We’re back with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s December 2025 outturn, and it’s the final release before Christmas. After a mammoth 46 new releases last month, we're down to a more modest 28 new releases this month.
We think we tried all of this months releases, but if there are any mid month surprises we'll attempt to review those as we get further into December. Check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get updates on the mid-month bottles and heads up on our other reviews.
The scores below are based on our initial impressions. For full disclosure, we won't spend as much time with a dram as we usually do for a full review, but we hope you'll find the scores useful.
- 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.
Onto the bottles...
3.359 - Bowmore Distillery
Name: Jelly in a Limestone Sauna
Flavour Profile: Lightly Peated
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bodega PX barrique
ABV: 56.0%
Age: 21
Price: £225.00
The nose opens with soft vanillas, light peat smoke, charred staves, pencil shavings, and subtle, balanced sherry notes adding a little chocolate and cherry to the Bowmore spirit. The alcohol also feels in good balance. The palate has soft cherry notes, sponge cake, chlorine, sea shells, pencil shavings, berry flavoured diluting juice and some star anise in the background. It’s good, it’s balanced, tasty, and the sherry cask hasn’t destroyed the spirit.
Score: 8/10
Value: Priced competitively against other indie bottlers releases.
5.145 - Auchentoshan Distillery
Name: A Tickle at the Cricket
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Lowland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 48.0%
Age: 10
Price: £48.00
The nose gives us Del Monte pineapple juice, banana skins, strawberry laces, candy floss, butterscotch and vanilla cream. The palate has more banana, topped with spray-can cream, more butterscotch, and more pineapple, it’s very similar to the nose. It’s warmer on the palate, a little disappointing given the reduction in ABV - this must have been firewater at cask strength.
Score: 6/10
Value: We would have been happier if this was at cask strength.
7.285 - Longmorn Distillery
Name: Treacle, Jam and Marzipan
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bodega PX barrique
ABV: 57.8%
Age: 19
Price: £199.00
The nose has lots of toffee, caramels, wafer cones, stroopwaffles, and a sprinkling of white pepper. It’s a solid, sweet, confectionery led nose, there’s a touch of fruit but it’s mostly brown sugar sweetness coming through. The alcohol is there but balanced behind those sugars and some currants too. The palate has a good texture, more caramel, but a bit more oak spice, some blackcurrant jelly and a hint of coffee at the end. The finish is long and it’s a pretty solid whisky.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: Seems very overpriced for the distillery and age.
9.312 - Glen Grant Distillery
Name: When Orchards Dream
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 48.8%
Age: 32
Price: £345.00
The nose opens with chopped apples, fresh oak, vanilla essence and double cream. There’s a polished furniture note about this, but not in the old whisky way, it’s feels a little immature. The palate has butterscotch, more apple and pear, white wine, simple sugars and a relatively oaky, slightly bitter finish. Decent Speyside whisky. We reviewed it without looking at the age - a little disappointing for a 32yo.
Score: 7/10
Value: Priced competitively against other indie bottlers releases.
19.104 - Glen Garioch Distillery
Name: Something for the Sweet-Toothed
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 54.3%
Age: 22
Price: £155.00
The nose opens with pineapple, mango slices, banana and lots and lots of esters.. it’s typical Glen Garioch. There’s also something a little plastic, and custard powder too. The palate has a decent texture, although a bit of a warmth hits you. There’s also typical creamy, buttery and tropical flavours.. much more of that tropical fruit appears on the palate as it develops. It's good, but has been overshone by historical bottles from the same parcel.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: A little cheaper than last month's release.
24.191 - Macallan Distillery
Name: A Dark and Chewy Beast
Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-PX hogshead
ABV: 62.2%
Age: 16
Price: £135.00
Hot chocolate in a glass, there’s cocoa nibs, cinnamon, dark berries, caramel and candied ginger on the nose. It feels hot, but there’s enough going on to fight the spice. The palate has coffee revels, melted dark chocolate and less spice than expected. The mouthfeel is good, and there’s a depth to the dram, but it’s also been smashed in sherry so that overpowers any nuance of the spirit. I guess it makes sense as it’s Christmas, and it’s gonna sell out anyway.
