Gordon and MacPhail's Connoisseurs Choice Aberfeldy 15 Year has a seaside nose with rich notes of peat. The palate has rich notes of coastal air, seaweed and brine that are rounded by a light oak flavor. The finish has salt water notes with a big sweet finish.

Price: $62.99

This selection of Signatory’s Ardmore 11 Year for its Un-Chillfiltered Collection has an apple flesh nose with notes of pear. The palate is balanced with notes of honey and toffee and hints of spice and pepper. The finish is malty with a whisper of peat at the fade.

Price: $57.99

Gordon and MacPhail’s Cask Strength Selection of Ardmore 12 Year has a burnt wood and peaty nose. The palate delivers an explosion of flavor with notes of lemon zest, cooked apples with hints of apples of cinnamon. The finish is delicate and brief with a hint of smoke.

Price: $69.99

Gordon and MacPhail's Cask Strength selection of Ardmore 16 Year has a slight peat nose that incorporates notes of yeast and charred wood. The palate delivers notes of cooked apple, orange zest and baked spices. The finish is brief with gentle notes of smoke.

Price: $85.99

This Whisky Galore selection of Isle of Arran has an herbal nose with notes of biscuit. The palate delivers sweet and bright fruit flavors with a hint of yeast and malt. The finish is brief with a malted fade.

Price: $43.99

Duncan Taylor's Auld Reekie 12 Year has a nose that is full of smoke with notes that lean toward astringent. The palate has balanced notes of soda cracker, smoked fish and dry leaves. The finish has legs to run and a seaside morning fade.

Price: $56.99

This tasty though unfortunately obscure Speyside whisky offers nice sherry cask presence. The cask is always deftly balanced, with big malt and oak flavors as well. The Aultmore '89 really grows on me with repeated sipping. And water for mucho smoothness, or take it straight for a smoky finish. Compared to more mainstream Speyside malts of similar age, this Aultmore is a can't-believe-it bargain at just fitty bucks.—JE

Price: $49.99

This aromatic and very nice Balblair shows the careful, excellent sherry treatment which Gordon & MacPhail often lavish on their bottlings. Sherry is juicy and warm, with nice oak detail, but subtle, allowing full expression of North Highland flavors—spice, potpourri, cedar and aromatic bark, dried flowers. It finishes dry, highly spiced and savory. Compare against the sherry-finished Glenmorangie.—JE

Price: $41.99

I knew Gordon & MacPhail bottled a Balmenach for the UK market, so I asked the importer to bring it across the pond. Presto, now we have a tasty Balmenach for sale, and what a classic Speysider it is, too. This overlooked distillery  lands firmly in the Spey tradition of biggish, fruit-driven malts with a  deep, malt-fruit roundness and a chewy, firm, medium-full body. The impressive finish shows the fruit again, accented with vanilla, mint, currant, and a wisp of oak. Very, very nice.—JE

Price: $54.99

Adequate water turns this unchillfiltered Blair Athol nice and cloudy—smoothness you can see!—and the aroma-palate to a fine expression layered with sweet cookie malt, nuts, and faint fruit. A fine-boned and very pure, delicate Speysider. Good lenth and intensity for such a gentle malt.—JE

Price: $53.99

Murray McDavid's selection of Bowmore 11 Year has rested in E. Guigal Condrieu Viognier wine barrels and has a nose that is crisp throughout with dry peat and light dry wine notes. The palate is met with forward wine fruit notes that are dominated by peat highlights. The finish is an amalgam of musclar peat and soft wine fruit ntoes that have a pleasant spicy fade.

Price: $66.99

Somehow, teenaged Bowmore can develop a remarkable berry fruit aspect. This bottling shows that fruity side to good effect, plus a dry palate entry, firm peat and sooty smoke, and a terrific big ozone finish like the wake of a thunderstorm. The nose is nice too, with the berry fruit, iron, ozone, and perfumed smoke in evidence. This excellent, tangy, characterful Bowmore is a good choice for those who want some peat in their whisky but find the monsters from the south shore of Islay overwhelming.—JE

Price: $48.99

Duncan Taylor’s selection of Bowmore 40 Year has a nose with abundant notes of ripe dark fruit. The palate is thick with notes of slow stewed fruit, molasses and suggestions of smoke. The finish is fruitified – rich and lengthy.

