Scottish Spirits

Master of Malt writes:  This was first created over a century ago by the Dewars master blender. White Label contains around 40 different whiskies in the blend, with Aberfeldy at its heart.

Nose:  Honey, peach, apple and wood.  Cut hay. Palate:  Medium, vanilla fudge, smoke, toffee, heather honey, oak.

Finish:  Good length, cut herbs, honeyed sweetness.

International Review of Spirits Tasting 95 Points | "Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask has been aged in a combination of American oak and ex-sherry casks. This is a rich whisky which combines fruity citrus and caramel with spicy ginger and nutmeg."

Double Gold Medal - San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017
Gold Medal & 95 points - International Review of Spirits Tasting 2017

Producer Description 

The first sniffings find toasty notes of charcoal and minerals more than botanicals; later inhalations following aeration stir glimpses of fabric, hemp and butter. The palate entry is firm, moderately sweet and nearly plump; at midpalate the taste profile turns a bit drier, if a touch fruity. Ends up uncomplicated and grainy sweet.

Almost 250 years ago, Alexander Gordon started his distillery in London and set about creating the recipe for a brilliant tasting gin. Gordon's high quality and distinctive juniper flavour has come to define the taste of the classic G&T.

Gordon's today is a gin that's enjoyed, not dissected. It's the perfect gin to start a Friday evening, or a Tuesday night catch up with friends, where we share a moment and have a laugh with people we love.

Producer Description 

Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old is a light, heathery single malt with notes of sweet peat smoke, strawberry and beeswax on the nose. The palate is round and smoky, with flavors of honey, mustard, and a hint of citrus fruit. 

Expert Review

90-95 points: Wine Enthusiast | Off-dry malted barley and light toffee smells greet the olfactory sense along with flowery fragrances of heather, rose petal and pine. Entry features sweet grain and candied apricot tastes; the midpalate is mellow, malty, fruity (white raisins, apricots) and sophisticated. Ends on a buttery note. Remains the Speyside benchmark.

Expert Review 

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | Soy sauce, olive brine, peat, honey, oloroso Sherry, brewer's yeast, bread dough, barley malt and cigar smoke in the bouquet. The flavor that magically includes the innate intense peatiness of Islay malts and the masterly employment of oak barrels phase defines "classy Islay.? Concludes sweetly, without sacrificing the tangy, astringent peatiness that is inherent. Gorgeous.

Producer Description 

Lagavulin 16-Year-Old is satisfying in a way that many other things are not. You might not like it, but if you enjoy whisky, it is essential for you to buy a bottle of Lagavulin 16, and drink it. It might take you the rest of your life, but it’s important.

Appearance:  A deep, dusky amber.

Nose:  Oh, geez. There’s peat, first of all, a big, pungent whack of it, laced with smoked fish and driftwood and salty rocks. But underneath that, there’s a great big ocean of sweet, caramelized malt, all baked apples and cobbler crust. Plenty of industrial character, too—soot, rubber, hot electrical equipment, and that magical, grimy petrichor of a dirty urban sidewalk after a summer’s rain.

Palate:  You know that saying “turns to ashes in your mouth?” This is like the opposite. At first, it’s like a mouthful of recently extinguished ashes—charred, powdery, astringent—but then a lush, maritime garden quickly comes into Technicolor focus. Basically, Lagavulin 16 tastes just like a real boat: varnish, diesel, salty nets, ocean spray, and the sticky lanolin-rich smell of a thick wool sweater a hardworking man has been wearing one too many days in a row. Over several minutes in the glass, ghosts of fruit emerge—orange and red cherry, mostly—but never seem to break through the low-hanging haze. That’s alright – a suggestion is enough.

When people talk about Scotch whisky, maritime imagery comes up a lot. So let’s start with a beach metaphor.

Wonderful Glenmorangie is like visiting a beach in San Diego. It’s great! It’s 85 degrees, it’s sunny, the water is warm, and everybody’s having a fantastic time. Lagavulin is like a visit to the Oregon Coast. Describe the experience objectively—it’s cold, it’s grey, it’s rainy, there’s not much to do and certainly no place to swim without a dry suit or a death wish—and some might wonder why bother going at all. To others, there’s nowhere else in the world they’d rather be.

