Signatory Whitlaw 8yo (2018) Un-Chillfiltered Collection & Signatory Benriach 10yo (2015) Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Signatory Whitlaw 8yo (2018) Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Region: Highlands

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £44.95

Distilled in 2018 at Highland Park and bottled in June 2026 by Signatory Vintage under the Whitlaw name, this 8 year old Orkney single malt was finished in first fill Pedro Ximénez sherry hogsheads. No official outturn stated.

Nose

The nose opens with a little copper, Irn-Bru, salted caramel, honey, and a light wisp of smoke in the background. The sherry isn't too overpowering, it's giving more of a sweet brown sugar/caramel layer on top of a light heathery smoke from the Highland Park. Coming back to the dram after some time, there's some orange zest, dried earth, and a mild raisin aroma. The alcohol feels fairly well integrated, and is present but not overpowering.

Palate

The palate opens with a fairly oily mouthfeel, a little fizzy orange, dark chocolate, some black cherry, a little black pepper spice and cinnamon sticks. The finish is a decent length, it gets a bit warmer with some raw ginger and chili chocolate, but there's also some caramel coming through. Time and air reveals some digestive biscuits and honeycomb. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels warmer, with ginger juice, star anise, and crushed pink peppercorns. There's still wisps of light peat smoke and some salted caramel here, but it's definitely a little hotter. There's also a bit of grape must coming through.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses some texture, and we're getting a whole load of mint chocolate on the front palate. This moves into more of those caramels and toffees, a little honey and some dried leaves. Be careful with water here, it can really kill the finish. 

Conclusion

A solid sherried Highland Park - we find that sherry finishes work really well with 7-8 year olds from this distillery. This has lots of sweet and spicy sherry notes layered on top of the lightly peated spirit, and it works really quite well. 

Score: 6.5/10

Value

We’re not going to say this is a bad price, but personally we’d rather buy a bottle from the 100 Proof range than one of these.

Signatory Benriach 10yo (2015) Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £44.95

Distilled in January 2015 and bottled June 2026 after 10 years of maturation, this Benriach was finished in Oloroso sherry casks before being bottled by Signatory Vintage. No official outturn stated.

Nose

The nose opens with butterscotch, toffee, some cherry, red apple skins and a little bit of funk, or something more akin to a foostiness. There's also some citrus here, lime mostly, along with hazelnuts and a few pear drop sweeties. It's fairly sweet in profile, with light nuttiness and some acidity, but it feels a little flat - like all of these aromas are at half of the potency they could be. There's also some vanilla peeking through as you get deeper into the glass. 

Palate

The palate opens with vanilla fondant, lemon juice, light brown sugar, apple slices, raspberries and some dark chocolate as the palate develops. That dark chocolate brings more bitterness as the finish goes on, and we begin to get some spent coffee grounds too. The mouthfeel is ok, there's a little bit of texture and oiliness here, and the alcohol is barely there. Going back, we're getting some warn bread and butter pudding with raisins, and a little tiramisu as well. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of a sour plum note, lime juice and milk chocolate aromas. There's still a bit of foostiness here, alongside freshly cut apple and a bit of honey too. It feels a little fresher overall, and a bit more lively.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses some of that texture, and feels quite flat, a little insipid. There are some nice apple and lime notes, along with milk chocolate and a handful of sultanas. It doesn't need any water. 

Conclusion

The nose fell a little flat for us, but we enjoyed the palate - it had a bit more depth and complexity. The sherry definitely shows its colours - it's approaching the sherry bomb territory but there's still some of those initial bourbon cask notes appearing if you get deep enough. Perfectly drinkable whisky.

Score: 6/10

Value

Like today’s other review, we won’t say it’s a bad price, but we’d personally just buy a 100 Proof release instead.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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