Glen Elgin 2011 Moscatel Finish 54.4% Berry Bros & Rudd Friends

This Glen Elgin was discovered by chance during a BB&R spirits showcase in London in March 2026: staff from Craft Spirits found a bottle tucked in a dark corner of the cellar stairs—set aside because the cork had fallen inside. No one had tasted it yet. What followed was astonishment: a whisky that stood apart from the 150 casks on display.

The spirit spent 14 years maturing in a bourbon cask before receiving a finish in a particularly active Moscatel cask. Bottled at cask strength (54.4%), non-coloured and non-chill-filtered, yielding just 301 bottles.

The nose leads with fig jam, raisins and plums, joined by maple syrup, dark fruit, dates and burnt sugar, plus dried fruit, port sauce, wet leather and bay leaf. On the palate it arrives rich and full: caramelised pears, Moscatel sweetness, figs and plums with a buttery mouthfeel. White pepper adds grip, beneath which grapefruit and cherry emerge. The finish delivers chocolate, malt biscuit, liquorice and black pepper.

This is a full, sweet whisky that drinks easily—the kind of bottling you reorder, even if you never normally buy the same bottle twice.