With its distinctive retro bottle shape the newly re-launched Tamdhu Ten Year Old certainly stands out. And the liquid contained within is a lovely drop, in the classic Speyside style.
40% / 70cl, £35, Waitrose and specialist retailers.
Heavy, even oily, and powerfully peated, Lagavulin 16 Year Old is a whisky which attracts devoted followers. The robust palate and long woodsmoke finish makes it a great cold weather dram.
In the past, before single malts became widely popular, Lagavulin was an important part of the White Horse blend, but these days it is prized more for its own unique flavours.
Distillers often invoke the name of Robert Burns. It's hardly surprising. We toast his memory in whisky every January 25th. Burns wrote about whisky, he worked for a time as an excise man, he was fond of a dram. I wonder what he would have made of this one, from the Isle Arran Distillery?
Mellow and gentle, the 'Fiddich 15 could easily persuade you that it's a sofa dram, a whisky for when you want to switch off.
But sit up and take a deeper sniff and the whisky starts to reveal all sorts of sophisticated flavours – this is a complex malt which offers pleasure on several levels.
The first aroma to greet you on opening a bottle of the Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is always sweet green fruit. Pour a dram and let it rest a minute, and then a toffee note comes through, followed by a light woody spice. But add a splash of water – Glenfiddich takes very well to water – and the green pears return in spades.
The 'Fiddich 12 makes a great summer dram, so get some in your hip flask the next time you're out and about.
70cl/40%, available everywhere (it's the world's most popular malt whisky, after all!)
The Glengoyne 17 Year Old doesn't mess about – this is a big sherried whisky, packed with raisin, chocolate, smoky coffee and plenty more.
Of all the Glengoyne whiskies I've tasted, this has the best balance and the most interest. There is great complexity on the nose – it's a true meditiation dram.
Blair Athol Distillery is the home of Bell's blended whisky, a popular brand famous for its long running series of bell shaped commemorative decanters. Nearly all of the whisky made here goes to supply the blend, so tasting the malt is a bit of a rare treat.
Blair Athol 12 Year Old is a good everyday dram. If you like Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old or other robust Highland malts then this is an interesting alternative.
Mellow and gentle, the 'Fiddich 15 could easily persuade you that it's a sofa dram, a whisky for when you want to switch off.