Sunny beaches are terrific. But sometimes you need an experience with a little more grit, something that reflects the grimy, complex, trying, sometimes objectively bad experience of real life. For times like that, there’s Lagavulin. It’s peaty, medicinal, pungent, smoky, a Band-aid factory in the throes of catastrophic meltdown, and when you really need it, nothing else will do.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | Bright topaz in the glass, this 12-year-old blend of over 40 whiskies has a pleasant fresh apple and vanilla scent. Polished, versatile and flavorful, look for creamy caramel and vanilla accented by dried orange peel and honeysuckle. - K.N. 

Producer Description 

Johnnie Walker has the luxury of having exclusive access to Scotland's very best whiskies, ranging from the powerful west coast malts all the way to the more subtle east coast flavors. Black Label draws upon all these aromas to create a unique blend with a smooth, deep and 
complex character.

Black Label retains the authenticity of its creator and currently outsells every other deluxe blended Scotch whisky around the globe. That it's stood the test of time is a testament to the pioneering spirit and the skills of the House of Walker. 

 Producer Description 

Mahogany. Full, slightly sweet; toffee, ginger and dried fruits accompanied by sherry and cloves. Rich in both dried fruit and sherry, with a subtle toffee sweetness and pleasant touch of spice flavour with a touch of sherry sweetness and wood. Medium long. 

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points | Look for a rich butterscotch scent and a hint of fresh apricot. On the palate, this Sherry-matured single malt layers on concentrated caramel, butterscotch and custard, finishing long and spiced on a hint of orange peel. 

Producer Description 

The Botanist is the first Islay Dry Gin and a progressive and sustainable exploration of the botanical heritage of our remote Scottish island. The Botanist is a gin of layered complexity. A progressive exploration of the botanical heritage of our Isle of Islay.

Nine classic gin botanicals are augmented by 22 local herbs and flowers, foraged responsibly and by hand from the hills, shores and bogs of this fertile Hebridean island by our own professional forager. The result is a rollercoaster botanical odyssey in a glass.

Expert Review 

The Dalmore 12 is recognized as a whisky with character far beyond its age. The spirit is initially matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks, yielding soft vanilla and honey notes. A proportion of the spirit is then finessed in pinnacle Sherry casks, including 30-Year Old Matusalem Oloroso casks, exclusive to The Dalmore, to give the whisky a rich, nutty character. 

Producer Description 

Blending premium whisky isn’t just something we do, it has been the foundation of our craft since 1800. We bring together the finest ingredients to create a natural spirit before the passing of time imparts the wonderful flavour from our handcrafted casks. 

Add to this the fusion of skilled craftsmen and a tenacious obsession with quality and you arrive at our Famous, rich, sweet, well-rounded whisky. 

The single malt whiskies used in The Famous Grouse blend include the Edrington-owned Highland Park and The Macallan.

Expert Reviews

The liquid within The Famous Grouse is very high quality and in fact one dram of The Famous Grouse is sold every three minutes in the UK making it the biggest selling whisky in the United Kingdom, so it must be doing something right. Now we have that cleared up…

Greg’s note: Very delicate, more so than expected, A hint of grain but not too much, there’s a sweetness there but not sickly, more subdued, like a warming dessert. A really good blended whisky for the price and one that a lot of people should reconsider.  - GreatDrams.com

Producer Description 

Johnnie Walker Red Label is currently the world's best-selling Scotch Whisky. It's known for its bold and characterful taste, that's shines through even when mixed. It's a flavour the Walker family has never compromised on.

The Walker family have used their knowledge of Scotland's Malts to create a blend that has universal appeal. This has played a pivotal role in Red Label becoming one of the world's favourite Scotch whisky's. It's developed for an export market that has a taste for long, refreshing drinks. Red Label can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks or combined with a favourite mixer.

Producer Description 

Discover the distinct flavors of the islands of Scotland with Oban 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This whisky holds a delicate balance of dried figs and honey-sweet spices followed by a long, smooth-sweet finish. The best of the Highlands and coastal influences, centuries of local distilling tradition are what make our whisky so exquisite. This spirit is best served neat in a tumbler, perhaps with a splash of cool spring water.

