Tag Archives: Speyside

2025 Whisky Show – Elixir offerings

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Once upon a time, London’s Whisky Show was synonymous with both The Whisky Exchange and Sukhinder Singh & team. With the mega sale, Sukhinder has shifted focus to his distilleries and Elixir brands, providing several different ranges like The Elixir Trails with cross-country explorations, Elements of Islay, Port Askaig, Macbeth, and more.

We managed to catch up with Sukhinder early Saturday morning and exchanged the usual pleasantries. He shared his tips for the show and then led us to his booth, suggesting a few drams we really must try as “value” expressions from The Single Malts of Scotland range.

Where did he point us to? No surprise, Linkwood led the pack!

Linkwood 11 year (2014/2025) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Juicy and joyful. What a treat for early in the day! Lots of orchard fruits – green apples and pears, lightly floral, warming into caramel with vanilla ice cream
  • Palate – Easy drinking with just enough substance to make it interesting, well-balanced
  • Finish – Lasts

Over the years, I’ve generally found Linkwood to be good value for its quality. Mostly decently priced and fairly consistent in delivering a good dram. Alas, we couldn’t get our preferred pick – the Linkwood – either at the show or even the Whisky Exchange – as it was sold out! Pity.

We moved from Speyside to the Highlands with Blair Athol – known for its bold flavours.

Blair Athol 18 year (2006 / 2025) PX 47.6% (Elixir – The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Delightful sherry yet not heavy-handed, all those sherry dried fruits, nuts, and spice – sweet and sultry
  • Palate – Coffee spice and everything nice, lovely fruits, and again exceedingly well-balanced
  • Finish – Cosy up by a warm fire, closing with more mocha, dark fruits, and spice

Sukhinder shared how this expression was an absolute hit at Paris Whisky Live 2025. With our little sniff and swish, we could see why! Like the Linkwood, it seems to be sold out, and was last seen retailing for approx Eur 135.

In a bit of a departure so early in the day, we shifted into peat. I’ve often admitted to a certain skepticism about Bunnahabhain – I’ve had a few clunkers over the years, yet equally a few gems too! So, we were curious to see how this young 6 year stacked up!

Bunnahabhain 6 year (2009 / 2018) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Warm with that elusive bacon maple sweep aromas, some salt joining the sticky smoked sweetness
  • Palate – Tasty! Cinnamon toast, chai tea, clearly peaty yet was balanced with the sweet
  • Finish – Long and lovely

Bunnahabhain was known as the “ladies” Islay with minimal peat. By contrast, this expression from a refill hoggie was heavily peated. And yet you don’t find that ashy iodine style, instead, it was more of a warm wood smoke.

Unlike the others, depending on where you live, you may be able to track down a bottle – currently retailing for approx GBP 52.

We returned to Speyside with an undisclosed distillery (ahem! Macallan “style”)…

Speyside 15 year (2009) 57.5% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Big sherry, big red fruits, juicy plums, generous smattering of sweet spices
  • Palate – Spice, big, bold, and beautiful, loads of ripe fruits, including juicy blood red oranges, chocolate, bit nutty too
  • Finish – Strong, flavourful finish

There was no mistaking that this is a “BIG” whisky! From start to finish, it delivered. If this is your style, it is a great example. If you prefer something a bit more reserved, this isn’t for you. And yet, even though it was “BIG”, it wasn’t too big! We understand this bottle retails for around GBP 100.

We closed our flight with a lesser-known distillery from Speyside. This particular small batch expression is notable for being matured in two sherry butts, one sherry hogshead, and a heavily charred barrel, making for an interesting result.

Dailuaine 12 year (2011) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Mellow and fruity – veering more towards berries like raspberry or blueberry, biscuits
  • Palate – More of a spicy kick than we anticipated from the aromas, peppery, taking time to settle in the glass before the fruits came to the fore. With a bit of time, the biscuits were back – this time covered in chocolate
  • Finish – There, yet nothing particularly notable

Where the Speyside was bursting with bold red fruits, the Dailuaine was fruity with a subtler hand.

Overall, our “The Single Malts of Scotland” flight delivered the goods and was a terrific exploration early in our 2025 Whisky Show wanderings.

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That Boutique-y Whisky Co – New Core Range

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No Whisky Show is truly complete without the dynamic duo of Dave Worthington & Sam Simmonds. That Boutique-y Whisky Co is just a “must go”! 

