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Toast the Bard with this multi-award-winning Scotch for under £40 – Scotch Whisky News

Toast the Bard with this multi-award-winning Scotch for under £40

As the world prepares to celebrate the life and work of Scottish poet, Robert Burns, on Saturday 25 January, Tomatin Distillery has recommended its Legacy single malt as the ideal dram to toast Scotland’s national bard this Burns Night.

Priced at only £36.50, it’s the perfect way to enjoy a drop of Scotland for less.

One of Scotland’s most recognisable historical figures, Burns’ legacy and influence can still be felt more than 200 years later. Holding a similar legacy in Scotch production, Tomatin Distillery has a proud heritage dating back to the 15th century. It has been a home for the whisky-making team’s dedicated craftsmen and their families since the current distillery was established in 1897.

Raise a glass of Tomatin Legacy this Burns Night – an exceptional single malt with history and heritage at its core. 

Tomatin Legacy single malt whisky (70cl, 43% ABV, £36.50)

An exceptional single malt Scotch whisky which celebrates the legacy of Tomatin Distillery and the enduring spirit of its people.

Once established in 1897 in the heart of the idyllic yet isolated village of Tomatin, the distillery needed a workforce to manage production; the local inhabitants were scattered shepherds and cattle drovers. The company began a construction project to accommodate its workforce and since then, the distillery has been at the heart of the community. Today, Tomatin is one of the few remaining distilleries which provides homes on site for the dedicated craftspeople who distil its single malt whisky. Legacy is a nod to this story.

This unpeated single malt boasts aromas of vanilla bean, white chocolate and cinnamon. Time spent in bourbon barrels and virgin oak casks brings a light sweetness to Tomatin Legacy, with a palate of gentle waves of fresh fruit peppered with ginger leading into a light, clean finish. 

Tomatin Legacy Tasting Notes

  • Nose – Opens with a burst of bourbon barrel sweetness – aromas of custard cream biscuits, white chocolate, vanilla bean, white sugar and golden syrup, before hints of sandalwood, desiccated coconut and cinnamon give a nod to the use of virgin American oak.
  • Palate – Waves of sweet vanilla and fresh fruit with a gentle touch of white pepper and ginger. The quality of the Tomatin spirit is on full display here, with Pink Lady apples, rhubarb, and candied orange peel.
  • Finish – Fruit and oak combine to create a clean yet intriguing finish.

Available at https://tomatin.com/shop and specialist whisky retailers.

Notes 

Tomatin is located in the Scottish Highlands, 16 miles south of Inverness, and is famous for its portfolio of refined and elegant whiskies.  The distillery has a proud heritage stretching back to the 15th century when illicit production was likely to be taking place, but it wasn’t until 1897 that the first formal distillery was established by John MacDougall as the Tomatin Spey Distillery Company.

In 2022, Tomatin was awarded ‘Scotch Whisky Producer of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Spirits Producer of the Year’ at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). Later that year, it was recognised as ‘Sustainable Distillery of the Year’ at Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky 2023, in recognition of its continued contribution to sustainably at the distillery.

In 2023, Tomatin’s success continued when the distillery’s ‘Legacy’ was awarded Gold at IWSC. That same year, Tomatin also took home seven awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while Cù Bòcan, took home three. Tomatin’s 36 Year Old was crowned the ultimate winner at SFWSC for malts, being named ‘Best in Show’, officially making it one of the best whiskies in the world.

Building upon this triumph, 2024 saw Tomatin’s 18 Year Old secured Double Gold for the third consecutive year at the SFWSC, elevating it to Platinum status. Meanwhile, both Tomatin’s 45 Year Old and 12 Year Old, alongside Cù Bòcan’s 15 Year Old took home Double Gold Awards, and Cù Bòcan’s 12 Year Old also secured a prestigious Gold Award.

‘To What Matters’ is the latest chapter in the brand’s evolution; it is a positive call to arms that represents the spiritual DNA of Tomatin – a belief in savouring what is truly important in life and time spent together.

