Around the world, it’s an all too familiar Christmas Eve routine for anyone with young children (and also, no doubt, for plenty of others too). The fireplace carrot for Rudolph, the mince pie for Father Christmas, accompanied by a glass of the perfect whisky. But which whisky?
Maybe I spend a bit too much time thinking about these things, but I always try to exercise a bit of imagination when making this seasonal choice – rather than simply reaching for the nearest available bottle and sploshing a casual dram into a glass.
So, when the bearded bearer of gifts has descended down our chimney in the past decade or so, he’s been confronted, yes, by whiskies from Scotland, Ireland and the US, but also from an increasingly cosmopolitan array of other locations: Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Denmark, New Zealand, India. Even, on more than one occasion, England.
Of course, I have no idea about Santa’s personal whisky preferences. I’ve proceeded on the basis that someone as well-travelled as him (on at least one night of the year, anyway) will appreciate exploring the wider world of whisky, especially now that you can find great liquid from just about every part of the globe. Even Lapland.
However, when it comes to purchasing whisky for loved ones at Christmas – or, indeed, for ourselves – we should have a bit more information on which to base our buying decisions. Even if we don’t have detailed intelligence on the gift receiver’s precise preferences in terms of flavour, style or origin, we (hopefully) have some insight about their essential character. Figure out what makes them who they are and you can start to put together some powerful clues about what to buy them.
But don’t be too predictable. It’s all too easy to think: ‘Well, they liked distillery x last year, so I’ll just get it again.’ But where’s the fun in that? A thoughtful whisky gift doesn’t just mirror the receiver’s personal preferences; sometimes it uses those predilections merely as a starting point, before gently ushering them out of their comfort zone and introducing them to something new. After all, that’s when the greatest and most exciting whisky discoveries are made. Just ask Father Christmas.
The perfect whisky for novices
Everyone’s beginning in whisky is different, but there’s usually a dram that converts you from curious outsider to devoted fan. It may not be a light whisky – for some, an Islay peat bomb will be the clincher – but your flavour preferences can help light the way.
So, if you love lipsmacking, zesty fruit, then the revamped Glenmorangie The Original 12 Year Old (Alc 40%) is a classic gateway malt; but those who hanker after something more powerful might plump for Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength (Alc 60%), a big, friendly Sherried giant.
Compass Box Nectarosity, Scotland
This blend’s core characters of virgin Missouri oak, Girvan grain and Clynelish malt make for a summer whisky to light up winter nights. This is positively brimming with tangerine, oak spice, punchy vanilla and a little black banana – before seguing into creamy-textured, warm tropical fruit and a drying finish. Alcohol 46%
The perfect whisky for Scotch lovers
Finding a whisky that universally pleases fans of Scotch is extraordinarily tricky, if not downright impossible. Do you go smoky – but not too smoky – with the peat/fruit/oak poise of Highland Park 18 Year Old (Alc 43%)?
Or veer towards the super-fruity with a classic expression from a sometimes overlooked distillery, such as Longmorn 18 Year Old Secret Speyside (Alc 48%), dripping with juicy mango and pineapple?
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet, Scotland
Now here’s a winter whisky in every sense: a limited edition, luxury blend for 2024 in association with lifestyle brand Perfect Moment, targeting the après-ski occasion. Blender Emma Walker used Met Office data to incorporate whiskies distilled during some of Scotland’s coldest winters, focusing on northern locations including Brora, Clynelish and Dalwhinnie. Perfumed apple and pear gives way to baking spices and a wisp of bonfire smoke. Rich, deep and warming. Alc 43%
The perfect whisky for single malt fans
Single malts are all about character, and place. It’s hard to separate the taste of Laphroaig, Ardbeg or Lagavulin from the seaweed reek of Islay’s Kildalton coast.
But associations between flavour and locale can shift. Speyside is a kaleidoscope of styles, from lightly fruity to heavily funky. For that reason, I adore Mossburn Vintage Casks’ bottling of Benrinnes 2008 (Alc 54.9%) for its softening of the distillery’s meaty distillate via an ex-Moscatel cask.
The GlenAllachie 17 Year Old Mizunara & Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, Scotland
Mizunara (Japanese oak) whiskies can sometimes be as much about hype as quality, but this is a humdinger of an exception from Speyside. Rich and opulent, it marries juicy tangerine and red apple with cinnamon and ginger, deepening into indulgent tones of hazelnut, fig and coffee roaster. Alc 50%
The perfect whisky for American admirers
The American whiskey scene is one of the most dynamic on the planet now: rye is resurgent, they’re pushing Bourbon boundaries in Kentucky and beyond, and craft distillers are pursuing esoteric grains and experimental techniques – as well as creating highly distinctive American single malt expressions.
Beyond craft pioneers like Westland, Westward and Balcones, there’s an almost endless variety of spirits to explore via independent bottlings: Dad’s Hat, Copperworks and Ironroot Republic are all names to conjure with.
Elijah Craig Straight Rye, US
An 18th-century Baptist preacher, Craig was – according to some highly dubious accounts – the inventor of Bourbon, or at least the practice of using charred oak casks for ageing. But never mind the myth, just enjoy the whiskey: a benchmark American rye that tempers that grain’s peppery fire with sweetly subtle notes from corn (35% of the mashbill) and barley (14%). Alc 47%
The perfect whisky for Irish whiskey fanatics
Ireland’s whiskey excitement levels are reaching new heights now that some of the younger distilleries are bottling increasingly mature liquid. The list of names to watch is lengthening, from provenance-rich Waterford to delicious Dingle; meanwhile, Dublin’s once vast whiskey industry has been revived by the likes of Teeling.
