Discovery (Gordon and MacPhail)

Established as a grocery store in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail quickly became involved in purchasing new make spirit from whisky distilleries around Scotland to mature in their own selected casks. Now in the 4th generation of family ownership and still fiercely independent, G&M offer a range of fantastic quality whiskies that can't be matched by other independent bottlers, who rely on purchasing casks of already matured whisky to bottle and sell - G&M are doing everything but the actual distilling, ensuring a care of cask management from day one.

The 'Discovery' range is a selection of whiskies that provide an introduction to what G&M offer - an entry level range highlighting three different flavour profiles: Sherry maturation, Bourbon maturation and the effect of peat.

Bunnahabhain is highly regarded as a very lightly peated Islay whisky, with tons of fruity flavour. The official 12yo release is matured in a combination of ex-Sherry and Bourbon casks, but G&M have kept the new-make spirit they purchased 11 year ago just in Sherry casks. For the techie nerds amongst you, this is a batch bottling from both first- and second-fill Sherry casks, but given no colour is added and looking at the hue it's safe to say there is a good proportion of first-fill used.

The dark fruit elements are incredible - this is every inch a 'Sherry Bomb'. There's the merest hint of soft smoke right at the back, which adds a spiciness to give hints of orange marmalade, but the overriding impression is of a dark fruit cake. It's lovely and warming, ideal for chilly nights.