Happy New Year! We're kicking off the year with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s January 2026 outturn review. This months release features 23 new casks, including a new creators collection focusing on additional maturation in fortified wine casks. There's also two new small batch blends that may or not be teaspooned casks from some big name distilleries.
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 January. 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...
5.143 - Auchentoshan Distillery
Name: An outback dalliance
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: Lowland
Cask Type: 1st fill 300 L Australian Fortified Chardonnay cask
ABV: 52.7%
Age: 22
Price: £165.00
The nose has marzipan, a little aniseed, melon balls, papaya, dragonfruit and simple sugar syrup. The fortified wine cask comes through more at the forefront, then it moves to classic Auchentoshan aroma. There’s also some black cherries in alcohol coming through on second nosing. The palate has some lemon and lime cordial, vanilla paste, Chardonnay funk, more aniseed - sweet fennel this time, and finishing on more of a chocolatey note. There’s a hint of varnish on the mid palate but overall this is quite well done, an enjoyable Auchentoshan with a bit of a twist.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: Definitely feels like this should be cheaper.
6.76 - Macduff Distillery
Name: Cantonese chicken chow mein
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-PX hogshead
ABV: 53.7%
Age: 18
Price: £110.00
The nose has vanilla pods, sponge cake, pear skin, sweet melon, caster sugar, and maybe even some underripe gooseberry. There’s a mustiness in the background that lingers. The palate has a burst of fruit and citrus, simple sugars meet apple, pear, orange and lime zest. The mouthfeel is fine, the finish is fine, there’s a hint of raspberry liqueur here too. For 18 years, we’d have expected more. It’s drinkable but disappointing.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Not a bad price given the age, distillery and cask type.
6.85 - Macduff Distillery
Name: Clip clop through the tulips
Flavour Profile: Spicy & Sweet
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 53.7%
Age: 10
Price: £60.00
The nose has a ton of orchard fruit, it’s very appley, maybe a little waxed orange rind, fizzy lemonade, and a mushy fermented fruit bowl. The palate has a really soft arrival, light spice but also quite watery. There’s some parma violets, sugarcane, fresh pressed apple juice, orange peel and more of a grapefruit bitterness on the finish. There’s a decent amount of wood here, but it’s not overpowering. It’s a generally pleasant dram, fruity, light, totally drinkable whisky.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: There's other indie bottlers putting out comparable Macduff releases for less.
8.55 - Tamdhu Distillery
Name: Dejeuner sur l'herbe
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 59.3%
Age: 9
Price: £60.00
The nose has a little bit of upfront varnish, pear, grape juice, marzipan, a little bit of ground ginger and something a little mouldy and musty. It’s almost like a chlorinated swimming pool smell mixed with a heaping spoon of sugar. The palate has candyfloss, strawberry laces, lime peel, dried orange segments and something quite drying and astringent on the finish. There’s a feeling of carbonated water or something unsweetened. The finish has more oak on it. It’s unremarkable, fine but nothing special.
Score: 6/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice.
9.310 - Glen Grant Distillery
Name: Subcontinental flair
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex‑Australian Muscat barrique
ABV: 54.9%
Age: 21
Price: £135.00
The nose has some funky fermented fruit, the muscat cask is really prevalent here. There’s also some raisins, blueberry jam and warm spice. The initial palate has a sweetness, moving quickly into meatiness - like a rare steak, apricot jam, pineapple cubes, and something like popping candy. There’s also blueberry slushie too. We feel that the muscat cask has destroyed a lot of what makes aged Glen Grant good. Saying that, it’s not unpleasant, just not memorable.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: A little pricey, but it does have an interesting finish.
10.275 - Bunnahabhain Distillery
Name: Scoobie Snack
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Islay
Cask Type: Two To One: ex‑bourbon hogshead + 2nd fill PX butt
ABV: 60.1%
Age: 11
Price: £88.00
The nose opens with peat, and lots of it. There’s honey roast ham, barbecue sauce coated chicken.. it’s very meaty, lots of sweet, caramelised meat aromas. There’s also some rosemary and thyme… something a bit herbaceous. The nose really does jump out at us, it’s in your face. The palate has a decent mouthfeel, some warm toasted nuts, warm cinnamon spice, ginger puree, caramelised brown sugar and a lot of peat, a lot of earth as the palate develops. It maintains its spice and heat, and we think it’s just a bit unbalanced - expressive, but unbalanced.
