The Inaugural Release's showpiece. A beautiful 37 year old whisky, made for special occasions. It is a very complex whisky that tastes exceptional time and again.

Nose: citrusfruit such as lemon, lime, orange and even tangerine. Some hints of wood and walnuts.
Taste: very full and warm. The citrusfruit stays present, but there are also tastes of dried fruits, such as raisins. Later on a very special delicate aniseed. Very good.
Finish: long and ever changing, a real experience!

The Littlemill distillery closed in 1994. Lately some beautiful Littlemills have come available. This ARCHIVES is one of them.

Nose: wood and the typical grassy smell of Littlemill. Also a bit mossy and autumnal.
Taste: a full flavour with lots of wood. Boiled fruit such as apple sauce and hints of a pine tree forest. Delightful!
Finish: long and warm. A whisky to drink by an open fire!

1997 has been a good year for Clynelish. Several extraordinary whiskies stem from this year (the manager's choice, Adelphi, David Stirk). This ARCHIVES can surely side with them.

Nose: grassy and peppery. Also citrusfruits such as orange.
Taste: very fresh, waxy and a bit edgy. Later on more wood and a sweet liquorice.
Finish: long finish with more citrus and wood.

When you taste this Caol Ila, you don't expect it to be only ten years old. It has the mature taste of an Islay whisky that is at least twenty years old.

Nose: Smoke, tobacco and a bit medicinal.
Taste: This is a muscleman! An explosion of flavours bursting through the Peat and Smoke; citrus, the salty sea, open fire and this goes on and on.
Finish: the taste of this Caol Ila will linger the rest of the evening. It is pointless to drink any other whisky after this pièce the résistance. This is Islay as Islay is supposed to be!

This Glen Grant is the oldest one of the ARCHIVES First Release. There were only 81 bottles left is this hogshead. Maybe the warehouse keepers liked it too?

Nose: grand old whisky full of fruit: raspberries, strawberries, prunes, flowers, oak, nutmeg and some cardamom
Taste: raspberry cream, ripe banana, honey, bay leaf, liquorice, grapes, lemon grass
Finish: red fruit, oak, macarons and a little pepper

Dailuaine is one of main components of Johnnie Walker blends. Sometimes a good cask goes to an independent bottler...

Nose: soft citrus with vanilla, caramel, toffee and butter. A bit later fruits like strawberry, apple, cider, plum blossom and mangoes
Taste: a sweet mix of buckthorn, grapefruit, marzipan and again the strawberries together with fresh cake
Finish: a lingering finish with lemon zest, honey, vanilla with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon

A clean and green whisky from a little known distillery in the Eastern Highlands.

Nose: green tea, mineral, caramel, fudge, lilly, mead, apricots, cherries
Taste: chocolate, sweets, apple, honey, heather, peaches
Finish: long, oranges, heather and camphor

This young but powerful whisky comes from the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull.

Nose: flinty, zesty, peaty, very clean, honey, sweet, BBQ smoke
Taste: smoky, lemony, grain, wool, ginger, cardamom, butterfudge and salt, easy drinkable for such a strong whisky even without water
Finish: peaty, zesty, minty, fresh sea breeze, marmelade