Reviews

The traditional distillery in Dufftown, located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, has always been considered an insider tip among connoisseurs. Its robust, meaty malts often form the backbone of great blends. But when an independent bottler like Gordon & MacPhail patiently waits a quarter of a century for perfection, the result is more than just whisky.

This Speyside distillery, rooted in the heart of Scotland's whisky region since 1821, has never distinguished itself with a loud market presence. Instead, it prefers to leave the talking to independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail, who have understood the craft of giving casks time and space for over a century.

While most Speyside malts exercise elegant restraint in their fruitiness, BenRiach dares to dance with peat smoke. Founded in 1898 and known for its experimental maturation methods, this traditional distillery presents a single malt that, at 46 per cent alcohol by volume, is unfiltered and undiluted, embodying the essence of a quarter of a century of cask maturation.

There are moments in the life of a whisky lover when you stand in front of a glass and know that you will never experience this again. Glenfarclas 21 years is just such a moment - a whisky that is no longer produced and has therefore become a liquid time capsule. Like an old friend that you can only visit in memories.

Following the previously released unpeated and peated Mizunara full maturations, this bottling is the last from a single virgin Mizunara cask for the time being. To be honest, we were sceptical: can a German distillate really harmonise with the legendary Japanese oak?

With 46% ABV, uncoloured and non-chill filtered, this bottling promises honest craftsmanship. But can a NAS whisky, which was first matured in bourbon casks and then finished in Oloroso sherry butts, really convince? Or does the delicate Glencadam spirit disappear under the powerful sherry wave?

What am I, actually? You experience a similar existential crisis with St. Kilian Handfilled 2025 ex Dry Gin Heimat Distillers. This whisky, available exclusively as a hand-filled edition only at the distillery in Rüdenau, is the result of a daring experiment in which a Franconian single malt was matured in a former gin cask from the Swabian Heimat Distillers. What happens when whisky is transferred to a cask that previously contained Mediterranean botanicals, fresh apples and juniper? The answer is a wonderfully confusing identity crisis.

Have you subscribed to the St. Kilian newsletter? Then you can get this for free when you visit the distillery – 0.2 litres to take away. Great offer!

The Deanston Distillery, located on the banks of the River Teith in the southern Highlands, is known for its unfiltered character and use of Scottish spring water. The Cask Hound has selected a special cask from the 2012 vintage and bottled it in 2024 after twelve years of maturation. The promise: pure Highland essence without compromise.

Billy Walker, the master of cask management, has once again demonstrated why his GlenAllachie bottlings are so highly regarded in the industry. With an impressive 57.2 per cent alcohol content and maturation in PX and Oloroso puncheons as well as Rioja and virgin oak casks, this Speysider is ready to show us what a real sherry bomb can be.

The Nikka distillery honours its founder with Taketsuru Pure Malt, a blend of various malt whiskies with no age statement, bottled at 43%.

In the world of whisky, unconventional paths often lead to the most exciting discoveries. For years, the Jameson distillery maintained a pragmatic relationship with the neighbouring Franciscan Wells brewery: the disused whisky casks found a second life there for stout maturation. But at some point, the question arose in Midleton as to whether this cycle could also work the other way round. What happens when whisky is allowed to mature in casks that were previously filled with dark stout?