Score: 6/10
Value: The price is in line with other Society 10s of this age, but could be more competitively priced against other bottlers.
10.288 - Bunnahabhain Distillery
Name: Savour the savoury
Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill Oloroso hogshead
ABV: 60.8%
Age: 16
Price: £120.00
The nose has a classic sherry profile, tart raspberry, currant, brown sugar, strawberry juice, alongside something a little medicinal too. We’re also finding a little Turkish delight. The palate has honey roast ham, lots and lots of freshly grated ginger - it’s so hot, very spicy. There’s also crushed raspberries, and a mountain of chilis.. it’s just sherry and heat. It’s too hot, the nose is good but the palate is really out of balance.
Score: 6/10
Value: A little pricey, but Islay whisky usually is.
16.101 - Glenturret Distillery
Name: A tour of the Mad Hatters hipflask
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Highland
Cask Type: American oak ex‑Oloroso + 2nd Fill Spanish ex‑Oloroso butts
ABV: 57.1%
Age: 12
Price: £82.00
The nose has funky apple pastry, mushy almost rotten apples in well baked, sugar coasted pastry. There’s also sweet barbecue sauce, peanut skins, lime zest, and lots of vegetal, very earthy peat smoke. The palate has a thinner texture, more roasted peanuts, a little tonic water, dry earth, honey roasted cashews, and maybe a little smoke mackerel too. It’s fairly sweet given those earthier, dirtier notes. There’s also come burnt coffee on the finish. It feels a bit flat and thin, not really for us.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not a terrible price for some peat in sherry.
28.112 - Tullibardine Distillery
Name: Bittersweet consolation
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex‑bourbon barrel
ABV: 48.0%
Age: 10
Price: £48.00
The nose has pencil shavings, apple peel, vanilla bean, flint, and something a tad vegetal. There’s also some toasted cinnamon bark and a little pear too. The palate has a decent texture upfront but falls away quickly.. and is mostly nondescript sweetness, stroopwaffle, caramel, macadamia nut, then into a flat cola-like finish. There’s some rougher raw spirit notes in the background for us, along with overdone toast. Fine, not exciting, probably needed to be reduced but 48% seems a bit low.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not a bad price, but we'd prefer it at cask strength.
41.186 - Dailuaine Distillery
Name: The Goldilocks zone
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: Ex‑bourbon hogshead
ABV: 57.5%
Age: 12
Price: £65.00
The nose has a massive hit of limeade - Barrs brand specifically. We’re also getting some melon and a bit of furniture polish. It’s not particularly expressive on the nose, but we’re also finding some floral hand soap aromas. The palate has a hint of Coca Cola, like fizzy cola bottles, and then hits us with massive astringency and bitterness. It’s quite chewy, with blackcurrant cordial and brown sugar sweetness. It’s a rollercoaster of artificial sweetness and oakiness. It’s quite tasty, a few flaws but we’d definitely have a dram.
Score: 7/10
Value: A few pounds more than we'd like to spend, but we're not going to complain.
53.503 - Caol Ila Distillery
Name: Whisper of the waves
Flavour Profile: Smoky & Fruity
Region: Islay
Cask Type: Refill bourbon hogshead
ABV: 59.0%
Age: 11
Price: £82.00
The nose has a lot of upfront smoke, a mixture between herbal and salty, aloe, salted peanuts, sea spray, pistachio skins, wet oak planks, and a bit of hessian cloth. There’s a sweetness here that’s a little unusual for us, especially on a refill bourbon caol ila. The palate has much more coffee notes, vanilla syrup, oat milk, tobacco, dried earth, burnt nuts and overcooked sponge cake. Surprisingly cask forward, coastal, earthy, less fishy and more salty for us. It’s not too bad.
Score: 7/10
Value: In line with what most other IBs are charging for Caol Ila.
