Great Drams Range Review Summer 2025
For today’s review, I thought I’d do something I haven’t done for a while on the blog, and actually provide you, our fantastic readers, with a review of the range of GreatDrams whiskies we currently have available on our site.
2025 has been a huge year for Great Drams, and we’re only just halfway through. We’ve worked tirelessly for weeks on end with barely a break, we’ve visited distilleries all over the country, and we’ve even bagged ourselves several awards along the way, including World’s Best Blended Malt. Never one to toot my own horn, I’m still immensely proud of what Kirsty and I have achieved with the Great Drams brand over the last decade, and best of all, we’re just getting started.
So, if you’re ready to pick up another whisky or two, but aren’t sure which dram to go with, here’s a quick look at a selection of whiskies you’ll currently find available here on the Great Drams website.
Craigellachie Peated Cask Finish Single Malt
Up first we’ve a limited-edition dram for you to peruse, and although I may be biased, I can honestly say it’s a cracker!
If you like your whiskies sweet, smoky, complex and mysterious, this is the whisky for you. combining Craigellachie’s classic sweet, fruity, and meaty character, with a unique smoky twist, this dram is limited to just 209 bottles globally.
If you’re a Great Drams “OG” as the kids say, you may remember our mega-award-winning ‘Secret Islay’ whisky we released back in 2023. That one was INSANELY popular, scoring 98/100 and scooping Gold at the IWSC, along with Best Single Cask at the San Francisco World’s Spirits Competition? If so, and you were a fan, you’ll love this as we finished it in the very same cask that we used to mature that stunning peaty delight back in 23.
Naturally coloured and non-chill filtered, you can expect tropical pineapple and mango syrup aromas on the nose from the get-go. These work beautifully with scents of honey, toasted oats, and golden syrup flapjack. Then comes that brooding peat smoke. It’s not subtle, but it’s certainly not overpowering. It’s there, to remind you you’re dealing with a peated dram.
On the palate, we see those muscular, masculine, yet sensitive Craigellachie notes come to the forefront. You should pick up dried fruits, tart raspberries, heather honey, and dark chocolate. Sip again, and you get flavours of pineapple upside down cake, maple-cured bacon and BBQ meats, and lightly charred oak smoke.
The finish lingers long after you swallow. It has an amazing mouthfeel, that’s not too cloying, and not too watery. There’s candied peel, ripe tropical fruits, and that ominous peat smoke. Bold and powerful, yet complex and elegant at the same time, this is a dram that will earn pride and place at the top of your drinks shelf.
Great Drams Founders’ Choice Blended Scotch Whisky
If you love a blended whisky, this expression from our Founders’ Choice – Tales From the Barrel range, is sure to delight.
Crafted to commemorate a decade of passion, a decade of awards, a decade of uncompromising flavour, and above all else, a decade of Great Drams, we delved deep into our cask inventory and hand-selected a selection of our favourite flavour profiles to craft this wee beauty. The end result? Our Founders’ Choice Blended Scotch Whisky.
When creating this whisky, we wanted a sippable dram you could enjoy neat, over ice, in cocktails, or any other way. To say we achieved that would be a huge understatement. It’s smoky, it’s elegant, it’s sweet, it’s savoury, it’s complex, and it could be yours!
On the nose, you get hints of Madagascan vanilla, sherry-soaked dates, citrus zest, caramelised pineapple, and a touch of bonfire smoke.
On the palate, more of those sweet sherry flavours shine through, coupled with honey-drizzled figs, toasted almonds, nutmeg and cinnamon, grilled pineapple and burnt orange peel. These flavours gently fade, giving way to slightly mellower, fruity flavours, all tied together with subtle cigar smoky notes.
The finish is medium and decadently rich. Expect spiced Jamaican ginger cake, caramelised banana, black treacle, and the faintest whisper of smouldering campfire embers. This dram is easy to drink and irresistibly moreish.
Auchroisk 7 Year Old Rye Cask Finished Single Malt
Here at GreatDrams, we haven’t put out as many rye-oriented expressions as we’d like. We wanted to change that, which is why we opted for this belter from Auchroisk.
Pronounced ARR-thrusk, it’s very rare to obtain a bottle of whisky from this distillery. This is part of the reason why we were drawn to it, as they only put out a handful of limited releases each year. Their drams are unique and like nothing you’ll find anywhere else. They produce their whisky in a unique way, giving it distinct notes of honey and cereal, with a lightly spicy twist.
Finished in a first-fill rye whisky cask, and bottled at 48.2% ABV, we wanted to create a dram that put a bold and spicy twist on a classic sweet and fruity Speyside expression.
On the nose, you get those unmistakable honey cereal aromas that have become synonymous with Auchroisk. Think of crunchy nut cornflakes, drenched in creamy Jersey milk, and you’re in the right ballpark. These sweet, nutty, malty notes however, are joined by lighter fruity aromas reminding you you’re in Speyside. Expect crisp apples and poached pears here, with lightly toasted oak in the background. The rye influence hits you right at the end, with subtle aromas of toasted black peppercorns and baking spices.
On the palate, there’s more honey and cereal sweetness, coupled with golden syrup flapjacks. Lightly scorched oak and candied orange peel also join the party here, along with hot honey, rye spice, and toffee apples.
The finish is long and drawn out. This is where you really appreciate the rye cask maturation. Expect dried fruits and honey, along with a citrus influence in the form of spiced orange and toasted coriander seeds.
Finally, after many years, we were able to get our hands on some ancient grain whisky from this prestigious distillery, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited we were.
Invergordon is not only one of the most beautiful parts of the Highlands (and that’s saying a lot) it’s also home to the ‘World’s Strongest Brothers’, Tom and Luke Stoltman. It’s fitting, then, that strength is associated with this part of the Scotland, because this whisky is most certainly strong in character, yet refined and elegant at the same time.
This 2x silver-medal winning dram is limited to just 500 bottles globally and bottled at 48.2% ABV. It’s warm and toasty, while being soothing and mellow at the same time.
Matured in ex-sherry casks, on the nose you get the sweet, spicy, nutty notes straight away. Stewed plums, sticky dates, and red grape aromas dominate your nasal passage. As the fruity scents fade, you get a vanilla fudge sweetness with a light sprinkling of autumn spices and toasted walnuts.
On the palate, you can expect flavours of sticky toffee pudding, drenched in homemade vanilla custard. There’s tart summer berry compote, sweet oak, golden honeycomb, and plump prunes which all work together beautifully.
The finish is medium and offers up a fantastic tannic mouthfeel. Here’s that old oak wisdom I like to talk about, combined with Cornish clotted cream fudge, mixed berries, apricot jam, and a smoky whisper of toasted oak right at the end. This dram offers a finish so fantastic it would give Geoff Hurst at the 1966 World Cup final a run for his money.
If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or treat yourself to any of the drams listed above in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer.
With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.
Greg
You might be interested in
More from the blog
Follow greatdrams
latest articles
Latest whisky
exclusively from GreatDrams
-
The GreatDrams Signature Barrel Decanter
Price range: £200.00 through £370.00