Score: 7/10
Value: A good price for Society 24.
28.110 - Tullibardine distillery
Name: Honey and Crumbles
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 62.8%
Age: 10
Price: £65.00
The nose has lemon juice, gingerbread, peach rings, fizzy sweets and white caster sugar. It's warmer on the nose than we’d like. The palate has grapefruit skins, melon balls, more peach sweeties and a fair amount of chili heat. It’s unbalanced, and not particularly endearing for us.
Score: 5.5/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice.
29.305 - Laphroaig Distillery
Name: Seaweed and Smokies
Flavour Profile: Heavily Peated
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.3%
Age: 11
Price: £89.00
The nose has pickled onion crisps, cold butter, ashy peat, rubber gloves, iodine, and a hint of red berry as a top note for us - not overpowering, but integrated. The palate has a nice texture, seaweed, Milky Way stars, butterscotch, sea spray and more of a dirty, slightly bitter finish - although overall very well balanced. The texture is good, nice mouthfeel, and the alcohol is there but works overall. We’re so happy this hasn’t been destroyed by the sherry finish.
Score: 8/10
Value: Good price for the distillery.
35.407 - Glen Moray Distillery
Name: Tallying Bananas
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 55.6%
Age: 12
Price: £65.00
The nose has peaches, soft vanilla sponge, floral fabric softener, lemon whipped cream and a little butterscotch. It’s fairly well balanced, not too much alcohol coming through. The palate has caramel, a little toffee, dark chocolate, apple slices, blood orange, black peppercorns and more of a chili heat as the palate develops. The mouthfeel is fine, and that summarises the dram - fine but not great.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not a bad price given the age, distillery and cask type.
39.301 - Linkwood Distillery
Name: The Present is Unforgettable
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 58.7%
Age: 13
Price: £75.00
The nose has freshly mowed grass, singed orange peel, cold butter, a little thyme, and fresh green apples. The palate has more of a thick, viscous texture, there’s more vanilla, more apple, more herbaceous grass, along with grapefruit and overly fizzy lemonade. It’s fine, not overly exciting but does the job.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Not a bad price when compared with other indie releases of Linkwood.
46.166 - Glenlossie Distillery
Name: Brambles off the Port Bow
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-ruby port barrique
ABV: 57.7%
Age: 11
Price: £60.00
The nose opens with rancio, mouldy meats, sour plums, sulphur and fresh cherries. This is funky. There’s also bramble jam, thyme and blackcurrants. The palate has more funk, more cured meats, more black cherry and rubber. This is … unexpected for a Glenlossie. The palate is a bit thin and overall it’s one note - and that note isn’t one we’re really jiving with. Not for us, but it would be presumptuous to say not for anyone.
Score: 5/10
Value: Not a bad price considering the cask finish.
53.511 - Caol Ila Distillery
Name: Crumble on the Foreshore
Flavour Profile: Coastal & Maritime
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill HTMC hogshead
ABV: 58.1%
Age: 13
Price: £92.00
The nose has kippers, brown sugar, Irn-Bru, kindling, sea salt flakes, dry pebbles, wood chippings and dry sand. The palate has a bit of a thin mouthfeel, lots of charred fish skin, burnt caramel, lots of toffee and… more sweet cask flavours. This has been aggressively finished and it shows - there’s highlights of Caol Ila spirit but it’s just cask and peat.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: In line with what most other IBs are charging for Caol Ila.
53.514 - Caol Ila Distillery
Name: Anna has the Bridge
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.4%
Age: 13
Price: £99.00
The nose has a lot of oloroso, dried fruits, cinnamon and clove spice, lots of ground ginger, some red currants and a fishy, coastal, salty smoke. The palate has a bit of a juicy, yet thin texture, and lots of the fishy spirit appears, alongside a lot of warm, lots of black pepper spice, red berries and some turnips too. It reminds us of a prawn bisque, with a fair amount of liquid smoke added. It’s fine, another dram that’s more cask than spirit - not terrible but the balance isn’t there.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Again, price is in line with most other indies.
