Did you know that as well as a superb selection of wines, we also have a high-quality, carefully curated range of whiskies?
Walk into our West Didsbury shop and you'll find bottles from distilleries you may never have heard of, many of them under £50, and many of them chosen by our store manager James.
He got into Whisky the way a lot of people do.
"I had a family member who was really into collecting his very nice whiskies. When I tasted my first proper whisky I was just amazed at the complexity of flavours you can have in a single beverage.
"I quickly went down the rabbit hole of there's just so many different styles and regions, and then as with most things I was obsessed with it as a craft product. The amount of effort and time and history that goes into making a perfect dram."
James, Store Manager, West Didsbury
After several years down that rabbit hole, he's brought that love the craft to our range. Eight of the most immediate and accessible of them are below, with what makes each one worth your money and how to pick without needing to know your Speyside from your Islay first.
What we look for in a good Whisky
When choosing what to stock we like to turn to the lesser-known distilleries. We like to call these 'bottles-of-discovery.'
Most of these come from distilleries making a fraction of what the household names produce. Glenturret in Perthshire turns out around 500,000 litres a year with open mash tuns and stills managed by hand. Tobermory on the Isle of Mull has capacity for about a million litres and runs at roughly three quarters of it. The biggest Scotch distilleries make well over ten million. We reckon that smaller runs give you a whisky that tastes more of where it came from, though plenty of people will argue about that and we'd enjoy the argument.
The other consideration is price. Small-batch doesn't have to mean expensive. Six of the eight bottles below sit under £75 and three are under £50. As whisky prices rise, the quality to value ratio becomes ever more important. We think these find the right balance.
We should be straight about one thing. We don't stock the famous names. If you've come looking for the whisky your dad has always drunk, we probably don't have it. What we do have is the bottle you'd move onto next.
Eight whiskies from James's Didsbury shelf
If you're just getting into it
1. Tobermory 12 Year Old, £47 (70cl, 46.3%)
From the harbour at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. This is the unpeated half of what the distillery makes, since the smoky half gets bottled as Ledaig, so you get the fruit and the malt without the bonfire. Bottled at 46.3%, which matters more than it sounds. Most supermarket malts land at 40%, and that extra strength carries a lot more flavour.
2. Glencadam 10 Year Old Single Malt, £48 (70cl, 46%)
Glencadam sits in Brechin and has done since 1825. It's one of Scotland's smaller distilleries, owned since 2003 by Angus Dundee, a family firm rather than a multinational. Matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, unpeated, no added colour, no chill filtration, 46%. When someone asks us what a Highland single malt is supposed to taste like, this is the bottle we hand them.
Glencadam is also pouring at our November whisky tasting, so if you'd rather try before you buy, hold on for that one.
3. Deanston 12 Year Old, £49 (70cl, 46%)
Deanston is a cotton mill from 1785 that became a distillery in 1966, sat on the River Teith near Doune. The river still runs the place: an on-site hydroelectric turbine makes Deanston the only distillery in Scotland generating all its own electricity. Unpeated, ex-bourbon barrels, no chill filtration, no colouring. This is the one that tends to get finished fastest at home.
If you want something smoky
These three run in order of how much peat you're letting yourself in for. Start at the top and work down.
4. Bunnahabhain "Toiteach a Dhà", £48 (70cl, 46.3%)
Islay whisky has a reputation for taking your head off. Bunnahabhain is the island's gentlest distillery and mostly makes unpeated whisky, which is unusual for Islay. Toiteach a Dhà is their smoky one, built from peated spirit but aged in roughly 75% ex-oloroso sherry casks. So you get Islay peat wrapped in sherry rather than peat piled on more peat.
If smoke has put you off before, start here. This one's open by the glass in the bars as well.
