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Scotsman
16 hours ago
- Business
- Scotsman
The 13 best new Scotch whiskies for Father's Day - including £50 peated Speyside gem
Father's Day this year falls on Sunday 15 June, and if you're buying for a whisky loving dad or father figure then we've chosen some of the ebay new Scotch whisky releases that'll make ideal gifts. From a budget-friendly new Glen Moray to a 25 Year Old Aberfeldy - who are flying high from multiple award wins - here are our top whiskies to buy this Father's Day. This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Tamdhu 21 year old Speyside gem Tamdhu has recently launched a 21 year old whisky. The distillery, part of Ian Macleod Distillers, the family-owned whisky and gin company, has been creating fine whiskies on the banks of the River Spey since 1897. This very limited 'coming of age' 21-year-old release, like all Tamdhu single malts, is fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks to deliver a flavour profile and entirely natural colour. It is bottled at 47.5% ABV, unchill filtered and is a limited (on allocation) annual global release with a recommended retail price of £299 for a 70cl bottle. Not only is this a special whisky, ideal for a gift, it's presented in an elegant green cut-work gift box whose Spanish-Moorish design reflects the Southern Spanish sherry casks used in the maturation process. The display box, adorned with a metallic Tamdhu monogram, slides off to reveal the inner design case and a slide drawer with a tasting notes booklet. The closure is gold wood, decorated with a gold branded capsule. Tamdhu 21 year old is priced at £299 and you can buy a bottle here. Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 3 Award winning farm-to-cask Lochlea distillery has recently unveiled Cask Strength Batch 3 – the latest release in its annual series of limited-edition cask strength bottlings – and a first in flavour profile for the independently owned distillery. This year's release marks a bold evolution in Lochlea's Cask Strength series, combining rich Oloroso sherry with distinctive Islay peat - a pairing never before explored by the distillery. It also represents a significant milestone for Lochlea's master blender Jill Boyd, who joined the distillery in late 2024 and has led the selection and blending of Cask Strength Batch 3 from start to finish. Cask Strength Batch 3 delivers a captivating nose of ripe red fruits and savoury BBQ smoke, followed by a rich palate of cherries and dark molasses lifted by warming ginger cake, toasted rye and charred wood smoke. The long, layered finish lingers with baking spice, salty smoke, and oaky tannins intertwining with delicate floral notes of red roses to create a bold new take on Lochlea's signature style. Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 3 is priced at £67 and you can buy a bottle here. Glen Moray 12 Years Old Smoky Glen Moray single malt Scotch whisky is tempting whisky fans to explore a distinctively different side to its classic Speyside single malt, with the unveiling of Glen Moray 12 Years Old Smoky. 'Smoky Twelve' is set to be a treat for both peat lovers and fans of Glen Moray's famously smooth and fruity spirit - and it will make the perfect gift for dram lovers on Father's Day. This permanent new addition to Glen Moray's award-winning range is crafted in the traditional way at the whisky's historic distillery in Elgin, but uses peated barley to add subtle notes of sweet bonfire smoke to the spirit. True to Glen Moray's reputation for exploration when it comes to the influence of wood on whisky's flavour, the new single malt is then matured in two different types of cask: American oak for notes of vanilla and caramel with a smooth bourbon undertone; and European oak, bringing stronger vanilla flavours, with tannins, pepper, fruit and gentle spice. The result is a very special new dram: all the appeal of Glen Moray's wonderfully light and easy-drinking spirit imbued with the richness of peated malt and the deliciously complex flavours of maturation in two different types of wood. Glen Moray 12 years old smoky is priced at £49.99 and you can buy a bottle here. Aberfeldy 22 year old Oloroso Sherry cask finish Located in Aberfeldy, the heart of Scotland, Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery has recently celebrated 25 years since the opening of its visitor centre and immersive whisky experience. To mark this milestone, the distillery is unveiling an exclusive commemorative release: Aberfeldy 22-Year-Old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This single malt is the latest addition to the Exceptional Cask Series - a collection of rare Single-Cask bottlings, Double-Cask expressions, and small-batch releases from Aberfeldy. After maturing