An excellent gin from Japan's legendary Suntory - Roku Gin. This expression is made using a selection of botanicals, including six Japanese botanicals that provide a whistle-stop tour of the four seasons. These include sakura leaf and sakura flower for spring, sencha tea and gyokuro tea for summer, sansho pepper for autumn and yuzu peel for winter. Traditional gin botanicals also featured include the likes of juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander and cinnamon, among others.
Maker's Mark is a bourbon whiskey produced in Loretto, Kentucky. The Maker's Mark distillery was founded in 1954 and today produces around 1 million bottles of whiskey per year. The Maker's Mark brand is known for its red wax seal, which is applied by hand to each bottle.
Maker’s Mark bourbon is distilled to the lowest proof of any US whiskey, according to the producer. This proffers a bourbon that retains a rich flavour. Developed by Bill Samuels Sr, he replaced rye with red winter wheat to reduce the burning sensation from the whiskey.
A brilliant whisky (NB - Maker's Mark is one of just a few distilleries in the US to spell whisky sans the "e"!) it is made to a mashbill which uses wheat instead of rye. The result, therefore, can be described as a "wheated bourbon", and it's all the more smooth and creamy because of it!
Maker's Mark is made using a sour mash process, which means that each batch of whiskey is made using a portion of the previous batch's fermented mash. This makes Maker's Mark whiskey unique, as each batch has its own flavor profile.
Jim Beam bourbon undergoes distillation at lower temperatures and is distilled to no more than 62.5%, the White label is aged for four years and has quite a high percentage of rye in the mashbill.
Launched in 2008, this 18 year old bottling of triple distilled, Lowland single malt whisky boasts a superb richness for a core-range bottling and was aged in American oak casks.
Lowland distillery Auchentoshan's flagship single malt whisky, famously triple-distilled which is unusual for a Scotch. This contributes to its signature smooth character, however. It's been matured in both American oak and sherry casks.
A Lowland single malt matured in 3 different casks, namely: Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks, bourbon casks and Oloroso Sherry casks. A distinctive triple distilled whisky from Auchentoshan.
The final bottling from the Viking Legend series, Valfather was named after the Norse god Odin. It's the most peated whisky to date from Highland Park, a style designed to mimic Odin's power. Valfather was matured in refill casks in order to balance the peatiness and also because the brand supposedly wanted to mirror the ethereal and lighter feel of Valhalla, Odin’s hall. It was bottled at 47% ABV without any additional colouring.
Danish designer Jim Lyngvild returned to help create the distinctive packaging, the inspiration of which was the ancient picture stones from Stora Hammars in Gotland, Sweden.