5. Old Ballantruan, 10YO Single Malt. £63 (70cl, 50%)
Speyside isn't where you'd normally go looking for smoke, which makes this one stand out straight away. Soft spice and rich peat lead the nose, intense and a little vanilla-sweet underneath. On the palate the peat smoke takes charge: black pepper alongside it so you know this a solid, no-nonsense pour. The finish is where it really expresses itself: intense and spicy, with a sweet, creamy, malty backbone building to a crescendo of log-fire smokey depth. Bottled at 50%, this is a straightforward, honestly peaty dram.
6. Lagg Corriecravie, £78 (70cl, 55%)
The heavy one. Lagg opened on the south end of Arran in 2019, built by Isle of Arran Distillers specifically to make peated whisky so that their original Lochranza site could carry on making it unpeated. The barley runs at around 50ppm phenol, which is properly peaty by any measure.
Corriecravie starts in bourbon barrels and finishes about six months in oloroso sherry hogsheads from Miguel Martin in Jerez. Bottled at 55%, no chill filtration, no added colour, and released in limited quantities once a year. At that strength water isn't optional, it's just sensible.
If you're buying it as a gift
6. The Glenturret 12 Year Old, £75 (70cl, 46%)
Whisky has been distilled at Glenturret in Crieff since 1763, which makes it the oldest working distillery in Scotland. Everything there is hands-on: open mash tuns, long fermentations, stills run manually. The 12 year old is fruity with a gentle sherry influence, and the oldest-in-Scotland line gives whoever unwraps it something to go and read about.
7. Isle of Raasay, Dun Cana Sherry Quarter Cask, £87 (70cl, 52%)
Raasay is a small island off Skye and its distillery has been named Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year at the Scottish Whisky Awards. Dun Cana is matured in sherry quarter casks, which hold less than a standard cask, so the whisky sits in contact with more wood for its size and picks up character faster. Bottled at 52%. Add a splash of water and it opens right up.
This is the one to give someone who already thinks they know what they like.
See the full whisky range. There are around 27 bottles in stock at any time, including Torabhaig from Skye, Lagg from Arran, Tomintoul from Speyside and The Lakes from Cumbria.
If you want something local
9. Forest Whisky Blend No. 26 English Oak, £60 (70cl, 47%)
One extra whisky to highlight - even though it's a blended malt. Made at the Cat & Fiddle above Macclesfield, which at 1,689 feet is the highest distillery in the UK. Lindsay and Karl Bond started it in 2014 in a 17th century stone barn in Macclesfield Forest, using barley grown down the hill by Cheshire farmers and open fermenters that pick up wild yeast off the air. Blend No. 26 is finished in English oak.
It's about half an hour from our Macclesfield site at the Picturedrome, which is as local as whisky gets round here.
How to pick one without overthinking it
When deciding what to choose these four things tell you most of what you need to know.
Peated or unpeated is the big one. Peat is smoke, and people either love it or can't stand it. There isn't much of a middle ground worth agonising over. If you don't know which you are, start unpeated and work out from there.
Then look at the strength on the label. Anything at 46% or above has usually skipped chill filtration, a process that strips out some flavour compounds along with the haze. It's the single most useful number on a bottle and it costs you nothing to check.
The cask tells you the rest. Ex-bourbon casks lean vanilla and honey, sherry casks lean dried fruit and Christmas cake, and port or wine finishes land somewhere in between. Most bottles say which on the label.
Finally, age is not quality. A 12 year old from a distillery doing things properly beats an 18 year old from one that isn't. Age tells you how long it sat in wood and nothing else.
Beyond that, ask us. That's what the shop is for.
Two whisky tastings coming up in Didsbury
Reading about whisky only gets you so far. Both of these run at the West Didsbury shop.
An Evening with Sazerac, Wednesday 3rd September, £35 a head. A guided walk through the Sazerac range with someone who knows it properly. Book tickets here.
Whisky tasting, Thursday 5th November. Glencadam, Tomintoul and more, hosted at Didsbury. This is a great opportunity to try new single malts and learn a bit along the way. Great for the beginner and enthusiast alike.
A tasting is also the cheapest way to work out what you actually like. Several drams for £35 beats one £50 bottle you're not sure about.
