Dram 1 - Glen Elgin 13-Year-Old - Pineau des Charentes – Little Brown Dog

This wee distillery comes from the charmingly named hamlet of Fogwatt, just south of Elgin, with Longmorn and BenRiach only a stone’s throw away.

 Glen Elgin uses a long fermentation and slow distillation through six stills, before the spirit heads through traditional worm tub condensers – essentially a big curly copper pipe sitting in very cold water! This adds weight, character and complexity to the spirit.

Most commonly found as a key component of White Horse, Glen Elgin is particularly revered by blenders for its character. This dram was distilled on 6th March 2013 and bottled on 22nd July 2026, after 13 years. A single refill Pineau des Charentes barrique produced just 265 bottles at 56.2% ABV.

What’s Pineau des Charentes? A delicious French apéritif made by combining grape juice with young Cognac before ageing in oak. If you’ve never tried it, we highly recommend it!
Tasting Notes

Nose: Apple sherbet, fragrant blackcurrant leaf and a top note of white pepper.

Palate: Candied ginger, vanilla sponge, redcurrants, Vinho Verde and vibrant oak.

Finish: Waves of spice developing into apricot and almond Bakewell tart.Fruit, spice and a lovely buttery roundness – soft Glen Elgin spirit meeting a vibrant French cask

Shelf Price - £60

Club Price - £54

Dram 2 - Strathmill 11-year-old – Cream Sherry – Little Brown Dog

Hailing from Keith, Strathmill is a major component of the J&B blend and a distillery we don't see bottled as a single malt all that often.

 Its typically light and fruity spirit has a distinctive oiliness, partly thanks to a purifier pipe running from the lyne arm back into the spirit still. This helps create those characteristic grassy, fresh olive oil notes.

Distilled 7th April 2015, initially matured in bourbon before being moved into a Cream Sherry cask, then bottled at cask strength on 21st July 2026. Just 286 bottles were produced at 54.6% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Danish oil over maple shelves and Victorian floorboards in our new Ballater whisky room! Tropical fruits, brioche and old leather.

Palate: Creamy with Port-like sweetness, orchard fruits and pink grapefruit. Then comes that classic Strathmill grassiness and olive oil character. Like the Glen Elgin, the cask complements rather than overpowers the spirit. Nice.

Finish: More orchard fruit, sharp but balanced tannins, furniture-polish sweetness and a lingering creamy finish.

A lovely example of the cask letting the distillery character do the talking.

Shelf Price - £76

Club Price - £68.40

Dram 1 -Auchentoshan 13-Year-Old | Monuments of Scotland by Signatory

On the banks of the River Clyde, which flows through Glasgow, Auchentoshan was founded in 1817 as Duntocher Distillery by John Bulloch. Like many distilleries, it had a patchy start with multiple owners over the years. During the Glasgow Blitz of 1941, the warehouses of “Auchie” were hit, and gallons of flaming whisky flooded into the Clyde.

One of the bomb craters is now the distillery pond.Auchentoshan is triple distilled, with the new make spirit carrying only the heads forward, and a final cut taken at 81%. Combined with a relatively short fermentation, this gives the spirit pronounced cereal notes and higher levels of citrus character.

This release was distilled on 16th April 2013 and finished in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts—a marrying of four casks—before being bottled at 50.8% ABV in April 2026. It is non-chill filtered and of natural colour.

The label depicts St Andrews Cathedral at sunrise—very pretty.

On the nose: maraschino cherries, liquorice, savoury sake notes, and leather from the oak.

On the palate: more cherries and tannin, with a gentle spice rolling across the tongue. The spirit character remains with light cereal notes and yuzu citrus, leading into lemon.

Finish: medium length, moving from vanilla to caramel, back to cherries and liquorice.

Dram 2 - Benrinnes 11-Year-Old | Monuments of Scotland by Signatory

 Located in the shadow of “the Ben” (Ben Rinnes), this distillery has had its share of ups and downs since its founding in 1826, including a flood and a fire. Despite this, its new make spirit has long been prized for blending—big, malty, and bold. It previously used a rather convoluted partial triple distillation process, which was changed in 2007. Pre-2007 liquid is always worth a try.

Compared to Auchentoshan, Benrinnes has a much longer fermentation, which works particularly well with sherry casks.Distilled on 22nd April 2015 and finished in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt, this whisky is bottled at 50.8% ABV, non-chill filtered, and with no added colouring.

The label celebrates the Tomnaverie Stone Circle just outside Tarland—a fine set of stones.I thought this was a great pairing, showcasing distillery character in similar casks—light versus heavy.

On the nose: immediately full and leathery, with burnt butter, tablet, milk chocolate, raisins, and a malty backbone showing fruit loaf and freshly baked rye bread. There’s even a slightly salty Manchego cheese note urging you to dive in.

On the palate: rich and full, with dark chocolate, liquorice, and leathery oak spice. A lighter dried apricot floral note carries through to a long, drawn-out finish. Malty notes linger alongside candied ginger and cardamom before settling into sticky toffee pudding. Delightful.

Dram 1 -Glendullan 2010 - Spirit of Scotland

The second time I have used a release from the Spirit of Scotland. Owned by Gordon & MacPhail, founded in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, who were grocers and wine merchants in Elgin, Moray.

The Urquhart family, who now own the business, have been involved since year one, with John Urquhart also joining the business within its first year. In 1915, he became a senior partner and began brokering whisky for the firm and bottling single malts under license for several Speyside Distilleries, like Glenlivet. He was also laying down casks across Speyside to release as single malts or as blends for the firm. As with any trading, having something to trade with always makes things easier! Gordon & MacPhail always had the ambition of owning a distillery, which eventually came to fruition in 1993 with the accusation of Benromach in Forres from United Distillers. They now also own the Cairn distillery just outside of Granton-on-Spey, which was built off the back of selling some casks back to a particular Speyside distillery beginning with the letter M...

