Distilled in 2003. Weller is the only wheated bourbon in the Collection, with wheat replacing the rye found in most other bourbons. It’s a very impressive representation, too. Notes of nutty toffee, black raspberry, blueberry, green tea, cinnamon, and vanilla. Soft, lingering oak on the finish. Like last year’s release, this is a soothing whiskey with a gentle demeanor. Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2016. Editor's Choice.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2016)

This Sazerac 18 year old is now a distinctly separate whiskey, after several years of releasing whiskey that had been stored in stainless steel to prevent further aging. It doesn’t have as much of the rye zing as previous releases, which may disappoint those hoping for a repeat performance. Still, the new release is richer and sweeter, which I find attractive. Toffee and molasses, yielding to clove, mint, and cinnamon. Polished leather on the finish cuts through the sweetness. Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2016.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2016)

Often overlooked by collectors because it’s not as high in alcohol as most of its siblings, it’s superior to last year’s release, which I felt brandished more oak on the finish than needed. Caramel, rhum agricole, golden raisin, and dried citrus segue into polished oak, along with a wisp of honey and cinnamon on the finish. Well rounded and subtly complex. An exceptional bourbon. Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2016.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2016)

The 120 year old sherry house Lustau originally operated as an almacenista, but now produces a broad portfolio of wine styles in Jerez. The nose is intensely fragrant, bursting with fat dates and squidgy prunes, red apple and Battenburg cake. It’s fruity, yet bone dry, with oak, walnut, and spices. This is full-bodied yet refined Redbreast: the Spanish oak sherry butts shaping the red berry fruits, apples, marzipan, and creamy yet oily consistency. Clean, sweet oloroso finish. Qué delicioso!

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

From rickhouse G, floor 5, barrel 136 is a study in caramel. Layered in crème brûlée, salted-caramel cupcake, caramel brownie, caramel apple fritters, caramel popcorn, and the classic caramel chew. Then, complexity: chocolate truffles, nutmeg-dusted hot bananas, ginger ice cream, cinnamon-candied almonds, and warm povitica. It’s so creamy, so rich, and so unrelenting with masterful flavor that the powerfully long and caramel-forward finish is expected. Splendid, must-have sipper. (Lincoln Road Package Store exclusive)

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

The sixteenth Special Releases Port Ellen is the oldest to date. Initially, sea breeze on the nose, brine, rock pools, and gentle iodine, followed by dried fruits, peat, and wood polish. Full-bodied, very silky, again with brine to the fore, plus sweet peat, drying slowly, ginger, black pepper, and balancing tropical fruit notes. The finish is long, with burnt oak embers and licorice. Diageo Special Releases 2016. (2,900 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2016)

Another Special Releases staple, this is the fifteenth and oldest Brora in the series to date. The nose offers hemp, oiled brown paper, lemon juice, ashy peat, and sweetening malt. The oily palate boasts sweet fruit notes, peaty toffee, and ginger. Long in the softly smoky finish, with black pepper, plain chocolate, char, and licorice. Diageo Special Releases 2016. (2,984 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2016)

Amrut’s chimeric five-wood cask has been one of the greatest whisky innovations of this year. The aromas release Madagascan chocolate, the fruitiness of Panamanian Geisha coffee, a sturdy granite core, new oak extractives, fresh walnuts, wood spices, treacle, and mango peel. Like velvet, the palate develops lush fruits, Gianduja chocolate, rich, dark coffee, nut oils, and oak tannins, before the red juicy fruits soak through the chocolate. Heat, dry spices, and ground coffee finish. Clever concept: a seminal whisky. £100

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

Whoa...this sherry-finished bourbon offers an up front impression you don’t find in American whiskey: marzipan meets ground-up raw almonds sprinkled over pistachio gelato. Then caramel, nuanced cinnamon, delicate vanilla, and a slight hint of campfire smoke. It’s supremely complex, with the third layer being honey, dried apricot, dried pear, figs, and prunes over a sublime nuttiness and rich caramel. The finish lingers with salted-caramel cashew. If this is the future of barrel-finished American whiskey, let there be more. (Jack Rose Dining Saloon private selection)