At London’s 2023 Whisky Show, you could spend the entire day at their wee stall! This year, they introduced their new core range along with three different features:

  • Land of Oz
  • American
  • Cinema expressions

We somehow managed to stick with just a partial sampling of the Core Range, Oz, and Cinema… however that took rather a large amount of restraint!

Starting with the World Whisky Blend (fabulous and affordable!), the good folks at Atom Brands aka That Boutique-y Whisky Co, decided it was time to have something a bit more regular and dependable for fans. Shifting from 500ml bottles of unique expressions with sometimes only 100+ bottles in existence where you could “blink” and they are gone, their new core range can be found in “industry standard” 700ml bottles, all at a traditional strength of 45.8% in batches of approx 1,000 liters, with the intention of being much more accessible.

Naturally, there had to be something a bit cheeky about the approach with Emily Chappell’s labels! With a nod to traditional scotch whisky which often featured deer… in this case, the age of the deer was linked to the age of the dram… except of course for the Canadian whisky, it simply had to be a moose! Dave also shared the bottle colours are meant to reflect the northern lights too. 

Which was exactly where we began, the good Canuck that I am! 

Canadian Corn 8 year 45.8% (GBP 38)

Big bold and sweet aromas, caramel toffee sweetness, nutty, and more! And on the palate? Even more of that dramatic desert with some cracking ginger spice. Yet even with all the big bold aromas and flavours, it was in harmony and not overwhelming. A fun, fabulous sweet treat with a punch.

What more do we know? It was matured in 100% Oloroso casks. As for official tasting notes?

  • Nose – Fruity muffins, buttery oak, opening up into sherried goodness: raisins, prunes, dates, drizzles of runny toffee and toasted nuts.
  • Taste – Big, bold, and fruity! Toffee ripple ice cream, wafer, and popcorn join toasted almonds and cooked peach, white cracks of black pepper nestle in the depths.

Where did we go next? We then shifted to the oldest offering in this new core range – the 30-year-old blended grain!

Blended Grain 30 year 45.8% GBP 75

As bold and youthful as the Canadian corn was, we shifted to a genteel dame with the blended grain. On the nose, it was a friendly ‘breakfast dram’ with delicious buttery pastries, honey, and a hint of marmalade, some cream with vanilla. Then on the palate? Soft, even creamier, and far too easy to drink. This one was dangerous in its deceptively easy style. Yum!

What more do we know? It is a blend of refill casks of ex-Bourbon hogsheads and ex-Sherry octaves. As for tasting notes?

  • Nose – Honeycomb, red grapes, immensely buttery biscuits or shortbread, waxy orange peel, polished oak and a touch of floral spring breeze.
  • Palate –  Thick, textured with rich butterscotch, freshly baked cookies with still-soft chocolate chunks, hints of cedar and white pepper in the finish.

Next up was the Speyside….

Speyside 12 year 45.8% GBP 45

If the Canadian was big and bold, the Grain genteel and intoxicating, the Speyside was a sherry delight with substance!

On the nose, we found crunchy chocolate caramel with roasted nuts, some fruity sweetness too, and a puff of smoke. It had real substance on the palate – this was no lightweight! Warm and full of classic sherry dark fruits combined with a hint of salt. Far too drinkable too!

What more do we know? It is a combination of all-new Oloroso casks.. with the official tasting notes:

  • Nose – Caramelised nuts and chocolate mousse, flamed orange peel, cinnamon, earthy density, punchy cassia, and smoky oak.
  • Taste – Fruity, chewy and spicy. Tangy cranberry, salty jerky, oily walnuts, an absolute belter of a Speyside whisky. Complex and quaffable.

We held off on checking out the Highland 18 year and Islay 8 year. I’m sure they are equally worth checking out. Our overall conclusion for the trio we tried is that each is, in its distinctive way, simply too easy to drink. Which I supposed is exactly what they were aiming for with this more accessible range – bravo!

What next? Well… join me as we dive into a selection from Australia!

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Chieftain’s Choice 22 years (1993/2015) 52.7%

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There are an increasing number of independent bottlers putting out single malts with the distilleries kept deliberately undisclosed. In this case, the bottle was part of Chieftain’s Choice, from Ian Macleod, which tend towards rare whiskies  – be it the distillery such as ones that are now closed, age or something specific that makes it unique.