in traditional oak casks, the new release has been finished in rich Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez, Spain, imparting a beautifully balanced complexity while enhancing the signature character of Aberfeldy. The result is a luxurious dram with sweet orchard fruits, succulent pear, and caramelised apples taking centre stage. Aberfeldy 22 year old Oloroso Sherry cask finish is priced at £195 and you can buy a bottle here. Lindoes Abbey Friar John Cor – Chapter III Lindores Abbey Distillery has recently released the third chapter in its acclaimed Friar John Cor Congregation series: Friar John Cor – Chapter III. This bold and complex limited-edition bottling continues Lindores' homage to the great Friar John Cor and his legendary distillation of 1494. Chapter III is matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon barrels, Amontillado, and Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry butts. After vatting, the whisky is allowed to marry in refill sherry butts, enhancing its depth, richness, and harmonious balance of flavours. It is bottled at 60.2% ABV. Lindoes Abbey Friar John Cor – Chapter III is priced at £70 and you can buy a bottle here. InchDairnie KinGlassie KinGlassgie Double Matured whisky Fife-based Scotch whisky-maker InchDairnie distillery has launched its first Single Malt Scotch Whisky releases. Further showcasing its reputation as a pioneer in flavour exploration in the whisky sector, the distillery launched KinGlassie Double Matured Aged 8 Years Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky and KinGlassie Raw Aged 8 Years Fife Single Malt Scotch Whisky back in May. The two whiskies debuting comprise KinGlassie Double Matured and KinGlassie Raw, each providing a distinct take on the new KinGlassie range that ignites flavour discovery, revealing new dimensions in smoke. KinGlassie Double Matured is priced at £78.95 and you can buy a bottle here. KinGlassie Raw is priced at £78.95 and you can buy a bottle here. The Maclean Foundation Raasay whisky A new limited-edition single malt from the Isle of Raasay Distillery is the latest charity bottling from The Maclean Foundation – and every bottle sold will provide clean water for life to a person in Madagascar. This five-year-old single cask whisky, matured in virgin Chinkapin oak and bottled at a cask strength of 61.1% ABV, is the third in a series of single malt releases by the charity, which was founded by whisky writer Charles Maclean MBE and his three sons – world record-breaking ocean rowers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean. As with previous Maclean Foundation whiskies – with Glen Scotia and Ardnamurchan – all profits will fund clean water boreholes in rural Madagascar through the charity's local partner, Feedback Madagascar. Just 246 bottles are available, exclusively from Royal Mile Whiskies, priced at £115. You can buy a bottle here. The Dram Team Scotch Whisky Tasting Map This is an ideal gift for dads that want to taste whisky from all over Scotland. The whiskies in this special collection from The Dram Team include a stunning 'Grain Barn' 30 year old Scotch; a super-premium 17 year old Islay single malt; a decadent 21 year old Speyside Scotch icon and two world-class 18 year old single malts. As well as 15 double measures of premium and super premium Scotch whisky, the set contains two Glencairn glasses, a distillery guidebook featuring more than 30 stunning images and a beautiful ready-to-frame distillery map. You can also subscribe to The Scotsman via our Whisky Club and receive the Whisky Map of Scotland poster and a sample bottle of The Red Comyn, a ruby port cask-finished whisky, selected for us by our partners The Dram Team and Claxton's. Find out more and subscribe here, or sign up to our Whisky Club here. Buy The Dram Team Scotch Whisky Tasting Map, priced at £295, here. Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation Wave I: Time & Maturation is the first expression in a five-part limited edition series by Bladnoch. The Wave series demonstrates the marrying process of whisky casks, with each annual release revealing one of the five whisky making pillars used by master distiller, Dr Nick Savage. The Wave Collection is the second series in the master distiller's collection. As the first expression in series, Wave I is the ideal candidate for whisky connoisseur dads who are looking to build up their whisky collection. The dram option is the perfect pairing to accompany a bottle gifted for a collection, so whisky aficionados can taste the single malt and save opening their bottle for many years to come. The full-size bottle of Wave I and dram size are available exclusively at Bladnoch Wave I: Time & Maturation full bottle price is £150 and the dram is £15. Laphroaig Elements 3.0 The