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

This cask strength, sherry cask matured expression was released as part of Lagavulin’s bicentennial celebration. The nose offers new leather, tropical fruits, brittle toffee, and brine, backed by spicy peat smoke. Smoky sherry notes open up in time. The rich, well-mannered palate boasts sweet peat, brine, muted sherry, figs, gentle spices, tangerines, and lemons. Becoming more savory in the long, gently smoky, malty finish. Very drinkable at cask strength. A great Lagavulin. (8,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2016)

Yoichi age statements are gone for now, but if the whisky stays this good, I can live with that. Black earthy peat, smoldering fires, a turned-out pocket of briny seashells, whole lime, lemon twist, sugared orange, ground ginger, and licorice. Silky smooth, with light, fruity sweetness developing into tangy Spangles, kiwi, and lime juice. The smoky peat is the weft woven through the fruit structure’s warp. The finish is insanely long: menthol, peat, and leather.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

This 44 year old was matured in oloroso casks before being bottled at cask strength in May 2016. Mellow, sherried fruit on the nose, with rose hips, vanilla fudge, almond, honey, and slightly earthy spices. The fragrant palate features an intense blast of ripe fruit, caramel, and sweet spices, while resin develops in time. The medium-length finish offers plain chocolate, raisins, and prunes, with no negative tannins. One of the best Tomatins to date.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2016)

This 41 year old single cask was aged in a sherry butt and interacted magnificently with that wood. The nose offers peeled red apples, sultanas, honey, fudge, milk chocolate, and American cream soda. Balanced and harmonious throughout, the palate yields remarkably fresh orchard fruits, pipe tobacco, black pepper, and ginger. Long in the finish, with cinnamon drying to dark chocolate, and slightly smoky, unobtrusively tannic oak. A 1970s classic!

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2016)

There’s a lot going on here, and it starts in an unusual place—corn, specifically corn husk, followed by caramel, vanilla, oak, banana, pineapple, crème brûlée, vanilla, a hint of cedar, cherrywood, sautéed porcini mushroom, and cinnamon. Over a mouth coating texture, the velvety structure drips down the jawline, offering butterscotch, paprika, nutmeg, baked apple pie, bread pudding, caramel chew, roasted walnuts, and baking spice, which lingers over a long finish. Must-have Tennessee whiskey. Price is per liter.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

The perfect proof. Rich in color, aroma, and flavor. It begins with powerful caramel, baking spice, chocolate, cherries, cinnamon, and toffee. Then nuance and complexity. Honey, jalapeño, rosemary, crème brûlée, malt, and fruit, from the spicy citrus of grapefruit to prunes and dried apricots. Hard to believe this is over 100 proof, as you never sense the strength challenging you to find what’s next amidst the subtlety. Extremely long finish with cherry, cinnamon, and caramel. Value Pick.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

This dark, chestnut liquid exudes wafts of rose hip, dense fruitcake, sliced fig, cherry, oak, Brazil nut, and earthy, fragrant damp moss within the rich sherry complexity. A voluptuous, palate-saturating whisky, with burnt orange, ginger spices, star anise, dried fig, and ripe purple plums, concluding with chocolate truffles. It’s a rollicking good blend, dripping with sherry notes, and leaves a deep glow far back in the palate. You’re going to love it. (1,428 bottles) £120

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2016)

This straight bourbon is a race of notes trying to outrun each other. Out of the gate, it’s caramel and vanilla, with a bevy of fruit, soft florals, and chocolate slightly trailing. Oak and smoke take the lead on the first turn, then an explosion of butterscotch and Spanish flan setting the pace. Then graham crackers, marshmallow, and melted chocolate eye the prize, with rich, rounded caramel custard taking the long route to the finish line. Definite contender!

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

First impression: spice and herbs completely own the moment. Then caramel, vanilla, and the cadre of baking spices develops into identifiable clove, cardamom, ginger, crushed poppy seeds, and cinnamon. Then the spice turns to another style: pepper, with hints of earthy black pepper and habañero jelly. Slight hints of vanilla, powdered sugar, and marshmallow appear just before a medium-to-long finish with a spicy caramel chew.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)