After 40 years in barrels, the trademark Canadian Club dark fruit is as rich as ever. Reminiscent of raisin tarts with sprinkles of sweet baking spices, then strawberries and black pepper. Warming but never hot. No tannins, no woodiness; silky barrel tones are the only hint of oak, while soaring floral esters speak loudly of time in the barrel. The glowing, never-ending finish is spectacular. Canada’s Sesquicentennial Celebratory Release. C$250  

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

Oh, the glory of used cooperage. Woody notes begone—let time slowly breathe life into what began as almost neutral, high-proof corn spirit. Creamy spice, barley sugars, peach syrup, dry grasses, and ancient barn boards. Incredible complexity, yet so tightly interwoven it achieves oneness. One hundred points until a campfire bursts onto the finish and consumes five of them.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

Cask strength Lot No. 40 has been in production at Hiram Walker Distillery for over 75 years for use as flavoring whisky. Finally in bottle, this is more than regular Lot No. 40 amped up. New notes of halva, pansies, blistering spices, tropical fruits, minty candy canes, and peanut skins are layered over the lilacs, rye bread, dark fruits, and slatey rye of its 43% standard release. Long, glowering finish.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

Although it sounds more like the warped master plan of a sinister Bond villain, it’s actually named after the four different woods in Amrut’s second wave of spectrum casks. Prune stone, dried fig, black cherry flesh, raspberry, cinnamon, and a hint of macchiato aromas. Dense concentrated cherry and sultana, cooked apple and pear, heavy spices, and fruit and nut chocolate. Finish of hot, sticky dates and baked orchard fruit. Commendable.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

An auld alliance renewed, this gorgeous whisky packs spicy aromas of peppercorn, star anise, and cardamom seeds, mingling with toffee squares, plum jam, dunnage earth, and dried sprigs of heather. Rich fruitcake, jellied fruit, and bramble, then spices course through the mouth: chili heat, black pepper, and raw ginger. Final phase has chocolate praline, growing milky, nutty, and soothing. Exceptional lengthy finish with reignited spices. Chivas 18 goes electric. (Travel Retail exclusive)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

This has the poise and physique of a classic sherried Macallan. Hazelnut, mixed peel, peach cobbler, and wood spices form a delightful olfactory combination. Warm, weighty sherry notes bathe the mouth with ginger loaf, milk chocolate chunks, and espresso in support, lilting toward a lip-smacking finish of peach melba and amontillado sherry. It’s increasingly rare to find a top-quality aged independent Macallan, so don’t miss out.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Distilled in 1988 and finished for an unspecified period in port casks after lengthy maturation in bourbon barrels. Floral, perfumed, and very enticing on the nose. Vanilla fudge, cocktail cherries, polished oak, and gentle spices. Soft and sweet on the palate, with vanilla, overripe orange, cinnamon, and milky coffee. Long and slightly peppery on the finish, with persistent drying fruitiness. Complex and extremely accomplished.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

This grand old Highlander brings warm flapjacks baked with golden syrup, nutmeg, oak spices, toffee brittle, toasted muffin, cinnamon sticks, and beeswax polish. The oat breakfast cereals and caramel beckon in a fruit explosion of mango, burnt orange, raspberry, banana chips, and papaya. Rejoice in that dense, ever-changing satin mouthfeel, with Invergordon’s grain character only more apparent toward the end. Soft spice underplayed on a dry finish. An enchanting find.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Not seen since 2010, this yields vanilla frosting, menthol, spearmint, cream, dry spices, cedarwood, chopped herbs, and a discernable whiff of old grain. Silky taste of butterscotch; it becomes more honeyed, with creamy vanilla, dried banana, malt, and a pinch of cinnamon, pepper, herbs, clove, and eucalyptus. The yin and yang of Glen Elgin and Girvan makes an admirable exercise in precision, minimalist blending. Mad as a box of frogs.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Sherry cask matured in its entirety, this rich, southern Highland beauty exudes a perfume of deep orange, sweet cherry, plum, nutty fruitcake, and pleasant oak. Beautifully balanced, it showcases sweet orange, red fruits, baked Victoria plum, and brown sugar, while ginger and pepper sparkle across the tongue. Honey and stewed fruits mollify the throat. An absolute joy.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