third instalment in Laphroaig's award-winning Elements series, this limited release was the result of a fire in the kiln that burned peat for longer and at higher temperatures than usual. Experimenting with heat brought out chocolate and coffee notes making this a very interesting whisky indeed. Laphroaig Elements is an award-winning series of whiskies that delves into the artistry of production that makes Laphroaig's whisky so richly flavoured and characterful. Tasting notes include: a nose of chocolate, charcoal and spice. On the palette there's bitter dark chocolate, peat, vanilla and butterscotch while the finish is long lasting and dry. Bottled at 55.3% ABV, Laphroaig Elements 3.0 is priced at £170 and you can buy a bottle here. Holyrood distillery Pitch Edinburgh's experimental whisky makers, Holyrood Distillery, recently named Icons of Whisky 'Distiller of the Year' at the global round of the World Whiskies Awards, have unveiled their latest release, Pitch. This is the final single malt in 'The Founding Series' that introduces the independent distillery's creativity and barrier-breaking approach to whisky making. Think chocolate and hazelnuts from the malt, with the yeast specially selected to boost the chocolate notes, giving it a richer flavour. The chocolatey spirit is then matured in Oloroso casks, dialling up nutty notes. It's like being chased by a fruit and nut bar determined to give you a giant hug. Pitch explores the untapped potential of red wine yeasts in whisky-making. Bottled at 49.4% ABV, it is priced at £64 and you can buy a bottle here. Ardbeg Smokiverse Marking 25 years of the Ardbeg Committee, Ardbeg's latest limited release will transport smoky malt lovers' tastebuds to a fruity new dimension. Ardbeg Smokiverse is the Islay Distillery's first whisky crafted from a high-gravity mash, resulting in a distinctly vibrant, tropical and fruity spirit. Ardbeg Smokiverse is priced at £95 and you can buy a bottle here. Glenmorangie Lasanta 15 Glenmorangie Highland single malt Scotch whisky has reimagined Glenmorangie Lasanta, one of its most popular whiskies, to bring even more elegance to its rich spice and luscious sweetness. Now aged for 15 years in a refined combination of bourbon and sherry casks, this delicious favourite in the Distillery's core range has been enriched with newfound complexity and finesse. Glenmorangie Lasanta is priced at £58 and you can buy a bottle here.
Forbes
31-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Glenrothes' New Release Is Delicious, Affordable And A Surprise Move
The Glenrothes The 15 is a more-accessible new release that bucks market trends towards premiumization. Courtesy: Glenrothes After a relatively prosperous era of expansion, the Scotch whisky category is showing signs of strain. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, export volumes dropped nearly 9.5% in 2023, even though total sales remained roughly the same. Similar trends have been reported in the U.S., with the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) reporting a 17.4% drop in volume from 2019 to 2024. That same report shows that the only growth category by revenue has been 'super premium,' For a long time, a go-to strategy has been a tilt toward even more high-end offerings: premiumization. Higher age statements, boutique packaging, and collector-geared bottlings became the norm. Just last month, Tamdhu released a 43-year-old expression priced at $16,000 and Johnnie Walker launched the first releases from its much-hyped Johnnie Walker Vault. But in 2025, economic caution is setting in and consumer spend is flattening. RBC analysts focusing on Diageo (which owns Johnnie Walker, Talisker and Lagavulin, among others) said late last year that they 'estimate that the proportion of sales from high-end reserve brands fell from 29% in 2023 to 27% in 2024.' That's on top on-and-off tariffs threatening massive price swings and availability issues for consumers. Amid all that uncertainty, there's an opening for contrarian moves. That's the market context surrounding the release of The Glenrothes The 15, a new permanent addition to the Speyside distillery's portfolio. Now available across the U.S, The 15 comes in with an age statement below their flagship 18 and 25-year-old expressions (not to mention their very, very premium 42-year-old option). Moving to a lower age statement seems like a broad against premiumization—though it's not entirely so simple. First off, at $100 SRP, this Single Malt certainly hasn't entered the 'value' category. With 100% first-fill European oak sherry casks, upscale packaging, and a complex flavor profile, The 15 is designed to hit a balancing point: accessible yet still prestige. Laura Rampling, The Glenrothes' Master Whisky Maker, describes the spirit in a statement as "a