TOP 10 WHISKIES £50-£100

Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 56.2%

A heavy-duty cask strength edition of Arran distillery's Machrie Moor peated single malt whisky.

Arran distillery continues to progress is leaps and bounds, and this fancy recent packaging upgrade really suits them.  This peated cask strength Machrie Moor Arran will be perfect for your whisky hipflask on a cold day.

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Speyside Single Malt Scotch whisky
Distillery bottling 70cl / 40%

The Balvenie 12-year-old DoubleWood has long been a benchmark Speyside dram and even after all these years its gentle balance of spice, fruit and honey notes never fails to disappoint.

A great and consistent everyday dram.

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Speyside Single Malt Scotch whisky
Distillery bottling 70cl / 43%

A gem from one of the pioneers of cask finishing - The Balvenie 14-year-old Caribbean Cask is, as the name might suggest, finished in custom-seasoned West Indian rum casks after 14 years in traditional oak, before bottling at 43%.  

Although less well-known than some of Balvenie's other single malts, the deep golden Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14-year-old has been one of the most successful of the distillery's cask finishes and deserves its place in the core range, offering delicious sweet toffee, fruit and spicy flavours on top of Balvenie's traditional barley and patisserie biscuit character.  Sweet-toothed Speyside fans will not be disappointed.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Rich, sweet and creamy toffee with fresh fruit notes.

Palate: Rounded with vanilla, sweet oak and fruitiness.

Finish: Warm, soft and lingering.

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled by: Gordon & MacPhail 70cl / 43%

An 11-year-old Glenrothes bottled at 43% by Gordon & MacPhail for their superb Discovery Range of easy-drinking no frills single malt whiskies. The Discovery Range is colour-coded by flavour profile, with this Glenrothes 11-year-old's purple packaging indicating sherry maturation.

The quality of G&M's Discovery Range is so high across the board that these are now the first thing we'd recommend to anyone looking to get into single malt whisky, and they're also amazing value for any longtime malt fans looking for a decent everyday dram.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Rich toffee aromas mingle with stewed fruits, whilst the sherry influences mix with forest fruits, delicate cinnamon and chocolate.

Palate: Raspberry and blackberries are complemented by cinnamon and charred oak.

Finish: Creamy milk chocolate and orange.

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 46%

Kilchoman's Sanaig first appeared in 2015 and joined the core range soon afterwards. The Sanaig edition is named after the beautiful but storm-battered rocky inlet on the north-west coast of Islay between Portnahaven and Sanaigmore.

Peated to 50ppm, Kilchoman Sanaig's most obvious distinguishing characteristic is a sherry-heavy recipe, generally featuring a 70/30 ratio of sherry/bourbon maturation in the assemblage. Bottled at 46%, Kilchoman Sanaig to delivers rich cooked fruit alongside toffee, spice and BBQ smoke flavours.

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Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bottled by: Willett Distillery 70cl / 47% / 94 Proof

Willett's Pot Still Reserve is a small batch Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at 47% by Willett Distillery, formerly known as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), in an eye-catching still-shaped bottle.

The Willett Distillery was revived in 2012 after a near-thirty year absence, during which time KBD had established themselves as one of the USA's largest independent bourbon bottlers, with a large number of their brands using sourced bourbon from the neighbouring Heaven Hill distillery.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Vanilla lemon cake.
Palate: The palate is a balance of caramel, vanilla, spices and citrus. I'm not sure if they made the opulent bottle to match the Whiskey or vice versa.

Tasting notes courtesy of:
Bill Thomas,
Jack Rose Dining Saloon

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled by: Gordon & MacPhail 70cl / 46%

Mortlach and Gordon & MacPhail are like beans and toast - they're both great but even better together. Some of the best whiskies bottled in the last fifty years have been from this combo, so this humble 15-year-old Mortlach from G&M's jazzed-up Distillery Labels series - designed to celebrate the bottler's historic relationships with some of Scotland's best distilleries, and now at the higher new bottling strength of 46% - has a faultless pedigree.

Gordon & MacPhail and Mortlach is a recipe that's as close to guaranteed enjoyability as you're ever likely to find. If you're a fan of either or both, look no further.

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Tasting Notes

Nose: Sherry aromas with malty undertones and a fresh citrus edge.

Palate: Sweet candied fruit flavours infuse with baked apple, raisins and orange.

Finish: Charred oak.

Japanese Blended Whisky 
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 43%

Introduced in 2015 as as replacement for the late, much-lamented Hibiki 12-year-old, Suntory's Hibiki Japanese Harmony is composed of Japanese single malt whiskies from Suntory's Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries blended with grain whisky from their Chita distillery.

Apparently up to ten different whiskies from the three distilleries are used in the assembly of Japanese Harmony, with five different oak types - mainly American white oak, but also some sherry casks and even a touch of Mizunara oak.

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Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled By: Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers 70cl / 56.2%

A limited edition Old Perth blended malt whisky from Morrison Distillers, who bought and revived the famous Old Perth brand back in 2013.

Old Perth PX Sherry Cask is a limited edition bottling and, as the name suggests, is composed of malt whiskies matured exclusively in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks before being bottled without colouring or chill filtration at its sturdy natural cask strength of 56.2%. This looks like amazing value for fans of sherried cask strength whisky.

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Tasting Notes

Official Tasting Notes

A velvety texture with raisins, dates, candied fruit leading into dark chocolate and cocoa.

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 48%

Two of the things that single malt fans like the best are peated whisky and sherry casks, so this 10-year-old Laphroaig Sherry Oak Finish is a nailed-on winner if ever we saw one.

Introduced to the distillery's core range in spring 2021, Laphroaig 10-year-old Sherry Oak Finish begins life in refill sherry and bourbon casks, before spending the last 12-18 months of its maturation in Oloroso sherry casks to add extra complexity to the flavour profile. Like the distillery's Quarter Cask, Laphroaig 10-year-old Sherry Oak is bottled at the higher strength of 48%. A must for fans of full-on Islay whisky.

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