For those interested in transparency, the detail Box releases about each bottling is staggering; e.g. 5% of this whisky was matured in medium-toasted Hungarian virgin oak. This one is for Islay fans, showing more peat than smoke; nutty, and replete with barley notes. Approachable at cask strength: melon, bright citrus, tropical fruits, burnt orange, and plenty of pepper. We hear the first U.S. release from Box is imminent. (8,291 bottles) 743 SEK

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

With the quintessential traditional bourbon bouquet, it’s caramel and vanilla all day, with honey, oak, brown sugar, and freshly baked corn muffins following. Then pure bliss, striking powerful mouth-coating notes of crème brûlée, fried dough with powdered sugar, raspberry tarts, and maple syrup. The long finish offers a beautiful pecan pie note. Delightful to sip.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2017)

Jota Tanaka, Kirin’s chief blender, utilizes all the versatility of the complex production at Fuji Gotemba Distillery to create this truly superb non-chill filtered whisky. The dark vanilla, toffee brittle, macadamia nuts, heady incense, and singed oak have instant appeal. Sweet popcorn smothered in milk chocolate rotates through cherry, damson, and red apple, settling on a palate of toffee apple spiked with pepper and licorice. Tingling spices on a drying finish. £41

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Try this in your next Manhattan. Heather honey sweetness, Belgian waffles, cinnamon, rye spices, creamy vanilla, peppercorn, and dried porcini emerge after the 6-month rye cask finishing period. Sweet caramel oozes over the tongue, Highland toffee and Orkney fudge hold the spices in check. Banana candy and deep citrus acknowledge the Dufftown single malt component. The most accomplished Blender’s Batch to date. Emma Walker has nailed it. (Travel Retail exclusive)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Sweet, lush, and creamy with hints of banana cream pie, maple syrup, and mild vanilla, then spicy hard candy, new barrels, and a wealth of creamy, fruity aromas tightly integrated. Caramely cough drops melt into sweet baking spices. The mouthfeel stays creamy, as hot spices emerge. Complex, balanced, and very quaffable. The long finish is sweet, with peppers and cereal notes. Bottle numbers correspond to individual weeks since Confederation. Canada’s Sesquicentennial Celebratory Release. C$50

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

This limited release was matured in 60% refill sherry butts and 40% fresh bourbon barrels. Initially sweet vanilla and ripe apple notes on the nose, giving way to chimney soot and dry peat. The palate is very full and oily, with honey and vanilla merging with smoked haddock, charcuterie, and more overt peat. Licorice, coffee beans, brine, chili, and peppery peat in the lengthy finish. (4,500 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

What’s a rye single malt, you ask? It’s 100% malted rye distilled in pot stills, bursting with rye spices, thick toffee, malt loaf, chocolate, licorice, burnt sugar, and tropical fruits. Praline, cinnamon, and burnt orange flavors succumb to an assault of spice, tropical fruits, and licorice, ending with virgin American oak char before a gum-numbing aniseed finish of Fisherman’s Friends. Water just mutes the enjoyment, so leave it.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Sandy Hyslop has excelled at solely blending European oak sherry cask whiskies here. A dry, spicy nose to relish: rum-raisin ice cream, wafer biscuits, fennel seeds, roasted coriander, seasoned oak, and dense fruitcake. After the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and toffee sweetness disrobe, a riot of spices cavorts across the tastebuds, bedding down to a flavor of spiced, chocolate-covered toffee bars. For cigar lovers, this demands a fine, robust smoke. (Travel Retail exclusive)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)