Benriach Malting Season Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a celebration of traditional whisky-making methods that harken back to the earliest days of the Benriach Distillery. This expression is particularly unique because it's the first in a century to be produced entirely using barley malted at the distillery's historic floor maltings in Speyside.
The whisky is crafted with great care, reflecting the distillery's heritage and dedication to traditional processes. The first edition of Benriach Malting Season undergoes a two-cask maturation process, aging in bourbon and virgin oak barrels. This maturation process is chosen to highlight and enhance the wholesome, creamy flavors characteristic of Benriach's floor-malted spirit. The result is a beautiful barley gold-colored liquid with a rich aroma of barley sugar, almond fudge, and poached orchard apple.
On the palate, this expression offers smooth, rounded flavors of vanilla and honeyed pear, accompanied by a lasting nuttiness from the slowly kilned malt. The small batch release comprises 23 barrels, all distilled on 2nd November 2012, and it yields a total of 6,672 bottles. Benriach Malting Season is a tribute to the craftsmanship and heritage of Speyside whisky-making.
Tasting Note by Benriach:Nose: Richly aromatic with barley sugar, almond fudge and poached orchard apple.Palate: Smooth and rounded with vanilla and honeyed pear, with the lasting nuttiness of slowly kilned malt.
Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE orchestrates a seamless union of individual casks, each having matured in Traditional American and European Oak. This meticulous blending process results in an extraordinarily intricate and harmonious expression, showcasing the artistry and expertise of Single Malt TUN marriages.
The Balvenie 25 Year Old Rare Marriages emerges as a whisky of unparalleled character, offering tantalizing hints of The Balvenie's most coveted flavours—robust vanilla oak, crystallized ginger, and lusciously sweet, flowing honey.
Tasting Note by Balvenie:Nose: Soft autumn fruits, runny honey, crystallised ginger and raw sugar cane. An underlying rich oakiness creates complexity and structure.Palate: The initial bold vanilla oak flavours slowly dissipate to reveal layers of toasted marshmallows, fresh fruit and cinnamon infused apple tart.Finish: Exceptionally long-lasting sweetness
The Port Charlotte 10 year old is exclusively created, distilled, aged, and bottled on Islay. Crafted from 100% Scottish barley, it undergoes a slow distillation process using tall, slender-necked stills to achieve a harmonious, heathery barbeque smoke flavor.
Tasting Note by Bruichladdich:Nose: The smoke is calmed by the marine, ozone character, time has brought abalance, a harmony in the combination of oak, smoke and spirit. While the smoke isalways discernible on the nose it is dry, earthy, peatash in its style and so allows the oakto come forward with waves of golden caramel, fudge, vanilla custard, hints of ginger,nutmeg and clove. There is citrus fruit, coaxed from the glass with a drop of water,gentle lemon meringue and clementine. Breathe deeply and the floral aromas of wildthyme, heather and sea pink bring you to this Atlantic coast.Palate: On the palate there is a noticeable delicacy and softness in texture and style.Again, the balance of flavour is superb as the smoke wraps loosely around thesweetness drawn from deep within the oak. Coconut, vanilla custard, lemon honeycombines with smoked oysters and sun baked salty sand.Finish: The finish is sublime, smoky sure, but also the soft sweetness of fudge andmalted barley, orange, mango and Banoffee pie hinting of the depth and quality of theoak. The many layers interchange on each sip. As the smoke comes and goes so toothe notes of the spirit, ripe apple and apricot, beautifully intertwined with malt and oaksweetness and that typical Port Charlotte style dry smoke.
The foundation for the Classic Laddie is not a fixed recipe, but rather a distilling philosophy. They don't pursue exact uniformity; instead, each year, the type and origin of their barley influence their spirit. Moreover, they continuously acquire a diverse range of casks to enrich the assortment of flavors in their warehouse. Instead of aiming for strict consistency, every batch of the Classic Laddie is naturally distinct and varies subtly.
Producing the Classic Laddie is among the most intricate and demanding tasks entrusted to their Head Distiller, Adam Hannett. He personally selects an assembly of the finest spirits to achieve the signature fruity and floral Bruichladdich house style.
Crafting each distinct recipe is an intensive procedure. Adam has to meticulously assess every spirit based on its aroma, taste, and texture. This process is time-consuming and challenging, necessitating a sharp focus and multiple checks, pauses, and reassessments over several weeks. The ultimate composition is determined in the solitude of his tasting room.
Tasting Note by Bruichladdich:Nose: The bouquet is brilliant. Opening with barley sugar and a hint of mint before leading into the most wonderful notes of freshly cut wild flowers; buttercup, daisy, meadowsweet, myrtle, primrose and cherry blossom. The cleanliness of the spirit is remarkable. As the seconds tick by, more aromas rise from the glass, little zephyrs of spindrift and sea pinks reminding you that this spirit is matured exclusively by the sea. After some four or five minutes and with the addition of a little water, caramelised fruits drift onto the scene; lemon drops and honey, tangerine and tablet.Palate: The palate entry is so refined and refreshing, the sweet oak and the barley arriving together sending the taste buds into raptures. The fruits from distillation drift in on an Atlantic breeze and pop on the tongue like champagne bubbles. A combination of ripe green fruit, brown sugar and sweet malt bring closure. A taste back in time, a realisation that not all single malts are equal and to achieve the absolute optimum, you must use barley that is made in Scotland. Make this one the benchmark for all others you meet on your journey through the stills of Scotland.Finish: Unforgettable! Its best enjoyed in good company, you just don’t want the evening to end. It brings warmth to the heart and soul. The clock slows down and the cares of tomorrow disappear into the dawn.
