The year is drawing to a close and, as usual, we have exciting news from Scotland. Here is an overview of everything that has arrived this week:
Arran Rare Batch Peated-Sherry Butts 15 years old
70 cl | 54.4 %
The whisky matured for 15 years in these precious casks and the bottling is limited to 4’024 bottles worldwide.
Colour: Rich amber.
Flavour: citrus fruits, brown sugar, oak. Dry campfire smoke.
Palate: Soft and rich. Very oak-accentuated, with sweet citrus fruits and a hint of spice.
Finish: Long finish with lots of oak. The initial sweetness turns into dry smoke that lingers for a long time. Complex layers – a drop of water brings out red fruits.
Arran 18 year old
70 cl | 46 %
Special selection of some of the oldest bourbon and sherry casks available. Naturally without chill filtration and without colouring.
Colour: Deep amber.
Nose: Orchard fruits with syrup and toasted oak.
Palate: Caramelised orange and dark chocolate with a hint of brown sugar, vanilla and baked peaches.
Finish: Long lasting and intense. Classic Arran notes are intensified by the influence of oak and blend into an unforgettable dram full of character.
Lochlea Lowland Single Malt «Fallow Edition» (Third Crop)
70 cl | 46 %
As the third whisky of the third and final harvest (third crop) of limited seasonal bottlings, the “Fallow Edition” was matured 100% in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts.
Colour: Dark mahogany.
Nose: Delicious baked apple and sweet Medjool dates.
Palate: Manuka honey and nutty, fresh malty bread.
Finish: Rich, buttery sandalwood oils and mixed peppercorns.
GlenAllachie Speyside Single Malt 17 years old Mizunara & Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Master of Wood
70 cl | 50 %
Mizunara, a rare Japanese oak species, is rarely used for whisky maturation due to its high cost and tendency to leak. The exceptional Mizunara casks, in combination with high-quality Oloroso puncheons and hogsheads, have produced an incredibly flavoursome and complex single malt.
Colour: Intense mahogany.
Nose: Heather honey, dried orange peel and crystallised ginger, with notes of cocoa, roasted tobacco leaves and fresh vanilla pods.
Palate: Baking spices, dried blood oranges and grilled honeycomb, followed by strong cocoa, poached cinnamon apples and fig syrup, with pecans and demerara sugar.
Wolfburn The Kylver Series 14 «Perthrø» Highland Single Malt
70 cl | 52.5 %
The Kylver series is a range named after a gravestone that features one of the earliest examples of the Viking runic alphabet and to reflect the history of Caithness that surrounds the distillery. The runic alphabet has 25 characters. Two of the richest Oloroso sherry casks were married for this bottling – a 2016 second-fill butt and a 2017 first-fill hogshead. There are 890 bottles worldwide.
Colour: amber.
Nose: Hedonistic sherry aromas are immediately present. This is followed by sweet toffee-apple notes and also a fruity note – fig jam and apricot jam.
Palate: Luxury in liquid form. This decadent and outrageously rich whisky is best enjoyed slowly – it needs time on the palate to allow the full range of flavours to develop. Notes of toffee and dark chocolate come to the fore, but there are also many subtle flavours: Caramel, honey and marzipan all make themselves known.
Finish: The notes of the Oloroso sherry gradually fade away, leaving a lingering honey note at the very end.