The cask holding they have is incredible; they could stop producing spirit today and continue to run the business for 25 years on what they have in storage. I was chuffed I had a dozen casks... The wholesale arm of the business was cut in recent years; I think they were sold the dream of something and followed the lead of someone who they shouldn’t of... Anyway, it all went tits up quickly, and we were given 2 months' notice that it would all come to an end. It was bizarre! They soon realized this was an enormous mistake and thankfully reinstated this arm of the business, which led to new releases, like the drams we have this month.

Glendullan, built in 1897 by William & Williams & Son, who at the time had exclusive use of all the spirit from Glenfiddich. Typically, there were quite a few changes of ownership, in 1972 Glendullan 2 was built which is the now standing distillery with Glendullan 1 closing in 1985. It mainly all goes to blending and Singleton of Glendullan, which is all for the North American market.

This bottling was distilled in 2010, bottled in 2025 as a 15-year-old at 58.1%, having matured in a refill bourbon barrel with a yield of 192 bottles. Glendullan has a long fermentation and a long distillation, which adds fruitiness and grassiness to the spirit, which this whisky shows well.

 On the nose, it is fruit and nut milk chocolate, heather honey and hazelnuts. The palate is peachy - very fresh and then tinned, a fruity delight turning to banana and pineapple. The finish is grassy with a blend of citrus rinds and vanilla.

Shelf Price - £83

Club Price - £74.70

Dram 2 - Bowmore 2011 – Little Brown Dog

Firstly, Little Brown Dog – Chris and Andrew – Farmer & Vet, now whisky makers. Lovely chaps, lovely whisky. What more could one ask for?!?! Bowmore still does 40% of its malting on its own floor, which gives a good balance in the spirit which has a softer peating style than other Islay distilleries. There are records of the first distillation in 1779 with proper distillation starting in 1816 under license.

Latterly in the 1960’s, the distillery was owned by the Morrison Family, who now have the Aberagrie Distillery and Carn Mor Strictly Limited range – a fun tie-in.

This Bowmore was distilled on the 23rd of February 2015 and bottled on the 5th of May 2026 at 11-years-old full maturation in a re-fill bourbon barrel – outrun of 272 bottles at 58.3% VOL

The labels on the bottle pay homage to the humble roast chicken, as it tastes like a bag of roast chicken crisps! Trying to get beyond Andrews' tasting notes, that took a minute! There is also a roasted almond, creamy soft blue cheese element mixed with a leathery, oaky, funky beach bonfire. The palate is a tin of peaches warmed on a beach bonfire with oat miso from Slow Sauce in Banchory! Nutty, salty, umami... leading to a finish of those roast chicken crisps.

Shelf Price - £75

Club Price - £67.50

Dram 1 -Aberdeenshire Single Malt – 12 Year Old by Little Brown Dog

The first-ever core release from Andrew and Chris, stepping fully into becoming whisky makers. A coming of age for them. In Andrew’s words - “This is a core whisky but in the LBD style. Full transparency made with a passion for the spirit, whisky we care deeply about, and always making something tasty to share at a fair price. Our little business is growing and rather than just throwing out more single casks and risking fatiguing our wonderfully loyal following, we wanted to look at producing the kind of whisky that you could get a second bottle of, maybe even more. One that gives us a shelf presence between releases and opens up what we do here at LBD to a wider audience. Great whisky at an approachable price point. Each batch is hand numbered. Batch sizes are about 2000 bottles, big for LBD but small by industry standards. The overall recipe won’t really change batch to batch, but given the small sizes, we expect there to be some small batch variation, which we want to celebrate. It’s one of the things that we, as whisky drinkers ourselves, enjoy about small batch whiskies, exploring the different characters and realising the similarities. From 60% 1st fill bourbon barrels, 40% oloroso and PX sherry casks, refill and first fill. A balanced, old-fashioned style of unpeated Highland malt whisky. Distilled at Glen Garioch Distillery, just 10 minutes away from LBD HQ. We debated including the distillery on the label. It is not a secret, it will be on the web page, but we wanted to keep this as our identity. We are whisky makers; we made this whisky.

Based on the silhouette profile of the hill, Bennachie, as seen from the gates of our distillery, and bond forms the shape of the label, with the forests and fields in the foreground. We’ve included some smaller details, like the outline of Peedie, the real little brown dog in the barley field and the gate to the farm with an LBD cask out front.”

As always, it is complete transparency from LBD. Good honest whisky at a great price point, and we are delighted to have it on our shelves and to have the ability to buy bottle after bottle. The tasting notes read - “a vatting of affa fine bourbon, oloroso & px sherry casks. Notes of toffee apples, pastry and forest fruits”

 £50 shelf price
 £45 club price! Incredible.

Dram 2 - Ardnamurchan – Finn Thompson

Finn Thompson is the 9th generation of the Thompson family to be involved in whisky; his grandfather produced blends like BenEagles. Finn’s attitude to whisky was then to take all the separate elements that went into the blends and release them as single cask, cask strength releases.

Ardnamurchan – a new age distillery, one of the most sustainable out there. With their own hydro scheme and biomass boiler, which burns wood chips from trees grown on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. The draft from the distiller is taken away to feed cows, and the pot ale is piped 3 miles away and also fed to the cows. So if you see Ardnamurchan beef in a menu – its bloody good!

This First-fill bourbon cask (cask no 514) was distilled on 14th of July 2017 and bottled on the 7th of August 2025 as an 8-year-old at 56.4% VOL with an outrun of 267 bottles. The distillery produces 50% peated spirit and 50% unpeated spirit; this is from the peated side. The nose is fresh and spirited; it's a classic salty harbour rope. Personally, I feel there is more salt in this than in some other Ardnamurchan expressions. Wafts of damp oak embers, wax jackets and dunnage warehouse.

Green apple sherbet initially, before dipping in to a funky oak element, which turns into crunchy green apple. The smoke comes gently at first, then builds to a smoked almond and toasted balmoral bread. The finish is quite refined; vanilla and peat harmoniously skip off into the fiery embers... quite poetic for me!

