Secret Speyside 14 Years Old Private Cellars Selection

This single malt comes from an undisclosed distillery in Speyside, the heartland of Scotch whisky. The bottler hasn't revealed its name, and that's half the fun of a mystery malt: you judge the whisky on what's in the glass rather than the name on the label.

Selected and bottled by The Whisky Cellar, the Edinburgh-based independent bottler, it was matured for 14 years in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt.

Oloroso is a rich, dry sherry from Jerez in southern Spain, aged oxidatively to develop deep nutty and dried-fruit character. The butt is the large traditional sherry cask of around 500 litres, and as a first-fill cask it is being used for whisky for the first time since holding sherry, so its influence is at its strongest.

The long spell in fresh sherry oak wraps the Speyside spirit in a rich, sweet and gently spiced character.