10 Winter Warming Spirits

Are you looking for some more ideas to warm up those winter evenings? We like to put out these little lists to hopefully help introduce you to spirits you may not have thought about. From Highlands of Scotland to the Island of Japan, and back to Northern Wales!

1-Glenfiddich Orchard Experimental Series – 43% 70cl

A Fruity, juicy creamy dram, this whisky combines the Scottish and Somerset influences in a beautiful way! Aged in casks that formerly housed Somerset Pomona Spirit from the Somerset Cider Brandy Co.

2-Glendronach Port Wood – 46% 70cl

A classic that’s now back on our shelves, this exquisite expression enjoys a second maturation in Port pipes from the Douro Valley in Portugal, giving it a gloriously rich, fruity palate.

3-Nikka from the Barrel – 50cl 51.4%

The unique square bottle symbolises the concept of “a small block of whisky” and embodies the powerful and rich flavours of the liquid contained within. Long after its release, this bottle remains a classic and admired for its ultimate simplicity.

4-The Lakes Whiskymakers Reserve No.5 – 52% 70cl

An exquisite and Moorish evolution, holding the same sherry-led, wood-forward qualities as its predecessors, having been matured in the finest, bespoke Oloroso, PX, and red wine casks made of Spanish and American oak.

5-Foragers Soulful Sloe Gin – 30% 70cl

Using hand-foraged native botanicals such as the freshest Late Harvest Sloe berries and the clearest Snowdonia Mountain waters, this Sloe is rich, fruity, and just fantastic! Gold medal winner.

6-Glenmorangie A Tale of Forest – 46% 70cl

Glenmorangie’s first whisky crafted from barley kilned with woodland botanicals. Whirls of peppermint. Bursts of eucalyptus. Rustles of bitter orange. All floating on notes of vanilla with intriguing hints of black liquorice.

7-Bowmore 12-year-old – 40% 70cl

This bottling from Bowmore presents a classic character of the distillery with plenty tropical fruit notes and of course smoke! A slightly peated expression with pepper, mango, and sweet honey on the palate.

8-Eminente Reserva 7 Year Old Rum – 41.3% 70cl

Aged in ex-whisky barrels, this Cuban rum is light and delightful! The palate offers notes of vanilla, soft smoke, ginger, tobacco, and coffee flavours that linger in the finish.

9-Tomatin 12-Year-Old 2008 Sauternes Cask – 46% 70cl

This limited-release bottling was inaugurated in 2021. Benefiting from a second maturation in Sauternes Wine casks, the palate presents flavours of coconut, ginger, and creamy peaches.

10-Stalla Dhu Single Cask Glen Elgin Port Wood – 48% 70cl

Silver Winner at the World Whisky Awards 2022, this excellent Single Cask is a perfect dram to share with your loved ones this Christmas! Toasted nuts, nougat and delicate plum sweetness followed by mellow gooseberries notes appear on the palate, with a long, fruity finish.

Happy Holidays from The Whisky Merchant

Tomatin’s Final Warehouse 6 Release

The final release in the distillery’s outstanding Warehouse 6 Collection is available. This release was created from casks 32 and 33, which had been distilled over 45 years ago. Maturing peacefully the entirety of its life in hand-selected Traditional Oak Hogshead casks. These casks were married together resulting in only 350 bottles total. Bottled at 46%.

This release is absolutely an exquisite bottling that is going to be for those looking for an investment, or better yet, to drink on a special occasion. It is not getting past the fact that this is an über luxury bottle. If you find yourself in the presence of an open bottle, with the opportunity to taste it, I’m sure you won’t be let down! This release is in the company of only two other whiskies to receive a score of 99 from the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

This is the perfect expression to conclude Tomatin’s successful Warehouse 6 Collection. The first time I tried this whisky I knew it was something very special. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy some extraordinary whiskies, but this one still stands out from the rest for me. Over four and a half decades of watchful waiting has seen this exclusive expression instilled with great complexity, yet it presents a tremendous youth and vibrancy which is a remarkable balance to achieve – I’ll be sad to see it go!
Graham Eunson, Tomatin’s Master Distiller

Each of the 350 units is decanted into an exquisite hand blown Glencairn Crystal decanter with unique copper decoration. This luxury bottle is presented with two glasses (also Glencairn Crystal), a solid copper stopper, along with a numbered certificate detailing the remarkable journey of the whisky.

In perfect harmony, aromas of strawberry liqueur, tropical fruits and roasted coconut balance out with an exotic spicy character. Golden syrup and marzipan add to the complexity, developing into rich chocolate, coffee and brown sugar on the palate. The exotic spices appear once again with a long, refined, lingering ﬁnish.
Tomatin Tasting Notes.

If you want to own a piece of whisky history, you can grab yours here!

Cù Bòcan Creation 3 & 4

We have received our shipment of the two newest Creation releases from Cù Bòcan. I am a fan of the Tomatin Distillery, so I was on board when I heard they were releasing a slightly peated range all those years back! They have most definitely come a long way in that time, with these 2 releases taking gold medals at this year’s San Francisco World Spirit Competition. When a distillery can step away from its “normal” way of crafting whisky to do something “experimental”, then succeed at that endeavor, I’m all for it.

Cù Bòcan is made with lightly peated Scottish barley and distilled in small batches every winter. The spirit is then put into carefully chosen casks that are not your run-of-the-mill combinations. Those cask decisions are what gives the finished product the uniqueness they are after. Resulting in a wonderfully balanced sweetness with whiffs of subtle smoke.

Creation # 3:

Moroccan Cabernet Sauvignon + North American Rye Casks

“The tastes and smells of a Moroccan Souk are brought to life with the exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon casks used for this innovative Creation. Light smoke with a touch of strawberries in balsamic vinegar, exotic spices, citrus and tropical fruits.”

Creation #4:

Tawny Port + Cognac Casks

“Our fourth Creation is a nod to The Antrim Cocktail, marrying two of Europe’s most revered drinks, Port and Cognac. The end result is a medley of plum jam, grilled peach, stewed forest fruit, cinnamon, and sweet campfire smoke.”

So if you are a fan of Tomatin Distillery and have not given this range a try, you should rectify that! The Highland sweetness you love, with just a hint of smoke.

Until next time!

-Andrew

Grab a Black Friday Deal or Two!

It’s that time of year again, where everything and anything is on sale! Most of which ends up being unnecessary clutter. We may be biased, but I think our industry has the best kind of deals. Consumables that make you happy! The contents go away over time, the container can be repurposed or recycled, it isn’t something that becomes obsolete over time, and most importantly it brings you joy! We don’t need more random stuff…consumables, quality wearables, and things you can use all the time are the way to go.

With that said, we have an abundance of sales across the site at every different price point. Here are just a few of those on offer: