Glen Garioch 12 Year Old 70cl

Honeyed, nutty, and properly satisfying, Glen Garioch 12 Year Old is a Highland single malt that feels like it’s got shoulders. It’s for nights when you want flavour that hangs around, not a whisky that disappears the second you swallow.

If you’ve been living in the easy-going world of lighter Speyside drams and you’re curious what “a bit more oomph” tastes like, start here. The 12 years of ageing brings the edges into line, but it keeps that bready malt core and gentle spice that makes this distillery a bit of a cult pick.

• Nose: Heather honey, warm malt, toasted hazelnut, a pop of orange peel.
• Taste: Rich cereal sweetness up front, then toffee, baked apple, and a peppery, gingery prickle that keeps it lively.
• Finish: Medium-long, drying oak and nutty sweetness, with a last flicker of spice.

How to drink it: pour it neat first, then add a few drops of water to pull out more citrus and make the honeyed notes feel even bigger.

It also plays surprisingly well in a whisky Highball when you want something more flavourful than the usual. Keep the soda cold, use lots of ice, and let that malty backbone do the talking.

If Glenfiddich 12 is your comfort zone, this is one shelf over in personality. Less “green apple and light flowers,” more “toasted cereal, honey, and a confident little kick.” It’s still approachable, just more memorable.

Those basics matter here because they explain why it drinks the way it does: this is a Scotch single malt (meaning it’s made at one distillery from malted barley), so you get a focused house style instead of a blended profile.

Fun Fact: Glen Garioch (pronounced “Glen Geery”) is one of Scotland’s oldest working distilleries, and it sits in the Highland town of Oldmeldrum.