Expert Review

The Wine Enthusiast 91 Points | Look for pleasant sweetness and spice up front, as the nose offers a complex mix of oak, maple sugar, fresh apple, clove, black pepper and cinnamon. 91 Points 

Producer Description 

A blend of our rarest malts and most superior grains, matured to their peak, Johnnie Walker Blue Label represents our highest achievement. Blue Label recreated the flavors of the Walkers' early whiskies, in a bottle that also takes its design from the 19th century.

Every single component of the exceptional blend has been handpicked from exclusive distilleries, some of which are no longer in existence. We draw these components from extradordinary casks, usually one in every two million. As soon as they're discovered, they're set aside for Blue Label and matured until their absolute peak - however long that may take.

Producer Description 

The Glenfiddich 12 Year is distinctively fresh and fruity with a hint of pear on the nose. The palate for this single malt is characteristically sweet, with undertones of butterscotch, cream, malt and a hint of oak. It finishes long, smooth and mellow. See for yourself why this is one of the world's most popular single malts.

Producer Description 

Johnnie Walker Red Label is currently the world's best-selling Scotch Whisky. It's known for its bold and characterful taste, that's shines through even when mixed. It's a flavour the Walker family has never compromised on.

The Walker family have used their knowledge of Scotland's Malts to create a blend that has universal appeal. This has played a pivotal role in Red Label becoming one of the world's favourite Scotch whisky's. It's developed for an export market that has a taste for long, refreshing drinks. Red Label can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks or combined with a favourite mixer.

Producer Description 

Master of Malt writes:  This was first created over a century ago by the Dewars master blender. White Label contains around 40 different whiskies in the blend, with Aberfeldy at its heart.

Nose:  Honey, peach, apple and wood.  Cut hay.

Palate:  Medium, vanilla fudge, smoke, toffee, heather honey, oak.

Finish:  Good length, cut herbs, honeyed sweetness.

Producer Description 

After 14 years maturing in casks that previously held Bourbon, malt master Brian Kinsman finishes this Scotch Whisky in deep charred new American oak barrels from Kentucky for a rich, sweet and vibrant malt.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | Aged 14 years in former Bourbon barrels, this is an amber-colored whisky that s scented with vanilla and peach. The palate is also peachy, highlighted by hints of almond, oak and sandalwood. The finish is drying and lightly spiced.

Producer Description 

Caribbean Cask has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, and then ‘finished’ in casks that previously held Caribbean rum. To create the ideal finish, Malt Master David Stewart filled American oak casks with his own blend of select West Indian rums. When he judged the casks to be ready, the rum was replaced with the 14 year old spirit and the wood was put to work adding the final touches.

The result is an exceptional single malt whisky with the traditional smooth, honeyed character of The Balvenie, married with notes of toffee and a hint of fruit, with a warm, lingering finish. Rich, sweet and creamy toffee on the nose combines with fresh fruit notes. Rounded with vanilla and sweet oak notes, with a fruity character that develops with time. Soft and lingering.

Expert Review 

Wine Enthusiast 92 Points | After regular maturation, this Scotch is extra matured in former rum casks. The end result layers rich, mouth-coating dried apricot, honey and Sherry notes on top of Balvenie s usual caramel and light peat profile. It finishes flavorful, though with a distinct burst of alcohol warmth. 

Producer Description 

Laphroaig 10 Year Old is an all-malt Scotch Whisky from the remote island of Islay in the Western Isles of Scotland. Laphroaig, pronounced "La-froyg", is a Gaelic word meaning "the beautiful hollow by the broad bay". In making Laphroaig, malted barley is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from this peat, found only on Islay, gives Laphroaig its particularly rich flavour. Laphroaig is best savoured neat, or with a little cool water. Roll it around on your tongue. Release the pungent, earthy aroma of blue peat smoke, the sweet nuttiness of the barley, the delicate heathery perfume of Islay's streams. It is as unique as the island itself. 

Expert Review 

Wine Enthusiast 90 points | (Great Value)- Eye-catching honey yellow color. Aroma is of burning leaves, seaweed, cigarette ash, campfire, smoked fish. Taste mirrors bouquet but adds cooked green vegetable, wax paper. Aftertaste is extended, oily, not as smoky as the midpalate.

