The ultimate Christmas gifts for Scotch whisky lovers
Christmas is a time for giving, but to evoke a genuine delight, it’s worth ensuring the gift is desired. Socks, for example, mostly make a receiver sad. Single malt however, brings a smile to the face of most discerning drinkers.
Gifting whisky isn’t always simply, since all serious whisky fans have their favourites and hopefully already sport a drinks cabinet full of their go-to choices. The key then, is to surprise them with something unique and truly luxurious.
Balvenie DCS Compendium
And there can be few more emphatic declarations of love than the gift of the Balvenie DCS Compendium. Released this autumn, Compendium is a collection of extraordinary rare single cask Balvenie whiskies, hand selected by malt master David Stewart MBE.
The compendium is five-year project, this being the third chapter. Each chapter contains five whiskies and in this year’s set you’ll discover the oldest whisky to ever be released by the Speyside distillery - a 55 year old. For the complete set you’ll be spending over ￡59,000, but this is true history, transported from ancient casks into the bottle. The range tells the story of the evolution of the distillery through Stewart’s skillful cask forecasting, revealing his secrets of stock management.
So the stunning 1973, 43YO for example, taken from an rare and carefully cared for oloroso sherry butt, sends shockwaves of ginger, marmalade and raisins around the mouth; while the 1981 showcases American oak with sweet vanillas, baked apple and leather and provides the unique opportunity to sample the first vintage used for Balvenie’s popular Double wood.
Meanwhile the 1961 55YO proves that with great wood management, you can still retain the soul of a Balvenie character even during an epic spell of aging Still fresh and fruity with all the cloves, bisciut and toffee you’d expect from an Oloroso Hogshead, it’s glorious whisky, and proof that Stewart deserves all the respect has earns in the whisky world.
Glenmorangie Pride
Another master of wood management and whisky maturation is Dr Bill Lumsden at the Glenmoranigie distillery. The recent release of Pride 1974 (￡7,200 available through Clos19 gives us Glenmorangie’s oldest whisky, and so rare is the whisky, only 503 bottles were produced. The beautiful Laurence Brabant decanter earns it a place on top of any drinks cabinet but it’s the liquid that knocks those unwanted socks off, delivering a toffee, chocolate nose that turns into something slightly balsamic, but still superbly sweet. A Christmas star, no doubt.
Diageo Special Selection
Another sterling selection of single malts for anyone slightly unsure would be the Diageo Special Selection. Buy the collection and you’ll provide some of the best whiskies across a multitude of styles. As well as malts, you’ll find the incredible Port Dundas 52YO in the selection. This grain whiskey takes us away from single malt, but is an extraordinary achievement of balancing oak aging with spirit character, retaining its fruity finish in the face a massive vanilla spice and sweetness.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
And if you’re not prepared to take a chance, then a useful solution is membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Membership to the society gives you access to their prestigious members' clubs in Edinburgh and London, along with the chance to purchase exclusive releases from The Vaults Collection - rare single cask single malt whiskies. Members can also source bespoke tastings on board yachts, and private jets around the world.
Tom Sandham is an award-winning drinks writer and one of the Thinking Drinkers with beer expert Ben McFarland, the two will be performing their comedy drinks tasting at the Museum of Comedy in London during December. For details visit thinkingdrinkers.com