Tomatin is owned by the Japanese company Takara Shuzo International: www.takara-intl.co.jp/en/

Compass Box “5th & Harrison II” and “Culver & Sepulveda” K&L Exclusive Dual Label Limited Edition Scotch Malt Whisky

Compass Box “5th & Harrison II” K&L Exclusive Dual Label Limited Edition Scotch Malt Whisky (700ml) (Pre-Arrival) $179.99 View

Compass Box “Culver & Sepulveda” K&L Exclusive Dual Label Limited Edition Scotch Malt Whisky (700ml) (Pre-Arrival) $179.99 View

David Othenin-Girard | K&L Buyer  | Review Date: 01/2025

The privilege of selecting a custom batch of Compass Box cannot be understated. Only a handful of venues have ever been invited to participate in a collaboration with the great modern bespoke whisky maker. The blending and bottling of a K&L Exclusive Compass Box led by the illustrious John Glaser is one of our crowning achievements in terms of sheer quality. It took us almost 5 years from the moment we first approached the brand before they agreed to it.

That whisky, 5th & Harrison, was a blend of old Caol Ila and sherried Glen Ord, a coupling for the ages. With killer price and a mysterious label -that were definitely NOT a drawing of any former K&L Spirits buyer- it sold out in just days for $180. Now the few bottles that remain fetch over $1000 at auction. Since then, so much has changed. John Glaser has handed the reigns over to a new generation of whisky maker and a new era of collaboration has blossomed. K&L has a new location in Southern California and so much more. Nearly 10 years to the day that we began the process of creating 5th & Harrison, we’re ready to release a second custom batch bottled exclusively for K&L Wine Merchants by Compass Box.

The act of blending whisky is one of the most gratifying and complex tasks I’ve had the incredible luck to perform. Blending whisky is not a materialistic endeavor that might be solved by wit and measure. The simple truth of blending is that 1+2≠3 and creating a whisky of great distinction and character is not as simple as just smashing three really good malts together. So, guided as it were, by the deft hand of Whisky Making Director and all-around splendid chap James Saxon, I embarked upon a supreme journey. We loved the original 5th & Harrison style and wanted to stay within that realm. James had an incredible array of wonderful old sherried and peated whiskies to choose from, but it was quickly narrowed down to a few lots.

They had old Ardbeg, Highland Park, Caol Ila, Bowmore and sherried Glendullan or Tormore. I wasn’t simply looking to recreate the prowess of the original in of flavor terms. Instead, I felt we needed to focus on creating the same experience of unbridled value for your dollar. That immediately cut the potential of working with Ardbeg out of the question – despite the quality of the distillate, it’s not only difficult to integrate, but VERY expensive after 20 years of age. I’d assumed the same fate would hold true for the other Islay options, but after running the numbers, we found that we’d be able to use significant portions of Bowmore aged for almost 23 years in ex-bourbon. That product on its own would fetch many hundreds of dollars in today’s market. With it we married a gorgeous first fill sherry butt of Glendullan of at least 21 years of age. This little-known distillery can offer some serious character and complexity if aged in quality casks. So little of it see high value sherry it’s hard to generalize about the character, but this barrel was absolutely first rate. It brought out the deep tropical fruit and wild exotic side of the Bowmore.

This original blend was supple and delicious -a 5th & Harrison redux if you will, but it didn’t really show the maturity of these two wonderful old spirits. In fact, the whiskies seemed to bring out the hidden youthfulness in each other, a noble trait, though now somehow masking some deeper complexities that the two exhibited apart. At James’ suggestion we began to explore the potential of encouraging a small amount of old rugged Caol Ila into the blend. This I also assumed would be cost prohibitive, but we forged ahead anyway. After nearly two and half decades in refill American oak, the wild jagged spirit has smoldered into a dense singularity of salty ocean flavors. The feeling of boarding a weathered schooner, salt and tar covered, the captain’s pipe wafting as he steadies the wooden tiller. Whiffs of salted fish, sea spray and diesel smoke complete the harbor scene. Ultimately, this final note brought the new batch together perfectly by retaining the wild freshness but pinpointing both a base and top note that draws the deeper elements of the first two malts forward.

The resulting blend is easily one of my favorite modern bottlings of Scotch in at least a decade. It exemplifies everything we are at K&L, providing a superior experience for an incredible price. I’ll attempt to do it justice here.

