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. On occasion the distillery do release heavily peated version, and G&M purchased a batch of new make spirit at this heavily peated level before maturing it in a combination of their own ex-Sherry and -Bourbon casks for a minimum of 10 years.

The end result is stunning - the smokiness (with a PPM level of around 20-25) is akin to a sweet bonfire - not a BBQ as such, more a bonfire on a beach that has had whole fish roasting on a big stick above it. There's a lovely sweetness to it too, which balances out the drier ashy notes, alongside hints of citrus. It's a really unusual expression of a great distillery, and I cannot recommend it enough!