Looking to treat yourself or someone else to something special this month? Here are the ten whiskies we’re loving right now, specially selected by our co-founder Sukhinder Singh and buying director Dawn Davies MW.

This month’s favourites showcase several award-winning single malts from classic distilleries, plus a small-batch bourbon we’re crazy about. Take your pick from a rich and fruity 18-year-old Talisker, a traditional Campbelltown gem from Glen Scotia, a long-aged sherried Speyside from Glenfarclas, a Dalmore Port Wood gift set with two tumblers – and more.

EXPLORE TOP 10 WHISKIES

BRUICHLADDICH UNVEILS SCOTLAND’S FIRST BIODYNAMIC WHISKY

Distilled in 2011 and matured for 10 years in first fill ex-bourbon cask, this pioneering spirit is the latest expression to push the boundaries of sustainable whisky

November 16, 2021 –The team at Bruichladdich Distillery pride themselves on their barley obsession and have done so since the distillery doors reopened in 2001. Inspired by the world of wine and the belief that terroir can exist in whisky, that obsession has led to the release of some of Scotland’s most innovative malts.

Today, the latest chapter in the Hebridean distillery’s story is released and aptly named The Biodynamic Project. The first-ever biodynamic Scotch whisky to be released, this unpeated spirit was distilled in 2011 from a single farm and matured for a decade on the island of Islay. This expression has been bottled straight from the sample room of head distiller, Adam Hannett, under the Bruichladdich Distillery ‘Projects’ moniker.

This biodynamic barley has been grown outside of Scotland, at Yatesbury House Farm, near Wiltshire in England, which is uniquefor the distillery. All Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore single malts are distilled with 100% Scottish barley, so this biodynamic is the exception to their rule.1

Like organic farming, biodynamic methods don’t use chemical pesticides or chemical fertilisers. The method also enlivens the soil through biodynamic preparations and strengthens plants to guard against disease. Many wine growers in France apply biodynamic principles to nurture the soil in the belief that they improve the quality of the raw ingredient, resulting in a superior flavour.

Not only is this whisky exceptional to drink, a recent carbon audit completed at Yatesbury House Farm by farmer Dr Richard Gantlett found that 10x more carbon was sequestered there than was emitted. Supporting crops from this carbon positive farm is proof that the whisky industry can work directly with growers to put the planet at the heart of making exceptional food and drink. It is a fundamental first step towards supporting more regenerative agricultural systems and playing a part in climate change solutions.

“When we started distilling our Organic, Islay-grown and Bere barley expressions, it was driven by the curiosity to seek new and diverse flavours in Scotch whisky”, explains Bruichladdich’s head distiller Adam Hannett. “We approached Richard and asked him to certify biodynamically with that same flavour mission in mind. Many years on, we are delighted to know the positive impact these grains have on the environment. They have been crucial to us further examining what crops we purchase and how they play a part in supporting regenerative agriculture.”“

The flavour of the biodynamic, from when it was first distilled through to maturation is superb. There is a wonderful elevation of the fruity character of Bruichladdich with the Biodynamic malt. Apple and pear notes on the spirit are intensified and with a little water the floral notes burst through, with lots of lilac, honeysuckle and rose. Texturally there is an extra depth which carries the flavours beautifully.”

Bruichladdich Distillery’s The Biodynamic Project will be available exclusively from www.bruichladdich.com.A total of 5,000 bottles will be released at an RSP of £100 from the 16thNovember 2021. As with all of the distillery’s single malts, it is bottled unchill-filtered and colouring free inside the distillery gates on Islay. For further information or to request samples, please contact Praytell at bruichladdich@praytellagency.com.

Bruichladdich Distillery:

•Bruichladdich Distillery is located on the remote Scottish island of Islay and was built in 1881

•Bruichladdich Distillery crafts four different spirits:

•Bruichladdich, unpeated Islay single malt Scotch whiskyoPort Charlotte, heavily peated Islay single malt Scotch whisky (40PPM)

•Octomore, the world’s most heavily peated Scotch whisky series (80+PPM)

Bruichladdich Distillery matures and bottles all their single malts on the island of Islay. They are due to install on-site maltings in the near future, which will enable them to complete a proportion of their annual production on the island.

