Taster

Nose: The subtle notes of bittersweet chocolate, dark toffee, and bacon fat sneak up on you only after a couple of minutes of air exposure. One of the more complex and elegant bouquets in Scotch blends. Buttery, oily, luscious.

Palate: The sweet, wine-like, sherry imprint taste of the Glendronach Distillery malts is all over this poised, chewy thoroughbred.

Finish: Long. Oloroso sherry sweet and almost prune-like. Satiny. I think of the muscular, sinew, peaty side of Speyside malts.

Comment: Cream is the appropriate moniker. Smoky, robust, vibrant.

Score: 8.5

Taster

Nose: Oily, fudge-like.

Palate: Big, rounded, smooth. Full of crunchy maltiness. To drink this whisky is like biting into peanut brittle. Then toffee. Then liquorice flavours.

Finish: Rooty, oaky, smoky, these dry flavours providing a perfect balance.

Comment: Malty, even creamy, but never cloying. Big and sustaining. The whisky world's answer to Kendal Mint Cake.

Score: 8.5