The Whisky Club Advent Calendar 2021

Back for 2021 by popular demand, The Whisky Club Advent Calendar is here and ready to bring you the Christmas Spirit(s). Created Exclusively for the Whisky Club, yule be counting down the days to Christmas with a deer old dram in hand, rein, hail or shine.

The Whisky Club Advent Calendar contains 24 drams from distilleries from Scotland, Ireland, England, Europe, North America and Japan.

Bottle size: 24 x 30ml

Before we get into it, it turns out a few elves don’t mind a dram either and some of the trays have been put in the wrong way around. So if instead of getting a Jura on Day 1 you got a different whisky, here’s how you can fix it — without ruining the surprise.

Nose: Stone fruits and worn bridle leather, crisp apple peel and cinnamon buns.

Palate: Keeps itself together on the palate until the last moment when it opens up to reveal a lovely waxiness built out of fresh floral and honeyed undertones.

Finish: Superbly pronounced finish, long and engaging. Returns back to apple pie, the spice all but gone a last taste of toffee rounds an excellent dram.

Nose: Splash of orange flower water, then poire williams on the nose with mint and sage. 

Palate: Honey sweetness, light toffee notes nestled beneath sawdust freshness.

Finish: Buttery with a soft wood, almost cigar box finish, and a hint of smoke.

Nose: Sweet and inviting with hint of petrichor. Manuka honey, vanilla pods, earthy cumin, and red liquorice.

Palate: Palate: Beautifully balanced creamy mouthfeel with honey sweetness over earthy rye spices. Honey, rye bread, turmeric, clove, and cumin.

Finish: Finish: Quite short and sweet, leaving those earthy spices with just a hint of liquorice root.

Nose: Strawberry bootlaces, sage, honey on toast and a dollop of dulche leche.

Palate: Beautifully balanced and persistent dram offering up layers of naughtiness. Candy shop up front, bakery out back. Tasty everywhere.

Finish: Subtle wisp of smoke draws everything in to a tidy close under a lasting lick of sticky toffee pudding.

Nose: Opening notes of caramel fudge, cinnamon and toffee apples.

Palate: The sweet taste of toffee apples with black cherry, followed by a strong punch of spice.

Finish: Dusty dry finish with a hint of spice.

Nose: Roast chestnuts, caramelised dates, ground cinnamon and some meaty malt notes drifting in later on.

Palate: Coffee and walnut cake, brown sugar and nutmeg, then barley grist follows on.

Finish: Dried fruits and a touch of dark caramel linger.

Nose: An oily nuttiness, pineapples and mangoes and sweet brandy snaps.

Palate: Smooth and creamy at first - there’s buttery popcorn with a gradual prickle of spice creeping in.

Finish: More of those creamy, buttery flavours linger with just a hint of pepper to the death.

Nose: Lots of peaty smoke on the nose, with sea air and ginger too.

Palate: The smokiness fades to the background to reveal sweet icing sugar, rhubarb and custard sweets and an earthiness.

Finish: A peppery, herbaceous finish with a final sweetness.

Nose: A butterscotch creaminess mixed with liquorice and a pinch of ginger.

Palate: Smooth and creamy with vanilla, plums and cherries initially. Oaky notes with warming ginger and cinnamon spices emerge with time.

Finish: An oaky finish with more vanilla and ginger too.

Nose: A fresh and herbaceous entry with both sweetness and salinity emerging.

Palate: There’s savoury hints of olives and rosemary, mixed with sweet liquorice and earthy rhubarb.

Finish: A smooth and sweet finish with more of those rosemary notes coming through until the end.

Nose: Smoky leather, toffee and sweet peaches.

Palate: A sweet and rich mouthfeel with honeyed nuts and tropical fruits, before that smokiness creeps back in.

Finish: Warm spices, with cinnamon and ginger before a final leather smoke hit.

Nose: Sweet with Demerara sugar and heather honey, chocolate raisins follow.