58.65 - Strathisla Distillery
Name: Honey Hi
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 53.5%
Age: 14
Price: £85.00
The nose opens with whipped butter, a little green apple, but it’s very very tight - and there’s a light note of sulphur in the background. We’re also getting some citrus as it opens up. The palate has more citrus, ginger, apple juice, simple syrup and some fresh waffles coming through too. It’s fine, not great, not terrible.
Score: 6/10
Value: For the price we'd like to have seen this in a Sherry cask.
70.67 - Balblair Distillery
Name: Through the Window, Brambles
Flavour Profile: Juicy Oak & Vanilla
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill toasted oak barrique
ABV: 57.7%
Age: 17
Price: £115.00
The nose opens with creme brulee, orange peel, tizer, liquorice and ground ginger. The palate has some plasticine, fudge brownies, chocolate chips, sumac, and Irn-Bru. Another weird bourbon cask, feels more toasted than the others. It just feels a bit.. out of place, it’s not quite melding together for us.
Score: 6/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice.
73.172 - Aultmore Distillery
Name: Wax on Toast
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 54.5%
Age: 13
Price: £75.00
The nose has candlewax, fudge, a little cocoa butter, pear skins and something a little floral. The alcohol sits mostly in the background, it’s not too overpowering. The palate has a thin mouthfeel, vanilla fudge, sugar syrup, it feels really diluted, although there’s more citrus in the finish. Disappointing on the palate, pleasant nose though.
Score: 6/10
Value: It feels like this should be in sherry for the price.
77.78 - Glen Ord Distillery
Name: Handbrake Swerve
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 56.5%
Age: 16
Price: £115.00
The nose has buttery shortbread, lemon water, red currants, simple sugars and grape must. It’s a bit restrained, drying and doesn’t have nearly as much sherry as we’d expect. The palate has raisins, toffee syrup, vanilla, red currants and much more of a sherry feel - although it’s a bit flat.. it’s like the flavour has hit a wall and can’t pass. Inoffensive, but do you really want to pay £115 for that?
Score: 6.5/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice.
78.96 - Ben Nevis Distillery
Name: Ooh Look at that Big Dram!
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 59.1%
Age: 12
Price: £82.00
The nose has rubbery funk, asphalt, tyres, Red Kola, with a bit of a burnt aroma in the background. There’s an overtone of juicy sherry which masks some of this but it’s still punchy overall. The palate has a fair amount of warmth, with cinnamon, Terrys chocolate orange, petrol-like Riesling, black pepper spice and cherries. It’s so much better on the palate than the nose, but it’s firewater, surprising for the actual ABV. Not a Ben Nevis that we’ll be buying.
Score: 5.5/10
Value: Not a bad price, but the 35cl bottles released recently are much better drams.
89.52 - Tomintoul Distillery
Name: Hip Hip Hooray!
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 60.4%
Age: 17
Price: £120.00
The nose has Caramac bars, fudge brownies, butterscotch, candied almonds, a little desiccated coconut and some brown sugar. Pretty one note, but pleasant overall the palate is a bit bland, the bourbon cask and sherry cask are separate for us, we’re getting caramels, red kola, toffee, black peppercorns and chili heat. Too spicy, too disjoined, a pass for us.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not bad compared to the distilleries own bottlings.
94.52 - Fettercairn Distillery
Name: An Orchard Scene
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 61.6%
Age: 14
Price: £85.00
The nose has warm toffee, fizzy irn-bru, copper coins, a little menthol and some ginger syrup. It’s a bit spicy, but in an oak spice manner rather than straight alcohol burn. We’d have pegged this as a sherry cask. The palate has more chocolate, ginger, toffee bon bons and sour cherries, with a backbone of bourbon cask caramels and vanilla. A little spicy, but an interesting flavour profile.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: It feels like this should be in sherry for the price.
