Review - Glenturret Fly's 16 Masters Edition

The Fly's 16 Masters Edition is a new limited edition single malt from the Highland distillery of Glenturret, the oldest official distillery that is currently in operation in Scotland. The new whisky is 16 years old and inspired by a recent discovery at the distillery - an old photo that was found at the back of a cupboard.  The photo (pictured below) was taken in 1905 and featured the 16 distillery workers and Fly, the Distillery Manager's dog.  The workers, nicknamed 'Fly's 16' feature on the bottle, which is the latest in Glenturret's Masters Edition series.  The whisky was launched in mid-May and some remains available for sale.

Review - Glenmorangie 'A Midwinter Night's Dram'

The famous north Highland distillery of Glenmorangie has announced a limited edition single malt designed for the winter months. A Midwinter Night's Dram has been crafted by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Distilling & Creation at Glenmorangie, and is a marriage of ex-bourbon casks made of American white oak and ex-Oloroso sherry casks.  The bottling pulls inspiration from the tradition of Glenmorangie giving its distillery staff a bottle of whisky on St. Andrew's day at the end of November to help them through the tough winter months in the Highlands.

Review - Highland Park Odin

Highland Park Odin is the greatly anticipated (and already sold-out) fourth and final bottling in The Valhalla Collection. Each single malt whisky in this series is named after legendary figures from Nordic history and Odin follows the previous award-winning releases of Thor, Loki and Freya.

This limited edition whisky with only 17,000 bottles released globally is presented in a dramatic black ‘battle worn’ bottle and black Viking long ship inspired wooden frame that is a signature to the complete series. It is 16 years old, 55.8% ABV, and for those lucky enough to have managed to pick up a bottle, it was available at a recommended retail price of £180. The whisky itself is aged in 250 litre hogsheads previously holding sherry; starting with refill casks then transferred to fresh first fill casks for a final four years.

New release - Bowmore 'The Devil's Casks II'

Following on from the acclaimed first release, The Devil's Casks II is the new limited edition single malt release from Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay. The whisky is so named as it is believed in local legend that the devil once hid in a cask of Bowmore to hide from angry residents and escape to the mainland. We are not sure about this story, but it is said that the circular church in the village of Bowmore (pictured, below) was built in such a shape so as to prevent the devil having any corners to hide in.

New release - Bowmore 'The Devil's Casks'

The Devil's Casks is the new limited edition single malt release from Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay. The whisky is so named as it is believed in local legend that the devil once hid in a cask of Bowmore so as to hide from angry residents and escape to the mainland. We are not so sure about that story, but it is said that the circular church in the village of Bowmore (pictured, below) was so shaped to prevent the devil having any corners to hide in.

New release - Arran Devil's Punchbowl Chapter II

This whisky is the latest limited edition single malt from the independent and award winning Isle of Arran Distillers. The Devil's Punch Bowl Chapter II follows in the footsteps of the original Devil's Punch Bowl, which was released last year and received much acclaim.  The release is named after a spectacular local geological site on the isle of Arran, which sees a waterfall plunge into a turbulent cauldron shaped pool.  The second expression is subtitled Angels & Devil.

New release - Balvenie Tun 1401 (Batch #8)

The latest whisky in Balvenie's highly acclaimed Tun 1401 series has arrived. The series has won many plaudits across the globe, with different batches being released exclusively in different markets including the UK, Europe, the USA and travel retail. Each batch is created by the legendary Malt Master David Stewart, a veteran of over 50 years at Balvenie.  After selecting the casks, he puts them together in a huge oak vessel called a tun (in this case Tun No. 1401) and the different whiskies marry together over time.  This process takes roughly three months.