The color is stunning hue of chestnut (1.2). The nose offers an incredible sense of the finest and oldest things -old teak, cordovan, salt encrusted rope, mango syrup, balsam, seaweed, bonfire, première eau and marmalade.

On the palate the Bowmore shines at first offering salted tropical fruit, fried plantains in honey, grilled lemons. Then our Glendullan adds wild nutty oxidized rancio, dense spices and freshly chopped dark chocolate.

The finish brings a heavy dose of lemon oil, old wood, baked orchard fruit, apricot jam, salted almonds, camphor and smoldering tobacco. It doesn’t need a drop of water and certainly not more than that if you must.

Bottled at extremely near cask strength 0.1-.2% to round out the labels and with no chillfiltration, coloring or other additives whatsoever.

Today, to commemorate the expansion of K&L into new waters, we launch both 5th & Harrison II & Culver & Sepulveda. These two sister bottlings include the exact same juice, but each label celebrates these two wonderful cities that we call home. IN some comedic twist of fate, we’re able to offer these wonders – an old blended malt scotch whisky at the exact same price as the previous K&L/Compass Box collaboration from over a decade ago, a true triumph.

Compass Box & K&L have always had a special relationship. Since the inception of this special brand 25 years ago, we’ve seen eye to eye on every aspect of this business. It wasn’t until 2011 that we were able to connect with legendary whisky maker John Glasser about the potential to do an exclusive for K&L. We had access to anything back then, but one trophy alluded K&L and exclusive Compass Box. That was until 2015 when John Glaser invited our spirits buying team to select an exclusive blend from their stocks, a now legendary blend of old peated malt and a sherry aged malt – 5th and Harrison was born. Now 10 years later, we were honored and surprised when James Saxon, Compass Box Master Blender, agreed to build a special batch just for us once again. We had a recipe that we loved, old peat and heavy sherry, but could they pull it off? Of course they did! The whisky is one of the most complex, old school and delicious malts K&L has ever sold and the price is out of this world. A blend of 24 year old Caol Ila, 23 year old Bowmore and 21 year old Glendullan in fresh sherry! Incredibly, we’re able to offer it at the same exact price we did a decade ago. It’s unbeliveable but true. This time, we’re offering two concurrent labels – one celebrating the “5th & Harrison” store, our SF homebase and the other designed to commorate the opening of our second SoCal location at the corner of Culver & Sepulveda. The labels connect and all collectors must have them both or many of each.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Ben Nevis 28 Year Old 1996 Thompson Bros – Milroy’s of Soho Scotch Whisky News

Ben Nevis 28 Year Old 1996 Thompson Bros

£291.67

Thompson Bros

47.8% abv

70cl

One of our favourite Scotch whisky distilleries here – a Ben Nevis release from renowned independent bottlers, Thompson Bros. Distilled in 1996 and aged for 28 years in a refill sherry butt, it’s a vibrant, rich expression offering an array of pineapple, mango and citrus fruit notes. The cask yielded just 594 bottles. An essential dram for fellow Ben Nevis fans!

Port Dundas (silent) Signatory – Cask Strength Single Grain Whisky 28 Year Old – Hard To Find Whisky News

Port Dundas (silent) Signatory – Cask Strength Single Grain Whisky 28 Year Old 

1995 Vintage 70cl · 59.7% ABV

£129.95

A single cask single grain release from the closed Port Dundas distillery, bottled by Signatory in their Cask Strength Collection range. Distilled on 26 June 1995, matured for 28 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead and bottled in December 2023. Only 215 bottles were produced, each individually numbered.