Chieftain’s Choice 22 years (1993/2015) 1st Fill Sherry Cask No 3612 52.7%, 579 Bottles 

  • Colour – Bright ruby
  • Nose – Pure sherry bomb – in every way. Press hard and the different dimensions of prunes, raisins, bitter, rum soaked tart, stewed brandied fruit, then even sweet almond milk is revealed.
  • Palate – Honey sweet with spice then pure sweet with some tannic woods – again perfect sherry balance
  • Finish – Exceedingly sweet

We pronounced it “Pure desert!” And while it reminded us a bit of a Glendronach, that is pure speculation and we could be off completely.

What do we know for certain beyond it being matured in a 1st fill sherry cask? Only that it is from Speyside… and it is an exceptionally good example of an unadulterated sherry cask.

If ever anyone is able to share more, we would be most curious to know!

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McClelland’s Speyside Single Malt 40%

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During my last trip to Canada, I caught up with one of our Mumbai Whisky Ladies who moved to Canada. Naturally our evening turned to a sip or two. Of late, her preferences have leaned towards lighter Speyside drams.

One was from a familiar distillery – Auchentoshan – though an expression not yet reviewed – American Oak…

The other was new to me – McClelland’s Speyside, started originally as a blender, now part of the Morrison Bowmore distillers.

The thinking behind the McClelland’s range is to explore the ‘character’ of key whisky distilling regions –  launched in 1986 with an Islay, Highland and Lowland expressions  and joined in 1999 by this Speyside expression.

They describe a Speyside whisky character as being:

Speyside malts are sweet and fruity;
sometimes delicate, sometimes rich and robust.
Always complex.

And while I did not take detailed notes, my recollections were of:

  • Nose – Honey, light fruit and florals, fresh, sweet
  • Palate – Light spice, slightly nutty, floral with a oaky slightly bitter quality too
  • Finish – Short

Overall quite pleasant and an easy drinking dram.

Here is what the folks over at McClelland’s have to say:

  • Colour – Honeyed with golden highlights.
  • Body – Light to medium, elegant and balanced.
  • Nose – A fresh invigorating Speyside malt of mint, menthol and freshly cut pine. Traces of fine dark chocolate and a lingering sweet malt aroma.
  • Palate – An initial fibrous sweet nougat essence is complemented by the savoury flavours of brazil and hazelnut. A subtle floral freshness adds a faint perfumed bouquet to the palate.
  • Finish – Short, yet powerful, complex unforgettable.

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Speyside 12 year 40%

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Knowing we were in for a sherry trio with the Edradour and GlenDronach, we deliberately decided to start with a light ‘appetizer’ mini from Speyside.

And the whisky?

speyside-12-year

Speyside 12 year 40%

Here is what we found…

  • Nose – Phospherous like we just lit a match, sharp alcohol, then prunes, slightly musty, light herbs of perhaps basil, rosemary, juniper and a hint of pine, was there an elusive whiff of apple? olives? Or just a sliver of toffee caramel before sliding into turpentine then back to a generic sweet…
  • Palate – Thin and watery… 40% just doesn’t give it enough ‘oomph’. Very dry and a bit bitter. One likened it to the dryness the way your tongue feels after chomping down on a mouthful of dry crackers.
  • Finish – Was there one? Perhaps the lightest dash of cinnamon before disappearing?

Overall it was completely nondescript. Like a generic Speyside without anything that distinguished it remarkably and a few elements that were not entirely appealing. We really had to push ourselves to find much.

I felt exactly the same when I went to research to find out more about this particular bottle.

We know it is a single malt, from Scotland, specifically Speyside, matured for a minimum of 12 years and bottled at 40%.

The bottle also shares:

The cool, clean waters of the River Spey, beloved by generations of fly fisherman, are at the heart of Scotland’s whisky-making tradition.

But beyond that?

Erhm… nothing except you can buy a 700ml bottle for $40 at Marks and Spencer in the UK.

  • You can taste the history in each distinctively creamy sip, redolent with notes of mature vanilla and warm, spicy cinnamon. 
  • About this bottle: This smooth Speyside classic is made using time honoured, traditional methods that haven’t changed for over 130 years. In the heart of north-eastern Scotland runs the fast- flowing waters of the River Spey. On whose banks, it’s cool clean waters are at the heart of the country’s treasured and esteemed whisky making tradition.
  • Allergens: Sulphites

I’m not kidding…

After the spectacular surprise from The Whisky Exchange with their Edition No 1 Speyside 10 year, this was a complete let down.

What more should we know about this whisky?