Shelf price £82.50
Club price £74.25

Dram 1 -Pulteney - Spirit of Scotland

Pulteney’s wash still has an enormous boil bulb which is almost as large as the base, and it has a flat top. All in the name of high levels of reflux and the ability to separate specific alcohols. The spirit still has a purifier pipe which takes vapours from the lyne arms back into the still to further control reflux. The lyne arm of the still is an odd shape too, it is similar in shape to an upside-down horseshoe with a flat top... then it uses a worm tub, so it's got a bit going on! Worm tubs are where the condensing from vapors to liquid happens in a copper coin in very cold water. All in all, this creates a spirit that is heavy, leathery, and oil but also has a freshness and lighter element to it.

This was distilled in 2011, matured for 14 years in a re-fill bourbon barrel from cask #502810, and bottled in 2026 at 58.2% ABV. Vanilla fudge with tropical fruits and malted barley aromas. Creamy and sweet, lime with white chocolate and kiwi flavors. Fruity with lingering citrus.

Dram 2 - Aberfeldy - Spirit of Scotland

Aberfeldy, situated just outside the picturesque town, has a thick, almost waxy spirit; there is no use of worm tubs here, it's all down to the long fermentation and running the stills slowly. The slightly upward-facing lyne arm at the top of a long, slim neck of the still helps with the reflux back into the pot, filtering out sharp and intense aromas during distillation and leads it to be considered as one of the sweetest whiskies. So, when I saw a sherried Aberfeldy on the new listing for G&M, it was a no-brainer!

My father's family is also from Aberfeldy. It was a whisky I cut my teeth on! Distilled 2011, matured for 14 years in first-fill Sherry butt #7791, bottled in 2026 with an outrun of 556 bottles at 61.1% ABV Rich fruitcake aromas with fudge and cinnamon. Stewed plum flavors with rich orange marmalade and cracked black pepper. A spicy finish with lingering red berries

Dram 1 -Aberargie Inaugural Release

A brand-new dram this month.

 Dram 1 – Aberargie Inaugural release. Owned and run by the Morrison Family, based just south east of Perth, just off the River Earn. This is a single farm distillery; the farm grows the barley – Laureate and Golden Promise, distills on site, matures on site and then bottles on site which allows for fantastic end to end traceability.

Aberargie marks the return to distilling for the Morrison Family who formerly owned Morrison Bowmore Distillers, which included Auchensoshan, Bowmore and Glen Garioch. The first cask of Aberargie was filled on the 1st of November 2017 – I very much enjoy the fact they have not rushed to release a younger whisky. Don’t get me wrong, these are interesting and great to see, often producing fabulous results however I think it is great to have held on for this release which is now mainly made up of an 8-year-old spirit.

Using 52% Laureate, 48% Golden Promise, 50% Bourbon, 50% Sherry and only using first fill casks at a bottled strength of 48.2%, I believe this to be one of the tastiest inaugural releases I have tried…and I’ve tried a few! There are a few great touches on the bottle to celebrate this first release as well as a price tag that isn’t overly inflated for the first release, thankfully a sensible price of £65.

 On the nose it’s full of baked apples, golden pastry, brown sugar and butter. The palate is more apples, prunes, a lovely vanilla note and rounded mouth feel.

Dram 2 - Ben Nevis – Signatory Vintage 100 Proof

From Fort William on the west coast of Scotland, Ben Nevis has a long history. Wooden washbacks and more significantly, brewer’s yeast is used, making this the last distillery in Scotland to insist on this old way of inducing fermentation. In 1825 “Long” John Macdonald took a license out for his distillery Ben Nevis, in the shadow of and named after Britain’s highest mountain.

His single malt – Long John Dew was a highly successful brand and led to his son Peter building a second distillery across the road named “Nevis” during the early 1900’s. The business had over 200 employees making it quite the powerhouse of a distillery. Then the downturn came and Nevis closed in 1908. Ben Nevis ran on and off until 1941 when Canadian Joesph Hobbs bought the firm. After the closure due to the war, distilling began again in 1955 and Hobbs added a Coffey still used for single grain production which led to the release of a blend from the distillery, which he blended as new maked and then aged. In 1978 the distillery fell silent until it was bought and underwent a much-needed refurbishment in 1989 by Long John International – a fitting name! Finally, Nikka bought it from Japan who had been purchasing spirit in bulk for quite a while which may or may not have ended up in Nikka from the Barrel.... Ben Nevis’s distillation is a long slow run creating depth and richness in the distillate which is perfect for sherry.

This is matured in 1st fill PX (Pedro Ximénez) and 2nd fill Oloroso sherry casks – what a great pair! Distilled in 2014, aged 10 years and bottled without chill filtration and natural colour at 57.1% VOL.

The nose is funky leather, damp tobacco, a spicy tannin with a hint of a sweeter back bone. The palate is rich to start, going to an ashy fireplace minerality without the smoke waft. It leads you to think there will be a wall of smoke, but it's a false charge and turns to give more sweetness, dates, and marmalade.

The finish has a funky air of a coal fire but is balanced by glorious, boiled sweets and chocolate almond finish.

£50
£45 club price

Dram 1 -Kilkerran 8-year-old Cask Strength Release 8

Kilkerran 8-year-old Cask Strength release 8

57.7 4% ABV.

This is released annually as a one- or two-part release; this release showcases the Kilerran in 100% Bourbon with a peating level of about 45ppm (Parts Per Million) of peat. The nose is vibrant, green apple acidity, with a creamy butterscotch smokey waft. More orchard fruits and vanilla sweetness follow. The palate has a butter biscuit & spun sugar style of sweetness which turns more to white melon and gooseberries on the side of the tongue. The peat is apparent from the start.

 It's almost funky with scrumpy cider sharpness but a lot more rounded, and the tannin from the wood pulls you back before it goes too far. The finish has a fresh, green spice to it with an ashier note to the smoke.

Dram 2 - Kilkerran 12-year-old 46% ABV

Lightly peated spirit matured in 70% bourbon casks and 30% Sherry casks.

This emphasizes the citrus and oily character. The bottled strength of 46% obviously means natural color and non-chill filtered. This is the first flagstone release of the distillery and has become a stalwart of any good whisky shelf.