Price: $489.99

Wow. This young Bowmore tastes vastly more complex and complete than eight years. Chunky peat and good smokiness are enhanced with a charming fruitiness that's quite compelling. There's even a waxy fruit note that to me is so common to fine Chenin Blanc. Showing fine development and depth plus absolutely delicious flavors, this eight-year young'un should make your list for sure.—JE

Price: $55.99

In the mouth, there is plenty of the fruit (apple-red) for which Brackla is noted, but truly it's a ripe spine of barley that rules the roost here. with fine structure and length in the vanilla-toasty finish.—JE

Price: $51.99

Despite Glenmorangie, Dalmore, and Balblair, one wonders after tasting this if the Brora/Clynelish installation is not the best malt distillery north of the Firth. This Brora attains a mixture of ozone-air and spice-malt so teasingly and ineffably balanced as to leave its neighbors in the dust. (The spice reminds at times of rye whiskey, with rooty, licorice, coriander, mustard tones. Wow!) This is a flat-out Hall-of-Fame Northern Highland Scotch malt terroir, and a ringer for fans of the old Brora distillery.—JE

Price: $171.99

Cadenhead's Classic Highland has a dlicate nose with notes of rosewater, apricots and suggestions of oak. The palate is elegant with notes of cooked fruit and and candied spice. The finish is and suggestive with a delicate fade.

Price: $60.99

This Cadenhead Classic Islay has a nose that is assertive with notes of aniseed, juniper, lemon and charred wood. The palate reveals notes of peat, rope and dust. The finish is a crisp with big notes of peat.

Price: $60.99

Cadenhead's Classic Lowland has a gentle nose with notes of orange citrus, dried banana chips and vanilla. The palate is expressive and delicate with notes of orange zest, caramel and toffee. The finish is faint and whimsical.

Price: $60.99

Murray McDavid's selection of Clynelish rested in Port casks and has a thoughtful nose that is bone dry. The palate is controlled with complex notes of sweet barley and juniper showing through. The finish is semi sweet with a dry oak finish that demands another dram.

Price: $64.99

Compass Box Asyla has a vanilla nose with notes of green herbs and lemon, sandalwood spiciness. The palate is sweet with bright notes of mint, woodruff and and midweight mouthfeel. The finish is long with notes of ginger and biscuit.

Price: $41.99

Copmass Box Hedonism has a fresh, light fruity nose that hints at notes of pepper. The palate has soft, delicate notes of spice and ripe cherry with hints of polenta. The finish is fragrant with notes of chocolate and hints of mint.

Price: $79.99

Compass Box Oak Cross has a light, grassy nose with subtle floral perfume that has hints of spice. The palate is soft with notes of honey and sweet malt that favor citrus notes. The finish is sweet and try with notes of toasted oak.

Price: $44.99

Compass Box Orangerie has a very bright nose with strong notes of orange zest and dried peel. The palate is silkly and dense with notes of orange and baking spice. The finish is sublime and luxurious with notes of gentle whiskey raising.

Price: $37.99

Compass Box Peat Monster has a wonderfully vegetal nose that is creamy with notes of smoke and peat. The palate is crisp, clean and has dense notes of charred wood and a touch of astringency. The finish is long and whispers peat bog.

Price: $41.99

Compass Box Spice Tree is an alluring blend of Highland whiskies aged in casks of French oak with varrying degrees of toast that deliver a notes of rich complex flavors of leather, toffee, clove and dried spice. The finish is sublime and lengthy.

Price: $52.99

Signatory's selection of Cragganmore 11 Year has a nose that is over flowing with notes of pepper and sea shore. The palate has distinct notes of oak, pecan and spice with hints of citrus. The finish is noted with a fine wood fade.

Price: $44.99

Gordon and MacPhail's selection of Dallas Dhu 26 Year has a nose that offers notes of cereal, toasted almonds and yeast. The palate delivers notes of nutmeg, sultana and hints of anis. The finish is brief with notes of herb and spice.

