December 2025

Glenfarclas 25 Year Old London Edition Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Glenfarclas 25 Year Old London Edition Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

50.5% ABV
$400
Website
Glenfarclas 25 Yr Old London Edition The Whiskey Exchange Exclusive

What the Retailer Says

Made at Glenfarclas distillery and matured in oloroso sherry casks for a quarter of a century before being bottled to celebrate The Whisky Exchange’s 20th Anniversary. Aromas of meadow flowers, baked apples, barley sugar and buttery brioche fill the nose, developing into earthy coffee and sweet raisins. The palate opens with notes of fruit cake, salted caramel and rich oak, developing buttery pastry, raisins and fruity espresso flavours and dry waxiness.

This bottle features a specially-created label, designed by our creative director Raj Chavda to pay tribute to London’s vibrant hospitality industry.

Tasting Notes (courtesy of Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange)
Nose: Meadow flowers and barley sugar sit on top of a pile of sultanas and baked apples. Fragrant wax-polished oak follows, with freshly scraped vanilla pods and a touch of pine sap. Buttered brioche and fruit loaf notes develop along with mixed peel and a hint of cream. Hiding underneath is a bed of Eccles-cake raisins and earthy ground coffee.
Palate: Rich and oily, with well-fruited sponge cake leading to salted caramel and old oak tables. Singed, buttered toast and buttery pastry are wrapped around fruity espresso and raisins. Dried apple rings liberally spread with blackcurrant jam and sprinkled with brown sugar sit in the middle. Behind everything is an elegant waxiness and freshly polished pine boards.
Finish: Lingering sweet spice, light char, sultanas and a touch of hay and honeysuckle.
Comment: An elegant Glenfarclas. The sherry punch of the regular 25 year old is dialled back to reveal orchard fruit as well as a layer of rich dried vine fruit and peel. Espresso notes run through the middle, making sure things don’t get too sweet and reminding us that this came from an oloroso cask.

What Gary Says

Nose: Raisins, plums, leather, figs, orange peel, floral notes with a hint of sulfur in the back.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel with fruit cake, caramel, raisins, bits of dark chocolate, honey, and a hint of gingerbread.
Finish: Long and syrupy with dates, sherry and chocolate.
Comments: I had the pleasure of doing a side-by-side tasting of this with the retail Glenfarclas 25 Year (43% ABV), and this was hands down a better whisky. Much darker in the glass, with a note that was deeper and richer. That 7.5% ABV does quite a lot! There was a resemblence, but this was taking the Glenfarclas 25 Year and turning the volume to 11. Just absolutely delicious! The fine folks at the Whiskey Exchange are good at this, as this is my favorite Glenfarclas to date, followed by their exclusive 15 year offering that’s not longer available.

Rating: Must Try

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Deanston 1995 26 Year Old Gleann Mór Rare Find

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Deanston 1995 26 Year Old Gleann Mór Rare Find
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

52.2% ABV
$200-$250
Website
Rare Find Gleann Mor Spirits Company Deanston 26 Years Old

What the Bottle Says

RARE FIND – Gleann Mór Spirits Company
Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distilled at Deanston
Bottled from Cask No. 4392A
Aged 26 Years
Aromas of baked apples, Christmas cake and cinnamon; ginger sponge and almond pastries on the palate with a warming, spiced dried fruit finish.
Distilled 195 | Bottled 0222
Non-chill Filtered | Natural Colour
52.2% alc/vol

What Gary Says

Nose: Spongecake, pineapple, coconut, figs, almonds, pears and lemon squares.
Palate: Thick and creamy mouthfeel with chocolate fudge, hazelnut, apples, lemon, bit of raisins, honey and cinnamon.
Finish: Long, thick and syrupy with baking spices and chocolate malt.
Comments: I haven’t had any experience (that I can recall at least) with Deanston, but this is just delicious! On some sites (namely Whiskybase and reddit) this offering shows to be finished in sherry, while on other sites it shows a single bourbon cask for the entire duration. I’ve seen images of other 26 year old Deanston that isn’t nearly as dark, so I’m not entirely sure. If it was sherry finished, it was done so exquisitely and with a deft hand, bringing some notes I’d associate with that (chocolate fudge, figs raisins) but just adding another dimension without overshadowing what the bourbon cask brought to the party. This has intensity of flavor with a delicate complexity – absolutely delightful dram!

Rating: Must Try

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A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky 2022 Edition

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky 2022 Edition
Blended Scotch Whisky

50.5% ABV
$110
Website
A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky 2022 Edition Blended Scotch Whisky

What the Bottle Says

Rich complex malts and the most elegant aged grain whiskies combined to create festive flavours and evoke the spirit of Christmases past
The Whisky Exchange
This festive marriage brings together rich sherry-matured whisky from Blair Athol with elegant old grain from Strathcylde and Cameronbridge, classic Speyside malt from Glen Elgin and spicy new-oak-matured Linkwood to create a dram that’s packed with Christmas flavour. Plum pudding and sticky toffee with apples, oranges and shortbread on the side – the perfect accompaniment to the festive season.