96.41 - GlenDronach Distillery
Name: The Iberian
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill American oak PX barrel
ABV: 56.6%
Age: 30
Price: £450.00
The nose has wood staves, maraschino cherries, Red Kola, blackcurrants in syrup, caramel wafers and something a little gingery. It’s a bit underwhelming, but we have hope for the palate. The palate has a little fizzy cherry, toffee crisp bars, chocolate coins, cinnamon sugar and a real warmth.. too much for a warmth for us. There’s also a drizzle of cola syrup and clove too. It doesn’t drink like a 30yo whisky - it’s good but we don’t feel bad about pouring it out.
Score: 7/10
Value: Expensive, but 30yo sherried Glendronach usually is.
96.42 - GlenDronach Distillery
Name: The American
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill Spanish oak PX butt
ABV: 50.9%
Age: 30
Price: £450.00
The nose has lavender syrup, toffee coins, fudge, vanilla beans and cherries in syrup. It’s sweet, a little viscous, and still sharp with ripe berries. There’s a bit of cinnamon sugar and dark chocolate here too. The palate has more upfront chocolate and caramel, less alcohol spice but also less texture. There’s brown sugar, singed orange peel, gingerbread and stroopwaffles. It’s a little one note, although it’s more balanced than the sister cask. Still not really showing what a 30yo dram should for us.
Score: 7/10
Value: Like today's other 96 this is expensive, but 30yo sherried Glendronach usually is.
100.49 - Strathmill Distillery
Name: Warm as Toast
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 56.6%
Age: 14
Price: £75.00
The nose is quite tight initially, and we’re getting a fresh sea breeze, orange, wood shavings, also some sea buckthorn too. It’s quite pleasant, and the alcohol feels nicely balanced. The palate continued with the freshly squeezed orange juice with heaping spoonfuls of white sugar, toffee, chocolate and a little bit of currant too. Unexpectedly flavourful, not in your typical bourbon cask way.
Score: 7/10
Value: A good price for the distillery.
107.27 - GlenAllachie Distillery
Name: Earl Grey and Lemon Meringue Cake
Flavour Profile: Juicy Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 64.5%
Age: 13
Price: £80.00
The nose has icing sugar, white chocolate, buttercream, apple essence, malt and pear drops. The palate has more citrus, lots of fresh lime, vanilla beans, chocolate chips and apple chunks. Another fine bourbon cask, decent mouthfeel, a bit warm but overall quite drinkable.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Good price for the distillery.
115.37 - Knockdhu Distillery
Name: It's a Knockout
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 57.6%
Age: 15
Price: £90.00
The nose opens with lemon juice, coconut, some ground ginger, marshmallow, and some barley sweetness, with a topping of sprinkles. The palate has a decent texture, more upfront citrus, simple sugars, a little candyfloss and a good mouthfeel. This is pretty good actually, balanced, simple but tasty. Not all whisky needs to be complex.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice.
138.30 - Nantou Distillery
Name: Lunchbox Luxuries
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Taiwan
Cask Type: Charred new oak barrel
ABV: 56.7%
Age: 5
Price: £69.00
The nose has plastic, pine cones, menthol, overcooked toffee and a little copper too. It’s not too spicy, there’s some brown sugar sweetness coming to balance it. The palate is hot and thin, chili, chocolate, thin syrup, just overall quite a disappointment. Lots of menthol coming through on the finish too.
Score: 5.5/10
Value: Nice to see newer release from the distillery becoming cheaper.
Batch 35 - SMWS Blended Batch
Name: Cocoa Drift
Flavour Profile: Small Batch Blended
Region: Blend
Cask Type: SMWS Whisky Solera
ABV: 50.0%
Age: 11
Price: £60.00
The nose has butter biscuits, cold butter, lemon balm, a little toffee and some Vicks vapour rub too. It’s a bit flat on the nose, not much going on at all. The palate has a disappointingly thin texture, but has some more caramel and chocolate with a trail of zesty lemon, alongside some Maryland cookies. A bit of a letdown, drinkable but there’s better options out there.
Score: 5.5/10
Value: Not bad given the age and opportunity to try a solera system whisky.
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