Tamnavulin Double Cask is a single malt whisky crafted in the heart of Speyside, renowned as Scotland's most celebrated whisky-producing region. This exceptional whisky undergoes maturation in American oak barrels, resulting in a sweet and mellow taste that is beautifully complemented by a rich and velvety sherry cask finish.
Tasting Note by Tamnavulin:Nose: Rich, warm aromas of apple, toffee and honey with sweet marzipan and subtletangy marmalade notes.Palate: Fresh, mellow with pear creamy peaches and pineapple and a hint of Demerarasugar.Finish: Rich, smooth and refreshing. A signature Speyside malt.
Benriach The Twenty Five Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a rich and sumptuous expression that offers a masterful curation of flavors. It is crafted from a combination of unpeated and peated spirit and undergoes a quadruple maturation process, spending at least twenty-five years in various cask types. These casks include sherry casks, bourbon barrels, virgin oak casks, and Madeira Island wine casks.
During its extended maturation, the sweet Speyside smoke character in Benriach's spirit mellows and seamlessly integrates with the fruit, malt, and oak flavors. After twenty-five years, the rich layering of flavors evolves into a profile of caramelised smoke, which is further enhanced through the multi-layered cask maturation process.
With a natural cask-imparted color and an ABV of 46%, Benriach The Twenty Five is a truly sophisticated and complex whisky that reflects the culmination of over two decades of maturation.
Tasting Note by Benriach:Nose: Smoked apricot, dark cherry chocolate, hazelnut toffee.Palate: Baked fruit, toasted oak spice, orange and cinnamon spice, finishing with rich caramelised smoke.
Ardbeg Ten Years Old stands unparalleled, globally celebrated as the quintessence of peated whiskies. Renowned for its intense smokiness and rich complexity, this single malt doesn't merely parade its peaty essence. Instead, it artfully allows the innate sweetness of the malt to emerge, striking a harmonious balance that enchants the palate.
Maintaining its true essence, this whisky is non-chill filtered, preserving its authentic flavors and depth. Matured in ex-bourbon casks, it carries hints of the cask's history, adding another layer of complexity and character to this already distinguished spirit.
Tasting Note by Ardbeg:Nose: A burst of intense smoky fruit escapes into the atmosphere of peat infused with zesty lemon and lime, wrapped in waxy dark chocolate. Bold menthol and black pepper slice through the sweet smoke followed by tarry ropes and graphite. Savour the aroma of smoked fish and crispy bacon alongside green bell peppers, baked pineapple and pear juice. Add water and an oceanic minerality brings a breath of cool, briny seaspray. Waxed lemon and lime follows with coal tar soap, beeswax and herby pine woodlands. Toasted vanilla and sizzling cinnamon simmer with warm hazelnut and almond toffee.Palate: An explosion of crackling peat sets off millions of flavour explosions: peat effervesces with tangy lemon and lime juice, black pepper pops with sizzling cinnamon-spiced toffee. Then comes a wave of brine infused with smooth buttermilk, ripe bananas and currants. Smoke gradually wells up on the palate bringing a mouthful of warm creamy cappuccino and toasted marshmallows. As the taste lengthens and deepens, dry espresso, liquorice root and tarry smoke develop coating the palate with chewy peat oils.Finish: The finish goes on and on a long and smoky with tarry espresso, aniseed, toasted almonds and traces of soft barley and fresh pear.
In their pursuit of crafting exceptional whisky, Deanston's whisky creation team stands apart. They meticulously choose top-tier American virgin oak casks, procured from Kentucky's Kelvin Cooperage. These casks undergo toasting and charring before being filled with Deanston's new make spirit, allowing it to mature for 9-12 months—a finishing approach that strikes a delicate balance. This process enhances Deanston's zesty citrus notes with rich flavors of soft honey, creamy vanilla, and hints of spice, without overwhelming the spirit's character. The result is a unique and outstanding whisky, showcasing Deanston's commitment to innovation and quality.
Tasting Note by Deanston:Nose: Heady virgin oak, bursting with lemon zest and sweet barley sugar, with delicious notes of apple and nutmeg.Palate: A delightful sweetness, evoking memories of candied fruits and vanilla toffee, balanced with heather honey.Finish: A satisfying light spice, with a rewarding burst of honeyed malt and sweet oakiness.
A luxuriously smooth Highland Single Malt, aged in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks and further refined in aged Tawny Port pipes.
Tasting Note by Dalmore:Nose: Sweet red berries, Seville oranges, plummy fruits and sticky toffee pudding.Palate: Nectarines, creamy caramel, roasted chestnuts and Java coffee.Finish: Rich plums, sultanas, Sanguinello blood oranges and macerated cherries.
The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old is a masterful single malt whisky that achieves a harmonious balance by combining the influences of two distinct oak types. It matures in hand-crafted casks seasoned with dry Oloroso sherry, with American oak imparting delicate notes of vanilla, citrus, and butterscotch, while European oak contributes the trademark subtle spiciness that defines The Macallan's character. After 15 years of maturation, these two exceptional whiskies come together to create a distinctive single malt with a sweeter, warmer flavor profile, making it a truly exceptional and harmonious whisky.
Tasting Note by Macallan:Nose: Dried fruit, toffee and vanilla with smooth oak and baked apple. Balanced with notes of honey and chocolate.Palate: Sweet raisin and sultana builds with hints of vanilla, wood spice and citrus.Finish: Warm with ginger turning to caramel and citrus, with a lingering and creamy mouth feel.