Bruichladdich Distillery is the largest private employer on the island of Islay

The Biodynamic Project:

The Biodynamic Project is the world’s first biodynamically grown Scotch whisky to be released

•The liquid profile is as follows:

•Barley Variety: Westminster

•Harvested in 2010 by Richard Gantlett at Yatesbury House Farm, Wiltshire

•Malted: By Bairds in Inversness at 0ppm, it is unpeated

•Distilled: Slowly using the original Victorian machined at Bruichladdich Distillery in 2011

•Matured: In first fill ex-bourbon casks for 10 aged yearsoBottled: On Islay using Islay spring water, it is unchill-filtered, colouring free and 50% abv.

•Bottled under the ‘Projects’moniker, The Biodynamic Project is the second small-batch experiment to be released straight from Adam’s sample room. The first was a recipe combining Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore single malts, named The Ternary Project.

•The Project releases are available via www.bruichladdich.comonly

Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old
Cask Strength 2021 Edition

A cask strength Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old, this is definitely one that will set alight the tastebuds of any Bunna fan! This limited edition dram is inspired by the distillery’s famous Warehouse 9. Master Distiller Brendan McCarron decided to give people the opportunity to experience the 12 Year Old in its most natural form; bottled at 55.1% abv, the core characteristics of Bunnahabhain are beautifully enhanced. Wonderfully sherried, spicy, and unpeated, this is a testament to the distillery’s skilful balancing act in crafting iconic, great-tasting whisky.

£75.00
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Glen Garioch
32 Year Old

Old & Rare Single Cask

Glen Garioch 1988 Single Cask

New 2021 bottling of the Highland distillery from Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare series. Glen Garioch 32 Year Old 1988 vintage Highland single malt Scotch whisky. Single cask refill hogshead bottled February 2021 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare series. 85 bottles. Single cask refill hogshead yielding just 85 bottles. Expect dark fruits, toffee, honey and a satisfying oily finish. This deep amber whisky has a complex and inviting nose of coffee, dark chocolate, tobacco and nutmeg. Dark fruits on the palate, toffee, sweet oak and honey along with a wonderfully satisfying, oily mouthfeel. The finish takes an age to diminish, and leaves a faint and haunting impression of old, earth-floored dunnage warehouses.

Buy – Glen Garioch 32 Years – £349.20 / €344* / $390 / c$490

Various dates are given for the establishment of Glen Garrioch Distillery but it is likely to have been late on in 1785 making it one of the oldest working distilleries in Scotland. This distillery resides in Oldmeldrum in the Highland whisky region and currently operates with two stills. Its traditional floor maltings were in use up until 1993 thus its whisky produced up until that time was slightly smoky. The core distillery range includes the Glen Garioch 12 Year Old with independent bottles offer an interesting selection including Cadenhead’s and the Old Malt Cask.

2014 Bunnahabhain Staoisha Heavily Peated 6 Year Old “Signatory K&L Exclusive” Dechar/Rechar Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $79.99 View

Bunnahabhain sits on the Northern shores of Islay and has made a famously unpeated Islay malt in that remote location since 1881. Beginning in the 1990s Bunna began to experiment with varying levels of peat and has sold peated Scotch under a number of different names since then. In the last 5 years or so we’ve seen several casks on the independent market trading under the Staoisha name for Bunnahabhain’s heavily peated offering. These extraordinary casks taste absolutely fabulous when they are very young and they are just getting better and better with more age. Now 6.5 years of age this cask was distilled on 10/20/2014. Bottled 5/24/2021. Matured in a dechar/rechar hogshead. This unique process involves scraping a cask to expose new oak and then recharring the wood to seal it and caramelize the sugars. They drink a bit like first-fill bourbon casks due to the fresh char, but with the most robust tannins removed from the casks first use. The result is a best of both worlds scenario and it marries with heavy peat just perfectly. Cask No 10568. 59.4% ABV.

