Founded in the 1820s in the Speyside village of Keith, Strathmill is best known as the malt whisky at the heart of the J&B Rare blended scotch whisky, a role which has seen it included in one of the most popular whiskies on earth, though the single malt itself has long flown under the radar; a preserve of connoisseurs and an insider's secret.

Only one official bottling has ever been released; the exquisitely balanced, classically Speyside 12 Year Old 'Flora & Fauna' edition, now sadly discontinued. Indie bottlings are also relatively rare, though the few we do see fetch surprisingly high prices at young ages. The rarity of Strathmill on the market coupled with the good value presented by these casks gives remarkable upside for those with the patience to wait.

Strathmill's style is somewhat akin to Cragganmore, in our view; with a fair bit of sandalwood, incense and light woody spice on top of a delicate orchard fruit and citrus bouquet. This is a distillery which rewards Bourbon wood very well indeed so no re-racking necessary in this case.

Whisky Advocate (93)

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Wine Enthusiast (97)

Wine Advocate (97)

Jancis Robinson (19.5)

James Suckling (100)

James Suckling (100)

Wine Advocate (97+)

Wine Advocate (100)

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

A stablemate of classic Islay distillery Bunnahabhainn and the iconic Tobermory Distillery on Mull, Deanston is a hidden gem of a Highland Malt. Founded on the banks of the River Teith in 1795 as a cotton mill, the beautiful stone building was converted to its present purpose in 1965. Drawing water from the river which also powers its own hydro-energy facility, it has the distinction of being the only energy self-sufficient distillery in Scotland.

The spirit produced here is a classically fine, balanced Highland Malt with a bit of punchiness to its profile that does well ageing relatively unhindered in ex-Bourbon wood as is the case here. The distillery’s production of bottled single malt is small with 85% of the output going into blends. That gives holders of Deanston casks a point of relative rarity that very little of this delicious spirit is bottled as single malt, and even rarer, bottled at an advanced age. As such this will greatly reward patience.

Tasting Note
Fresh and bright with excellent potential given the performance over 9 years of maturation in a single refill hogshead, it was regauged just this year close to 60% ABV, this is well suited to a very long term hold, while Deanston's profile rises as it has done for the past decade. Look for classic apple, pear and stone fruit aromatics alongside crisp barley and cereal notes as it shows a remarkably youthful nose. This is ageing slow indeed with a lot left to give in the years (and decades) ahead.

Hedonist's Gazette (100)

Based in the small village of Ballindaloch on the banks of the River Spey, situated a stones throw from Glenfarclas, Tomintoul is a modern classic. Known popularly as "the gentle dram with a peaty tang" it breaks with fellow Speysiders by introducing a hint of peat smoke to their distillery's flavour profile.

Less heavily peated than the likes of Ardmore, Tomintoul has begun to gradually build up its reputation around the world and though it can still be considered an insider's secret, a number of independent bottlings from Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory and Douglas Laing have raised the distillery's profile among the cognoscenti and an increased and much improved distillery-bottled range have paved the way for a very bright future for the brand indeed.