The Ultimate GreatDrams Christmas Gift Guide
As hard to believe as it may be, we’re now in the run up to Christmas 2024. Now, that’s probably even more shocking considering we basically didn’t get a summer this year, but so what, let’s get festive instead?
Christmas is the perfect excuse to treat the ones you love to something they’ll really appreciate. That’s especially true of whisky lovers. The hard part is finding the right whisky. Thankfully, we’re here to help.
This is the ultimate Great Drams Christmas gift guide.
Great Drams Christmas 2024 Glenburgie
The Great Drams Christmas 2024 Glenburgie is the perfect gift for the whisky connoisseur in your life, even if that connoisseur is yourself.
11 years old, and finished in a PX sherry cask, it’s Christmas in a bottle. Offering the perfect balance of tropical notes, sweet fruitiness and spice, with just the right amount of smoke, this Speyside is rich, complex, smooth, and oh so moreish.
Great Drams Super Limited Edition Cask Strength Cask Ends
For anybody who loves a rare, super limited edition whisky, the Great Drams Super Limited Edition Cask Strength Cask Ends range is ideal.
These whiskies have never been released anywhere else, and are limited to just 6 of each expression. Those familiar with Great Drams will also know that it’s rare for us to release a cask strength, making these whiskies all the more unique.
From, Caol Ila 11 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Cask matured whisky, to Craigellachie 8 Year Old ex peated, and more besides, there’s something for everyone. Hurry, though, these are selling fast, and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
Irish whiskey lovers rejoice, because this 15-year-old single malt from Bushmills is nothing short of exquisite.
Matured in both first and second-fill bourbon barrels, before being finished for up to 12 months in rare Cognac casks to provide a fruity, sweet, almost floral French accent, with amazing mouthfeel, this is one of the smoothest single malts you could wish for.
For good times and easy drinking, you couldn’t really ask for more, and we’d expect nothing less from Bushmills. Lovely stuff.
Up next, we have this release from the brand with the silver stag.
The Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve is the ultimate accompaniment to a fine cigar. You can almost picture yourself sitting in a leather chesterfield armchair in front of a roaring fire, surrounded by old books. A fine Cuban cigar in one hand, and a glass of this delight in the other.
Matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, Matusalem Oloroso sherry casks, and Cabernet Sauvignon barriques there’s a lot going on with this single malt. There are aromas of vanilla and red berries, flavours of toffee, tropical fruits, caramelised banana, and vanilla ice cream, and a lengthy finish providing orange, malt chocolate, and winter baking spices.
Japanese whisky is growing more popular with the passing of each year, when you look at the quality of the whisky being produced in that fantastic country, it’s really not surprising.
Kanosuke single malt has everything you could ask for from a whisky. It’s matured in a combination of ex-Shochu, ex-sherry, and ex-American white oak casks, with just enough peated malt to give you a hint of peat smokiness you’d expect to find in so many Scotches out there.
Quite aromatic this one, as aromas of iced peach tea and lemon give way to scents of ripe banana bread, toasted oats, and toffee. As far as taste goes, you can expect honey, cinnamon, candied ginger, and toffee fudge on the palate, with a lengthy, fruity finish with more than a sprinkling of smoke from the peat at the end.
Aberfeldy 18 Year Old Red Wine Cask Finished
Those who enjoy their whisky with a wine influence will absolutely adore the Aberfeldy 18 Year Old Napa Valley Red Wine Cask Finished Whisky.
Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon casks from Napa Valley, this limited-edition whisky is the creation of renowned Malt Master Stephanie Macleod, so you know just how special it’s going to be.
Napa Valley is California’s most famous wine producing region. The wine produced there is exceptional, and so is this dram. There’s crisp apple, honey, floral notes, and of course, heaps of red grape and berry influences from the wine casks used to age this fabulous dram.
The extra time spent in the wine cask has done this whisky a world of good. It’s even richer and more decadent than previous expressions, with a distinctly syrup-like mouthfeel.
Glenfiddich is one of Speyside’s most famous names in the world of whisky, and considering the distilleries and producers up there, that’s saying something.
One of Scotland’s last remaining family-owned distilleries, there’s a certain amount of love, care and attention that goes into the whisky they produce, and that shows in the final product.
Aged and finished for 18 years in Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks, this has everything you’d expect from a premium-quality Speyside release, and more besides. From, baked apple pie and cinnamon, to zesty orange marmalade and lightly toasted oak, there’s a subtle spiciness to this dram that offers a lengthy, well-rounded finish.
When you hear the words ‘whisky’ and ‘The Glenlivet’ in the same sentence, you know you’re in for a treat, and a treat this dram most definitely is.
Aged for 21 years of age, this copper amber coloured delight is finished in a combination of first-fill Oloroso sherry, Troncais oak Cognac, and Vintage Colheita Port casks. The end result is a whisky packed full of the smooth, fruity, and lightly spiced notes we’ve come to expect from The Glenlivet whisky.
This dram is full of tastes and aromas of plump sultanas, roasted almonds, crisp apples, poached pears, allspice and clove, and a subtle salinity that might catch a few of you off guard. The finish, as you’d expect, is drawn out, fruity, and lightly spiced.
Other than our beloved whisky, of course, there are two very popular alcoholic beverages enjoyed over Christmas and they are red wine and sherry. So then, what better way to create a tipple enjoyed over the festive period than by utilising red wine and sherry casks for aging and finishing their blended malt Scotch whisky.
This bottle looks special, and it tastes even better than it looks. There’s a strong flavour profile of chocolate fudge cake, baking spices, plum jam, redcurrant jelly, toffee apple, honey, and bonfire toffee. There’s a medium finish that’s silky smooth and creamy. It’s almost like a dessert wine, except, you know, in whisky form.
Finally, from Strathisla, we have this 18-year-old distillery exclusive from first-fill sherry casks.
This is another limited-edition whisky, limited to just 750 bottles. From a 2005 vintage, it was bottled last year in 2023 and has been receiving rave reviews ever since.
Strathisla is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Their whiskies are renowned for their rich, smooth, and complex character. There’s chocolate, there’s stewed fruit, there’s honey, there’s a touch of charred oak, there’s sweet vanilla, and there’s plenty of body at the end. The fruity sherry influence is also definitely there.
Greg
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