Glenfarclas 12 Year

Lots of sherry and fruit in this, Glenfarclas 12 was originally bottled for export and travel retail markets. In 2006, it was named the "Best Sherried Whisky" in the Single Malt World Cup, and in 2007 and 2008 it won Gold at the Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival.

Nose: Light and creamy with a mix of supple, soft sherry and Manuka honey. Gentle and well-balanced, there are hints of smoke, rich oak, and a little pine resin.

Palate: Medium-bodied, with notes of date and walnut cake, Oloroso sherry and hints of earthy forest floor. A beautiful note of malt, with toffee apple and a touch of smoke.

Finish: Spicy and long, notes of allspice, cinnamon and cloves, with orange zest and sherry.

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland

Distillery: Glenfarclas

Bottler: Glenfarclas

Single Malt Whisky

ABV: 43.0%

BenRiach (The Twelve)

From Benriach's 2020 relaunch of its cracking core range comes The Twelve, a 12 year old Speyside single malt mature in a trio of casks - namely sherry casks, bourbon casks and Port casks! This maturation has imparted dried fruit notes galore, alongside wafts of good coffee and subtle spices. Very impressive indeed.

Nose: Maple syrup on blueberry pancakes, dark chocolate, quince and orange.

Palate: Honeyed cereals, cooked apple, chocolate peanuts and soft, almost jammy sultanas.

Finish: Mocha, honey, dried fruit and mixed peels.

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside

Distillery: BenRiach

Bottler: BenRiach

Single Malt Whisky

ABV: 46.0%

Tomatin 18 Year Oloroso Sherry Finish

Relaunched in 2016, Tomatin 18 Year Old is finished in first-fill oloroso-sherry butts. This add notes of dark chocolate and citrus to honey and soft spice.

Nose: Rich and sherried, with orchard, citrus and dried fruit – apples, oranges and sultanas.

Palate: Sweet and honeyed, with a backbone of citrus, fruit cake, chocolate and spice.

Finish: Long and warming spice fades to leave fruit and chocolate.

Country: Scotch Whisky

Region: Highland Whisky

Distillery: Tomatin Distillery

Bottler: Tomatin Distillery

Single Malt Whisky

ABV: 46.0%

Deanston 14 Year Organic Bottling

Another organic single malt Scotch whisky from the wonderfully traditional Deanston distillery, aged for 14 years. For this expression, the whisky has been matured in bourbon casks before enjoying a finishing period in new oak casks.

Nose: Cedar and vanilla, with a waft of freshly laundered linen.

Palate: Thyme honey, mango and mandarin. Some flaky pastry. Another kick of spicy cedar from the new oak casks.

Finish: Creamy at first, but develops a hint of peppercorn spiciness.

Country: Scotch Whisky

Region: Highland Whisky

Distillery: Deanston

Bottler: Deanston

Age: 14 year old Whisky

ABV: 46.3%

Dalmore Cigar Malt

Dalmore Cigar Malt was discontinued in mid-2009, causing quite an uproar indeed. The whiskies used for the reworked version were actually slightly older, but naturally still pair perfectly with a cigar.

It's a great whisky, whether you drink with its intended purpose in mind or not. And if you do enjoy cigars, you'll want to know that the stick that provided the flavour benchmark for pairing is the hefty Partagas Serie D No. 4.

Nose: Caramel, shortbread, biscuits, coffee and chocolates. Simple, clean and moreish.

Palate: Yet more toffee, caramel edging towards the burnt cinder-toffee side of things. Flamed orange-zest, and perfectly integrated sherry.

Finish: Reasonably simple, Christingles (orange Zest and clove with a touch of cinnamon), more mid-palate than palate-coating.

Overall: Definitely meets the criteria of pairing with a ‘BIG’ cigar.

Country: Scotch Whisky

Region: Highland Whisky

Distillery: Dalmore

Bottler: Dalmore

ABV: 44.0%