1995 Blair Athol 24 Year Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single First Fill Sherry Butt Cask Strength Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Pre-Arrival) $119.99 View

This little distillery outside of Pitlochry is one of Scotland’s most picturesque. Few know it well on this side of the pond, but there’s a constant stream of visitors arriving to tour the famous home of Bell’s Blend. This regional blend is very popular in the U.K. and we’ve been lucky to have a steady stream of casks coming from the lovely distillery. Located just a few clicks south of the even tinier Edradour distillery, the beautiful stone buildings were originally constructed in 1798, but closed soon after opening. Now covered in vines, the distillery reopened in 1825 only to be mothballed again a century later in 1932. Finally, in 1949 it was purchased and reopened by Arthur Bell & Sons destined to become the heart malt for their eponymous blend. The distillery features 2 wash and 2 spirits stills and a total capacity of 2.5 million liters per year, although it’s unlikely they get close to that quantity. The spirits character is medium to full bodied with a distinct herbal character that lends itself nicely to maturation in sherry casks. We’ve managed to keep these excellent first fill sherry casks at an altogether reasonable price point despite the increasing age and unbelievable quality. This is one of the more complex and savory sherry butts we’ll see this year with a full body and an unctuous texture. It’s not designed for those expecting sweeter flavors, but also refrains from crossing the savory line toward sulfur. This butt turned out 262 bottles at cask strength.

2007 Daftmill “Winter Batch Release” Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $249.99 View

1995 Aberlour 25 Year Old “Old Particular” K&L Exclusive Single Hogshead Cask Strength Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Pre-Arrival) $299.99 View

The gorgeous little distillery at the entrance of the tiny town of the same name has quietly become one of the Scotch loving world’s darlings. The distillery, owned by blending giant Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard), was built in 1879 and features two 21 thousand-liter wash stills and a pair of each spirits stills, 20 and 15 thousand liters. The distillery’s name means “mouth of the babbling brook,” and indeed a stream meanders next to the distillery, but the distillery’s water comes from Ben Rinnes like many of the other distilleries around the famous mountain. We’ve never been offered a barrel of Aberlour much less one of such astonishing age. While the distillery itself has been focused on NAS bottlings like their popular A’Bunadh series, the older expressions have become extremely rare. This single hogshead was selected not only for the incredible provenance and rarity, but also its extreme deliciousness. Unlike many modern Aberlour’s, which have become synonymous with hardcore sherry, this is a much more nuanced and idiosyncratic. While by no means a value buy, it does represent a malt that is otherwise unobtainable at nearly any price and its inherent quality and unique character easily merit the price of entry. Only 184 bottles came out of this old Hogshead. It was bottled at cask strength without chill-filteration or coloring of any kind.

Ardbeg 19 Year “Traigh Bhan – 2020 Release” Batch #2 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $299.99 View

Named after Islay’s Traigh Bhan beach, known locally as the Singing Sands, this whisky will be available in limited batches produced on an annual basis. The whisky recipe is set to change with each batch, creating subtle differences between future iterations. Each batch of Ardbeg Traigh Bhan will feature a unique code on the carton and bottle, which drinkers can enter into the distillery’s website to find out more about the story of the whisky. Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s director of distilling, whisky creation and whisky stocks, said, “A new, permanent aged Ardbeg is a rare occurrence, and cause for celebration. We hope that, by slightly tweaking the batch recipe year-on-year, Ardbeggians can have some fun exploring the finer details of this ever-changing dram.” Matured in American oak and ex-oloroso Sherry casks before being bottled at 46.2% ABV, this is the second batch of Traigh Bhan (pronounced Try-Van) bottled in 2020. Amazingly the price remains the same despite the incredible success of the first batch.