The nose is marzipan, travel sweets and pear drops, all chewed while around a bonfire, before it becomes more almond like. The palate has a bright oak tannin straight away with a soft peat which becomes more citrus in style, almost a lime sharpness. The oiliness of the spirit stands out matched with the sherry depth to create a leathery spice and malty sweetness.

 The finish is a smokey hug, its liners with the balance of sweeter sherry and embers, the nuttiness becomes more savoury and rolls on. Quite delicious.

Dram 1 - Invergordon 34 Year Old Single Grain | Thompson Bros

Invergordon 34.

I thought this was fun as this is the distillery that the High Rye Spirit from Little Brown Dog comes from but this time it's what they usually make, Single Grain! The wash is made using wheat and maize and undergoes a 70 hour fermentation and then into their Coffey still. This is a continuous distillation producing a high strength (94.4%) neutral style spirit.

Barrels are filled at 71% and here is really where the magic happens. I’m such a fan of grain whisky at a good age because it shows just how important a good barrel is, without them it's nothing. This has had 34 years in a refill hogshead, and the angles have had their way with it all the way down to 40.1% VOL – only just legal!

The nose is superb! Fresh honeydew melon, baked cinnamon apples, pineapples, vanilla, toasted oak with a touch of warehouse funk.

 Palate – luxurious mouth feel. Creme caramel, melon, rustic primary school sponge with the white icing and sprinkles with demerara sugar depth.

 The finish is candied oranges, elegantly smooth giving more of the same from before in waves of soft, warm, single grain hugs.

RRP - £70

Club Price- £63

Dram 2 - Royal Brackla 11 Year Old | Thompson Bros

Distilled on the 1st of January 2014 and bottled in 2025. This is a lively take on the classic fruity and Highland spicy style Royal Brackla shows. Royal Brackla loves sherry wood.

A big bold spirit mainly used for blending with a small proportion for single malt production. This for me has the very classic orchard fruit style it’s renowned for with a great spice balance.

 The nose is dark berries, fruitcake spices and toasted oak.

Palate is classically rich and full. With a wonderful rich caramel, citrus peel and nutty style depth to it all.

 The finish is medium; warming spices and rolling sweetness continue. It's a great dram for the price!

RRP - £55
Club Price - £49.50

Dram 1 - Mortlach – 12 Year Old – 2nd Fill Oloroso Sherry Butts

Mortlach – 12 Year Old – 2nd Fill Oloroso Sherry Butts. Some Signatory Vintage, we have seen a few bottlings from Andrew Symington recently. Mortlach has somewhat of a cult following, and it’s often seen in ‘indy’ bottlings.

Given the age statement, the price that this sits on the shelf is £50?!?!? So £45 to you.. For a 12 year old, cask strength Mortlach..

 Mortlach’s quirk is in the way it distills. The low wines from wash still no.1 and no.2 is split into two parts. Then 80% of that run is collected as the charge to Spirit Still No. 2, the remaining 20% weak faints is used to charge Spirit Still no. 1. “The Wee Witchie” this distills the weak faints 3 times, and only the hearts of this are taken. Leading to an end distillation of 2.81 times. Fun!

It goes from the distillery into Signatory’s warehouses to be aged in 2nd fill Oloroso Sherry butts. The nose is candied oranges, cloves and cinnamon. There is a malty, meaty back bone with a rich barely cereal element to it also. The palate is rich and freshly spiced; the alcohol is warm and fresh, bringing in more figs and plum notes with an oaky tannin backing. The finish has a lovely length, moving more towards demerara sugar and plum jam.

A ripper dram for the money.

Dram 2 - Speyside Distillery that also starts with an M – The big ol’ Macallan.

From the older Macallan stills, not the monstrous factory it is today. The same size of stills as the new facility, but I feel more care went to it before. They use 3,900 litre stills, which means little copper contact and a very cute lynne arm angle, which means it produces a very heavy spirit character. Macallan, through its expansion, has certainly brought with it some rather extravagant prices too; thankfully, it doesn’t follow that.

This is a 16-year-old Speyside (M) distilled in 2009 and aged in Oloroso Sherry casks, bottled at 57.1% VOL part of the Exceptional Cask range of the Signatory releases. It’s as classic sherried Speyside on the nose as you’d imagine. Soreen Malt Loaf, Christmas pudding, Cointreau butter, brandy butter, tablet. The palate is to start with a slightly dark burnt tablet with a chocolate orange note. It quickly becomes more milk chocolate mouth feel in style, dates, demerara sugar a soft oak funk. It's balanced and powerful.

The finish is lingering and becomes richer and drier along the side of your tongue, rolling waves of sweet to oaky to savory.

 £80 on the shelf - £72 for you.

Dram 1 - Secret Highland Distillery 2011

Secret Highland Distillery 2011 – Looking at the back of the bottle, we’ll find a what3words pin, and the eagle-eyed amongst you will notice they’ve made a whoopsie – not ‘overheard’ but overhead! Overhead.Trail.Rivals - Chris said “no one ever looks at the shit” when I asked about it. Thankfully, it's not on the back of 480 bottles...! So, what is it?!? There isn’t a distillery in the depths of Alaska! It's Clynelish! An oddly waxy spirit full of citrus and fruity character.

Originally founded by the Duke of Sutherland during the Highland Clearances, and used just a single pair of stills up until 1968. New stills were added, and the original pair were run as Clynelish B for a year before turning into Brora until its closure in 1983. Clynelish creates its wax style spirit from using a spirit still larger than the wash still and the buildup of gunk in the feint's receiver. This is where the heads & tails of the spirit are kept before being added to the low wines of the next still run. This gunk, when removed during annual cleaning and maintenance, stripped the spirit of its soul. It’s a bold, waxy element that makes Clynelish so distinctive. This was distilled in 2011 and bottled in 2025 as a 14-year-old at a natural cask strength of 56.5% abv non non-chill filtered, and naturally colored.