That, in turn, has prompted established names to raise their game, including an increasingly impressive range of aged whiskeys from Bushmills, and Irish Distillers’ experimental Method & Madness releases.
Dingle Single Malt, Ireland
Remote Dingle is at the forefront of the reimagining of classic Irish whiskey flavours. Here’s the distillery’s flagship, triple-distilled single malt, and it’s a gentle giant: lifted and herbal on the nose, with sharp citrus and pear; then richer and deeper on the palate – baked apple, intense honey and sultana, accompanied by drying oak spices. Alc 46.3%
The perfect whisky for world whisky explorers
The most exciting whisky nation right now? Stick a pin in an atlas and go from there. How about India, and the rise of Rampur, Paul John and a host of newer operators? Or the Antipodes, including New Zealand’s brilliant Cardrona or Australia’s Starward?
What about the Nordics, where a spirit of fearless innovation prevails, from terrific ryes to whiskies scented with smoked alder or nettle? And then there’s England, home to the likes of Cotswolds and The Lakes. Exciting times indeed.
Wire Works Rum Cask Finish, England
A Derbyshire-made English single malt finished in the distillery’s own rum casks for two years? How times have changed… The latest in a series of impressive whiskies from the White Peak distillery, this annual release sees Wire Works’ lightly peated spirit character take a back seat to indulgent aromas of sweet shop and icing sugar, along with notes of dried apricot and creamy vanilla fudge. Alc 56.2%
The perfect whisky for Sherry devotees
Sherried whiskies are made for Christmas. Flavours of dried fruit, cinnamon and brown sugar offer an obvious reminder of festive cake and pudding – and on cold nights there’s comfort in their rich embrace.
Macallan, Glenfarclas, Aberlour and Tamdhu exemplify the Scotch template, but great Sherried whiskies are made all over the world: a personal favourite is Kavalan Triple Sherry Cask (Alc 40%), matured in oloroso, PX and Moscatel sherry casks, and a sweetly seductive winter dram.
Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old (2024 Edition), Scotland
The shyer side of Islay eschews its gentle character in favour of no-holds-barred Sherried power. Mainly matured in ex-oloroso casks, with a 21-month finish in PX, this single malt’s heady flavours of roasted walnut, plain chocolate, liquorice and coffee grinder are only enhanced by its high-octane, cask-strength bottling. Alc 53.6%
The perfect whisky for peat freaks
The diversity of smoke-accented drams is growing by the day, from Islay’s maritime classics to the earthier mainland character expressed by the likes of Ardmore and peated Glenturret. Meanwhile, youthful releases from Skye’s Torabhaig show huge promise.
But Scotland doesn’t have a monopoly on peat, as wonderfully smoky releases coming from the US, the Nordics and England illustrate. Dublin’s Teeling Blackpitts (Alc 46%), with its enticing scents of chargrilled pineapple and clove, is a belter.
Williamson 2013 11 Year Old #213 Oloroso Cask (Berry Bros. & Rudd), Scotland
‘Williamson’ is code for a pretty well-known distillery on Islay’s Kildalton coast that begins with ‘L’ and ends with ‘G’. Part of Berry Bros & Rudd’s ‘Coasts & Shores’ collection, this shows just how good peated whisky and Sherry casks can be: forest fruits, tanned leather and dark honey, with the spirit’s smoky char always billowing in the background. Alc 59.8%
The perfect whisky for terroir nuts
Does whisky have… terroir? Many whiskies – single malts most obviously – embody a sense of place. If you transplanted everything to a different location, would the whisky taste the same?
Open to debate, but many distillers are now focusing intently on raw materials, and where they’re grown, to reinforce this sense of provenance. Bruichladdich on Islay has long been a standard-bearer for this approach – check out Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2012 (Alc 50%) – and Waterford in Ireland has done similarly pioneering work.
Westland Colere Single Malt 2nd Edition, US
We can argue the toss about whether whisky really has ‘terroir’, but as long as the results are this delicious, who cares? Colere comes from the Latin to cultivate, and this delicate and complex whisky from Washington state dials back the oak to showcase the spirit, derived from the rare Talisman barley variety. Zesty citrus and soft vanilla on the nose, floral scents melting into white chocolate on the palate, with some judicious punch from the alcohol. Alc 50%
The perfect whisky for collectors
If the average whisky fan is spoilt for choice in 2024, the well above-average (in terms of disposable income) individual may well be experiencing pangs of existential angst. Diageo’s Prima & Ultima (and Special Releases), the House of Hazelwood collection from the Grant family’s stocks, Gordon & MacPhail’s apparently endless conveyor belt of rare expressions… not to mention recent, long-aged one-off releases from the likes of Dalmore and Littlemill… I could go on.
Knockando 1992 Cask of Distinction (Justerini & Brooks), Scotland
Released to mark Justerini & Brooks’ 275th birthday, this is utter whisky hedonism. More than three decades in first-fill European ex-Sherry oak make for a dark, rich, powerful dram that nonetheless manages to have poise. Black cherries in dark chocolate, cassis notes, a molasses note reminiscent of fine old rum – but always an edge of spice to hold things in check. Alc 50.7%