59.101 - Teaninich Distillery
Name: Let the good times roll
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st Fill Toasted French Oak hogshead
ABV: 55.2%
Age: 14
Price: £80.00
The nose has red cola cubes, raspberry coulis, candied ginger, Irn-Bru, toffee apples and acacia honey. There’s a nice texture on the nose, it feels quite full, rounded, honey and pancake sort of smell. The palate has warm toffees and caramels, apple puree, honeycomb, artificial strawberry and some warming oak spice. It’s a little warm, but bearable. There’s also clove and cinnamon with simple brown sugars. The finish drops off quite quickly though. Pleasant, tasty, it’s got a few dimensions to it but hasn’t blown us away.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: A few pounds less would have been nice.
64.155 - Mannochmore Distillery
Name: White negroni
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill HTMC hogshead
ABV: 55.4%
Age: 17
Price: £92.00
The nose is weird, almost like opening a bag of mouldy fruit, it’s really quite off putting. There’s also some manure, decay, blue cheese and some butyric acid. Behind this sits an intense sweetness, it’s really really weird. The palate has more blue cheese, candied fruit sweeties, Sauternes, apricots, it’s considerably better on the palate - more intense pleasant flavours, less mouldy, sweaty feet flavours. This is a marmite dram, one we’d suggest you try and make up your own mind. For us it’s a 6.5/10, maybe a 7.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Good price given the age, distillery and cask type.
68.138 - Blair Athol Distillery
Name: Wedded bliss
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill European PX butt
ABV: 57.6%
Age: 13
Price: £82.00
The nose has bruleed banana, brown sugar, caramel, white chocolate chips, light pear notes and a little stewed rhubarb. It’s quite sweet and confectionery-led. The palate has a blast of toffee and fudge, moving into something sparkling, like a sweetened sparkling wine. There’s some dried fruits too - raisins and plums mostly, with a bit of chili pepper heat on the finish. It’s a simple dram, not totally smashed in sherry but not exciting for us.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Younger and more expensive than the last 68 released.
70.64 - Balblair Distillery
Name: Top‑notch tour
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill 300 L Australian tawny barrique
ABV: 55.7%
Age: 17
Price: £125.00
The nose has lots of old wood, brown sugars, cola cubes, cherry compote, gaia melon.. it’s very very very pleasant - the nose is beautiful. There’s also some perry coming through. The palate has something meatier, oxidised, nutty, warm cherry cake, currant jam, with a bit of black pepper and candied ginger. The finish is drier, almost fino-like, with a bit more spice than we’d like. The nose is the star here, but the palate isn’t too far behind.
Score: 8/10
Value: We appreciate the cask type adds cost, but we'd have liked to have seen this a little cheaper.
71.114 - Glenburgie Distillery
Name: Flowers for mother
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex‑bourbon barrel
ABV: 62.7%
Age: 10
Price: £72.00
The nose has tangerine, fondant icing, apple slices, sweetened lemon curd, and some soft peach flesh too. It’s quite balanced, not overly expressive but not particularly hot either, surprising for the monstrous ABV. There’s a slight herbalness, like bruised rosemary. The palate has a thin mouthfeel, more peach syrup, a little yeasty new make flavour, a little rubberiness, tonic water and some white flower cordial. It’s not as hot as we expected again, but the flavour is immature, too youthful, not enough cask integration, and the spice starts to appear on the finish.
Score: 6/10
Value: Given the distillery and cask type we would have expected this a few pounds cheaper.
72.127 - Miltonduff Distillery
Name: Hazelnuts bob on a chocolate loch
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill PX hogshead
ABV: 55.3%
Age: 22
Price: £165.00
The nose has roasted almonds, wood polish, orange marmalade, toffee apples and a handfull of Viennese whirl biscuits. There also some sugary breakfast pastries. The palate has a hit of soft red fruits, more cherry, strawberry and raspberry, moving into drier wine flavours, and some warming chili spice. It’s quite chewy, rich with some chocolatey caramel flavours coming through. It’s a bit warm though, there’s a real pepperiness, like peppery steak. It’s a good, solid dram.