The nose is like diving into a wax jacket after it's been hung all summer and wearing it for the first time this winter, a warm, familiar waft. It’s been rewaxed with beeswax and sat on some mahogany furniture next to a plate of gooseberries and honeydew melon with oak staves glowing in the fire in the corner. Poetic... maybe a bit much. I’ll rein it back in.

The palate has waves of waxiness with green apple and spice. This turns to a soft honey with a sharper green berry element matched with a slight oaky funk. The finish is green grapes, pink grapefruit acidity, gooseberry jam mouthfeel roundness with an oak tannin. It's autumnal, moreish, and great value.

Shelf Price - £75

Club Price- £67.50

Dram 2 -

Not just a straightforward distillery name for this one either! This was distilled at Invergordon distillery by an American Bourbon maker whose instructions were to do exactly as he does at home to make a Scottish Bourbon. Which is exactly what he did, which is where this gets a bit geeky. He pitched the enzymes during the fermentation to increase the yield of the wart, which, in the eyes of the Scottish Whisky Association and the Spirit Drink Verification Scheme, isn’t allowed! Shock horror.

So, this is a Rye bourbon distilled in Scotland for all intents and purposes, but legally, LBD can’t call it that, so it's a High Rye Scottish Spirit.I like weird and wonderful things, and this is no exception. Distilled in 2017, bottled as a 7-year-old in 2025 at a natural cask strength of 58.8% ABV after maturation in Virgin Oak Casks, natural color, and non-chill filter.

Nose – burnt maple, toasted rye malt loaf, pencil lead and shavings, and crystalized ginger.

Palate – pine resin, violets, burnt beech leaves, and more pencil lead style sharpness. 

Finish – Spearmint, Rosemary oil, silkiness, and nutty, withering ending. Something a touch different anyway!

Shelf Price - £44

Club Price- £39.

Dram 1 - Thompson Bros Highland 18-year-old

Thompson Bros Highland 18-year-old. The Thompson Bros Phil and Simon came to the public eye when they brought the Dornoch Castle Whisky Bar to the forefront, making it one of the very best whisky bars in the world. Here, their passion for spirit and whisky really built, and they also met some of the people that helped bring their next idea of a distillery to life. Starting out of the old Fire Station in Dornoch and now being successful in a crowd funding project for the new distillery which will be named Struie Distillery, named after the hill above it.

So, what's the whisky?!? An unnamed Highland distillery that produces a smokey spirit? What may that be? Maybe an Ardmore or a Ruadh Maor – a smokey Glenturret.

Bottled at 48.5% naturally colored with no chill filtration. Lovely.

Hazelnuts, gristy smokey malt on the nose which turns more aromatic and rosemary with an oiliness lapping the sides.

The palate shows peat in a far more apparent fashion. Its front and centre, powerful yet not overpowering. Heather honey, salty capers with a glorious earthy moreish lingering spice.

The finish has more wood smokey elements but now far saltier in style, peanut butter, earthiness and a settling peat. 18 years of age,

£65 on the shelf - £58.50 to you. Ripper.

Dram 2 - Dalmunach 2015 – Oloroso Sherry.

Our pals at Morrison Scotch Distillers down near Perth again. Family owned for generations, previous owners or Bowmore distillery and now with a distillery producing spirit and filling casks themselves at their distillery on the farm which will be called – Aberargie. Next year will see the first of this spirit being released and of course as members you will have the first access to this.

 So this dram – Dalmunach. Owned by Pernod Ricard built on the old site of the Imperial distillery in Speyside, right on the north banks of the middle river. A big powerhouse of a distillery making a big beefy spirit to fill cask that’ll take flavor from active casks and can be shown well as a younger dram. This was distilled in 2015 and bottled in 2024 as an 8-year-old at 47.5% naturally colored and without chill filtration.

It’s unapologetic this one. Raisins, brown sugar and dates. Brandy baskets and Soreen Malt Loaf. It’s as classic an Oloroso Sherried Speyside as you’ll come by, but its time in cask is not just a flash in the pan, it has the mouthfeel developed from a good few years growing and becoming increasingly moreish.

 £56 on the shelf – £50.40 after discount. Banger.

Dram 1 - Signatory | Whitlaw 10 Year Old

Whitlaw 2014, from Rechar Butts. Like STR a rejuvenated Sherry Butt distilled in September 2014 and bottled September 2024 at 46%. Light and playful and an Autumnal dram, hence why both are Orcadian!

The nose is quite hazelnut, honey and fragrant peat with a liquorice – an almost sweet & sour sauce style to it balanced by an orange zest oak note. The palate is sherbert, lemon drops and again has this soft wood/peat smoke rolling around in the background. The finish is apricots, vanilla and gentle wood chip oak.

Shelf - £50.00

Members - £45.00

Dram 2 -Signatory Orkney 14 Year Old HP

Orkney (HP) 2001 Palo Cortado 14-year-old at 57.1%. Having been finished in 1st Fill Palo Cortado Sherry Hogsheads (240L Barrels) I know some like funk, I feel this has a decent amount of it in a controlled manor.

What is Palo Cortado? It's a bit of an oddity that only happens in 1-2% of grapes picked for sherry. Initially aged under the Veil de Flor which is film of yeast that grows naturally over the top of the wine preventing from over oxidisation but still allowing fermentation before fortification.

Sometimes something goes wrong with this, and it loses the Veil de Flor, so the wine is then fortified and becomes Palo Cortado - a mixture between the funky nuttiness of Oloroso and the crisper drier styles of Amontillado and Fino.

The nose of this is toffee salty apricot jam with this lovely funky viscosity which leads to a clear cured meat savoury element. The palate is salted cashew nuts. The real funk is in the salt department, and this cultured salted butter on sourdough bready butteriness which goes to burnt toffee and cinnamon spice. Finish rolls on with more of the same, I’m finding this very moreish. The oak funk bites down the side of the tongue at the end, really rather nice.


Shelf - £57.00
Members - £51.30

Dram 1 - Drookit Dug Batch 3

Best Blended Whisky at the Scottish Whisky awards 2024, but now a year older, sat in fairly dormant casks for the past year, and I think this is even better than before. This whisky has come about by using some older casks that have naturally dropped below 40% Vol, and then some younger spirit has been used to pump this back up to over 40% resulting in this Drookit Dug Batch 3.

