Cask strength whiskies are bottled straight from the cask at natural strength and colour. The highly individual label indicates the cask number and bottling date, along with the distillation year and strength. Colour: Bright amber Nose: Sweet toffee with tropical fruits – pineapple and kiwi fruit. Some dry grass and cedar wood elements Body: Complex, rich and powerful Palate: Powerful, very sweet – cloying, spices with burnt fruitcake flavours mellowing into leafy and dry grass Finish: Gentle fruitiness with a hint of chocolate Cask type: Refill Sherry hogsheads Whisky style: A big powerful whisky – full of Speyside character. Distilled: 14th May 1981. Bottled: August 2006. Cask Numbers: 584 -586. Cask Type: Refill Sherry Butts. scottish whisky

Colour: Golden brown. Tasting notes, undiluted. Nose: Fruity with hints of citrus and mulled fruit, with sweet, creamy elements. Touch of toasted malt. Palate: Rich fruit with sweet, oaky notes, some pepperiness with floral hints. With water: Nose: Fruit – grapefruit skins with toffee, fudge aromas. Floral and malty notes also present. Palate: Sherry notes with sweet, toffee flavours. Body: Medium, complex. Finish: Short. Cask type: First Fill Sherry Butts & Refill Sherry Hogsheads. Style: A lesser-known Speysider full of character, subtle sherry influence. scottish whisky

Colour: Deep Amber. Tasting notes, undiluted. Nose: Rich fruitiness with burnt sugar and candy floss aromas. Charred oak and smoky elements also present. Palate: Smoky with sherry and bruised apple notes. Malty and creamy flavours detectable. With water Nose: Peaty and phenolic aromas with fruity elements combined with a floral/perfumed edge. Sherrywood also present. Palate:Smoke and earthy notes with sherry and wine flavours developing. Rich spices – liquorice and treacle. Body: Rich and coating. Finish: Sweet with sherry and hints of smoke. Cask Type: First Fill Sherry Butts. Whisky Style: A traditional Speyside – balanced fruit and smoke elements with a rounding sherry character. There has probably been whisky made on the Macallan site, on a small hill overlooking the Spey near Craigellachie , since the late 1700s. The first licenced disllation at Macallan is said to have taken place in the earliest days of legalised production, in 1824. The distillery changed hands several times throughout the 19th century and in 1894 the distillery was bought by Elgin merchant, Roderick Kemp ( who also owned Talisker on Skye). Due to demand for the whisky the distillery has been modernised and extended over the years. In the 1950s the output was trebled and further increased in the 1960s. Warehousing was also increased at this time. In 1990 a vast cask warehouse was built – at the time the largest single roof warehouse in Europe. scottish whisky

Awarded a gold medal at the 2005 International Wine & Spirit Competition. David Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master has selected only from the finest vintage casks that were laid down during his early time at The Balvenie over thirty years ago. David’s long experience in maturation has enabled him to create this rare and especially fine thirty year old single malt Scotch whisky. By marrying The Balvenie slowly aged in traditional Oak casks and also in Oloroso Sherry Butts, David has created a rich, mellow Scotch whisky with unusual depth and complexity. The traditional Oak – previously used to mature Bourbon – imbues warm honeyed tones, intense floral sweetness and distinct notes of vanilla, whereas The Balvenie matured in Sherry Wood displays a rich depth of colour, a dry oakiness and even greater refinement. The product of a lifetime’s work, ‘Thirty’ has been bottled at natural strength to capture all the signature characteristics of The Balvenie. The Balvenie Thirty is already receiving industry accolades and consumers are equally impressed. In a blind taste test, members of our online Club enthused about The Balvenie Thirty: ‘This is one of the finest malt whiskies that I have tasted.’ ‘Fantastic whisky, has a typical Balvenie character but a nutty sweetness, long and beautiful.’ Silky smooth and honeyed on the nose with mellow oaky tones and hints of candied orange peel. The Balvenie Thirty has great depth with rich dark chocolate, hints of plum, marzipan and caramelised pear. An exceptionally smooth and warming finish with gentle spice and lingering sweetness. scottish whisky

