2024 has been a bumper year for whisky releases, from inaugural liquid from new distilleries to old and rare whiskies that show the passing of time and history for some of Scotland’s older brands.
I’ve had the enviable task of tasting many drams this year for The Scotman’s whisky review articles, and have picked some of my favourites - including our dram of the year - as we end 2024.
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Back in May, Tamdhu released the seventh whisky in its Dalbeallie series, which are available to buy during the Spirit of Speyside festival.
These bottlings are named after Dalbeallie Victorian station, which was opened in 1899 - two years after Tamdhu - to bring barley, passengers, and the finest sherry casks from Spain to Speyside.
Tamdhu exclusively matures all its whisky in the finest Oloroso sherry casks from beginning to end, and Dalbeallie VII is no exception.
Each of the 1,000 bottles available is individually numbered, bottled at batch high strength (61.8% ABV) and is non-chill filtered, retaining its natural amber colour.
We tried this whisky on site during an event at the distillery and it was sweet, fruity and flavourful. It has all the hallmarks of a good sherry cask whisky, which are ideal for Christmas, but sitting in the spring weather of Speyside, it didn’t feel too heavy.
On the nose there’s vanilla, a hint of clove, raspberry jam, dark chocolate and orange peel. While tasting, you might get notes of rich demerara sugar, toffee, dark berries and toasted oak, paired with shortbread and baked fig. On the finish: a long, warming sherry note, gentle spice and lingering fruit.
There are still bottles available, priced at £100. Buy one here.
Sticking with a dram from the whisky festival season, Ardbeg’s Spectacular was released to coincide with Ardbeg Day in June this year.
Spectacular is the distillery’s first whisky aged in port casks, and the edition whisky showcased a spectacle of flavours never before tasted at Ardbeg.
The whisky has been wholly matured in port barrels which brings a richness in taste and colour to the much-loved smoky malt.
Other tasting notes include dark chocolate, mint, aromas of candied fruit, incense candles and smoked pecans. It’s another whisky that reads like it might be best on a cold winter’s night and it is, but we also enjoyed it neat and in cocktails during the wonderfully sunny Ardbeg day.
There are still bottles available, priced at £105. Buy one here.
While the first two are festive-sounding drams that I tried in the spring and summer, this summery whisky from Glenmorangie was released in the autumn.
The next installment in the Tale Of series, this release was inspired by the flavours of an ice-cream parlour menu and was matured in high-vanillin casks for the first time to bring Glenmorangie’s sweetest, creamy vanilla notes to the front.
There’s notes of peach melba, scoops of vanilla, lemon sorbet, coconut, marzipan, crunchie bar honeycomb and toffee - it’s a sweet treat for those that love a lighter style of whisky.
You can buy a bottle for £75.95 from Master of Malt here.
Also in September, Glenfiddich launched the stylish looking Grand Château - a 31 Year Old whisky that has been finished for nine years in red wine casks from Bordeaux. It marks the first release by the distillery to use red wine casks from this region.
The nine-year finish gives tasting notes of indulgent and rich caramelised cherry and apple intertwined with warming spice and toasted oak; an opulent, yet earthy liquid that's fruity and at the same time floral. It works surprisingly well as part of a meal but would also be a wonderful end of dinner drink, either neat or in a cocktail.
This limited edition whisky is being released as a part of The Glenfiddich Grand Series, a collection that celebrates the unexpected collision between single malt and cultures from around the world.
The whisky is priced at £1,594.95 and you can buy a bottle here.
In October, Mossburn Distillers & Blenders Ltd released a limited edition bottling of 12 year old Mossburn Speyside blended malt finished in Calvados casks from the renowned Domaine Dupont, a family producer with a history dating back to 1887.
The spirit started life as a classic expression of Speyside Malt Whisky, first aged for more than 12 years in ex- bourbon casks before re-aging in French oak barrels that previously held Calvados and Pommeau. It was released at batch strength, 57.2% abv.
It’s a powerful but delicious dram ideal for autumn, with tasting notes that include vanilla, baked red apples, cereal and notes of ginger. I can see this making a wonderful hot toddy when required.
This whisky is priced at £71.95 and you can buy a bottle here.
In April family-owned independent bottlers, Douglas Laing & Co, launched their first distilled whisky to the global market – Strathearn Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
The Strathearn Single Malt has a rich and refined flavour, a reflection of the Douglas Laing style for Strathearn whisky.