Other miniatures sampled:

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More Miniatures – Speyside, Edradour, Glendronach 18 + 21

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My fellow Mumbai whisky aficionado and I kept up our dedication to explore the world of whiskies through miniatures…

So enthusiastically did we embrace our task that we even invited another friend to join the sipping sampling fun!

And what did we explore this time?

speyside-edradour-12-glendronach-18-21

Our session featured a Speyside appetizer and a revisit of three familiar Highland sherry friends:

Tasting notes will be coming soon, however if you missed any earlier miniatures explorations, check out our experiences here:

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On a lighter note… Tyrconnell, Clynelish, Speyburn

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Most whisky aficionados have a ‘preferred’ profile. It could be bold peaty or sweet sherry or a craving for complexity where nothing else will do!

One of our original malt group members is partial to lighter more delicate whiskies. He seeks a little nuance and elegance in his dram.

So when it came time to host our 1st tasting session for 2016, he selected whiskies that he hoped would achieve such an approach.

2016-01-27 Oak League

Our evening had a decidedly light sprightly feel with:

However don’t be fooled! Just when pegged into a particular ‘type’, purely for contrast, our host shared that when he’s had a hard day at work, only something a bit rougher, tougher and robust will do.

That’s when a Wasmund’s 12 month 48% was pulled out! Because we all need a little ‘bad boy’ to spice things up once and a awhile.

Me? I’m terribly mood dependant. Some could say I can’t make up my mind, but it is simply that I enjoy the range of profiles.

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BenRiach 16 year 40%

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In recent years, BenRiach has been playing around with peated expressions, however to get a real sense of the distillery, nothing beats sampling one of their classic Speyside drams.

BenRiach 16 year (Whisky Lady)

BenRiach 16 year (Whisky Lady)

I sampled this 16 year in March 2015 after our Paul John Indian whisky evening. It was just a quick sip or two but as I was in the ‘note taking’ mode, jotted down a few impressions…

BenRiach 16 year 40%

  • Nose – Honey, vanilla, floral sweet, all those lovely Speyside fruity floral fun
  • Taste – Cream, buttery toffee, apples, hint of something more… is that a whisp of smoke? Followed by a hint of herbs
  • Finish – Light and enjoyable with a dash of caramel

Here’s what the folks over at BenRiach have to say:

This smooth single malt has an elegant full taste and aroma that captures fruity floral notes, with fascinating overtones of honey, vanilla, spices, toffee and apples.

  • Nose – Honey, vanilla, floral, fruity with well balanced wood overtones.
  • Taste – Rounded medium to full bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of cream, spices, toffee and apples.

What others say:

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Aultmore ‘Foggie Moss’ 18 year 46%

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Once upon a time you hardly heard of Aultmore… Capitalising on this, the folks over at Bacardi aka John Dewar & Sons created a marketing campaign positioning Aultmore as one of the “Last great malts of Scotland“ known as a “secret dram of locals and Buckie fishermen.”

Late 2014 they began to release three different expressions:

Aultmore is a rare Speyside malt known locally as “a nip of the Buckie Road.” The distillery’s water filters down through the misty, mysterious area called the Foggie Moss. Aultmore is rated top-class and is a dram sought after for its gentle grassy notes. Aultmore will be available from November with a 12- year-old, a 21-year-old in Travel Retail, and a 25-year-old in limited quantities.

By July 2015, this was joined by the 18 year which I picked up for another member at the “World of Whiskies” shop at Heathrow Airport after sampling a nip of the 12 and 21 year… At that time our tasting group had never tried anything from Aultmore so thought – why not?

20151119_Aultmore 18
Here is what we found… naturally tasted blind!
Aultmore ‘Foggie Moss’ 18 year 46%
  • Colour – Straw
  • Nose – Blue cheese, very fruity – particularly sweet lemon, seems quite effervescent, “Very nice!” Some jasmine flowers, a little licorice, herbs, mellows into a clean, light, crisp note
  • Palate – “Nice taste!” Considered more in the laal mirch (red pepper) kind of spice rather than the prick of black peppercorns, a burst of lemon, a bit chewy, a little leather, subtle but very much there…
  • Finish –  A little haldi (turmeric), more of the faint leather… the finish is light but stays, understated but impressive
  • Water – Much better without water
  • Speculation – Distinct, didn’t feel like we’ve had it before
  • Comments – “A bit difficult to grasp initially, yet once you’ve cracked it, beautiful to be with!”

