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A five-bottle global tour of whisk(e)y regions for Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, look beyond national borders for inspiration for the father figure in your life

Fathers and father-figures are a complicated bunch – one day they’ll tell you that Scotch is their only passion, and the next you’ll hear them rave about Irish or Bourbon being unbeatable. The truth is most whisk(e)y fans are excited about all the various parts of the whisk(e)y landscape, and the great thing is there’s a world of choice out there to meet them.

We’ve picked five bottles from five global regions – Japan, Ireland, Scotland, The USA and Sweden - to help you narrow your search for the perfect gift this Father’s Day.  

JAPAN
 Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve

This fine single malt was first released in 2014 and matured in a combination of Bordeaux wine, sherry and Mizanura casks. It’s a 43% non-age statement release but is said to have whisky aged around 8-10 years included between its three caskings.

Yamazaki is Japan’s oldest distillery. It was founded in 1923 and is owned today by Suntory, which also has Scotland’s Laphroaig and the USA’s Maker’s Mark in its stable. Yamazaki is a terrifically popular whisky house with some huge sales at auction and a global fanbase among collectors and drinkers alike.  

One of the things that make a Yamazaki collection so popular is that it is a very carefully curated brand. This is not a producer that floods the world with multiple releases – it maintains its sense of calm and coordination with a range of whisky that is concise and maintains respect through its simplicity. The Distiller’s Reserve is one of four core bottles in the Yamazaki range, as well as a series of limited edition and once-off bottlings.

IRELAND
Blue Spot

The Spot family of single pot still whiskies is superb. Blue Spot sits alongside its Yellow, Green and Red siblings in a perfect lineup of triple-distilled pours of varying ages and ABV strengths. Created by the Dublin wine merchants Mitchell & Sons, Blue Spot returned to wild applause from Irish whiskey fans in 2020.

Matured in ex-bourbon, sherry and Portuguese Madeira casks, it contains oceans of aroma while mixing tropical notes like pineapple with green banana, toasted nuts and oak. It’s got a beautifully creamy mouthfeel from the 50% green barley used to make pot still whiskey, while notes of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet cloves combine perfectly on the palate. It’s a wonderful whiskey. After seven years in cask, it’s bottled at 58.4% ABV.

USA
Westland Sherry Cask

Based in Seattle, this terrific young whiskey maker is one of the few distillers making American single malt. It’s proved a winning route as US legislators changed their whiskey guidelines to include single malt as a distinct US category in 2024.

Producing whiskey distinctly of the region it's made in, but with a firm eye on Scottish whisky tradition, it also builds on Seattle’s craft beer expertise. Westland uses a five-malt mash inherited from beer making to create their flavour-packed whiskies.  

Owned by Rémy Cointreau, this release celebrates its close and trusted relationship with the Spanish sherry house from which it sources its sherry casks. And unlike many whiskey makers, there does seem to be some truth to that relationship – the casks arrive wet and upright rather than in staves to be rebuilt. It’s more expensive to ship to the US like this, but the impact on the whiskey is so much better.

As is almost traditional among single malt producers, they use oloroso and Pedro Ximenes hogsheads and butts and strive to balance the input from their five-malt mash against the sherry influence. They marry the sherry-influenced whiskey with a new oak-matured spirit, bringing a distinct spice to the blend that suits the sherry very well.

SCOTLAND
Clynelish 12

Beautifully matured 12-year-old single malts have become a lynchpin in Scotland’s whisky journey. No other region has so many superb examples at this age statement and produced with such craft. This bottle is part of the Diageo Special Releases series 2022 and was bottled at 58.5%.

Matured in ex-bourbon, Pedro Ximenez and oloroso sherry, Clynelish 12 is a terrific example of the Highland distillery’s wares. Stuffed with aromas of Christmas cake, dark fruits and rich vanilla, the palate of this tasty single malt comes wrapped in apples, sultanas, honey, spice and dark chocolate.

Double distilled and properly decadent, there’s a waxiness and a dollop of molasses in this spiced Scotch, too.

If you’re a Johnnie Walker fan, you’ll have met the Clynelish tradition before, as the whisky made there is a major contributor to this world-beating brand. But getting to try a bottle closer to how it was intended by its founders back in 1819 is a real treat and one that won’t disappoint.  

SWEDEN
High Coast – The Festival 2018

Huge spice and peat greet you at the door of this excellent 40 ppm single malt, matured in ex-bourbon and finished in new American oak. It comes layered with flavour throughout and only 1,000 bottles were produced. Smoky, meaty and charged with personality, this is a single malt to savour from Sweden.

High Coast Distillery makes a series of great whiskies in the Scottish tradition on a riverbank in Höga Kusten (High Coast), a coastal region some 500kms north of Stockholm. Founded in 2010, it was initially called Box Distillery as it was set up in a former box factory.

The High Coast rebrand puts its wild natural environment at the front and centre of the brand. It’s a stunning natural environment that attracts Swedes who come here to hike, cycle, and explore its national parks, as well as sample its whisky, in a landscape dominated by forests, river valleys and dramatic coastline.

New Arrivals: a host of new bottles have landed

We’ve been stocking up our collection - check out our new arrivals from across the world of whisky

All-time favourites like Glenlivet 25, Glenmorangie Signet Reserve, Ardbeg Hypernova and Tomatin 18 are just some of the new arrivals on our shelves. Make sure and visit our New Arrivals section to see what’s landed.