counterintuitive marriage of the delicate and the bold," bringing sweet fruit and bright spice into a bold but balanced profile. It finishes rich, silky, and spice-laced, an excellent example of the Speyside style and a very sessionable sipper in general. The Glenrothes, long considered a hidden gem in Speyside, has built a quiet legacy since 1879 with its slow distillation and emphasis on high-quality oak. The release of The 15 underscores its confidence in those fundamentals. Where some competitors are trimming SKUs or maintaining a slate of ultra-limited releases, The Glenrothes is reinforcing its house style while also onboarding a more affordable age statement. The Glenrothes The 15 marks a shift in the age-statements that the distillery offers. Courtesy: The Glenrothes In a tightening market, The Glenrothes The 15 isn't just a new bottle, it's a signal that brands can't count on premiumization forever. That's not to say that brands won't still release ultra-premium expressions. Instead, if The 15 shows signs of success, there could be an opening for brands with a willingness to carry their upscale products to a more accessible point in the market. It could also answer signal a new trend: premiumization that goes both ways.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
We Tasted Tamdhu's New $16,000, 43 Year-Old Speyside Scotch Whisky
Tamdhu 43 Year-Old Speyside Scotch Whisky Scotland has over 150 distilleries, and it can be tricky for even the most ardent whisky fanatic to keep track of each and every one. Among Speyside single malt producers, operations like Macallan, Glenfiddich, and Balvenie garner quite a bit of media attention, especially among American drinkers. But a lesser-known, privately held producer just released an exceptional 43 year-old Scotch. And we got an early taste. Tamdhu has been laying down whisky since 1897, and it's currently operated by family-owned Ian Macleod Distillers. (Which also owns Glengoyne, Rosebank, and Smokehead.) Tamdhu's current lineup includes 12, 15, and 18 year-old single malts, as well as a non-age stated Batch Strength release now in its eighth iteration. The distillery isn't currently open to the public, which likely contributes to a sort of under-the-radar status. (Nobody spreads the word like a tourist who had a great visit.) Another important note: All of Tamdhu's releases are matured entirely in sherry seasoned casks, and the distillery utilizes both American and European oak for these purposes. The distillery's latest offering is the first in its new Dedication Collection, and on numbers alone, it's a doozy: a 43 year-old, 100% sherry matured single malt bottled at 50.8% ABV, with a suggested retail price of around $16,000. Just 100 specially designed, intricately crafted decanters of the liquid will be released. 'Tamdhu 43-Year-Old's release is a landmark moment for our distillery. To have a whisky this age, matured exclusively in three exceptional Sherry oak casks, is a true gem that exemplifies the amazing depth and complexity that only time can create,' says Distillery Manager Sandy McIntyre. Purchasing Tamdhu's new crown jewel also entitles the buyer to a rare visit with McIntyre at Tamdhu, which includes tasting 'a host of amazing whiskies with him.' (No word yet on if you're allowed to bring along a buddy.) But how does a Tamdhu Scotch taste after 43 years in sherry seasoned casks? Fortunately, we were able to sample the liquid for review. Right out of the gate, the nose is sherry-forward, coupled with spicy seasoned oak. Szechuan peppercorn lends a fascinating—and captivating—early aroma before the whisky turns toward both ripe and preserved fruits, along with brandy-soaked cherries. Toasted bread and honeycomb also waft out of the glass in undulating intensity. Clove and orange peel bookend a series of scents that prominently feature that sherry influence without getting lost in it; there's some noteworthy depth here owing to both the distillate and the casks. Blackberry and blackcurrant jams lead the early palate, followed by light cola, cherry preserves, raspberry flavored dark chocolate, and tannic leather. By the midpalate, citrus rises to prominence, and I'm reminded of the Terry's Chocolate Oranges I once adored around the holidays. (The kind you WHACK on the table and then peel to open.) Lightly oxidized vermouth lends a bit of funk beyond the fruit, and rather than tasting unpleasant, it helps continue a captivating narrative on the tongue. The finish starts slightly tart before turning to dry fruit, in this case figs and prunes. It's a little tricky to figure out where the fruit stops and lingering oak begins, but that's more of an academic chase—at the end of the day, this 43 yearold Tamdhu features a lovely finish that gives on lots to taste (and think) on.