2010 Linkwood 11 Year Old “Signatory K&L Exclusive” Charred Wine Hogshead Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $89.99 View

Linkwood has been the blender’s greatest secret for decades. A little bit of Linkwood used correctly takes a fine blended Scotch and amps it up to a very good or great blended Scotch. It’s like salt to a chef for the whisky blender and it’s this unique characteristic that makes it so rare as a single malt – it’s too valuable for the blend. Fortunately for fans of great Single Malt, the independent bottling market has stepped in to fill this void. We’ve seen more and more casks come to market in the last 5-10 years, but most of those single casks don’t come in super active wood. This isn’t necessarily bad – you get a great look at the naked malt, which is incredible, but the barrels don’t always pop as much as they could if treated to great wood. Not so with this young Linkwood from Signatory. Aged 11 Years, this extraordinary Linkwood is a beautiful dark amber due to the charred wine hogshead it was aged in. Quite a strange vessel for malt aging, but it turns out, with this barrel of Linkwood at least, it WORKS. Distilled on 5/18/2010. Bottled 5/24/2021. 59.2%ABV.

2007 Glen Elgin 14 Year Old “Signatory K&L Exclusive” Hogshead Cask Strength Collection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $89.99 View

While many distillery owners prefer shell-and-tube condensers because they are cheaper and easier to maintain, it is no secret that, for many great malts, a worm tub is critical to the final character. Glen Elgin is a classic worm tub distillery. Juicy fruit and palate weight are the major hallmarks of Glen Elgin, situated in Speyside’s small hamlet of Fogwatt. The distillery has very long fermentation times (ranging from 80 to 120 hours) and an unusually clear wort. Combine that with very slow distillations and you have a vibrant fruity malt. Condense that fruity malt in a slow, meandering worm tub, and you’ve got robust body. This somewhat paradoxical profile has lead Glen Elgin to be prized by blenders and have a cult following among single malt enthusiasts. Fortunately for K&L customers, Signatory has secured a choice cask for us. Aged 14 years, matured in hogshead. Distilled on 5/1/2007. Bottled 5/21/2021 53.2%ABV. Cask No 800253. It’s big and rich with bushels of stone fruit and chewy malt

Westward K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #277 Cask Strength Single Barrel American Single Malt Whiskey (750ml) $99.99 View

Westward has long been producing some of the finest American single malts available due to a few very intentional choices and Scottish-like climate. We’ve selected one of their oldest available casks and it’s a classic. Westward only uses Pacific Northwest grown barley and it’s all malted just 10 miles from the distillery at Great Western Maltings. This two-row barley is malted to spec—high color pale malt—which would be something akin to a medium or medium + coffee roast. This brings out an array of beautiful toasted flavors ranging from filberts, almonds, and coffee to chocolate nibs and cereals. Perhaps the biggest flavor differentiator is in the yeast choice. The vast majority of distillers use an highly efficient distiller’s yeast, not so here. Westward employs the Chico Strain ale yeast—the very same yeast that accounts for Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale’s famous flavor. Combine that with a low and slow 5-day ferment and the tropical fruit esters in the whiskey are off the charts. Sweet mash leads to a little extra variation from barrel to barrel making the selection that much more special. Our barrel was aged in brand new #2 char 100% American oak for over 5 years in Clackamas, OR. The predominantly cool and wet climate with a short hot summer isn’t all that different from Scotland allowing for that ester development combined with barrel extraction that makes great single malt so special. Distilled 4-21-16. Bottled 6-10-21.

1998 Inchgower 22 Year Old “Sovereign” K&L Exclusive Single Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) $109.99 View

A Diageo blending workhorse, Inchgower is a principal component (along with Blair Athol) of the Bell’s blend which we sadly don’t see here in the United States. Due to a cloudy wort and a slightly unusual middle cut that runs from 70% all the way down to 55% in the spirits run, Inchgower tends towards the fuller spicier side of things and away from the high-toned fruits found early in the spirits run. Couple that with 22 years in a refill sherry butt and we’ve got a decadent spicy whisky on our hands with the mellowness of long aging. A wonderful combination and a screaming deal at just over a hundred bucks.

