Balcones Single Malt Whisky Ratafia Champenois Cask T-022

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.

When St. Kilian meets Turkish apricot brandy, you get a special edition that sparks curiosity. This single cask bottling spent four years in a French oak barrique previously used for Turkish apricot brandy – an unusual cask that lends the young single malt a distinctly fruit-forward character.

The Benromach 11 Years (2010/2022) Contrasts Peat Smoke is an experimental single malt from Speyside, in which Benromach audibly turns up the use of peated barley. It was matured exclusively in first-fill bourbon casks; added to that are 57 ppm and a vintage design that refers to the once hand-painted sign above the kiln as well as the distillery's red gates. Sounds like a grand performance, but in the glass it would rather charmingly trip over its own shoelaces.

Benromach is primarily known for reviving a lightly peated Speyside style, but the Contrasts Unpeated deliberately shows the other side of the distillery. This nine-year-old single malt from Bourbon and Sherry casks comes in at 46 % vol. and clearly focuses on an unpeated, approachable aromatic profile.