Scottish Whisky : Scotch

Valkyrie is the first in Highland Park's Viking Legend series in partnership with Danish designer Jim Lyngvild who can trace his lineage back to Viking times. It's made with approximately 50% fully peated stock (Highland Park's peated floor malt is usually mixed with unpeated malt that's bought in at a ratio of 1:4 before mashing), but of course with Highland Park this means Orcadian peat and classic heather smoke notes.

This edition offers a smokier Highland Park experience, but the smoke is still balanced.

Nose: Chocolate and some nutmeg off the bat before the smoke develops, balanced by dried apricot, plum and, increasingly, zesty orange too.

Palate: Plump dried fruits are complimented by vanilla, dried apple and waves of smoke and wood spice.

Finish: Liquorice and more fruit too, plus a return of some chocolatey notes.

A perfect expression of harmony, complexity and refinement, VIKING PRIDE combines honey sweetness with delicious hints of cherries wrapped in chocolate, and subtle top notes of aromatic peat smoke.

Named ?best spirit in the world? in the Spirit Journal, on two separate occasions, the intense balance of the flavours found in VIKING PRIDE owes everything to our five traditional keystones of production, honoured for over 200 years. Slow-burning, aromatic peat from Hobbister Moor; hand turned floor maltings, Sherry seasoned European oak casks, cool maturation in our temperate island climate and a long and unhurried harmonisation process. Like our founder, Magnus Eunson, we share our Viking ancestors? commitment to skilled craftsmanship as well as their proud, independent spirit.

ABV: 43%

Matured predominantly in European and American sherry seasoned oak casks, Highland Park 10 Year Old is a vibrant and smooth single malt, bursting with flavours of crushed citrus fruit and lightly whipped vanilla cream. You?ll detect hints of heather honey in its aromatic peat smoke and just a trace of peppery spice. Delicious with pan-fried scallops wrapped in bacon or with a salted-honey vanilla cream parfait.

Scarabus means ‘rocky place’ in Old Norse, named after a mystical area of Islay.

Scarabus means ?rocky place? in Old Norse, named after a mystical area of Islay.

This bottling is a higher-strength edition of Hunter Laing's Scarabus single malt, which is an Islay single malt from an undisclosed distillery. To make it, casks are specially selected to be bottled at the bumped-up strength. While the standard expression is bottled at 46% ABV, this one weighs in at a burly 57% ABV, which has helped to bolster the robust, smoky notes at its core.

A old age Speysider from Inchgower, independently bottled by Douglas Laing after 25 years  spent in a sherry butt REF - DL14183. An outturn of 242 bottles at 51.5% ABV.

Nose: Sweet and barley-rich initially, then comes tangerines, brown sugar and a damp oak style.

Palate: Lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) running to vanilla essence and stewed fruits.

Finish: Long ? detect golden syrup, a slight floral character, milk chocolate and barley.

Part of the Diageo specials release in 2018 this geriatric whisky was aged in refill American oak hogsheads and bottled at a punchy 55.3% ABV. Inchgower is famous for its spicy newmake with notes of tomato, and this is a real tropical fruit salad complexed further by spice and nuts. Oily on the finish, this is a weighty number which will keep any palate busy.

The latest outturn from Douglas Laing offers one of the oldest Inchgower's we've ever stocked, as well as one of the youngest. At just eight years old, this is proper, pure, young malt whisky. Expect something uncomplicated but very tasty from this East Speyside underdog. 46% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. 420 bottles.

Distilled - May 2011

Bottled - January 2020

Refill Hogshead - REF - DL13791

Nose: Milk chocolate buttons developing nicely to caramel and wood polish. 

Palate: Thick with lots of wonderfully vanilla'd fudge, warm sponge cake and spiced oak.

Finish: Long.... more of that spicy style (cinnamon) coupled with candied apples and barley (CSL).

Loch Lomond Inchmoan 10 Year Old Single Malt scotch whisky has an unconventional peat character with a lot of depth marrying smoke and spiciness. It is matured for 10 years in a mix of recharred American oak and refill bourbon American oak casks giving sweet vanilla background notes that complements the soft peat style of Loch Lomond?s unique still set up.

Loch Lomond Group - Named after an island rich in meadow and woodland, our 18 Year Old has a strong oak character, with hints of summer grass, tropical fruit and zesty citrus notes.  Our Master Cooper back then was Tommy Wallace, who carefully selected the finest casks to mature the liquid in for a minimum of 18 years allowing time and nature to bring out the sweeter character of the wood. 

Inchmurrin 12 Year Old is aged in a mixture of casks, including bourbon, refill and recharred wood. Light, grassy and floral.

Nose: Buttery pastry and spiced apple with mango, pineapple, hazelnuts and white chocolate.
Palate: Sweet cream, sultanas, grapes, apples and pears, unripe mango and dried papaya.
Finish: Waxed fruit, unripe mango and chocolate, fading to a sweet and spicy end.

Inchmurrin?s intensely fruity new make spirit, which evolves into lighter flavours of grass and flowers, is the result of a high cut point from a pot still equipped with rectifying heads at the versatile Loch Lomond distillery in Alexandria.

Many of the beloved characteristics that you encounter with Islay whisky, can also be found in the Select Reserve Islay Gold. This brand's single malt whiskey is also distilled at an Islay distillery, with the exact distillery at which this happened being kept secret.

Warming smoke scents open in the nose and develop into hints of citrus, herbs and various stone fruits. Salty flavors, hints of dark chocolate and syrup are surrounded by notes of smoke and then lead into a long finish in which smoke and burnt orange come together.

40% ABV

The 12 year old expression of Islay led blended whisky, tempering the smokiness of the island malts with whisky from the mainland.

Islay Mist was created on Islay in the 1920s using whisky from the Laphroaig Distillery as well as choice Speyside distilleries. Initially blended for the 21st birthday celebration of the son and heir of the then Lord Margadale, this gold-medal winning whisky still carries the seal of the Lord of the Isles.

This specially selected release marks the first single cask expression from the Isle of Raasay to be made available exclusively for New Zealand. Selected by the team at Raasay from unpeated spirit that matured in a first-fill Chinkapin oak cask (number 19/545). The nose is vibrant and fruity to start, offering cranberry, raisin and prune notes, joining a fragrant gingery, spicy kick from the wood. There is a honeyed character as well, bringing about a flavour of boozy hot toddies at a cracking 61.3% natural strength.

Bottled at a natural strength and colour, non-chill filtered.