The unveiling – surprise! We actually HAD tried an Aultmore just the previous month – the Aultmore 2000 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail to be precise.

Once we knew the age, we started to speculate that perhaps they use 2nd fill bourbon casks given the light colour. Overall, we were pleasantly pleased and while ‘nice’ may seem a bit tame as a description, it really was quite… well… ‘nice’ in an enjoyable way!

The other whiskies sampled in our November session included:

Whisky Ladies Conquer a Cask Strength Diwali!!

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We are no shy retiring missish lasses… no siree! Mumbai’s Whisky Ladies aren’t afraid to take on a trio of cask strength malts against the backdrop of India’s Festival of Lights – Diwali! After all, if firecrackers are bursting around us, why not have a few sherry bombs and whisky booms delighting our senses?

Last night we explored:

20151112_105,Chichibu2009,A'bunadh

And here is what we found…

Glenfarclas 105 NAS 60%

  • Colour – Burnished copper
  • Nose – Smells like Christmas! Very sherry-y, caramel, then vanilla notes as it opens up
  • Taste – Sweet, dark and smokey, honeyed prunes, raisins, nutty and chocolatey
  • Finish – Smooth yet also quite dry – especially with a few drops of pani (water)
  • Pairing – We just happened to have a few truffles on hand… so naturally started testing out pairings and pronounced it successful though “The kick comes back after a hit of chocolate truffles!”

Comments…

  • “It’s just like bad life choices… with caramel”
  • “Like cafe patron!”
  • “No sweet tooth here, just alcohol tooth!”
  • “Now it is simply a sherry wine bomb!”

This Speyside dram got things off to a rollicking start! Some missed the step of… “Perhaps you may wish to spit your 1st sip“ as going from 0% to 60% in the first swig can be a bit jarring. However our ladies were undaunted and found it became increasingly dangerous as this dram does go down rather well, easy to just keep sipping and sipping and sipping…

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu 2009 French White Oak Cask #2357 63.1%

  • Colour – Golden straw
  • Nose – A little spicy, very sweet, light floral notes and yet can pack a punch or hit you between the eyes too!
  • Taste – Cayenne pepper, very summer-y and light, flirty, smooth yet confusing, bright and bubbly
  • Finish – Deceptive… there but much more subtle than the aroma and palate would indicate
  • Water – A couple drops of water rounds it out
  • Pairing – For some, the Chichibu and strawberries was a killer combination – who needs champagne if you have an effervescent whisky? For others, it was the brie cheese that did it. And the balance? Well… let’s just say there are a few of the opinion that chocolate goes with practically everything, doesn’t it?

Comments…

  • “From the wrong angle, just a sniff will get you!”
  • “While light and flirty, if you look at it the wrong way, it will kick you in the ass!”

This young Japanese single cask has many unique qualities and distinctly different from the straightforward Glenfarclas. It has a bright light element that completely belies its strength. Again – a dangerous combination!

Abelour A’bunadh Batch No 35 60.3%

  • Colour – A deep dark burgundy with ruby highlights
  • Nose – Cinnamon and cloves, gingerbread, honey, pronounced prunes, black cherries, Christmas cake, classic sherry-bomb
  • Taste – Apple cider, caramel, warm and smooth, very ‘Christmassy’, rum-soaked raisins, robust and bursting with character
  • Finish – Think curling up by a cosy warm fireplace…
  • Water – This one works straight yet also does a happy dance with drops or a dollop!
  • Pairing – Best with a sharp old cheddar, needs something that can hold its own with such brilliant flavours.

Comments…

  • “Beautiful things are happening in my nose! And its not what you are thinking!”
  • “This is one you notice every sip… and yes! It is probably getting you drunk…”

When the A’bunadh came out, there was literally a squeal of delight from one lady – as she would be re-uniting her taste buds with an old favourite. Talk turned to the slight shifts in flavour profiles between batches, fruitless efforts to track down certain batches from the 20s! Disbelief they are now into the 50s and a recommendation to simply ‘grab it’ if you see it!

What makes this Speyside stand out is its unabashed sherry quality. Rather than simply acquiring a sherry ‘finish,’ A’bunadh matures exclusively in Spanish Oloroso sherry butts, gaining a rich, robust and surprisingly well rounded profile.

Even better was the realisation that the price point for both Speysides remains reasonable (i.e. below $70) though the Japanese is near impossible to find at any price!

Our whisky ladies relished this cask strength trio – without a doubt a Diwali night to remember!

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