Worm tub whiskies

Independently bottled by Douglas Laing This one was aged in a refill hogshead for 12 years, from July 2007 to February 2020, and then bottled up for the Provenance range. Just 371 bottles were produced.

Distilled - July 2007

Bottled - February 2020

Refill Hogshead - REF - DL13919

Nose: Opens with chrisp green apple, sweet Speyside barley, new leather and freshly cut wood. 

Palate: Lashings of syrup, full-bodied with gingerbread and more of the toasted barley.

Finish: Citrus sweet, with orange, thick Madagascar Bourbon vanilla and toasted biscuits (CSL).

A fruity, creamy Glen Elgin here from Douglas Laing, distilled in April 2011. Into a single refill hogshead it went, where it stayed for the next eight years. In January 2020, it was bottled for the Provenance series, with a release of just 359 bottles.

Distilled - April 2011

Bottled - January 2020

Refill Hogshead - REF - DL13789

Nose: Grassy & fresh .... green apples, barley sugar and caramelised nuts. 

Palate: An oak warmth initially then comes sherbet, meringue and clotted cream.

Finish: Long with runny honey and toffee balanced nicely by citrus peels (CSL).

Seven years older that Diageo's 2018 Special Releases Talisker, this is a big, sooty, earthy single malt, with lashings of ripe citrus and treacle sponge, and heaps of warming spice. Plenty of heft and darkness to be found here, alongside classic, coastal Talisker character for purists to revel in.

57.3% ABV

Matured in a combination of refill hogsheads and butts for three decades, this Dalwhinnie single malt is an elegant addition to Diageo's 2019 Special Releases. Aromas of raisins, leather, lemon and cinnamon-baked apples mingle with mint, grape jelly, honeysuckle, spring meadows and hay. The palate offers notes of summer flowers, vanilla toffee, delicate oak spice and slices of apple and pear, followed by zesty lemon, candied flowers, Crystalised ginger and buttery shortbread biscuits.

This ultra-rare single vintage Dalwhinnie has an astonishing bright intensity for its age and comes uniquely from refill American oak hogsheads, all of which were casked in 1989. Three decades of maturity have bought a fine elegance to the vibrant distillery character, allowing its moorland aromas to peak. The result is smoothly sweet, yet also surprisingly peppery

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a limited release of 5352 bottles. This is a special release in an unusual way - this is something of a yeast experiment. For this whisky the distillery used both the conventional cerevisiae yeast and the more unusual (in the whisky world) pombe yeast . Pombe is Swahili for beer, and this is a yeast known from East Africa.

The Glen Elgin 18 YO Special Release 2017 is a vatting of two batches. One part made using the pombe yeast and matured in ex-bodega sherry casks. The other part made using standard yeast and matured in refill European oak butts.

Nose: A deep and rich fruitiness is the first that greets my nose. It seems almost Japanese in style. Complex and clean. Apples, green and fresh on one hand and ripe and baked on the other. Freshly baked gourmet bread with a butter and floral honey spread.

Taste: Creamy, rich and most certainly full-bodied. A bit off-kilter but in a charming way. It could very well be the yeast used that has me confused and amused. Still very fruity, but not just apples now, I also get ripe banana and hints of honey melon and bitter oranges. Dry-ish.

Finish: Medium to long finish. Still fruity - which is not surprising. Creamy and rich all the way.

A favourite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, being conveniently situated close by Balmoral Castle. Royal Lochnagar was originally a key ingredient in VAT 69, but most production is now for single malts. Royal Lochnagar is found near the village of Crathie, very close to Balmoral, the Royal family's Scottish country residence.

Aged for 20 years exclusively in sherry casks. Full flavoured and meaty as you'd expect from Mortlach.

Part of the premium Mortlach range, combining bourbon and sherry matured whisky to create a spicy, rich and flavoursome dram that shows off the distillery's excellent spirit.

NOSE
Hazelnuts, spicy cinnamon, raisins, candied orange and floral touches up front. There's quite a lot of sweetness, with some dry, leafy notes balancing barley sugar and vanilla fudge.

PALATE
Thick and oily, with dark chocolate, real maraschino cherries, dark wood, plump raisins, spicy cinnamon, liquorice and biscuits - garibaldi biscuits with cherry jam.

FINISH
Spicy cinnamon hangs around, with raisins, more cherry and toasted nutmeg.

Filled into a single ex Bourbon Hogshead barrel and left to mature for 24 years, Benrinnes always does well with a few decades under its belt. A bit like Mortlach, it's another distillery known for its weighty distillate and 'fat', 'meaty' mouthfeel.

51.9% ABV

This version distilled on 15 August 1997 was first matured in a second-fill bourbon cask until December 2020, before being finished for one month in an Oloroso sherry cask. Its incredibly well-balanced and extremely serene palette of flavours and aromas wavers charismatically between a surprisingly youthful malty and herbaceous freshness and wonderfully mature notes of fruit and honey.

long, serene. At the start of the finish, fresh fruits (pear, white peach) pair perfectly with tertiary (moss, chestnut) and heady (iris, lily) flavours. The very end of the finish reveals vanilla and praline. On the retro-nasal olfaction, malted barley returns to centre-stage, while lime blossom honey, citrus fruit zest (mandarin) and roasted notes (coffee) gradually gain the upper hand

52.8% ABV

An exceptionally rich, fruity expression of the Edradour distillery character ? this long-aged Highlander was initially matured in ex-Bourbon hogsheads then racked into Bordeaux wine casks for a further eight years. It?s a full-bodied dram with intense notes of burnt orange, barley sugars and rosewater. A real treat for any fan of wine cask finished malt.

55.7% ABV

Distilled in 2008 at Glen Elgin distillery, this 10-year-old Speyside single malt was bottled in December 2018 by indie bottler Mossburn, and is the 19th whisky in its Vintage Casks series. Matured in a single cask, it has a sweet and spicy character, with notes of black pepper, caramel and oak spice.

59% ABV

A signature Oban, but with a twist. This Oban 12 Year Old was matured in freshly charred American virgin oak casks. Distilled in Oban in 2008, this dram comes in at a hearty 56.2% abv cask strength. Like all expressions within this Special Releases Collection, it is free from artificial colouration and chill filtration. A skilful weaving between Highland and Island styles of single malt, this is sure to set the tastebuds of any Oban whisky fan alight.

Expect a strong maritime presence on the nose, with notes of seaweed and sea salt combined with sweet chilli sauce. The palate is fruity, smooth, and citrus-sweet, with lingering notes of sea salt salinity. The finish is long, smooth, and pleasantly warm.

56.2% ABV

A 41-year-old single malt from Talisker's Bodega series, this is the oldest whisky ever released from the Isle of Skye.

It has been finished in Manzanilla sherry casks from Delgado Zuleta, creating a rich, fruity character alongside the distillery's signature coastal flavours. Salty, spicy aromas of apple crumble, salted caramel, dried fruits and salty smoke fill the nose. Initially the palate offers notes of pepper, wood smoke, fudge, raisins and smouldering driftwood, before developing chilli, peat smoke and caramel that linger in the finish.

50.7% ABV