This is clever. Using Mossburn Cask Bill #2, the whisky has been finished in first-fill oloroso sherry butts with heavily toasted virgin American oak heads. The nose is intense: sweet barley, fresh oak, vanilla, pear, fresh apple, orange peel, and dry wood spices. Silky texture, with citrus, barley, coriander seed, pepper, aniseed, and clove, offering further waves of creamy vanilla, fruit Life Savers, and soft malty notes.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2018)

Wheated bourbon fans will enjoy this wheat whiskey with its distinctly bourbon nose of sweet cornbread and new oak, topped off with mint and pine aromas. It starts soft on the palate, but flavors build nicely as it rolls along, delivering graham cracker, citrus fruit, pecans, and cake batter. It remains really fresh and lovely, as caramel corn and drying cocoa powder emerge on the finish. A well-crafted and easy-drinking alternative to bourbon.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2018)

Temporis is a peated variant of BenRiach, and like its unpeated 21 year old stablemate it was matured in a mix of four types of barrels: bourbon, virgin oak, Pedro Ximénez, and oloroso sherry. Sweet leather and peat on the nose; emerging vanilla and woodsmoke. Quite muscular on the palate, where orchard fruits are balanced by drying oak. White pepper and aniseed in the relatively long finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Lots of dried fruit, figs, and caramel lead off this bold but balanced bourbon, as dark berry fruits smack of sweet crème de cassis on the palate. There’s a good bit of spice here, like hot and spicy peanuts, that meets the sweet fruit and vanilla. Shows great length and nice polish on the finish with its dusty oak and cocoa.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2018)

This whiskey finishes its maturation at Bow St., Dublin, the first time this former distillery site has been involved in any whiskey production since 1975. A beautiful balance between toffee, spice, and oak, this has aromas of concentrated citrus, polished oak tables, caramels, and nut brittle. A supremely smooth concoction of dark nutty toffee, vanilla, pepper, clove, and oak. The strength is epic. Fabulous, rewarding special occasion stuff.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2018)

Seven types of European and American oak casks were used for maturation. Lively on the nose, with orange, malt, sherry, and sweet oak. Initially, a touch hot on the palate, with sherry and cloves, then toffee and vanilla, red apples, figs, and cocoa. The finish is medium to long, with spicy sherry.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Dried heather, peppercorn, salt crystals, green fruits, dried fennel, aniseed, dry leaves, and floral top notes produce a lip-smacking bouquet like a chilled manzanilla. The palate has vanilla tablet sweetness like the previous Delilah’s release, though this is bottled at higher strength, with flavors of dried fruits: peach, apricot, and mandarin. (8,520 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2018)

Like previous releases in the Cask Strength series, this was matured in a mix of oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. The nose offers honey, soft sherry, eucalyptus, and cherry blossom. Supple and sugary on the very approachable palate, with nutty toffee, dark sherry, and dark chocolate-coated cherry liqueurs. Long and spicy, with ripe plums in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

This limited edition was distilled in 2004 and aged in eleven first-fill bourbon barrels. Warm lemon juice, rock pools, new tweed, and new leather, plus peat smoke and charcuterie on the nose. The palate is robust, sweet, and fruity, with spicy orange, vanilla, caramel, and earthy peat. Long in the finish, with light tannins and peat coated with stewed fruits. (420 bottles for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Vanilla frosting on the nose contrasts with notes of dried flowers, as well as lime, orange, and a floral back note. The palate offers more citrus, along with brown sugar. The finish is smooth and balanced, with dark chocolate and bitter espresso notes hitting home in counterbalance. The flavor opens up with water, revealing a hint of coconut before a long finish of chocolate and baked apple.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Fall 2018)

This includes whisky distilled from barley grown on three Islay farms. It was mainly matured in first-fill American oak, along with Syrah and merlot wine casks. Fragrant peat, warm tar, ginger, vanilla, and sea salt on the nose. Peaches dipped in salt on the palate, with milk chocolate and more vanilla, then dark berries. The peat is spicy and quite acrid in the long, briny finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Described by its distillers as “the most intensified expression” of Glen Grant, this was matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and is non-chill filtered. The nose is fresh and floral, with rose petals, Turkish delight, and cinnamon. Supple on the palate, clean and fruity, with developing soft toffee, pear drops, ginger, and a floral carryover from the nose. The finish is medium in length, with slightly astringent oak.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Distillerie Warenghem’s first peated malt, using barley malted to 50 ppm. Waves of coastal character, with lemon, vanilla, marzipan, peat smoke, and hints of antiseptic. The taste is akin to devouring the best fudge in the world, with lemon, rich orange peel, pepper, root ginger, and a steadily building cloud of smoke.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2018)

Heady tropical aromas swirl out of the glass: orange peel, guava, hibiscus, sandalwood, cedar, and cinnamon. Fruit—papaya, nectarine, blueberry, citrus, and grape—shows up in force on the palate as well, tempered by oak and milk chocolate, pistachios, and dried flowers. The finish is long and gently spiced, with soft oak, cedar, and cocoa flavors. Distillery 291 bottles all its rye as single-barrel batches of about 55-60 bottles each.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Fall 2018)

Soft and juicy aromas of ginger juice, apple tart, strawberry shortcake, and light, sweet smoke. Very aromatic, with lots of citrus, clove, and cinnamon. Orange Creamsicle on the palate, with a good deal of apple, poached pear, marmalade, and light smoke. Salted butter, gentle oak, and wispy smoke keep this in balance. A good harmony of flavors.

Reviewed by: Adam Polonski (Fall 2018)

The name should give some indication: this is a big, brawny whiskey. Aromas of orange peel, iced tea, toasted coconut, peanut, honey, and molasses spar with grain and dry firewood. The palate delivers oak, more grain, orange oil, menthol, roasted nuts, iced tea, cherries, and cola. Tobacco, leathery oak, and bitter chocolate tie everything together on the finish, which is especially enjoyable with a few drops of water added.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Fall 2018)

Bruichladdich describes this as a “multi-vintage cuvee” and only Scottish-grown barley is used in its distillation. Ozone, lemon juice, fresh-planed wood, and a hint of honey appear on the nose. The palate features toffee apples, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and oily oak. Pepper, sea salt, and relatively dry oak in the finish are balanced by toffee sweetness.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2018)

Wayne Gretzky’s distillery makes serious whisky. A large, copper Vendome column and a Heriot-Watt graduate distiller make for some pretty fine spirit that will eventually fill Gretzky bottles. Sourced for now, this rich, round, and creamy whisky is finished in ice wine casks from Gretzky’s vineyards. Cinnamon-tinged ripe red apples and kiwifruit in sultana syrup, with baking spices and hot white pepper fading into mild barrel notes.

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Fall 2018)