Colour: Deep, rich amber. Tasting notes, undiluted: Nose: Vanilla initially with fruit – figs and dates. Slowly the sweet, phenolic aromas develop – peppered kippers and germolene. Palate: Sweet and peppery, rich fruit and sherry elements combine with the salty/ozone Islay character. A peaty, ash note surfaces. With water: Nose: Sweet, fruitcake (Christmas pudding) and brandy. Oily, phenols with kippers and ozone present. Palate: Peat and medicinal elements now to the fore. A little sherry note is present. Some birchwood and earthy flavours. Body: Full and robust. Finish: Slightly sweet with hints of germolene and sherry. Cask Type: First Fill Sherry Butts. Style: Strong Islay character tempered by the rich, fruit elements of the casks. scottish whisky

Colour: Amber. Tasting notes, undiluted: Nose: Sweet & fruity (green apples and ripe bananas) with a slight floral waxiness. Palate: Spicy with earthy notes. A delicate smokiness also present. With water: Nose: Floral with lavender/rose water aromas. Spicy,liquorice notes. Palate: Smoky with liquorice notes, hints of charred oak. Body: Clean. Finish: Spicy with aniseed notes. Cask type: Sherry Butts and refill Bourbon Barrels. Style: Subtle Speyside malt with clean flavours and aromas. scottish whisky

Aberlour a’bunadh is a natural single cask strength malt whisky. Taken directly from specially selected sherry casks it is bottled as simply as possible without the use of modern filtering methods or the addition of water. The three main characteristics that distinguish Aberlour a’bunadh from the other single malts are: Original Cask Strength means that the whisky is bottled at the strength of the cask, which in the case of the first batch of a’bunadh is 59.6%. Not diluted, the whisky possesses a greater aromatic complexity. Most malts of the old days were cask strength. Not Chill-filtered. Today most malt whiskies are chill-filtered to prevent the whisky becoming cloudy when adding water or ice. This process, which did not exist in the 19th century, removes some richness and mouth feel as well as some fruit and sherry character. Aberlour a’bunadh is a true replica of the old days’ malts. Only the best Sherry Butts, which previously held oloroso, have been selected by Douglas Cruickshank, Aberlour’s Distillery Director. These casks are the rarest and the most precious used for whisky maturation. Again, they were used in the old days when sherry was imported from Spain in casks which were then left empty sitting in UK ports or ships. A 19th-century-style whisky matured exclusively in Spanish oak Oloroso sherry butts, then bottled at cask strength. Dark, luxurious and powerful; a superb after-dinner malt. Colour – Deep, rich amber. Nose – An intoxicating aroma of mixed spices, praline and spiced orange, harmonising with rich, deep notes of Oloroso sherry. Taste – Orange, black cherries, dried fruit and ginger, spiked with dark bitter chocolate and enriched with sherry and oak. Full-bodied and creamy. Finish – Robust and intense, with bitter-sweet notes of exotic spices, dark chocolate and oak.Aberlour a’bunadh is currently available in France, UK, Duty Free and is soon to be exported to other countries around the world. scottish whisky

Colour: Golden. Tasting notes, undiluted: Nose: Sherried and dried fruits – figs and dates. Hint of cereal, malty aroma. Palate: Full – oily and smoky, herbal with floral notes. A sweet, rounding fruitiness – sherry and ripe fruits. Touch of dark chocolate. With water: Nose: Gorse and bracken, oiled wood and sweet aromas. Traces of camphor and phenolic notes. Palate: Smoky – charred oak, Christmas cake and baked fruit flavours, drying. Body: Rich, full flavoured. Finish:Dry, charred oak. Cask Type: Refill Sherry Butts. Style: Rich and smooth, a fine example of a sherry matured Highland Malt. scottish whisky