1994 Tomatin 25 Year Old “Hunter Laing Old & Rare” Single Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $249.99 View

Tomatin is a fascinating distillery with a unique history and many incarnations, from starting as a bulk blender and supplier and eventually shifting to a steadfast focus on quality single malt production. From the early 1900s through the mid ’70s, Tomatin grew continuously. They added stills multiple times as demand for their product increased exponentially. By 1975, they were the largest single malt production facility in Scotland. Sadly due to market forces they never operated at their full capacity, and by the mid ’80s the massive bust in the market for Scotch was impossible to ignore. Tomatin was liquidated and became the first of many Scottish distilleries to be purchased by Japanese companies. Today owned by the company known as Takara Shuzo, Tomatin has many bottlings on the market, but it is the choicest single casks that command the most attention. Here we have an incredible single cask of sherry-finished Tomatin 25 Year Old at a natural strength of 49.3% ABV. Expect a great value single malt with tropical and stone fruits in abundance, melded with sherry spice and orange peel dipped in chocolate.

PERSONALISE YOUR BOTTLE (personalised label)
£52.50
43% ABV

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PERSONALISE YOUR BOTTLE (engraved decanter)
£72.00
43% ABV

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Glenmorangie

A Tale Of Winter

Marsala Wine Cask Finish

13 Year Old | 70cl | 46% ABV

Snowed in at home, Glenmorangie Director of Whisky Creation, Dr. Bill, began dreaming of this whisky. His goal was to capture the snug and magical feeling of sitting in front of the fireplace as snow blankets the world outside. In pursuit of rich, radiant taste and wintery aroma, he finished the 13 year-old single malt in Marsala wine casks from Sicily.

The experience begins with light flurries of fruit and honey, building to torrents of cocoa dust, flakes of red pepper and chunks of brazil nut toffee. It culminates in a feels-like-forever finish that swirls with cinnamon, ginger and clove.

Like the cosy comfort of a colourful winter jumper, this whisky’s bursts of bright, vivid flavour will delight your senses.

£72.95

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BENROMACH LAUNCHES ‘FIRSTHAND’ WITH LIMITED-EDITION HIP FLASK COLLABORATION 

“Firsthand” is the new campaign from Benromach which celebrates the benefits and craft of hand-made products. To mark this, a new series of curated partnerships with artisan producers will be created to explore the quality and artistry of the handmade.

As a whisky that’s made by hand for genuine character, Benromach is celebrating the skills of makers worldwide who share the same ethos and commitment to making high quality products using time honoured methods.

After working together for many months on the detail and design, today Benromach releases its first collaboration in the Firsthand series by partnering with Yorkshire-based leather workers, specialising in custom hip flasks, HÔRD.

Benromach x HÔRD launches today with 80 hipflasks (£50) available to purchase from benromach.com/flask. Handmade by Gemma Gilleard and Jason Booth, founders of HÔRD, each hip flask uses old leather that would otherwise head to landfill, with all cladding, dyeing and detail added by hand.

Jason Booth, founder of HÔRD, said: “We produce by hand to create beautiful products that can be passed down through generations. Making our hip flasks by hand allows us to guarantee the quality, care and attention that goes into everything we produce and we’re incredibly proud of what we do here. The limited edition hip flask we’ve created for Benromach is a perfect example of our work and we’re thrilled with the end result.”

Keith Cruickshank, Distillery Manager at Benromach, said: “Our small team of distillers rely entirely on their expertise and senses to make the finest handmade whisky, matured exclusively in first-fill casks – it’s what we do and who we are. Made by hand for genuine character is how we started, and this is how we will continue the Benromach story. There may be a more efficient way of doing it, but here at Benromach we celebrate the rewards of all things handmade. The collaboration with HÔRD has produced something we are all incredibly proud of and the perfect complement to any single malt from Benromach Distillery.”

