The initial Glenrothes 1995 was released in 2011. This edition comprises first-fill American oak casks seasoned with dry oloroso sherry. Significant sherry cask influence early on the nose, with a savory note, rich fruitcake, cherries, malt, and developing vanilla custard. Supple in the mouth, with honey, berry fruits, and citrus notes. Spicier in time. The finish dries slightly, with cinnamon and a sprinkling of black pepper.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

As with previous releases, the 7^th Edition of 100% Islay is produced from barley grown and malted at the distillery. Matured in fresh and refill Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels filled in 2010. Smoky ripe pears, wood preservative, vanilla, and apple purée on the nose. Fresh citrus fruit, buttery toffee, and ashy peat on the palate. The lengthy finish features licorice and cigarette ash.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

Pike Creek is all about creating a rich blend, then finishing it in barrels previously filled with other flavorful spirits. Standard versions feature Port and rum finishes. This 21 year old edition spent nearly 6 months in Speyside malt whisky casks. The fruity Speysider left no smokiness behind, just spices, red fruits, and buttery barley malt. Extra rye makes for a spicier blend with a longish, dark fruit finish.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

Distilled in September 2007 and matured in a first-fill bourbon barrel (#5315), this is a fine example of how good a relatively youthful Speyside malt can be, given the right cask. Soft and fragrant on the nose, with lemongrass, ginger snaps, and light toffee notes. The palate is sweet, with ripe strawberries and spicy fudge. A spicy finish offers cinnamon, milk chocolate, and lingering citrus fruits. (220 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

It would be easy to hate on this as bourbon, but taken merely as a whiskey, it’s compelling, original, and surprisingly well-knit. The nose betrays the smoke and sea of its Islay cask finish, while the palate offers more sweet vanilla, candied nuts, and citrus before circling back with distinct vegetal notes of seaweed and jalapeño. Perhaps bourbon is in the eye of the beholder.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2017)

Oh, that rickhouse smell: charred oak, leather, vanilla, and a slight hint of coconut. Then it’s caramel, toasted walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, and moon pie, with hints of black licorice and cumin. Strong tobacco and ginger notes present themselves just before a delightful finish with hints of crème brûlée and vanilla custard. This is a regular sipper in my house.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2017)

While the aroma is tightly wound at first, it gradually reveals layers of brown sugar and warming spice, apple and pear fruits woven through with opulent toasted oak. The palate entry is soft and rounded but quickly picks up steam, with layers of biscuity malt, peppercorns, blackberry fruit, and a lovely salted butter note that brings nice balance to the finish. Fully mature, pleasingly complex, and it keeps getting better!

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2017)

This is the first release in the distillery’s new core range for the U.S. After primary maturation in bourbon barrels, the 10 year old whisky undergoes a sherry cask finish. Orange marmalade, pine nuts, white pepper, and very subtle smokiness on the nose. The palate majors in overripe Jaffa oranges, ginger, and milk chocolate. The milk chocolate darkens in the medium-length finish, with coffee grounds and warming spice.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

If you were expecting a young, grainy aroma, you would be much mistaken. Multi-layered nose of fudge, vanilla, pecan cookies, soda bread, and Ice Breakers mints. Ethereal and soft array of creamy vanilla, pear, fruity hard candy, and greengage, before a groundswell of pepper, star anise, and clove. Evolving juicier, tropical fruit notes risk being swamped in spice. The dough, gingersnaps, and hot finish remind us it’s grain. Hyde? Go seek. (5,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

This whiskey is bananas. Is it banana pudding atop vanilla wafers or warm Bananas Foster melting into vanilla ice cream? It’s hard to say, but the lovely banana-vanilla combination dominates until baked pears, pumpkin bread, rye, and baking spices appear. A medium to long finish brings a bright cherry note. Price is per 375 ml.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2017)

This is a handy core ingredient for many cocktails, combining single malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu with grain from Chita. Dying embers of burnt heather and aromas of sliced apples browning through careless neglect. A complex interplay between the smoky embers, roasted spices, tiger fruit, coriander, and whole peppercorn precedes a sweet taste of buttered popcorn, orchard fruit, and burnished orange, supported by increasingly provocative pepperiness. Quaffable and versatile.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

The original Iwai pot stills from the 1960s have been retired and now stand outside the Mars Shinshu Distillery. Cajoled by the savory, almost gamey aromas assimilated with brown apple and old strawberries, the whisky is surprisingly candy sweet to the taste. Dark jellied fruits: first Rowntree’s Fruit Gums, then Fruit Pastilles. Hazelnut, gentle oriental spices, and chicory coffee usher in a deep, fruity finish with creamy chocolate and fresh mint.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Distilled in October 1995, this single cask was aged in a refill hogshead (#10206). Primrose, ginger, cedar spice, and malt on the nose, with a hint of salt and background heather; complex. Slightly oily on the palate, with orchard fruits, milk chocolate, a suggestion of brine, and developing cloves. Dries quite rapidly in the finish, with more cloves and light oak tannins. (190 bottles)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

Like a throwback to childhood: fruity lollipops, Love Hearts, and gobstoppers. Stewed apple, crusty bread, and dry roasted coriander seeds add more dimension to the nose. The palate has toffee, orange peel, dates, and briefly flirts with chocolate and coffee, though this grain has mouth-drawing astringency and savory spices to balance the sweetness. Long finish of aniseed, spiced dark toffee, and charred oak.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Valkyrie replaces the current Dark Origins expression and was matured in a combination of first-fill American oak sherry casks, American oak bourbon casks, and European oak sherry casks, along with some refill casks. Apricots and aromatic wood smoke on the nose; slightly oily, with raisins. Stewed fruits on the palate, with earthy peat, licorice, and black pepper. Aniseed, dark berry notes, and wood spice in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2017)

The power of pure burning peat smoke, lemon-scented floor polish, pine needles, salt spray, and delicate vanilla places this squarely among the archetypal whiskies from Islay. Sweet lemon, custard cream biscuits, and hints of smoked goose lend an oily mouthfeel. A combustible climax of smoke, spice, and earthy peat kindle a red-hot finish that will have you puffing smoke like a chimney.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2017)

Mild peat smoke wafts into the room as soon as you pull the cork. A big fruity nose ripe with red apples and hints of ether rides the peat. Sweetish spices glow with hints of chocolate, then fade slowly into typical malty tones that in turn become dry cereal notes. A flash of soapiness on first sip never returns, but lessens an otherwise beautiful young whisky. Canada’s Sesquicentennial Celebratory Release. C$70

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2017)

A 5 to 8 year old blended scotch married for 3 years in sherry casks in Scotland and finished for 12 months in Pedro Ximenez casks in Jerez. The nose has luscious figs, raisins, molasses, and berries, brightened with apricot-tangerine notes when water is added. The palate is intense: Fig Newtons, dark chocolate, raisins, and orange peel, finishing with honey, Raisinets, and chocolate-covered nuts—a soft, slightly under-proofed conclusion, but still satisfying.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Fall 2017)