A poised, sweet and astonishingly sophisticated dessert whisky (try with Christmas pudding!). Light yet rich in style, with an attractive, creamy texture and charming sweetness to balance its considerable strength.

Lustrous antique gold. Light beading and texture.

No or very little nose prickle; immediately deeper and richer than you might expect. Starts as creamy, nutty, vanilla toffee, crème brûlée perhaps, with syrup sponge in the background. Then fresher traces of fruit cake mix, or a bunch of sweet, ripe dessert grapes (each suggesting a little European oak) and apple dumpling, eventually becoming an entire fruiterer’s shop. Adding a good splash of water delivers a sweet and fruity nose; light, but with some depth. There’s a clear Speyside focus, with tinned fruit and an underlying rich, Christmas pudding-like maltiness.

Medium oily. Creamier with water.

Warming at cask strength. Rich and nutty yet also dusty. Then, inturn: toffee, caramel, tangy fresh fruits; biscuit, short pastry, fig rolls. With water the mouth-feel is more soft and creamy and the taste is sweet throughout, suggesting hints of plum pudding and brandy sauce.

Short. Dark, earthy chocolate and hints of tropical fruit. Later oak-dry on the palate. With water, some sweet cider-apple tartness and even more seductive, creamy oak.

A classic European Oak profile and a wonderful digestif; big and sweet then mouth drying and just very, very good. There is something deliciously festive about this whisky. It’s redolent of a log fire in the library, buttered crumpets and candles on the Christmas tree.

Rich, deep mahogany with good beading.

Classic, muscular Benrinnes with an added and immensely seductive sweetness rippling through it. Crème brulée with a highly caramelised surface. Intense black fruits (prunes), Christmas cake and dates, laced with rich sherry. Behind, a beefy note with some allspice, like a touch of gravy left in the meat pan. Water (just a splash) initially brings the toffee-apple sweetness even more into focus above such meatiness. As it becomes waxier the fruity notes withdraw, yet some moist Christmas cake remains - much later, the meatiness reasserts itself. Superb balance and complexity.

Heavy. Full. Immediate grip.

Big, powerful and immediately assertive. Sweet, then mouth drying, yet not astringent because that concentrated sweetness remains. Waxy-viscous texture; slight traces of brimstone. Raisin and lots of date. Softens as it moves slowly across the tongue. Water lightens the grip and introduces a lightly smoked character. The voluptuous texture is countered by tannic dryness. Sweet to start and beefy, in all senses. Very, very good.

Exceptionally long, dry and warming, leaving a mellow, lingering aftertaste of treacle and sandalwood.

Pale amber in appearance. Medium bodied and tongue-coating. A delicious and very rare old East Highland malt; sophisticated and subtle. Opulent, rounded and mature yet still fresh, with a rich, expressive nose and a delicious, dry-fruity flavour.

A gorgeous, opulent nose, rounded yet still fresh and quite intense, with a little smoke, a light note of rolled oats or ground hazelnut and some fruity sweetness behind - greengages and plums in syrup, with traces of Maraschino cherries and dried tangerine peel, plus (sweeter still) marzipan, coconut and dark chocolate. Adding water brings the fruitiness round to that of pear drops and introduces an intriguing, fatter note behind. The overall impression is savoury - sweet oak with a very faint thread of tobacco smoke.

Firmly structured with a pleasant, slightly waxy feel and a delicious, dry-fruity flavour. There's some light sugared almond sweetness at its heart but overall the taste is gently drying, with no acidity; the result tingles on the tongue, being concentrated, balanced and nutty-dry.

Crisply grassy and medium to long, with sweet dates and chestnuts lingering on - gently fading as if to recall a dusty box that once contained marrons glacées.

Natural Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Coastal Highlands. A very engaging, unusually subtle Brora that is savoury, slightly citric, and drying. It takes a while to reveal Brora’s classic delights, but rewards perseverance!

Little nose-prickle; restrained and light, quickly developing wood-ash and citrus notes. Underpinning this, lemon and honey. Dried fruit and marzipan: like a faded Christmas cake. Takes time to develop, then lightly waxy with fragrant moorland scents - like sesame oil - and buttery fudge. With water (not too much) immediately more floral and fragrant, as with dried flowers. The waxy note develops, becoming more fruity and scented.

Attractively teeth-coating, oily and creamy. Waxy taste, with light vanilla sweetness. Develops into traces of smoke over nutty, sandy base notes. Drying, with more earthy tones in development, the effect recalling that of a fresh soft cheese. Water makes it much sweeter; not quite so waxy, with an increased tannic, mouth-drying effect. Warming overall, and quite vigorous. Drinks well straight.

Medium length, considerably drying. Late smoky and herbal notes give way to resins and an oaky dryness.

Warm yellow in colour. Oily in body. Brora at its best. Highly distinctive and characterful - this is a wonderful, very appetising maritime whisky.

Distinctly green, vegetal, sharp. Seaweedy. Powerfully herbal. Mild nose-feel, with a sweet rum-toffee note, and wax behind. The rum-toffee soon changes to dried fruit (apricots, also a citric note), while the oily aroma becomes more tar-like. Water brings up the characteristic waxiness of Brora - though it's milder than some, and qualified by the deep fruity note, now like dried orange peel.

Fruity olive oil. Samphire. Sweetness and saltiness. Thick mouth-feel, considerable sweetness and acidity and a scented, church-candle, smoke.

Peppery olive oil. Dry. A distinctly charred, slightly bitter aftertaste.

Amber, with noticeable viscosity. A big, creamy-smooth mouthful."It's dawn. Don the rubber boots. Rain-moistened earth underfoot. Dew in the grass. Mushrooms to pick. Fresh wood-smoke from a pot-bellied stove. An appetite for breakfast."

A rich nose. Very smoky; oily rather than waxy, slightly musty. In a short time cloves and allspice, and later a trace of tired, tinned pineapple juice. Reduced, less aromatic - a pungent, maritime blast, settling to a faint waxiness, with only a trace of smoke in the background.

Sweet and very smoky. With water, becomes freshly sweet (like icing sugar and lemon juice) then acrid-smoky. Nutty. Oily, salty. Bacon, cockles and seaweed. Even truffle oil?

Lingering tar, long and very smoky finish. Warming, oily, smooth.