What Gary Says

Nose: Fruity, chocolate fudge, orange zest, pears, apples, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a hint of a mineral note.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, fruity with apples, raisins, plums, oranges, cinnamon, pepper, candied ginger, honey, apricots and oak.
Finish: Moderate in length with spice notes, chocolate and honey.
Comments: The nose on this reminds me of mincemeat pie – which definitely takes my mind to the holiday season! I bought this at auction on a whim (for £50, which was around $64 USD at the time). The recommended retail price was £85 ($109) so a solid discount, even with the hammer price. My only regret is that Richard happened to buy a 2023 edition of this, giving me a sample that unfortunately didn’t have a good seal (and in recent years I’ve accumulated quite the backlog, so it’s been over a year since I got it). So I can’t compare this to that edition unfortunately, but based on this sample size – despite it being non-age stated I would pay retail for it (and in fact, just won an auction on a 2024, so look forward to bringing that comparison next year!)

Rating: Must Try

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New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

50% ABV
$70-75
Website
New Riff 8 Year Rye Whiskey

What the Distillery Says

From our founding in 2014, New Riff Distilling has carefully set back whiskey for long-term aging. This addition to our core lineup of products is the first older expression of our award-winning flagship rye whiskey. It is bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof.

Drawing on our own experience as well as the sour mash traditions of the Kentucky whiskey-making regimen, this rye whiskey is full of character and delivers rich, spicy flavors. The freshness evident here is exception, suggesting a barrel of New Riff Rye at eight years old has a long life of aging ahead of it.

While New Riff is committed to bottled-in-bond standards, we made the difficult decision to waive that status for this release, focusing on a wider distribution network that previous specialty releases. Despite meeting all other requirements of a bonded whiskey, due to the comparatively small production from the earliest years of New Riff, this release blends whiskeys from two distilling seasons aged a minimum of 8 years.

Tasting Notes
BOTTLED WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION
AGED AT LEAST 8 YEARS
100 PROOF (50% Alc/Vol)
Appearance: Medium amber, golden highlights.
Nose: Rounded and ripe with rye grass, notes of cinnamon, clove, red apple.
Palate: Fulsome, medium body; drying entry, lightly oaky with a sweeter core; slow development of spicy flavors; juicy, intense midpalate of spearmint/clove/apple, along with a lovely, aged grassy-mineral quality.
Finish: Long-lasting notes of clove, mint, peppercorn.

What Gary Says

Nose: Rye spice with mint, thyme, orange zest, lime, cloves and oak.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, drying with orange, mint, vanilla, oak, apple and cloves.
Finish: Moderately long and drying with pepper, mint and citrus zest.
Comments: This is a lovely high-rye rye whiskey! The only rye I tried in the “bottled in bond – almost” series, so not fair to compare. However like the New Riff 8 Year Bourbon, this shows that the early promise from New Riff continues to pan out. I’ve been a big fan of a 95% rye mashbill ever since I first tried a popular one from Indiana. Not to knock the ‘barely legal’ ryes out there (as I enjoy many of those), but the 95% rye delivers a more crisp differentiation from bourbon. Most importantly, this is just a really damned nice whiskey all on its own!

Rating: Must Try

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New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

/ / Bourbon, Review /

New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$70-75
Website
New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

What the Distillery Says

From our founding in 2014, New Riff Distilling has carefully set back whiskey for long-term aging. This addition to our core lineup of products is the first older expression of our award-winning flagship bourbon. It is bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof.

Drawing on our own experience as well as the sour mash traditions of the Kentucky whiskey-making regimen, this high-rye, unfiltered Bourbon delivers savory-spicy flavors over the inimitable foundation of mature Kentucky whiskey. Like all New Riff whiskeys, an abundance of rye spice is present, however, secondary and tertiary flavors are significantly deeper and more developed. Oaky flavors throughout are richer and the freshness evident here is exceptional, suggesting a barrel of New Riff Bourbon at eight years old has a long life of aging ahead of it.

While New Riff is committed to bottled-in-bond standards, we made the difficult decision to waive that status for this release, focusing on a wider distribution network than previous specialty releases. Despite meeting all other requirements of a bonded whiskey, due to the comparatively small production form the earliest years of New Riff, this release blends bourbons from two distilling seasons aged a minimum of 8 years.

Tasting Notes
BOTTLED WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION
AGED AT LEAST 8 YEARS
100 PROOF (50% Alc/Vol)
Appearance: Deep amber, copper.
Nose: Copious cherries and red fruits, fresh spearmint leaves.
Palate: Dark berries, cedar plank, savory rye spice.
Finish: Rich tannic oak balanced with a sweet cream butteriness.

What Gary Says

Nose: Salted caramel, vanilla, black cherry, charred oak, toasted orange zest and rye spice.
Palate: Chocolate, toffee, vanilla spongecake, caramel, cinnamon, oak with a hint of walnuts.
Finish: Long and drying with caramel, cinnamon, pepper and oak.
Comments: Of the three bottled in bond bourbons I tasted (yes, I know TECHNICALLY this isn’t BIB – but close counts), this one had the most intense flavor.  Granted, the other two were 6 year olds, and one of those was a wheater, but still pretty impressed with the intensity of flavor for 50% ABV. From the first taste I had of bourbon coming out of New Riff I thought “Damn, these folks are doing it right” – and as one would hope, it is only improving with age. This is one of the few smaller producers that I’m not afraid to buy without trying, as other than one single barrel that Kevin gave me a sample of (let’s call that an outlier) it’s all been really good to damned good.

Rating: Must Try

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