Whisky plays a starring role every Christmas season and finding the perfect Christmas whisky is a sport of its own. Here are five of our favourites.
Roaring fires, time spent with family and friends, gift-giving itself – these are the images of Christmas that we all chase. Distillers are no different and luckily for whisky fans they have outdone each other to create the perfect Christmas pour – and often at a great price point. The five whiskies selected here from our shelves represent some of the most exciting brands in the whisky world. Any one of them is a perfect gift for a whisky fan or the perfect pour when a whisky fan visits.
Glendronach 12
This is a decadent whisky. It’s luxurious, rich and complex. Full of flavour and personality it’s the flagship of the Glendronach range and, as such, carries the brand’s reputation all over the world.
Matured in Pedro Ximines and oloroso sherry, it carries layers of fruit, dark chocolate and nuttiness and spice that is Glendronach’s signature. Wrap it up in the oily mouth-feel that they celebrate so often and this is a perfect pour – for a winter’s night or a Christmas whisky celebration.
Redbreast 12
Ireland’s most celebrated whiskey bottle, Redbreast 12 is the opening attraction in a family of terrific single pot still whiskies. For most fans, Christmas can’t happen without layers of its fruit, black pepper spices and a silky smooth finish.
Triple distilled, It offers a complex and spicy flavour with lots of toasted wood notes, a fruity aroma, succulent exotic fruit on the palate as well as a harmonious balance from the use of ex-bourbon and sherry casks. A wonderful Christmas whisky.
Glenallachie 15
This heavily sherried Christmas treat is already a Speyside stalwart, even though it’s from one of the younger distillery brands in the region.
Dreamt up by the renowned Billy Walker as one of its core bottles, You’ll find waves of honey and dark figs as well as lots of nutty elements in this fine single malt. Fruit cake and mocha also drive the aroma while on the palate you can expect lots of treacle, dark chocolate, sweet spices and honey syrup.
Bushmills Causeway Collection – Pomerol Cask
This 10-year-old Bushmills Pomerol release is one of two exclusive Ireland-only bottles created as part of the Bushmills Causeway Collection 2022.
This single malt whiskey spent its first six years in oloroso sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels. The whiskey was then transferred to red wine Pomerol casks for a lengthy four-year finish. This is a remarkable amount of time to devote to a finish but it allows the red wine influence to completely marry with the Bushmills whiskey.
Lagavulin 12 Special Release 2022
Lagavulin 12, being an Islay whisky, comes with plenty of peat and deep character. Using heavily peated and virgin oak casks it comes with a personality that is all its own, pulling its deeply-layered flavours from the wood and peat alone.
There are no wines or special finishes to wrap up the taste here: just unadulterated Lagavulin. The peat dominates the aroma and leads to a palate of salt, citrus, sugar and those iodine and medicinal notes that put Islay on the map.
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