House Malt 15 yo 2004/2020 (40%, The Whisky Cellar, refill sherry butt)
I like the idea of having a ‘house malt’, it fits well with this notion of having a ‘statement’ bottling. However, in this day and age, I feel that consistency in such things is pretty impossible. But then, isn’t that what batch numbers are for? I digress. Colour: amber. Nose: caramel, butterscotch, orange oils, marmalade and praline. Also some milk chocolate digestives and traditional leathery and earthy sherry tones. Feels clean and pretty fresh. Mouth: good, clean, nicely drying sherry. Wet leaves, tobacco, bitter shilling beers, tobacco some rancio. All perfectly fine, but you do feel even 43% would have added some extra assertiveness to these flavours. Rather bitter notes of orange peel and hessian coming through after a while, it also starts to feel rather oxidative. Finish: short, more milk chocolate, some darjeeling tea and more wee hessian notes. Comments: I can see why the 40%, it’s very quaffable to the point that you almost wouldn’t notice it - tumbler juice in other words. But in this day and age it’s hard to escape the very obvious limitations of 40% abv.
SGP: 451 - 78 points.

A Fine Christmas Malt 19 yo (44.5%, The Whisky Exchange, blended malt, sherry, 1918 bottles, 2020)
Apparently it’s December already, I couldn’t tell you how that happened… Colour: coppery amber. Nose: lovely, mulchy, leafy, natural and earthy sherry with these wee touches of hummus, bouillon and fir wood. Then damp tobacco in a leather pouch, rosewood and sultanas. It does indeed possess these obligatory ‘Christmas cakey’ vibes. Smells like any number of these mysterious ex-Edrington stocks, and also rather reminiscent of a similar recent bottling by Kate and Mark Watt. Mouth: nutty, chocolatey, caramel - a pocket-softened Snickers bar - with also some tinges of grenadine, mulling spices (cloves etc), candied peel and balsamic. Clean, earthy, nutty and rather old school sherry. Finish: medium but rather robust and back on tobaccos, walnuts, paprika, bitter marmalade and some twinges of Irish coffee. Comments: I wonder, does Sukhinder get dressed up in a Santa suit and hand out presents to all TWE employees as they arrive for work at 6am on Christmas Day? Anyway, a pretty irrefutable and excellent drop which undeniably reeks of Christmas. The ideal tipple for gently melting in front of the TV on Boxing Day I suppose.
SGP: 561 - 87 points.

Burnside 25 yo 1994/2020 Blended Malt (47.6%, Archives ‘The Fishes of Samoa’, cask #7103, sherry butt, 58 bottles)
Only 58 bottles? From a sherry butt? Where is the rest? Paying off the Samoan fishing authorities no doubt! Now, this is Burnside, so we at least know the origins should lie within the William Grant stable of malts. Colour: deep, reddish amber. Nose: oooh, beautiful old school sherry impressions at first. Bags of crushed walnuts, ancient balsamic, raisins, sultanas and figs all stewed in old Cognac and some posh Irish coffee. A harmonious, pure and rather beautiful aroma that really screams old school sherry cask. Mouth: indeed, same feelings as on the nose. Only here there’s more bitter herbs, more wood spices, more earthy notes, verbena, roasted walnuts and green walnut liqueur. Espresso, the best bitter chocolate, salted Dutch liquorice and beautiful, old style rancio, aged pinot noir and soft notes of cough medicines. Perhaps there’s a simplicity to it but it’s direct, pure and vividly enthralling stuff. You could be sipping a 1960s Macallan. Finish: good length, rather leathery, perfectly earthy, bitter notes of herbs, black pepper and game meats, then blood orange marmalade and some ancient Cointreau. Comments: 58 measly bottles? I demand an explanation!
SGP: 562 - 91 points.

The Wine Society Highland Single Malt 30 yo 1989/2019 (46%, The Wine Society, 7 hogsheads and 3 butts, 2064 bottles)
A bottling that emerged somewhat out of the blue from the Wine Society here in the UK. Apparently this was matured in some of the Society’s own sherry casks from which they had originally bottled for their own brand sherries. So, this should theoretically be from ‘proper’ sherry casks… Colour: pale amber. Nose: this is indeed a deep, natural and rather robust sherry profile. Wonderfully leathery, camphory and displaying notes of wet bracken, earthen floored wine cellars, walnut wine, olive oil, cured ham, sheep wool, bacon frazzles (a popular pub snack here in the UK which is superior to most French cuisine) and also subtle notes of dried mint, eucalyptus and various heather beers and old school bitter ales. I really like this nose. Mouth: a little lighter than the nose suggested, more subtle with notes of dried earth, sultana, milk chocolate coated Brazil nuts, trail mix, desiccated coconut, hessian and cranberry gravy. Some gamey and leathery notes along with a slightly salinity from the sherry. Almost embarrassingly quaffable. Finish: good length. Nutty, warmly spicy, delicately drying, lightly salty, gamey and more of this lovely leafiness that takes in earth, tobacco and petrichor. Comments: Extremely impressive and evidently from some proper sherry casks that actually contained quality sherry. Now, as for the distillery, I couldn’t tell you I’m afraid, but there’s a feeling of Glengoyne about it. Although, it’s entirely possible and even probable that I am wrong. Either way, a superb drop!
SGP: 561 - 89 points.