December 2020

Here we are then, at the end of a tough year for the entire planet. The whisky community has been a shining beacon for me throughout the events of the year and it’s been my pleasure to continue to make the content I love making.
Soppiness aside, let’s get into the final WotM for the year. As always, I’ll talk about the runners up first and announce the winner and why at the end. You can watch my reviews on each by clicking the links in the text.

This month was a particularly tough one to choose. I only covered three bottles and all of them were of exceptional quality. In the end, it came down the bottle that most surprised me.

First runner up is the Smoke & Glory Ledaig 13 Years from Heroes & Heretics. I’ve fallen head over heels for peat in recent years and I’m always on the look out for a big bold peat monster. This is a wonderful single cask Ledaig that offers some glorious notes. For me, its less ashy peat and more a roaring BBQ, smoking a glazed brisket over a 12 hours cook session. Not cheap! But nor should it be. Grab it while you can.

Second runner up is the Gulliver’s 47 STR Cask. This is a subtly named Cotswolds Distiller aged for 5 years and yet another glorious example of not only what the Cotswolds can do but also what STR casks can bring to the fold. Gulliver’s themselves seem to be masters at selecting the very best from English distilleries. Something I wholeheartedly support and will be watching them closely in the coming years.

The winner then is the Whisky Works Quartermaster. Whisky Works are an experimental arm of Whyte & Mackay headed by Gregg Glass, and they are selecting incredible things from within the W&M portfolio. The Quartermaster in particular really stood out for me. It has some interesting components within it’s blend including a good wedge of Highland grain (likely to be Invergordon) that’s been ex-rum casks and then finished in ex-PX casks. This has then been blended with two Speyside malts (both likely Tamnavulin), one aged in ex-bourbon casks and the other in ex-sherry casks. On paper, I shouldn’t like this at all. It all sounds a little weird. But the result is truly very lovely and I’m finding it very hard to reach past the bottle.

What do you think? Would you have chosen differently? Let me know below!