Up close, this displays more sherry and dried fruits, particularly raisins, currants, and sultanas, with a deep strawberry note and dollop of marmalade. Quite pungent, and that resonates rewardingly at the back of the throat. The juicy mandarin flavor has some tartness, but then there’s cake mix, gingersnaps, clove, and toasted spices, though it gravitates back to the marmalade. The finish has dry, bitter orange, ginger, and spice, with a hint of lime zest. Confident and characterful.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

Tomatin has introduced a permanently-available 36 year old expression, and the first batch comprises 800 bottles. Matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, this expression has not been chill-filtered. Milk chocolate and vanilla on the early nose, with background apricots, malt, and ginger. Ultimately citrus fruit and sherry. Good mouth-feel, lively sweet fruits, cloves, and more ginger on the palate. Long in the finish, drying slowly to fruity licorice and plain chocolate.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

Many of the Birthday Bourbon releases are wood driven, and this one is particularly so. Very spicy, with warming cinnamon and cool mint. Roasted nuts, tropical fruit (coconut, pineapple), tangerine, and apricot emerge occasionally, along with a foundation of vanilla and caramel. Firm, resinous grip on the finish.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2015)

Need more whisky? Of course you do! Try this then. It was matured in a sherry butt following distillation in 2005: savory, beefy, roasted meat juices, brisket bark, balsamic vinegar, new strips of colored plasticine, and chocolatey Guatemalan coffee beans. A sherried, soft, and wispy opener with a whiff of ginger, clove, plum, charred notes, raisins, and black bun: this youngster can handle itself alright. A cloying, clingy finish with heat, sweet sherry notes, and spices. Give it plenty!

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

Distilled in 2004, this 11 year old sherry cask-matured expression from Glengyle in Campbeltown is one of two final releases under the Work in Progress banner. 6,000 bottles have been released. Fragrant wood fires, fruity old leather, damp tweed, sherry, malt, and autumn berries on the nose. The palate is oily, rich, and rounded, with zesty spice, then peaches in syrup and sweet smokiness. The spices persist. The finish is long and warming with chili, licorice, and worn leather.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

Triticale is a rye-wheat hybrid, so I’m expecting a rye-wheater hybrid bourbon. What I get is a screamer: spicy slice of a nose, hot cinnamon and sawn dry oak. Surprisingly light in the mouth, which is putting a smile on my face. Oak races through this, a spine coated with sweet grain, spicy notes, a bit of creaminess, and as the oak wraps up, I realize: no real rye bitterness. Cool stuff, a very good one. Price is per 375 ml.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2015)

Just 450 bottles of this year’s offering are available. Aged in a mixture of Madeira, muscatel, and port casks, with a final spell in first-fill bourbon barrels. Warm caramel, spiced orange, peach blossom, and black pepper on the complex nose. Nicely textured on the palate; initially fondant-sweet, then nutmeg, Jaffa orange, ginger, and milk chocolate emerge. Relatively lengthy in the finish, with sultanas, leather, a hint of plain chocolate, and lingering black pepper. £150

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

Master distiller Brian Nation is really getting into his stride now. This vintage has creamed coconut, Jersey milk, vanilla desserts, crystallized jellies, fresh orange peel, and dry spices. To drink it is to celebrate American oak; creamy, golden, polished, with peach, honey, sherbet, sugars, butter frosting, sponge cupcakes, almond biscuits, and Quaker oatmeal squares. Spices are reactivated at the swallow. You have a whole year to enjoy this until the next one arrives. Really, there’s no excuse.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

As part of its program to make available single malts from all five of its Scotch whisky distilleries, Bacardi subsidiary John Dewar & Sons has now released a trio of bottlings from Royal Brackla, situated near Nairn in the Scottish Highlands. The 12, 16, and 21 year old expressions are initially available in ten markets, Including the UK, U.S., and Canada. Richer and more complex than its younger sibling, with waxy peel, glacé cherries, sherry, sultanas, and custard. Silky smooth in the mouth, with marshmallows, milk chocolate, medium-sweet sherry, and stem ginger. Tingling spices allied to darkening chocolate and a touch of smoke in the medium to long finish. Finally, a fat, buttery note.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

