The Single Malts of Scotland

In this bottling of Ardmore, casks have been married together to showcase a nice dustiness, refined sooty ashes, old engine grease and soft menthol. Then mild leathery notes, mossy notes and burning hay. Yellow apples with lemon zest, toasted bread and drops of gentian. Slightly sweet, iodized smoke. Waxy and oily, with more sooty notes, camphor and wood polish. Mid-palate hints of roasted coffee beans appear, followed by firm salted notes, hessian and hints of old herbal liqueurs.

This expression of Ardmore spirit was distilled in 1998 and matured for 25 years in a single Hogshead cask, yielding a mere 171 bottles, making this a very special bottle indeed. On the nose there are aromas of cracked black pepper, green chillies and melted dark chocolate alongside squeezed limes. The palate opens up with notes of millionare's shortbread, alongside raspberry leaf tea and fresh mint, rounded off with a lovely long finish with minerality and herbacuous eucalyptus.

Produced by independent bottlers Elixir Distillers, this series forms part of a mutli-year release inspired by Shakespear's iconic play, Macbeth. Each bottling is named and inspired by one of the iconic characters of the play, and includes a label bearing the work of internationally renowned artist Sir Quentin Blake.

Selected from a small combination of casks from the Benriach distillery in Speyside, this 31 year old the beautiful, fragrant and scented qualities of Benriach. Quintessential in style, offering ripe orchard fruit, buttery apple pie and lashings of heather honey. A tropical note bursts through, with a savoury, earthy character that remains on the palate for a long time.

Filled from a single ex-sherry butt, again showing a relatively mild wood influence, this Bunnahabhain is very typical of its style, waxy, fruity and nutty. With flavours of of roasted nut & fruit mix, there is also the classic note of beeswax and honeycomb coming through. There is a creamyness to the palate, with fruit leather and a drying, salty minerality - a classic unpeated Bunnahabhain from the northern reaches of Islay.

Produced by independent bottlers Elixir Distillers, this series forms part of a mutli-year release inspired by Shakespear's iconic play, Macbeth. Each bottling is named and inspired by one of the iconic characters of the play, and includes a label bearing the work of internationally renowned artist Sir Quentin Blake.

Distilled at the now-defunct Cambus distillery which closed in 1993, this 31 year old is a rare example of this single grain Scotch whisky. Citric and cocnutty to start, there is an abundance of oaky notes here, fresh and lively rather than dry and tannic. Coconut pana cotta comes to mind, with quite a delicate character overall. Beautiful whisky from an appropriately 'ghost' distillery.

This expression is a wonderful, distilate forward example of a single cask Caol Ila. Distilled in 2011, this bottling was then matured for twelve years in a single Butt yielding an out-turn of 600 bottles. The pale amber colour hints again at the distilate forward character of this dram. On the nose there are aromas of dark chocolate and cherries alongside cola bottles and coal smoke, while the palate is dense with notes of burnt toffee, lemon cough sweets and lemons studded with cloves. The peat smoke intergrated beautifully towards the finish, alongside cloves and sweet cinnamon spice.

Created from a batch of just 5 refill ex-sherry butts, this Glen Elgin shows a delicate pear juice and appletiser flavour, with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. Crisp pink lady apples build with a background of milk chocolate, with lashings of pear Eau de Vie drizzled over flaky pastry, and a light lemon-oil citric flavour to finish.

This expression from Linkwood distillery was bottled from two American oak barrels and two hogsheads. Matured for ten years, this bottling showcases Linkwood's elegant character. On the nose there are aromas of rich chocolate and limes, satsumas and kumquats along with wet cut grass. Shredded wheat, warm milk and drizzles of honey coat the palate, along with zesty citrus notes of orange and fleshy lemons and hints of dry spice.

Croftengea is a style of whisky, distlled at Loch Lomond distillery using peated barley and Loch Lomond's Inchmurrin stills, the reduced copper contact results in am earthy smoky spirit with delicate spiced and soft fruity tones. This expression was distilled in 2005 and matured for 18 years in a single Hogshead cask yielding 171 bottles. On the nose there are notes of ginger, milk chocolate, smoked butter and charred mackerel skins. BBQ sauce and boiled sweets open up on the palate, with a dense and creamy texture. Flavours of garam masala, tumeric, ground cumin and maple syrup introduce themselves later. The spice dissipates on the finish, while choclate and cream notes linger on.

This expression was distilled at an unknown Lowland distillery in 2007, before being laid down in a small batch of five first fill ex Bourbon barrels. While the distillery is rather secret, the use of wormtubs gives a rather good hint as to the orgins of this spirit. On the nose there are floral aromas of honeysuckle, taragon and rose petal water. Hints of sweet spice and custard creams. The palate is buttery with touches of lemon oil and notes of black pepper on fresh Scottish Strawberries, with an elegant finish of buttermillk and a lick of spice

For the Marriage of Casks series by Single Malts of Scotland, a range comes together here, comprised of single malt Scotch whisky from an undisclosed Speyside distillery that was matured for a huge 31 years and then bottled at 48.3%. There were just 806 bottles of this one released, which boasts notes of orchard fruit, apricot, pineapple, ginger, floral honey, marmalade, and herbs.