Reviews

Glenlivet sells more Single Malt than almost any other distillery in the world – and does so with a house style that focuses on gentle 40% and subtle Speyside fruit. For the Cask Strength Collection, Signatory Vintage selected a single First Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt and bottled roughly the opposite: dark, powerful, 19 years old. And with a note that cannot be found on any Glenlivet label in the world: dark soy sauce. The second joint review by Sascha and Florian.

In New Orleans, the Sazerac is not a cocktail but an institution – and the Sazerac Company, which bears its name, now owns Buffalo Trace. This Rye is its house brand: an original bottling without an age statement, fondly called “Baby Saz” by collectors because the big brother Sazerac 18 from the Antique Collection is practically impossible to get. The question remains, one that arises with every affordable Rye: neat in the glass or rather in the mixing glass? For Sascha and Florian, it is their first joint review.

Ledaig is the smoky twin of the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull – long a hot tip for anyone after peated whisky away from Islay. This release comes from independent bottler James Eadie's "Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland Commemorative" series: distilled in 2020, bottled in October 2025, so just five years young, matured in one refill barrel and two refill hogsheads. Bottled at 52.6 % ABV cask strength and limited to 1,015 bottles. The second review by our tasters Florian and Lucas.

Glenburgie is a true Speyside workhorse: most of its spirit has always disappeared into blends, above all Ballantine's. Official single malts are accordingly rare, which makes independent bottlings like this one all the more interesting. Claxton's drew a single cask for its Exploration Series – distilled in 2015, bottled in 2025, matured for nine years in a fresh Tawny Port barrique (cask EXP1081) at 50 % ABV. It's also a little premiere: the first joint review by our two new tasters, Florian and Lucas.

A bottle from the hall of fame of Scotch whisky: Brora distilled in 1975, bottled in 1995 as part of United Distillers' legendary Rare Malts Selection. 20 years of maturation at a hefty 54.9 % ABV, natural cask strength. Brora went silent in 1983 for four decades – every remaining bottle is a piece of whisky history, priced accordingly.

With its Huntress Series, the sustainable Highland distillery Nc'Nean keeps putting a single building block of its production into the spotlight. For the Malted Teacake it's the yeast – a strain borrowed from brewing Belgian-style malty ales that gives this whisky its buttery, malty signature. Maturation from 2017 to 2022 in STR Red Wine, Bourbon and Oloroso casks, bottled in January 2026 at 48.5 % ABV.

Independent bottler, single cask, bourbon hogshead with a PX sherry finish: a combination that promises everything on paper. The nose delivers on that promise, but on the palate the fruit gets lost somewhere between wood, spice, and bitterness. A Dalmore off the main roster that polarises more than it convinces.

A Littlemill from January 1991, matured for 25 years in cask no. 113 and bottled in June 2016 by Gordon & Company in their Pearls of Scotland range at a robust 52.8%, limited to just 248 bottles. A closed distillery, a single cask, a quarter-century of patience. What lands in the glass is floral Lowland artistry with an herbal soul and more power than you'd ever expect from a Littlemill.

A 26-year-old Springbank from the 1991 vintage, matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead (cask 455) and bottled in 2018 by Berry Bros. & Rudd at natural cask strength of 44.9%. No sherry, no fireworks, just pure distillate character from Campbeltown, mineral, waxy and with a citrus freshness that's almost impudently well-preserved after 26 years in oak.

Raisin D'etre: the name says it all. Thirty-one years in a sherry butt have turned this 1987-vintage Bunnahabhain into a raisin dream, bottled by Wemyss Malts in 2019 in a limited run of 568 bottles. Natural drinking strength of 44.7%, no bitterness, no tannin escapades. Just perfectly balanced maturation where subtractive and additive processes work in harmony.

Distilled in 1953 at the old, coal-fired Talisker distillery – seven years before a devastating fire destroyed it in 1960. Back then, they still used their own floor maltings, which weren't retired until 1972. Gordon & MacPhail bottled this 24-year-old from a sherry cask as part of their Connoisseurs Choice range, and what lands in the glass is more than a whisky. It's a window into a bygone era of Scottish whisky production.

Ten years in a chardonnay cask and exclusively available at the Steinhauser distillery – you know what to expect. Or rather, you don't. This Brigantia Distillery Exclusive pulls no punches with its oak and delivers a single malt that has made dryness and character its guiding principles.