The HÔRD collaboration is the start of a series of partnerships in the Firsthand campaign. In the coming months Benromach will continue to introduce new brand collaborations that bring to life the art of handmade.

To find out more about Firsthand or to buy a limited edition Benromach x HÔRD hip flask, visit Benromach.com/Firsthand.

About Benromach Distillery

Originally built in 1898, Benromach Distillery was brought back to life when the Urquhart family realised a lifelong dream to own a distillery and purchased it in 1993. The distillery was extensively re-equipped over a five-year period before it was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Rothesay in 1998.

In reopening Benromach Distillery, the Urquhart family wanted to create a single malt whisky that has a classic Speyside character: beautifully balanced with a light touch of smoke.

Benromach Distillery is located on the outskirts of the ancient market town of Forres. Its five-star visitor centre is currently closed but is planned to reopen in the spring of 2022 for tours and tastings. Benromach Distillery is a member of the world-famous Malt Whisky Trail.

For more information, visit: www.benromach.com

Limhamn, Sweden November 16, 2021

Dear Whisky enthusiast

My third whisky book is soon to be published (January 2022).

It is a tale of the supreme collectible, enjoyable and valuable iconic whisky series ever made. A near complete (54 of 58 versions)  series was sold at Bonham’s auction house in Hong Kong November 20, 2020 for USD 1.5 million.

The book unfold the story about the magnificent Playing Card Series from Hanyu and Chichibu Whisky Distilleries in Japan, distilled by the Akuto family and bottled by Ichiro Akuto-san.

The book is a 170-page book of coffee table size (29x29cm) and quality is near art book style. Its content encompass the story of the Chichibu-Kikusui, Hanyu, Chichibu distilleries and the Akuto family.

A chapter is dedicated to the complete Playing card series and how it started. Here, each bottle is the ‘objets d’art’, occupying a full page. Opposite page contains my 58  tasting notes, technical descriptions and the flip side of the bottles.

All 58 bottle pictures are from my own Playing Card Series collection.  Other sections comprise the series aftermath, auctions, rules and data, fakes and frauds. A special chapter called Passing time, deals with experimental mixology on account of the Playing card series and summarizing tasting notes.

Exact publishing date will be announced on  https://www.buxrud.se/webb/

Price per single copy is Euro 30 or GBP 30 or USD 35 or SEK 300.

Excluding shipment fees.

Discounted bulk option is available for groups like whisky retailers, whisky circles, sushi restauranteurs and book stores.

Price per bulk shipment (box of ten copies) is Euro 250 or GBP 250 or USD 300 or SEK 2500.

Excluding shipment fees.

Also, if you would like to make a non-binding reservation before the publishing date then let me know the numbers.

Kind regards

Ulf Buxrud

A Keeper of the Quaich

whisky@buxrud.se

Other books by Ulf

-Rare Malts’, ISBN 1 84689 007 1, published by Quiller’s/UK  2006

-Japanese whisky’ ISBN 978-91-633-2093-4 published by DataAnalys/Sweden 2008.

-Contributed to the Asian segment of ‘Eyewitness Companion: Whisky’,

ISBN 9781 40532 8142 published by Dorling Kindersley/UK  2008.

CRAGGANMORE DISTILLERY

25 Year Old 1995 Old & Rare

£279.79

Cragganmore 25 Year Old 1995 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whisky. Single sherry butt bottled April 2021 by Hunter Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare series. 298 bottles. This burnished gold coloured whisky has a deep, rich, sweet nose of treacle, dried fruits and butterscotch. On the palate it is full bodied with a slight tongue prickle alongside stewed prunes and sultanas, all leading to a long, satisfying finish with a fruity aftertaste.

Cragganmore Distillery in 1869 in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside whisky region. This is a malt whisky distillery equipped with four very short stills and is one of the few Scottish malt whisky distilleries that continues to cool its new spirit in traditional worm tubs. The few distillery bottlings including Cragganmore 12 Year Old and Distillers Edition are well enhanced by those of independent bottlers.

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