Lagavulin, pronounced 'Lagga-voolin' (meaning 'the hollow where the mill is') is distinctive and powerful. Once described as 'liquid bandaid' for its strong medicinal character, it is perhaps the most assertive, complex and intensely dry of all the Islay malts.The palate overwhelms like an ocean wave with powerful peaty, salty overtones that re-emerge on the finish. The taste sensation lingers long in the mouth. On a cold wet winters night, there is perhaps no finer tonic than a dram of Lagavulin.

Highland Park had a 15 year old on the market over a decade ago, bottled at 43%. The age statement is being revived in this re-packaged version composed of a ‘high percentage’ of first-fill European oak sherry-seasoned casks. Complimenting this are first-fill American oak sherry casks, adding flavours of vanilla and crème brûlée. Meanwhile, a small proportion of refill casks give ‘gentle’ heather peat and ‘lightly fruity’ character. Perhaps what's most striking is the vessel itself. The whisky has been filled into heavily embossed 'ceramic' style bottles, made in partnership with UK-based Wade Ceramics. The design was inspired by ancient earthenware vessels, which would have been used to store whisky a century or two ago at the distillery. The new 15 year old is set to become a permanent edition to the core range. 44% Alc./Vol.

A mix of first fill ex-Bourbon and first fill ex-Sherry casks were used to create this rich, lightly smokey malt.

Octomore seems to be getting a second wind of popularity - not that it was ever unpopular. Added to that is a sense of scarcity with allocations becoming smaller every year. 12.2 is no exception. The .2s in the series are known to showcase the impact of different wine barrels on the heavily peated Islay whisky. Distilled in the winter of 2015 from 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley, 12.2 weighs in at 129.7ppm and was matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, followed by 18 months in rare first-fill Sauternes casks. Knowing how well 'sweet & peat' can work, it's destined to be one of the more desirable editions to date. Bottled at cask strength, expect something sweet-ish with a salty edge, lots of earthy peat, sweet bonfire smoke plus hints of maritime complexity. 57.3% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. Very limited stocks .