Price: $127.99

Oh, how nice it is to have some PURE, unfiltered/uncolored Dalmore in the house. The true character of this fine distillery comes soaring through, with a complex of malt-orange-fruit-peat-smoke-butter-nougat-chocolate that tells the truth. Dalmore, when treated right like Duncan Taylor always does, is a terrific distillery long deserving a higher price point in the States than the <$25 it held for years. Independent bottlings of Dalmore are no so common, so don't miss this rare malt.—JE

Price: $128.99

Signatory's Dalmore 1990 is big and smoky with a great malt balance. Long finish of spicy dried fruits. Great price!

Price: $61.99

Gordon and MacPhail's selection of Glen Grant 15 Year has a fresh and bright nose with notes of zest and spice. The palate displays notes of spice, dark stewed fruit and hints of char. The finish is lengthy with a warm spice fade.

Price: $54.99

Gordon and MacPhail's Cask Strength selection of Glen Scotia has a nose that delivers damp earth, peat and smoke. The palate is peaty with notes of malt and stewed fruit. The finish is dusty with a woody fade.

Price: $93.99

Signatory’s selection of Glenisla 29 Year has a rich fragrant nose that is dominated with honey. The palate has notes of caramel, vanilla and baking spice. The finish is long with a bready finish.

Price: $212.99

This cask represents a splendid union of sherry cask with the grand old malt of Speyside: Glenlivet. The palate entry is very supple, with a juicy-apricot background, a nice interplay between dry and sweet. There's more sherry in the nose than the palate with rich, thick waves of buttery sherry oak aroma. First fill sherry butts of Glenlivet do not come along every day. Thank goodness it's unchillfiltered—thank you, Signatory!—JE

Price: $74.99

Wow. For the money, this is a slam dunk, grand slam home run whisky. Typical Glenrothes style—all fat, rich and richer, smooth—just great stuff. Aromas are deep and layered—fat fruits (apple, cherry), fudge and cocoa, vanilla, sherry, and much old oak. Yet the mouth is admirably fresh and juicy, with a touch of oak, plus fruitcake, thick-cut fruitiness, and a nice dry-sweet interplay. Smooth and full-bodied, this old Glenrothes is awesome dessert whisky, a no-doubt must-have, perfectly aged, never woody.—JE

Price: $158.99

This Gordon and MacPhail’s selection of Glenturret 16 Year for MacPhail’s Collection has a fruit nose that leads to notes of raisin. The palate delivers note of honey orange blossom with a malty undertone. The finish is oaky with a dry fade.

Price: $52.99

Well...that is one hell of a nose for thirty bucks: big and blowsy with classic H. Park items of peat and heather. It shows a bit more malt if you splash it with water. Criminy that's a good nose! The mouth likewise is a total winner, big and oily-creamy with pure peaty-rooty detail. One rarely finds HP at this age; who knew it could be so terrific? A bit thanks to G&M for sending this to America, at 86 proof, no less. So tasty. (Side by side against the distillery 12-year-old, this G&M shows quite a bit more Orkney peat, while the official bottling offers more honeyed richness. I would not say the young one is better, but it definitely is different. Highland Park fans should make room for both on their shelf, an easy task at just $29.99.)—JE

Price: $32.99

John McDougall’s selection of 13 Year Islay has a nose that is intense with smoke and seashore. The palate is intense exploding with notes of licorice and suet and hints of charred wood. The finish is long and astringent.

Price: $109.99

This bottling, authorized by Bladnoch and selected from their warehouse by grand whiskyman John McDougall, is a fine, fine Lowland piece. Characterized by good intensity and up-front flavors, it is tasty, tangy, dry, and persistently malty. The nose opens nicely with waster. Just a delightful drinker! Probably the best Bladnoch we have.—JE

Price: $113.99

Gordon and MacPhail's selection of Linkwood 15 Year has a rich nose with notes of oil and oak. The palate is ripe with flavors of vanilla bean, caramel and oak. The finish is deliberate with spice notes and an oaken fade.