 The juice in this is between 9 and 40 years old... but as we know, Scottish Whisky laws mean the age statement must be the AYS (Age Youngest Stock). Bottled at 45.2% with 500 bottles being released, this, to me, is one of the most drinkable drams going. The nose is full of hazelnuts, honeycomb, waxy toasted oak, bringing vanilla to almost canned peaches. The palate is delicate, really showing the older whisky well, making this eminently drinkable, and at £45 on the shelf, it knocks my socks off.

Shelf - £45

Members - £40.50

Dram 2 -THE ALL CAMBELTOWN MEGA BLEND

We all know the difficulties in buying Sprinkbank and getting our hands on other Kintyre's peninsula drams is really quite the challenge, and this throws that all up in the air, saying, have them all, and have them at an amazing price. The label is 3 cows as a nod to the dairy industry down in Campbeltown, as well as this includes whisky from all 3 working distilleries there currently.

The set list on this is as follows: 9-year-old Glen Scotia,  12-year-old Kilkerran,  16-year-old Kilkerran, 12-year-old Sprinkbank,  21-year-old Sprinkbank and it’s sub £60... Andrew & Chris are the boys!

The nose – Green apple Sherbert, salty peanuts, funky dunnage oak to salted toffee and warm driftwood wafts.

The palate has more of that funk, more toffee apples, and now with a tropical fruit element. Honeyed granola and orchard fruit pear drops with a liquorice wind that comes and goes throughout the taste.

The finish has a warming spice at 56.2% Vol, it’s no real surprise, but this is so well balanced, but the coastal oiliness and wood shavings element that round this off so well.

Belter. Such a joy to have things like this when whisky so often becomes vastly expensive, or the quantity of it there just isn’t enough. Thankfully, here, being local and working with local guys, we’ve been able to buy quite a lot, which is fantastic.

Enjoy. I certainly did do the tasting notes and will be taking a couple home!


Shelf - £59
Members - £53.10

Dram 1 - Dalmunach 2018 First-Fill Bourbon - Morrison Distillers

One more from our pals, independent bottlers Morrison Distillers in Perth. From Dalmunach Distillery, built on the site of Imperial distillery on the Spey in 2014 after Pernod Ricard bought the site in 2013, bringing Imperial's 100-year history to an end. After some consultation of whether to rebuild or knock down and start again, they choose the latter. A big producer making a heavy, meat & malty spirit running 16 washback's and 8 stills!

I think Dalmunach is great, the spirit style is for blends such as Chivas Regal, Ballantines or Royal Salute so it loves an active cask – first-fill bourbon or sherry. This was distilled in 2018 and filled into first-fill bourbon at 47.5% ABV with an outrun of 642 bottles as a 6-year-old. A light and playful summer dram coming in at sub £50. Banana cream, green apples with a glorious nuttiness that becomes more savoury in style towards the finish. Light, fresh – great.

Shelf - £54

Members - £48.60

Dram 2 -Thompson Bros - Torabhaig Disilltery - Aged over 7 years

Another first for the club! Thompson Bros in Dornoch - we’ve finally managed to start getting some stock from them! Who are they? Independant bottlers and distillers up in Dornoch, North of Inverness founded in 2016.

This dram is also another global first independent bottling of a new distillery on Skye called Torabhaig, Skye’s second distillery after Talisker. Born from an idea years ago of Sir Iain Noble who bought 20,000 acres on Skye in 1972. Noble had planned in the early 2000’s to covert the Torabhaig steading into a distillery but sadly never achieved the dream before he passed away in 2010. This all happened around the time when Mossburn Distillers, a subsidiary of Dutch drinks company Marussia Beverages, was planning to build its own distillery on the island.

The idea of renovating something half done hadn’t previously come to mind but after some research they decided that Farm Steading of Nobles Torabhaig farm was the perfect location. Work started in 2013, and the stills first produced spirit in 2017 producing a medium weight, medium peated style spirit. This is achieved by a long fermentation 100 + hours in wooden washback's and a very slow still run to increase the copper contact and create the fruit forward spirit. These casks were filled in May 2018 and bottled June 2025 at a natural cask strength of 57.1% ABV after a full maturation in first-fill bourbon barrels and bottled as a 7-year-old.

The nose is peppery pastrami, smoky peat and a coastal salinity while being soothed by hints of tangy orange and occasional tropical fruit. The palate is sweeter than expected but delivers a gloriously earth peat smoke/sea salt/buttery mixture that rolls around your mouth. The finish is as expected with something as pronounced as this. Long, smoky but subtle, there is caramel and more salinity that brings balance to the smoke keeping it wafting on. A smoky summery dram. Would be excellent with some BBQ'd steaks!
 
Shelf - £65
Members - £58.50

Dram 1 - Glenallachie 11 Year Old 2012 – Small Batch Edition #8 | Signatory Vintage

Dram 1 this month is a Signatory Vintage bottling of GlenAllachie which has been aged in Oloroso Sherry Casks.

Distilled in 2012 and bottled 2nd April 2024 as an 11-year-old at 48.2% VOL. Oloroso is a dark and nutty style of medium sherry.

The nose is full of raisin, fruit cake and dark chocolate with a bit of spice, cinnamon and orange peel. The palate is big, chewy, malty, very classic sherried style balanced by the spicy ‘oakiness’ that follows. It becomes more orange with a raisin softness and warm tannin on the finish.

Shelf price - £73.00

Club price - £65.70

Dram 2 -The GlenAllachie Sinteis Series Part I: 2014 Chinquapin & PX Cask Matured

Dram 2 is from GlenAllachie’s Sinteis Series – Sinteis is the Scottish Gaelic word for synthesis and the idea is to embody cask creativity merging two incredibly bold and distinctive casks together to complement each other. This is a mixture of first-fill Pedro Ximenez Puncheons and Chinquinpin American Oak, which is a native oak grown in the Ozarks, Missouri.