 

K&L California ‘Welcome to 2025’ – Whisky News


Old Pulteney “Huddart” Ex-Peated AnCnoc Cask Finished Single Malt Whisky (750ml) (Previously $60) $19.99 View

2008 Port Dundas 15 Year Old “Signatory” K&L Exclusive Refill Oloroso Sherry Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky (700ml) $54.99 View

Sutherland Bottled By Thompson Bros. 5 Year Old Limited 2024 Release Blended Highland Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $99.99 View

2007 Glengoyne 16 Year Old “Old Malt Cask” K&L Exclusive Single Refill Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky (700ml) $109.99 View

Scapa 21 year old Orkney Single Malt Whisky (700ml) $159.99 View

2005 Secret Orkney (Highland Park) 19 Year Old “Signatory” K&L Exclusive #DRU 17/A63 #28 First Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Orkney Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $179.99 View

Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $199.99 View

Kanosuke “Ex-Bourbon Barrel Finished” K&L Exclusive Cask Strength Single Barrel #18120 Japanese Single Malt Whiskey (700ml) $209.99 View

Little Book “Edition I: The Infinite” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $219.99 View

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

North British Murray McDavid – Ex-Islay Cask Whisky 35 Year Old · 1988 Vintage – Hard To Find Whisky News

North British Murray McDavid – Ex-Islay Cask Whisky 35 Year Old

 1988 Vintage 70cl · 52.1% ABV

This exceptional grain spirit from the North British Distillery has been matured for a colossal 34 years in ex-bourbon hogsheads. During its final year, it was finished in ex-Islay peated casks to impart a lingering light smoke that compliments salted butter and creamy vanilla notes.

£164.95

Nose: Salted butter, creamy vanilla, mellow char.

Palate: Candied pineapple, sea spray, gentle peat.

Finish: Oily, citrus peel, lingering light smoke.

 

Bladnoch 19 Year Old at The Loch Fyne – Lowland Scotch Whisky News

Bladnoch 19 Year Old

Discover the exceptional Bladnoch 19-Year-Old, a standout single malt whisky crafted with care and aged to perfection in PX Sherry casks. With its natural golden hue, untouched by chill-filtration or artificial colouring, and an ABV of 46.7%, this whisky embodies purity and quality. This 2023 edition is a delight for the senses, offering rich notes of dark liquorice sticks, dried apricots, and a gentle warmth of nutmeg. Recognised for its excellence, it has proudly claimed the World Whiskies Awards Gold Medal (13-20 years, Scotch Lowlands) and the 2022 Category Winner for Single Malt (13-20 years).  Raise a glass to a truly remarkable Lowland whisky.

£189.00

SHOP NOW

Our Hamish has had a sip and jotted down his thoughts.

Nose: Dark liquorice sticks and aged oak with a floral background.

Palate: Liquorice sticks with dried apricots, almonds and nutmeg.

Finish: Long with a dry sweetness.

12 months of unlimited next day delivery & more! Exclusive access to Ballots as you enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year – only £14.99! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs.

Johnnie Walker ‘Celebrate the Year of the Snake’ – The Whisky Exchange News

CELEBRATE THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE

To celebrate the Year of the Snake, renowned visual artist James Jean has designed a limited-edition bottle and gift box for Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The whisky presents aromas of peppercorns, ginger cake, and honey, complemented by notes of citrus, smoked cinnamon bark, and hints of vanilla on the palate.

 SHOP NOW 

OUT NOW: A Must-Watch For Bowmore’s Fans ~ Islay Whisky News

Our New Film Is A Must-Watch For Bowmore’s Fans

The latest documentary from Whisky Magazine, Bowmore: The Making Of A Legend, explores the origins of whisky making on Islay and charts the history of Bowmore Distillery from its earliest beginnings to today.

With interest in Bowmore more intense than ever before, we thought the time was right to sit down with the educators, visionaries, makers, and locals who know the story best to discover how this small Islay distillery became a Scotch whisky icon.

Click the button below to watch the film today. Don’t forget to comment on the video and give it a thumbs up—we’d love to hear your thoughts. Your feedback helps us create content you’ll enjoy.

WATCH NOW

Glen Elgin 12 Years Old Tri Carragh – Aberdeen Whisky Shop News

Glen Elgin 12 Years Old Tri Carragh

This single malt was distilled on July 6, 2011, at the Glen Elgin Distillery in Moray, in the Speyside Region of Scotland. This beautiful single cask offering has been re-racked into 1st fill Tawny Port Cask for the last 15 months of its maturation, imparting rich, sweet notes into the malt. It was bottled without chill-filtration or artificial colouring and at natural cask strength by Stravaig Spirits for their Tri Carragh collection. Only 292 Bottles were produced. £73.00

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