Price: $67.00

If you want to be a bona fide, card-carrying Scotch connoisseur, you have simply got to be well acquainted with a good Longmorn. And brother lemme tell ya, this here Gordon & MacPhail is good Longmorn. One of the basic building block flavors of Scotch whisky is presented here in textbook, reference standard form. That flavor is barley malt. The quality of maltiness here is exceptionally high, a three-dimensional field of grain, just beautiful stuff, fat and ripe and glistening with grain goodness. Moreover, the malt is forward and juicy but also delicate; it's like the puff pastry of malt. Alongside the John Barleycorn melody is a harmonic of fruit, ranging from cut pear to pineapple—but this fruity bit is always subtle; I would not ever call Longmorn a fruity whisky. In the end, we should all work on a few glasses of Longmorn. Amidst the sturm und drang of peaty-popular South Shore Islay, and the buttery seduction of first-fill sherry cask, an understated, underrated, unknown and unexpurgated malt like this is not only refreshing, it is fulfilling. There's a reason this distillery is never closed, and commands a pretty penny for its goods: it's Longmorn, man.

Price: $59.99

Whisky Galore's selection of Longmorn 16 Year has a bright nose with notes of fresh peeled apple and lemon zest and tea. The palate delviers notes of oak, spices and honey. The finish is lengthy with a dry oak fade.

Price: $53.99

Gordon and MacPhails’ selection of Macallan 34 Year has a big nose with over ripe dark fruits at the core. The palate delivers notes of fruit and marmalade with hints of dried apricot and molasses. The finish is long and balanced.

Price: $239.99

Gordon and MacPhails’ selection of Macallan 34 Year has a huge sherry nose. The palate delivers a rich, thick palate with ripe fruit and sherry notes against a background of fruitcake and oak. The finish long and smooth with a dried fruit fade.

Price: $474.99

The freshness here is quite astonishing, given the age. The nose begins with fruits (lemon-pear-kiwi) and a just a touch of oak, plus smoke and peat. That peat and smoke will return in the palate, which begins firm and full, turning quite smoky. The peat has real detail and depth, and a citrus-menthol note returns. It's all brisk, zesty, fresh, resembling nothing so much as old Bowmore--yet I never knew G&M to truck with any Bowmore. Great stuff, wonderfully fresh and complex.—JE

Price: $499.99

Gordon and MacPhail's selection of Mortlach 15 Year has a rich nose that is abundant with barley and grain aromas. The palate delivers notes of stewed fruit and fruitcake with hints of warm spices. The finish is generour with hints of sherry and a robust caramel fade.

Price: $61.99

Gordon and MacPhail’s Cask Selection of Mortlach 15 Year has a sweet orange nose and subtle hints of sherry. The palate delivers sweet fruitcake and raisin notes with hints of sherry and vanilla. The finish is lengthy with notes of spice and honey.

Price: $52.99

Oh, hell yeah! An awesome new bottling (Oct. 2005) from G&M—Gorgeous & Mortlach! Straight up, the nose gives great fruit in a 3D-style, plus fresh oak, smoke, flowers and more. The mouth starts full, fat and smooth and then at midpalate veers into a hard, clear, surprising peatiness that sustains through the finish--stunning! This wicked 21-year-old strikes a near perfect balance between sherry casks, long aging, and distillery character. Love the peat in this, so old-fashioned. Ah, Mortlach...—JE

Price: $95.99

Gordon and MacPhails’ selection of Mortlach 34 Year has a wonderfully sherried nose with big round notes of dark fruit. The palate delivers notes of oak, sherry and molasses with light suggestions of char. The finish is long with a big sherry fade.

Price: $211.99

Gordon and MacPhail’s Cask Selection of Mortlach 15 Year has a sweet orange nose and subtle hints of sherry. The palate delivers sweet fruitcake and raisin notes with hints of sherry and vanilla. The finish is lengthy with notes of spice and honey.