Less driving aroma than Batch 005; lower floor? Both are a mashbill of 70/26/4% corn/rye/malt. More corn and cinnamon and bread dough in the nose here. A lot like 005, but more sweet cornmeal, less spice, less height in the mouth, and the finish is sweeter and longer. Might be that farmer’s younger brother; this one’s only 8 years old. Still good, a bit less complex. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2015)

Distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2014, this expression of Dalwhinnie spent a period finishing in oloroso sherry casks. The nose offers honey, ripe oranges, peach blossom, and creamy milk chocolate, with just a wisp of smoke. Full-bodied and sweet on the palate, with orange zest, walnuts, more honey, and fruit spices. The finish is long and warming, with a hint of peat and spicy oak.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

The 2015 Work in Progress releases are the last before the single malt becomes a permanently-available 12 year old in 2016. 6,000 bottles are available. Creamy malt, marzipan, and vanilla on the nose, with pears, instant coffee, linseed, and a hint of table salt. Soft and slightly oily on the warm, spicy palate, with immediate ripe apples, caramel, and slight smokiness. Long and slowly drying, with a touch of aniseed and brine.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

Aged over 6 years, this is a rather feminine version of Booker’s. It’s sweet, relatively gentle compared to previous releases, and quite fragrant (bordering on perfumed—especially on the nose). Creamy vanilla coats the palate, with suggestions of coconut macaroon and marzipan. Dried spice (cinnamon, mint) and drying oak on the finish keep the sweetness in check.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2015)

NJOY Spirits makes this 100% rye from locally-grown rye, some of which they grow themselves…in Florida! It is approximately 1 year old, and quite dark. There’s a medicinal, dark pit fruit nose, overripe plum with some lighter red plum notes, a soft sweetness around the edges, and a hint of small barrel oak. Wow. Surprisingly smooth, up-front rye flavors, cushioned with a pleasantly odd sweetness with notes of cocoa and a soft rye finish. Intriguing.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2015)

The aromas can be split into four; fresh fruits (raspberry, blueberry), desserts (vanilla custard, bread and butter pudding), antique shop (polished furniture, well-oiled moving parts), and stewed fruits (apple, rhubarb, some old orange peel). Wisps of balsa wood smoke; tangy orange notes build, accompanied by those fresh fruits, sweet oak, aniseed, and white pepper ending on black treacle and gingerbread. The finish is epically long; dry, floral, with parkin, residual wood notes, and further smoke evident. (800 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2015)

Fruits are to the fore here, super ripe, and dark in hue: think of plump plums, sweet black grapes, and hedgerow berries. That said, it is never heavy, as if it’s just the aromatics of the fruits which have been preserved. In time, some dried flowers emerge. The palate is equally sweet, with a little caramel and spice. It fades gently. Impressive and well worth a look. I wonder whether the new Dalmunach distillery will produce anything like this? £213

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2015)

As part of its program to make available single malts from all five of its Scotch whisky distilleries, Bacardi subsidiary John Dewar & Sons has now released a trio of bottlings from Royal Brackla, situated near Nairn in the Scottish Highlands. The 12, 16, and 21 year old expressions are initially available in ten markets, Including the UK, U.S., and Canada. More restrained on the nose than the 12 and 16 year old variants, with green apples, melons, and damp grass. The palate is silky and refined, with fresh fruits, just a hint of sherry, light spice, and a wisp of smoke. Aniseed and drying old oak in the earthy, lengthy finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2015)

“Boiling the hops made them too bitter,” says Wiser’s master blender, Don Livermore. After more than 100 attempts he cracked the fruity-floral-hops code by “dry hopping” – adding Bravo hops to the finished whisky. Searing spices energize the earthy, grassy aroma of a freshly-mown fall meadow. Caramels—some sweet, some burnt—with early blushes of coffee or milk chocolate slowly fade into a vaguely bitter finish. (Canada only) C$29

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2015)