Producer Description 

The Glenlivet 15 Year Old single malt scotch whisky is deep gold in color, and leaves behind traces of sweet almond and spice. 

The Glenlivet 15 Year Old single malt scotch whisky gets its distinctive rich and exotic character from a process of selective maturation in which a proportion of the spirit is matured in French oak casks.

GOLD INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS CHALLENGE 2022, 2024

GOLD WORLD WHISKY AWARDS 2023

Producer Description 

Imagining the ultimate single malt whisky for mixing, we worked with top bartenders to craft a sweeter and richer Glenmorangie, perfect for enjoying in all manner of drinks.

To achieve our whisky’s wondrous cascade of taste, we draw on our epic array of casks. And so our freewheeling single malt comes to life, with swirling aromas of pear and vanilla setting the stage for rich orange sherbet and fudge. X by Glenmorangie is wonderful mixed with any flavour you choose (and as you’d expect, it is also delicious neat.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points | The name of this whisky is a nod to how it s matured in three different casks: American Bourbon, Spanish oloroso and Pedro Ximenez Sherry. It s robust, with a deep amber hue and rich caramel scent. The flavor profile shows toffee, campfire smoke and a mouthwatering butterscotch note on the exhale. It almost reads like a peated Bourbon.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points | No shrinking violet, this copper penny-hued Scotch hits the nose and palate with a robust but harmonious mix of toffee and peat smoke, in equal measures, finishing dry and spicy. Darkest is an apt description for a whiskey partly matured in former oloroso Sherry casks, which adds deep, raisiny tones.

Producer Description 

Grants Triple Wood Blended Scotch Whisky aged in three distinct woods for a smoother taste. Virgin Oak cask provides spicy robustness, American Oak lends subtle vanilla smoothness and Bourbon refill offers brown sugar sweetness, resulting in a smoother, richer, mellower taste.

Best enjoyed on the rocks or in cocktail that amplifies and enhances the flavor of the unique Grants Whisky. William Grant, the founding father of one of the worlds most loved Scotch brands opened his first distillery in 1887. Five generations of Grants have stood together through thick and thin to hold the title of Scotlands oldest continuously family-run, blended whisky makers.

Grants Triple Wood Whisky stays true to William Grants original, closely guarded recipe. It just goes to show that when the right people stand together, great things happen. The five generations of the Grants family have supported the tradition of responsible drinking and we want you to continue enjoying Grants Whisky in the same way. Grant's Whisky is patiently crafted for you to enjoy responsibly. Producer Notes.

Producer Description 

Quinta Ruban 14 year has spent 10 years maturing in American white oak casks, before being transferred into specially selected ruby port pipes from the Quintas or wine estates of Portugal.

Expert Review

Whisky Advocate 92 Points | This Quinta Ruban succeeds the 12 year old version, adding two additional years of finishing in port casks, while maintaining the same bargain price. The result is a symphony of understated opulence. Marzipan, fresh apple and pear, milk chocolate, red berries, candied ginger, and praline on the nose build slowly, leading into a fruity, spiced palate. Flavors of soft gingerbread, molasses cake, cherry pie, spiced plums, almond nougat, and dark chocolate intermingle with faint strains of pipe tobacco. It sings on the finish, with a parting crescendo of hazelnut, spice, cigar wrapper, and lengthy oak.

Producer Description

Produced in small, individually numbered batches, Glenfiddich 18 Year Old combines a touch of fruity sweetness from the Spanish Oloroso wood and an oakiness from the traditional American casks.

After being married in wooden tuns for at least three months, its rich, mellow flavors come together, creating an exceptionally smooth and remarkably deep single malt Scotch whisky with notes of baked apple, spice and robust oak. Each batch is unique and is of an extraordinary quality.

Remarkably rich aroma with ripe orchard fruit, spiced apple and a robust oakiness. Richly delivers luxurious dried fruit, candy peel and dates overlaid with elegant oak notes. Warming. Rewarding. Distinguished.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 96 points | Luxe and easy-sipping. Look for enticing notes of butterscotch, baked pear, cinnamon and clove on the nose and palate, swathed in just the right amount of smokiness.