Spring is here. It’s a time of renewal and change – a time for new whiskies (and new labels)!

It’s the same old knackered Captain at the helm of the HMS Chorlton Whisky though, which is why these are appearing a bit later in the year than planned. Sorry about that. Things are moving along nicely now though, and there’s some genuinely exciting stuff lined up for 2026.

On y va!

I’ve occasionally been asked what my dream Chorlton bottling would be, and – aside from fantasies about stumbling across a mislabelled Brora or what-not – I’ve often replied “a decently-aged Bowmore at a sensible price”. It’s a fantastic distillate, and almost always poorly-served by official releases. Perfect indie bottling fodder, and – most importantly – the sort of thing I want to drink.

So, here’s to dreams coming true with this Bowmore 20-year-old, straight from a bourbon barrel and with a quality/price ratio up the wazoo.

On the nose – it’s delicate and very Bowmore, with the light, fragrant smoke and old oil paints that I always associate with the distillery. It’s also pretty fruity, with pink grapefruits in syrup, guava, and floral notes of primrose and gorse. In the background we’re in firm Islay territory, with creosote, dressed crab and lime.

The palate is bigger than you’d expect from the nose – fat, oily, tarry and citrussy. A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Mango and passionfruit pop out, along with olive oil, brine, eucalyptus and smoked oysters. The finish is a combo of dry, fragrant smoke, salt and bright fruitiness that’s kind of hard to beat.

With a drop of water – luminous citrus, hazelnuts, beech smoke, peaches. Endlessly quaffable.

This bourbon barrel produced 231 bottles at 52.6%, and they are available for £150 each. Maximum one per person please!

Next up we have a 23-year-old Glendullan, a joint bottling with the excellent The Rare Malt in Hong Kong. I don’t think many people’s dream whisky is a Glendullan, but – boy – this one surprised the heck out of us!

The nose is exuberant and appropriately spring-like, with blossom, warm oranges, honey, pineapple upside-down cake, cream and almond butter. I also get little touches of banana, hoppy ale, thyme oil and more and more excellent citrus as it breathes.

On the palate – sweet fruit syrups, honey, drops of Chartreuse, digestive biscuits, and zingy citrus cutting through it all. The texture is particularly lovely, with almost the feel of melted ice-cream, before a long-ish finish with honey, nougat and orange.

With water – super-easy, sweet and citrussy, with touches of chocolate wafer.

This is top-notch Speyside single malt of proper quality. It drinks beautifully, and – because no-one talks much about Glendullan – this is available at a cracking price.

This refill hogshead produced 226 bottles at 58.6%, and they are available for £120 each.

Lastly we have a 14-year-old Ruadh Maor. My first one since 2018, and sadly now an endangered species as production ceased in 2025. In this case the typical wildness of the distillate has been accentuated by maturation in a strangely misshapen old marsala barrique.

So, on the nose – cigars, peat-smoked chocolate raisins (someone please make these, I will buy them all), coal bunkers, grilled pears, BBQ meat with burnt lemon and herbs, green walnuts and a pinch of garam masala. It’s a bit mad, but also quite warm and inviting, like being welcomed into the parlour of a kindly eccentric.

On the palate – fantastic sweet, chunky and herbal smoke, with coal tar, the blackest of black liquorice, black cardomoms, sticky hoisin sauce, oranges and coriander seeds. The body is huge, developing on smoky caramel, BBQ sauces, and salt & pepper ribs. The finish is long, salty, savoury and ashy.

Bursting with character, this, but with a nice background sweetness from the marsala that keeps everything fun and easy-going. There’s no other whisky quite like Ruadh Maor and we should enjoy it while we can!

This refill marsala barrique produced 304 bottles at 57.3%, and they are available for £72.50 each.

And…

…that’s it for now. There won’t be quite such a long wait for the next outturn, I promise, and in the meantime I’m always available via the usual channels if I can be of assistance.

Cheers!

David