Appearance: Showing a brilliant old-brass colour courtesy of the bourbon wood and that unique concentration through the ageing process.

Nose: this whisky jumps out of the glass with notes almost reminiscent of a great White Burgundy. Crushed river stones and struck flint alongside golden delicious apple and herbes de provence come across on the nose.

Palate: The palate is gentle as one would expect from the lower ABV but it is oily and viscous with a sensation of scented candle followed by sea salt, delicate earthy peat and a return of that golden delicious apple note.

Finish: Extremely long and gentle with the initial notes of crushed stones mingling with sea salt and stewed orchard fruit.

This twelve-year-old Highland Single Malt was distilled in 2008 at the Blair Athol Distillery along the banks of the River Tummel. Drawn from a single, undersized 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel previously used by the Koval Distillery, it is a youthful pale golden colour with bright aromatics of red apple and pear as well as fine vanilla and warm baking spices. A generous, well-balanced highlander from one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland dating back to 1798, this is a personal favourite and a fitting first bottling of the Stiùbhart Single Cask Selection. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 58.9% without chill filtration or added colouring.

A single cask Islay malt matured in undersized ex-Bourbon barrels previously used to mature Bourbon whiskey at the Koval Distillery, showcasing Caol Ila’s classic oily maritime qualities with aromas of sweet, earthy peat, sea breeze and iodine alongside pungent, warming spices evoking cinnamon, cumin, smoked pepper and cardamom. A finish laced with eucalyptus and dried mint makes for a restrained, finessed Islay with a long, dynamic finish. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 58.1% without colouring or filtration.

The second bottling from the Stewart Whisky Company in their Stiùbhart Single Cask selection, released in March 2021 at 13 years of age in a limited run of just 132 bottles.

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (90)

Wine Advocate (96)

Wine Advocate (97-99)

James Suckling (98)

James Suckling (98)

Whisky Base (93)

Colour: Full, rich dark gold.

Nose: Full, complex aromas with dried berries and sherry-infused malty tones

Palate: Sweetness akin to a fine, aged cognac with incredible oloroso depth and freshness. Fruit, nuts, marzipan and Christmas cake warming spice.

Finish: A whisky you never want to end and it almost feels as if it won't, the finish goes on forever with spice, decadent dark cocoa and forest floor. A final flourish of spiced demerara rum leaves you longing for more.

Colour: Full, rich dark gold.

Nose: Rich, complex fruit aromas with sherried, malty tones.

Flavour: Sherry, cognac, demerara rum characteristics alongside fruit, nuts and marzipan. Indulgent Christmas cake spiciness.

Finish: A whisky you never want to end and it almost feels as if it won't, the finish goes on forever with spice, decadent dark cocoa and forest floor.

Colour: Autumnal, red gold.

Nose: Fresh sweetness with fruity Turkish delight with a power akin to the first whiff from a freshly opened bag of Java coffee beans.

Palate: An undeniably decadent sweetness on the palate with salted caramel, dark cocoa and Oloroso-soaked raisins. Sherry comes through with excellent power, bringing with it Sherry and spicy demerara notes.

Finish: Lingering and persistent with alternating layers of sweetness and dry roastiness and peppery spice. Extremely complex and enthralling.

Colour: Amber with dark-gold highlights.

Nose: Complex yet refined with tempting aromas of marmalade, nuts, freshly ground coffee and chocolate.

Flavour: Full-bodied and robust with some oaky tannins courtesy of its exceptional age in sherry barrels.

Finish: Powerful but never overbearing with exceptional balance. Intense and long in the mouth with beautiful finesse and freshness.

Whisky Bible (95)

Nose (23.5): Crunchy, crisp sugars capture the malt fresh and youthful as though in aspic.

Taste (24): Profoundly salivating. Like malt sets off fermentation, icing sugars sets off the barley-rich juiciness to the maximum level... and the mid-point? Hard to believe but here you hit malt max!

Finish (23.5): Not sure if it is possible to get better balance between oak and malt in a Highland whisky. Light mocha and liquorice. But a sub-strata of creamy Horlicks, too...

Balance (24): Principally has a firm glazed feel to this. But the intensity of the malt takes the breath away. Too beautiful.

James Suckling (99)

Colour: Fine, polished brass.

Aroma: Delicate and grassy with a bright orchard fruit profile, reminiscent at first of Speyside but developing a unique persimmon complexity.

Taste: Exceptional purity rivalled by few if any others. A fine salinity balanced by bright satsuma citrus notes makes for a sweet, ethereal palate.

Finish: For such a light, balanced whisky the finish is exceptionally long and complex. The persimmon on the nose comes back for an encore, taking a final bow with notes of ginger, allspice and bay.

Colour: Bronze.

Aroma: The nose approaches with an intensity that the ultra-fine 12 year old foregoes and brings with it a herbal note with subtle tarragon and sage alongside dried, oloroso-soaked dates.

Taste: A remarkable richness courtesy of the judiciously applied sherry barrels, this has a very complete palate with density, focus and a subtle cinnamon spiciness.

Finish: Goes on for ages, this is a pensive whisky that rewards those who spend time with it, exploring every nook and cranny within its palatial expanse.

The peat is fine-grained, much more clearly highland peat than Islay or Coastal as it foregoes the iodine and TCP or boat oil, more reminiscent of an autumn bonfire somewhere in the distance. The sherry brings in the classic Macallan profile to work in perfect balance with that unique peat-inflected edge. A true masterpiece of the bottler's art. Just 690 crystal decanters filled at 47%.

Greg Sherwood MW (97-99)