Score: 7/10
Value: It definitely feels like this should be a little cheaper.
95.115 - Auchroisk Distillery
Name: A Jamaican wake-up call
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.5%
Age: 13
Price: £75.00
The nose has lots of deep, rich dried fruits, lots of raisin, plum, sultana and a drizzle of toffee. There’s the aroma of an Italian market stand roasting nuts in sugar. A lot of sherry, but a sweeter, nuttier profile rather than drier sherry styles. The palate has a big hit of oloroso, lots of dried fruits again, currants, raisins, plum jam, toffee sauce, and more of a spice buildup towards the finish. The finish doesn’t linger on too much though. It’s pretty basic sherry finish, nutty, dried fruits, sweetness, it’s fine, a little boring.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not a bad price considering the cask finish.
105.48 - Tormore Distillery
Name: Under new management …
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill HTMC hogshead
ABV: 63.9%
Age: 10
Price: £65.00
The nose is really buttery, brandy butter infact, as well as Irn-Bru, custard cream biscuits, and a little bit of rosewater too.. or maybe Turkish delight. It’s like strawberries and cream. The palate has a decent texture, lots of richer cherries, currants and it reminds us of Christmas pudding in a way, cakey, dried fruits and lashings of brandy. It’s hot in places, but when we look at the 64% alcohol, we can forgive it as it’s very flavourful. For the age and price, this is the steal of the outturn.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: Another one where we'd appreciate a few pound off.
113.81 - Braes of Glenlivet (Braeval) Distillery
Name: Essence of summer
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st Fill Bourbon barrel
ABV: 57.9%
Age: 15
Price: £85.00
The nose has vanilla, proper icing sugar, melted white chocolates, a hint of lemon, and poached pear with a drizzle of caramel sauce. Forget sherry bomb, this is a vanilla bomb. It’s like smelling a freshly cut open vanilla pod. It’s very pleasant on the nose. The palate has more the vanilla sweetness blast, but then moves into more herbal, slightly grassy, like fresh cut grass, then it falls off into nothingness. There’s some soft white fruits and a little grape juice, along with a light pepperiness that lingers on the finish. For us, the nose is lovely but the palate lets it down.
Score: 7/10
Value: A fiver less would have been nice, but we're not going to complain.
149.9 - Ardnamurchan Distillery
Name: Barfly
Flavour Profile: Coastal & Maritime
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex‑bourbon barrel
ABV: 61.1%
Age: 9
Price: £85.00
The nose has dark brown seeded bread, buttery biscuit base, salt crystals, apple cores, lemon water, salted caramel fudge and some vanilla too. Quite a classical bourbon cask Ardnamurchan. The palate a decent texture, but we’re hit by a fair kick of alcohol. There’s vanilla custard, sponge cake, salted caramel, and a warm chili spice lingering through. Saying that, the spice has a nice sensation which is more complimentary than overpowering. It’s a decent Ardnamurchan, no complaints.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Competitively priced against other single casks from the distillery.
Batch 36 - SMWS Blended Batch
Name: Jammy cobbler
Flavour Profile: Small Batch Blend
Region: nan
Cask Type: 1st fill bourbon + Spanish oak PX casks
ABV: 50.0%
Age: 18
Price: £99.00
The nose has pear and apricot, apple slices, some fresh red berries and candied orange segments. There’s also a buttery, biscuitiness sitting in the background, alongside some clove spice. The palate has more of a honeyed sweetness, warm fudge brownies, toffee crisp bars, chocolate sponge cake and a layer of apricot jam inbetween. It’s a little light, maybe a little watery, but really quite pleasant. It’s a very… nice dram. It doesn’t blow us away but it’s very drinkable.
Score: 7/10
Value: We would have liked to have seen this at cask strength given the price.
Batch 37 - SMWS Blended Batch
Name: Dundee cake explosion
Flavour Profile: Small Batch Blend
Region: nan
Cask Type: Selection of oloroso hogsheads
ABV: 50.0%
Age: 22
Price: £110.00
The nose has a big hit of oloroso,
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Not a bad price, but like today's other blend it would have been nice to get this at cask strength.
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