The 2013 Ardbeg Day whisky is called Ardbog, released on June 1st initially as an Embassy exclusive. Taking inspiration from their last few releases, this is a down-to-earth whisky, concerned with the history uncovered as you dig deep into the peat bogs of Islay. The whisky is a vatting of 10 year old spirit, some matured in bourbon casks and some in manzanilla casks for a balanced of soft, sweet and earthy flavours.

Nose: it is an unapologetic sherry bomb right from the popping of the cork; loaded with dark fruits: raisins, dates and figs in syrup; classic old-school Christmas cake notes, dark chocolate and warm sticky toffee pudding in treacle sauce; leathery and earthy with some Cuban cigars and Aussie licorice; After Eights.

Palate: rich, warming and spicier than expected; more juicy raisins, dates and figs; the oak spices are dark, toasty and decadent; more Aussie licorice with Goodies and candied fennel; the oak is musty with prominent dunnage notes and hand-rolled Cuban cigars; Manuka honey, dark milk chocolate and more After Eights; the Christmas cake and sticky toffee pudding are still there, with the latter drowning in French vanilla ice cream and drizzled with treacle sauce; finally some nutty tones at the back end.

Finish: long, rich, warming and spicy with fading fruits, chocolate, and syrup; elegant, flawless sherry tones. 

Comment: this is proof positive of what we all knew Billy Walker could do with GlenAllachie; when his consortium bought GlenAllachie I said he was going to GlenDronach GlenAllachie, but I think he might even outdone those expectations; this is unquestionably a finish, but it is so well done, and so much more heavily sherried than most of even the best GlenDronach single casks from the glory days in the late 20000s and early 2010s; what a privilege to be able to put our name on something this good... I only hope we'll get to do it again!

Nose: round, rich and fruity; very nutty: beer nuts, maple coated walnuts and marcona almonds; soft leather, brandy infused chocolate and white fruit cake; loads of fruit: candied and citric; creamy, warm pie crust from the oven; perhaps some tart lemon merengue.

Palate: big, rich and very fruity with building earthy spices; loads of caramel, candied orange, orange peel and other candied fruits; still creamy with more buttery pie crust and tart fruit cake; the spices slowly build: fresh sliced ginger, as well as cardamom and cinnamon sticks; moves towards fennel and anise; very nutty too, loads of candied nuts and more oily marcona almonds.

Finish: long, drying, spicy and elegant; fading candied fruits and nuts with more buttery pie crust and soft leather.

Comment: another cracking cask strength Glenfarclas at an awesome price point; we can’t take any credit for the selection of this whisky; once again we put our faith in George and his team at Glenfarclas, and once again they have delivered; just in time for Christmas this bottle is oozing candied fruits, nuts and spices… how festive!

Sherried single malt from the isle of Mull here, distilled by the tremendous Tobermory! This delicious Island single malt was distilled in 2004, and has been fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks for 17 years, eventually being bottled up at cask strength – a weighty 55.9% ABV. Juicy berry and festive spices notes abound. Reckon it'll make a marvellous autumnal dram, or a great winter warmer.

An 11 year old from one of Scotland's most underrated distilleries*. As much as the term 'underrated' can be applied to a fairly mainstream brand, anyway. This one was matured in ex-Bourbon and bottled at 46% without chill-filtration or messing with its color. 

Cadenhead 7 Stars is a historic Blended Scotch Whisky, which hasn't been bottled in decades... until now! The blend is composed of whiskies sourced from all over Scotland, which are then finished in Oloroso sherry casks "giving it a bolder, yet well balanced, flavour."

This is the fifth release under Wolfburn Distillery's Small Batch program. Distilled in 2015, it was matured for 5 years in first-fill ex-Bourbon Barrels before a finishing period of another half year in a 1st Fill Madeira Hogsheads. This Small Batch is a limited run of 5800 bottles. Bottled at 46%.

Every now and again, a case or two of some long forgotten expression pops up in open stock. Obviously, we feel an obligation to you (and ourselves) to scoop up what we can, when we can. So, seeing as this was bottled almost a decade ago, we had to grab some. This dusty ol' Fettercairn from Douglas Laing's Provenance range was distilled in 2000 and bottled from Hogshead #9653 in 2013.