Made without automation, and using one of Scotland’s smallest mash tuns, the fermentation process for the liquid is a long 144 hours - allowing for a fruity character.
This deliberate and slow distilling process produces a single barrel a day, meaning there's a scarcity to the whisky.
This is a light, sweet whisky with a syrupy, thick texture that’d hold its own in a cocktail. There’s also notes of dried apricots, honey, spices, buttery oat biscuits and vanilla. It’s like drinking home-baking.
Strathearn is priced at £85 and you can buy a bottle here.
The Islay distillery, which was built in 2018 by Hunter Laing & Co, released a limited edition whisky - the first for the distillery in May.
Released on 10 May, Ardnahoe Inaugural Release is a limited edition 5-year-old Islay single malt Scotch whisky shaped by three generations of the Glasgow-based Laing family since the 1940s, when Stewart’s father began working in the industry.
With Islay peat smoke on the nose, custard, ginger, lemon zest and baked apples on the palate and a long, smoky finish, the Inaugural Release is a classic sophisticated Islay single malt.
Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at 50% ABV, the signature Islay characteristics of peat and smoke are balanced with a sweet fruitiness and real depth of flavour.
It’s an Islay dram for sure, with a big presence thanks to its ABV (it’s bottled at 50%) and peatiness, but it’s not a peat monster, there’s a delicate elegance to this whisky which will appeal to most.
It’ll also hold its own in a cocktail, with the lingering smokiness making it ideal for an autumnal old fashioned or smoky highball.
This whisky is priced at £70 and you can buy a bottle here.
This whisky, from Skye’s Torabhaig distillery is the limited edition third chapter in its Legacy Series that charts the journey to a ten-year-old expression. It was released in March.
Meaning “hill of peat” in Gaelic, Cnoc Na Mòine is a subtly peated single malt that’s the distillery’s first release that includes single malt matured in sherry casks.
On the nose there are hints of orange peel and dying embers with a subdued peat smoke aroma giving way to vanilla and freshly sawn oak.
The peat smoke returns to the palate before the light spirit brings in pepper, balsamic acidity and gentle spice alongside fragrant touches of cedar and leather. The sherry influence shines on the finish, balancing well with the peat smoke and spice of Torabhaig spirit.
Torabhaig Cnoc Na Mòine is priced at £69 and you can buy it here.
One of the last drams of the year I tried was this blended gem from Leith’s Woven whisky makers - and it’s a belter.
It’s a blend of whiskies from Scandinavian distilleries and some grain whisky from North British. This whisky started with a question: Is there a ‘Nordic Style’? With over 50 distilleries of note in the area of the world, the Woven team studied countless samples to find the distinctive styles of four different Nordic distilleries - Sweden's Agitator and High Coast, Finland's Kyrö and Feddie in Norway.
The team said of this: “Each distillery told its own tale of remoteness, isolation, and invention. Four countries, countless flavours. Not one single thread, but a tapestry of warm welcomes, proud traditions, experimental whisky making, and unexpected delights.”
This is a sweet, juicy dram with some brininess, toasted cereal with a hint of smoke. It’s the perfect whisky for hunkering down by the fire on a stormy night.
Woven Experience N.20 Friends In The North is priced at £76 and you can buy a bottle here.
The Isle of Raasay Distillery launched Dùn Cana Sherry Quarter Cask Release: Second Edition earlier this year, following the first edition which featured in Forbes as ‘The World’s Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2024’.
Named after the highest point on the island, Dùn Cana, this whisky is a tribute to the island’s rugged landscape and rich geological history, and an ongoing annual release from the Hebridean distillery.
This whisky is created by Isle of Raasay peated and unpeated spirit being matured separately in ex-American Rye casks before undergoing a second maturation in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry quarter casks for six months.
This second maturation in small, 125-litre sherry quarter casks accelerates the maturation process, giving the spirit an intense depth of character, resulting in a whisky that has notes of peppery spice, rich dried fruits like sultanas and hints of vanilla and toffee sweets, with a finish of lingering salty chocolate and a light hint of aromatic wood smoke.
I loved this whisky so much that I’ve named it The Scotsman’s Dram of the Year. Cheers!
This whisky is priced at £85 and it’s available to buy here.