These two cask varieties have been married together and bottled at 57.8% as a 10-year-old. The nose is much more liquorice with a butterscotch element coming from the Chinquapin oak, it leads to become more honeycomb and orchard fruits with pears then apples.

The palate is butterscotch straight away, then with a gingery spice that is an instant balance to the sweetness of the PX characters of candied lemon and figs. The finish is longer and lingering with black fruits molasses and cinnamon which turns to a dry rich dark cocoa. A big dram loves a drop of water.

Shelf price - £79.50

Club price - £71.55

Dram 1 - Benrinnes 8-Year-Old | Càrn Mòr

A Benrinnes from the Morrison Family’s Carn Mor Strictly limited range. The distillery is nestled in the shadow of “the Ben” and is not often found as a single malt and usually put into blended whiskies.

The distillery runs 6 stills in pairs and produces a big malty/meaty new make thanks to the rapid distillation and use of worm tubs. These are a style of condenser used to rapidly cool the spirit vapors and help reduce copper contact to ensure that weight at the heart of the spirit remains whilst still having good fragrance. This dram was distilled in 2016 and has been matured in first-fill bourbon for 8 years to give it this glorious straw colour and fresh taste. An out run of 879 bottles bottled at 47.5%.

The nose gives red apples, strawberry compote and maple vibes. On the palate it reminds me of French vanilla biscuits long du chat – with more creaminess and ripe apple coming further on. The finish has a sweet oak bite and is playfully light, a real delight for the price!

Shelf price - £47.50

Club price - £42.75

Dram 2 -Strathclyde 1994 - Aged 30 years - Little Brown Dog

This is the first for the club – a single cask single grain. From Strathclyde distillery in Glasgow distilled in 1994! This distillery traditionally made Grain Neutral Spirit, which would have been used as the base alcohol for gin and vodka, then laterally they began making more single grain whisky which was use in blended whisky when the production & demand was increased.

Now we are finding this fascinating old cask of single grain whisky at incredible prices. Distilled on the 17th of November 1994 and bottled on the 20th of February 2025 at a natural cask strength of 43.2%, having spent its years in a refill sherry butt which yielded 582 bottles. The Tunnocks Tea cask inspired label tells you a lot about the tasting notes!

The nose is brandy butter and a vanilla leather strap with a lively spirit behind it. The palate is milk chocolate, Tunnocks tea cakes, marshmallows and a sharp fruitiness like red currants. The finish is honied and salted pecans which just keeps rolling on making this incredibly drinkable!

Shelf price - £76.50

Club price - £68.85

Dram 1 - Dailuaine 12-Year-Old | Finn Thomson

Back to our pal Finn of Finn Thomson Whiskies. This time, the first full Bourbon maturation Dailuaine he’s released. Looking through the archives of his great grandfather's cask purchasing records Finn discovered some casks of Dailuaine that Alexander Thomson purchased in 1903, sadly however we’re not drinking those casks - they’ve long gone into the family blends they used to produce. What this did spark from Finn, was a real interest in Dailuaine which has since become a firm favorite of his.

Right in the heart of Speyside, between Aberlour and Craigellachie, a mere stones throw over the hill from Glenallachie and just the other side of the river from Dalmunach. The long fermentation and rapid distillation with stainless steel condensers all help add some meaty weight to the new make, which helps when taking on the flavours of the Bourbon Barrel it has matured in. Distilled on the 14th of May 2012 and bottled on the 3rd of February 2025 at a natural cask strength of 55.1% vol and outrun of 255 bottles.

The nose is BIG! It screams classic Speyside malt. Nutty vanilla with a cream wood tannin back bone. The palate has weight; the coating oiliness of the spirit marries perfectly with the fresh vanilla creaminess of the bourbon weight. The finish is long and elegant, when you add a few drops of water the sweetness comes out some more and develops into a wonderfully playful yet powerful dram.

Shelf price - £74

Club price - £66.60

Dram 2 -Glentauchers 9-Year-Old | Càrn Mòr

Hailing from the distillery of Glentauchers which lies between Keith and the mighty River Spey. Like Dailuaine, traditionally used in a lot of blends like Buchanans, Black & White and Ballantines and not often seen as a full single malt.

Unlike Dailuaine, after its long fermentation it has a long still run to bring a lightness and elegance to the spirit, looking for floral notes over bigger meatier notes. Distilled in 2014 and bottled in 2024 as a 9-year-old at 47.5% vol with a couple of casks being bottled together giving the total number of bottles to 908.

On the nose pear drops, apple candied sweets and buttered pastry provide ways of flavour and depth. The palate has a lightness to it which balances the fruit forward nature of the pear and apples. The finish is flashes of vanilla between fresh tannin or the American oak oomph it carries.

Shelf price - £60

Club price - £54

Dram 1 - Jura 13 Year Old “Oloroso Sherry” Cask
Skene Whisky

Skene Whiskies is a new bottler to us, and these bottles are not something that you’re going to find a lot of around - especially since we bought all of Dram 2!

Founder Andrew Skene is a local chap based in Finzean, which is 6 miles from our High Street home. Dram 1 this month comes from the Hebridean island of Jura, famously with more deer than people. With it being an island dram and people think it’ll be a peat monster however this is a lighter style of whisky. This is because when the distillery was rebuilt in the 1960’s a soft dram is what was required. With a short ferment and tall stills of 7.7m! Jura wants a cask that is very active, or it needs a lot of time in wood. I have to say standard Jura is something I'm pretty eager to avoid, but this bucks that trend.

This Jura was finished in an Oloroso Sherry Octave, which is just a tiny little cask so the interaction to swift! Bottled at 48% natural colour and non-chill filtered. On the nose there is vanilla cream on a windswept west coast beach vibe, the finishing cask adds a funk of oak tannin and caramel & raisins. The palate gives a soft spice and more of an apple green freshness matched with vanilla. This finish is fresh with a touch of oak with ripe nectarine or peach style sweetness.
 