Price: $79.99

The fruit emphasis in the North Port nose is resolutely firm, even hard, like crisp red apples or early nectarines. The palate is likewise fruited but coated with an oaky patina of age, and with time in the glass is clearly much the better for exposure to air, as the chewy, spicy whisky needs time to unfold. Anything from the since-razed North Port distillery is exceptionally rare; this is the only one I've ever sold, and one of just two I've tasted (Diageo's old Rare Malts series was the other one). I'm impressed with this bottling. It's quite fresh at 24 years, expressive and compelling throughout. The price is stunningly low for a well-aged collector's whisky from a vanished distillery.—JE

Price: $98.99

Duncan Taylor's selection of Old Pulteney 18 Year has an oily nose that delivers notes of honey, dried fruit and nuts. The palate shows notes of salted nuts and chestnut honey with layers of fruitcake. The finish is long and carries a toffee and oak fade.

Price: $97.99

Gordon and MacPhails’ selection of Strathisla 25 Year has a robust nose with notes of burnt sugar and fruitcake. The palate delivers a delicate note of dark, well ripened fruit, molasses and hints of oak. The finish is lengthy, leaving with a slight oak fade.

Price: $118.99

Surely Strathisla does not get at all the credit it deserves as a long-lived whisky. For making old bones, it is right up there with Springbank, Macallan, Longmorn, Balvenie, Bowmore, etc., as this vibrant, fresh, aged yet living bottling so aply shows. Right off, the nose gushes a bloom of fruity-oaky aroma that has much to reveal. Likewise, the palate, with top-class grand cru quality development of the same flavors. This is superb Strathisla.—JE

Price: $232.99

Duncan Taylor's selection of Stathisla 36 Year is rich with notes of orange and cinnamon. The palate delivers complex notes of candied ginger, dried fruit and fruitcake. The finish is perfectly sherried and long.

Price: $189.99

After 40 years in the cask, oak will inevitably leave a large print on a whisky. This Strathisla, however, wears its barrel very well. The nose is big, quite fresh, and very flowery and fruity, with nicely balanced sherry notes, spices, and oak. The palate enters smooth and dry, showing wood at first, then big-grained oakiness, dry fruit, and again balanced, superb sherry cask flavors, with fine mid-palate development. It finishes gently, long and oaky. An excellent, balanced, very drinkable old-timer; kudos to Gordon & Macphail, not to mention Strathisla Distillery. And the price deserves mention as probably the best deal in the country for a four-decade malt.—JE

Price: $195.99

Gordon and MacPhail's Connoisseurs Choice Tamnavulin 15 Year has a ground grain nose with notes of herb. The palate has an herbal dominance with notes of dry fig and wet oak. The finish is lengthy with a light smoky fade.

Price: $43.99

For me, Teaninich is nearly always a delicious dram, full of that spicy Northern Highland  character in a firmer and bigger body than, for example, its neighbor Glenmorangie. This 14-year-old displays nice dry-sweet interplay and some good smoke in the middle. The nose is quite spicy-fruity, very expressive. It's a square deal, too, for this distillery and vintage.—JE

Price: $50.99

Gordon and MacPhail’s selection of Tomintoul 40 Year has a bold nose with notes of leather and marmalade. The palate delivers notes of sherry, vanilla and earth with just hints of raisin and burnt molasses. The finish is long with whispers of peat and a gentle oak fade.

Price: $259.99

The Wild Scotsman’s 12 Year Royal Lochnagar has a fruitcake nose with just hints of dough. The palate delivers a wonderful sherried backbone that mingles with notes of fruit and cake. The finish has notes of vanilla and culminates with a light peat fade.

Price: $69.99

This is a thoughtful vatting, made with care with flavors ranging from Scottish Midlands-like nutty confection tones to much malt, some fruit, and firm yet balanced peat. Flavors throughout are clean, focused, juicy, forawrd. Smooth and medium-full, yet juicy and tangy, a very drinkable whisky. Good job, Jeff—it's always nice to see a local boy make good.—JE

Price: $78.49

Jeff Toppings Wild Scotsman Black Label is vatted from four different casks, are selected from four distilling regions around Scotland—Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside and Islay. A mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-sherry casks, the youngest being twelve years and the oldest eighteen, the Black Label is rather smokier than the 15 year. It's a ncie change up from the original  Wild man, and a welcome addition to the range.—JE

Price: $68.99