla and small-barrel oak, which suddenly collapses to a dry cocoa sweetness spiked with hot pepper, like Mexican chocolate. This typifies a lot of craft efforts: not a great whiskey now, but one with terrifically interesting potential. I hope Wigle pursues this Whim. Price is per 375 ml.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)

Of all the flavors you’d expect to see in the moonshine space, coconut is probably the last. Stillhouse’s Coconut Moonshine has a coconut cream nose with a touch of milk chocolate that’s actually inviting. On the palate it’s creamy, chocolatey coconut with just a hint of corn whiskey. The mid-palate lacks some structure, with only a touch of spice. The finish is also a little muted, but damn if they didn’t make a coconut moonshine that isn’t horrid.

Reviewed by: Geoffrey Kleinman (Winter 2014)

Balance makes this simple session whisky a well-loved hot Sunday sipper, while searing pepper and vanilla-rich butterscotch lend it well to mixing. Order rye and ginger in a bar in Canada and you may well find yourself savoring Special Old. Toffee with hints of ginger on the nose broaden into blazing chilies with notes of cloves and cinnamon. Soft barrel notes, damp earth, and sweet toffee segue neatly into a very long, hot, bitter, cleansing finale. (Canada only)

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2014)

Delicate nose of sherbet and melting heather honey layered over pleasant grassy and herbal notes. The texture is sweet, thin, and syrupy, with a slight vegetal note, before salted caramel reels it in, brimming over into a briny finish like a salty kiss. The grain clearly plays a major role. Truth be told, the aromas and flavors work well, but the lack of weight makes it feel like a tiddler rather than catch of the day. (Selected U.S. states, NZ, Switzerland).

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Originating from Cooley distillery, this whiskey spent a decade in a first-fill bourbon cask before a period of extra maturation in a Vinhos Barbeito madeira cask, and the influence is unmistakable on the nose. Additionally, there is vanilla icing, brown bananas, sprigs of wild mint, and a savory note of smoked duck. It’s a soft, buttery experience with honey, mandarin, guava, banana, and light spices. Dry, short, sweet finish but the Madeira tips the balance. (377 bottles) €125

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Massive with a huge sherried attack; seven years is the right time to bottle. There’s light raisin, date, and fig roll/treacle toffee, but it’s a funny one as it develops; while it is superficially impressive, it becomes clear that the oak-driven and distillery-derived parts, aren’t talking to each other. Water brings out light cask-driven sulfur. On the palate, the black fruits and Demerara rum take initial charge along with menthol. It’s tannic already, though. Lacks integration, but what else to do?

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

Whiskies from undisclosed Speyside and Highland distilleries are blended together in first-fill sherry butts. On the nose it’s an alluring blend of orange, cherry, toffee, salt, and ginger. The entry follows the nose with toffee, orange, ginger, and malt. Things begin to drop off in the mid-palate, which is very focused on salt and ginger, with strong alcohol undertones. The alcohol drives and defines a dry finish that's absent of much of what's so alluring about this whisky. (U.S. only)

Reviewed by: Geoffrey Kleinman (Winter 2014)

At 8 years old, there are stiff caramels, malt, oatcakes, Genoise sponge, and zested clementines on the nose. It doesn’t stint on flavor when it comes to the taste, bringing dried fig rolls, chewy toffee, Aunt Sally pralines, walnuts, and chocolate ganache to the party. It’s driven by dry fruit rather than sweetness, and there is a bitter edge to the swallow that persists into the finish. £35

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2014)

Very sweet and simple aroma, like plain jelly beans, with only a whisper of the heat you’d expect at 45%. Better on the tongue; proper heat, some cornpone, a bed of oak. Smooth, good balance, good finish. Nothing stands out, but nicely made. Loses points on the nose, and typifies the Small Producer Dilemma: why bottle a good bourbon? Beam and Heaven Hill do that already, cheaper than you ever will. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)

The onionskin hue gives the initial indication that this was finished in a port pipe. The nose is light and fruity: raspberry and cranberry juice, even a sprig of mint. Fresh, but with a background funkiness. In time, there’s ripe melon, then lightly musty wood comes through. The palate is light, giving the effect of diluted fruit juice. It’s all just a bit lacking in weight. £25

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2014)

A “whiskey distilled from rye malt mash,” which indicates aging in used barrels. Still has a deep coloring from port barrel finishing. Nose is quite peppery, youthfully vegetal, and sweet with fruit, again, presumably from the port barrel. Rye grassiness and spice in the mouth, wrapped with layers of port fruit and pepperiness that roll into the finish. Smooth for the strength, though the port is pushy and the flavors could be better balanced. An interesting direction.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2014)