Shelf price - £55

Club price - £49.50

Dram 2 -Tomatin Distillery 9 Year Old Single Cask
| Skene Whisky

It’s not often we do the same distillery on back-to-back months but, I just had to. I first got a sample of this whisky a few months ago and it was good, so I bought a few cases not thinking much of it. However, when it was delivered at start of March.. my god, the cask had been busy! I swiftly opened a bottle and proceeded to buy all the available stock. What a banger for the price!

Having been in an extremely active Oloroso sherry cask, this Tomatin has been well and truly sherry bombed. Bottled as a 9-year-old at 48% the nose is demerara sugar and sticky toffee pudding with a side of sherry-soaked plums. The palate has a soft rolling spice then fires into a well-rounded sherried mouth feel, more salted tablet and sticky toffee pudding then you could shake a stick at. The finish is medium but pronounced leaving you looking for another sippy, while you reminisce of the previous taste.

Now this is a great dram when it is £39.50 on the shelf, the club price for this is £35.55.... All of that for £35! Brilliant.

Dram 1 - Tomatin 8 Year Old - Red Wine Barrique

Starting off with a Tomatin 8-Year-Old, bottled at full natural cask strength of 57% ABV and finished off in a red wine barrique. Distilled on the 29/10/2015 and bottled on the 27/08/2024 with an outrun of 281 bottles. Tomatin distillery is a single malt distillery in the village of Tomatin, 25 minutes south of Inverness. With the location of the distillery this comes under the Highland region of whiskies.

 In 1892 their was an announcement that the final route of the Highland Railway would pass through Tomatin. Local man John MacDougall, who was Tomatin born and bred, began planning the distillery and it was first registered on the 8th of June 1897, however closed in 1906. It wasn't closed for long as it was bought by an experience wine and spirits merchants in 1909, bringing the distillery back into operation with 2 stills capable of producing 225,000 litres of alcohol per year. However, in the 1980s recession saw several distilleries close including Tomatin.

This didn't last long as Tomatin was the largest and most efficient distillery in Scotland with state-of-the-art technology. In February 1986 two Japanese companies Takara Shuzo and Okura & Co, purchased the distillery from the Tomatin Distillery Co and they remain the current owners.

This Tomatin has had a full maturation in a French Red Wine cask. Eight years of ageing have produced incredible balance from a cask type that is notoriously difficult to work with. There is a creaminess of texture and a warming spice that defy the young age of this whisky. Rounded and remarkably even, this whisky is a shining example of when wine casks pay off, and a personal tribute to Finn’s grandfather’s era in the wine industry.

Shelf Price - £67.50

Club Price - £60.75

Dram 2 -Aultmore 11-year-old Finn Thomson

Sticking with an independent bottling from Finn Thomson, dram 2 is a Aultmore 11-year-old. Bottled at full natural cask strength of 54.8%, distilled on 05/02/2013 and bottled on 27/08/2024 from a Torres red wine cask. Total outrun for this bottling was 310 bottles.

Aultmore is a distillery in Keith, Moray, in a secluded spot by the winding Buckie Road in the sweeping hills of Moray. Making this a Speyside malt. Its name is a derived from the phrase An-t-Allt Mor, Gaelic for big burn, referring to its water source the Auchinderran burn. Founded in 1897 by Alexander Edward, one of Scotland’s best-known distillers, during the peak of the late – Victorian whisky boom, the current owners are Bacardi who took over in 1998.

The quality and influence of the wine cask is clear to see here - a bright red glow has been imbued along with the subtle tannins and red berry notes we would expect from a Torres red wine, which are all very clear on the nose, with even slight hints of caramel and banoffee Aultmore as a distillery produces a light, grassy style of whisky that allows it to take on the full effect of the casks chosen for its ageing.

Shelf price £82.50

Club price £74.25

Dram 1 - Ardnamurchan 10 Year Old

Ardnamurchan, is a wee distillery tucked away on the most Westerly mainland point of Scotland where people are well outnumbered by Red Deer.

A sustainable distillery that has led the way in changing the front for this in Independant distilleries in Scotland. After their launch in 2013 they have released some fantastic drams and now is the big moment that they last year released their first every 10-Year-Old. Ardnamurchan produces both peated and unpeated spirit, this release is made up from 100% unpeated spirit that has been matured in a combination of ex Bourbon Barrels and Paul Launois Champagne Barriques which gives it a lovely tropical fruit style with a waxy body.

 The nose is ripe mangos, pineapple and bags of honey sugar. The palate is waxy and full of more of that honey coming through. I feel the start you get a slight dunnage warehouse funk, which swiftly moves to tropical fruit sweetness and a tangy oak tannin. The second sip is so much softer. More vanilla, gingerbread and softer oak tannin bringing the balance. The finish brings back the slight oak funk from warehousing which swings in harmony with the pineapple & cedar wood waves. Great depth, and longer than expected.

Shelf price - £72.50

Club price - £65.25

Dram 2 -The Hearach " First Fill Oloroso Cask Matured"

Another west coaster and another first release. This time our pals at the Isle of Harris Distillery with the Hearach Oloroso release. The First release of Hearach was the hottest ticket in whisky in October 2023, thankfully now a little easier to get a hold of and keep on the shelves!

This uses first fill oloroso sherry casks combined with their gloriously peated Hearach spirit to produce a dried fruit, beach bonfire style dram. Using a mix of distillates 40% 70-hour Fermentation and 60% 120-hour fermentation using 100% Concerto & Laureate Scottish barley at a peating of 12-15ppm of peat. This subtle peated spirit married with the elegance of the 500L casks chosen by José Miguel Martìn coopered in Bolludos Par Del Condado, Huelva, Spain.

 The nose has lovely soft aromas of cinnamon and orange with a bit of a herbiness with butter cream/ Cointreau butter. There is an orange peel oiliness that pairs with the sweeter sherry cask notes that help balance the palate. The smoke comes across as a gentle woodsmoke that builds in volume to reach the perfect crescendo of harmonic sweetness and smoke. The finish is lengthy but subtle, the gentle wood smoke wallows away leaving a soft dried fruits & leather finish.

Shelf price £75

Club price £67.50