Palate: Very gentle. Velvety smooth, with rich chocolate and black cherry, with just a hint of wild fennel.

Finish: There's a whisper of wood smoke in the finish alongside a hint of aniseed, and a dusting of pepper.

Nose: Big oaty, cereal notes at first - there’s porridge drizzled with raspberry jam, malted milk biscuits and a rich creaminess. 

Palate: Smooth with more of those cereal notes. There’s a honey sweetness and raspberry flavours but also underlying earthy flavours, with rhubarb too.

Finish: Vanilla notes, more of those earthy tones and a final burst of juicy blackberries.

Nose: Lots of cereal notes with fresh juicy apple and a subtle caramel aroma.

Palate: The apple really comes through on the palate, followed by warming spices, a nutty oiliness and more of those cereal notes.

Finish: The spices fade away to leave a buttery, toffee flavour with that apple re-emerging right at the end.

Nose: From a slight salinity and sea breeze emerges vanilla, raisin and charred oak.

Palate: A dry mouthfeel but with plenty of sweet notes - candied fruits, walnuts and honey cake with a pinch of cinnamon too.

Finish: A long, dry finish with peppery hints and more of the sweetness and salinity intertwined.

Nose: Buckets full of apricot, pear and nectarine. Cereal notes and creamy vanilla broken up by fresh herbs.

Palate: Citrus zest and kitchen spices mixed with melting chocolate - creamy but light.

Finish: Fresh fruit sweetness of peaches and stewed plums, with a slight nuttiness coming through.

Nose: Juicy fruit aromas, light citrus with some toasted malt.

Palate: Sweet with some light oak and dry fruits on a malty base.

Finish: Citrus notes, barley sugars and light dried fruits.

Nose: A musky nose brings thick red berry sweetness and damson jam, with a hint of salted chocolate underneath. With a slight coastal breeze there’s crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon, with a little mature oak.

Palate: A whiff of red wine richness brings caramelised cherries and blackberry cheesecake. The muskiness continues onto the palate, and there’s a slightly drying minerality that's lifted by toasted brown sugar, cinnamon and a buttery Digestive biscuit base.

Finish: In a medium length finish there’s sea air and barley sugar.

Nose: Immediate caramel sweetness and melted milk chocolate fade into gentle mineral notes, pencil shavings, sultanas and distinct maritime aromas of sea water.  

Palate: Fruity notes of fresh apples alongside dried raisins, apricot and sultanas, with a dash more chocolate.

Finish: Herby notes contrast the sweetness, followed by a sprinkle of allspice over porridge.

Nose: Lots of ripe fruits at first, with creamy caramel underneath. There’s also some warming honey and ginger notes coming through.

Palate: A honey sweetness coats the tongue, with more ginger developing with time. There’s a touch of almond too.

Finish: The caramel re-enters, followed by a final flourish of orchard fruits.

Nose: Crisp nose delivers sweet Sherry, straw and saline minerality with a suggestion of mushroom and yeast.

Palate: An abundance of Sherry character, dried fruit and vanilla with butter icing.

Finish: Long, gentle and sweet turning, at the very end, deliciously savoury.

Nose: A nostalgic opening of old books with a hint of pineapple.

Palate: Unripe banana followed by honeydew melon.

Finish: Hint of old Pick'n'Mix sweets.

Nose: Toasty aromas at first, followed by the marzipan and fruity notes of cherry bakewells and a chocolatey richness.

Palate: A smooth, sweet opening with more marzipan. Pear and apple flavours come through, with a touch of cinnamon warmth too.

Finish: An earthy, mineral finish with just a hint of spice at the death.

Nose: Green apple, coconut, and vanilla, with a touch of smoke and brine. Toasted wholemeal and herbal thyme.

Palate: Malty with rich toffee, black cherry, and chocolate. This is sweet and earthy, that gentle peat lingering in the finish.

Finish: Roasted almonds with honeyed toasted oak melds into the gentle roasted peat and coffee notes.