Whisky questions we get asked
What is the best Scotch whisky from Scotland?
There isn't one, and anyone who gives you a single answer is guessing. Scotch splits into regional styles that taste genuinely different, so the best one is whichever style suits you. For a classic unpeated Highland malt we'd point you at Glencadam 10 Year Old (£48). For smoke, Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà from Islay (£48). Both are on the shelf at Didsbury.
What is the best quality Scotch whisky?
Look at three things on the label rather than the price: bottling strength of 46% or higher, no chill filtration, and no added colouring (E150a). Whiskies meeting all three are bottled closer to how they came out of the cask. Glencadam, Deanston, Tobermory and Bunnahabhain in our range all qualify, and none costs more than £49.
What are the top 20 Scotch whiskies?
Published top-20 lists tend to feature the same large distilleries, because those are the bottles most widely available rather than the best value. We stock around 27 whiskies at any one time and deliberately skip most of the famous names. Our Scotch selection covers Highland (Glencadam, Deanston, Glenturret, Tobermory), Islay (Bunnahabhain), Speyside (Tomintoul, Old Ballantruan), Arran (Arran, Lagg), Raasay and Skye (Torabhaig). You can browse the whole range here.
Which whisky is best for gifting?
Something they wouldn't buy themselves, with a story attached. The Glenturret 12 Year Old (£75) comes from Scotland's oldest working distillery, first recorded in 1763. Isle of Raasay Dun Cana (£87) comes from an award-winning young island distillery. For a gift under £50, Bunnahabhain 12 year old gives someone an Islay whisky without the usual peat wallop.
What are the top 5 whiskies to try if you're new?
From what's on the Didsbury shelf: Evan Williams Black Label bourbon (£29) for an easy start, Tobermory 12 (£47) for an island malt, Glencadam 10 (£48) for classic Highland, Deanston 12 (£49) for an everyday bottle, and Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà (£48) if you want to test whether you like smoke.
What's a really good bottle of whisky?
Around the £45 to £60 mark you reach whiskies bottled at 46% or higher without chill filtration, which is where things get noticeably better. Below roughly £30 you're mostly paying for volume. Above £100 you're often paying for rarity rather than flavour. Most of our range sits in that middle band on purpose.
What is the best gift for someone who loves whisky?
If they already own plenty of bottles, give them an experience instead. Our Didsbury whisky tastings cost £35 a head and cover several drams in an evening with someone talking you through them. Failing that, a bottle from a distillery they haven't tried. Isle of Raasay, Torabhaig and Forest all fit.
Which brand of whisky is best?
Brand recognition mostly reflects advertising spend. Smaller distilleries put the money into the liquid instead, which is why our range leans that way. Glencadam, Tobermory, Deanston, Bunnahabhain and Glenturret are all worth your attention and none of them advertise at you.
What are the top 3 whiskies in our range right now?
Glencadam 10 Year Old (£48) for Highland character, Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà (£48) for approachable Islay smoke, and Isle of Raasay Dun Cana (£87) if you're spending properly. All three are on the shelf at West Didsbury.
What is the best whisky in the UK?
English whisky has come a long way. Forest Distillery makes theirs at the Cat & Fiddle above Macclesfield, the highest distillery in the UK at 1,689 feet, using locally grown barley and open fermentation. Blend No. 26 English Oak is £60. The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria is also in the range.
What is the best peated whisky?
Depends how much peat you want. Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà (£48) is the gentle way in, with Islay smoke softened by oloroso sherry casks. Old Ballantruan 10 Year Old (£63) is a rare peated Speyside, so smoke over sweetness rather than sea air. Lagg Corriecravie (£78) is the heavy one, made on Arran from barley at around 50ppm phenol and bottled at 55%.
Is it whisky or whiskey?
Scotland, Japan and Canada spell it whisky. Ireland and the United States mostly spell it whiskey. Same drink, different countries. We use "whisky" because most of what we sell is Scottish.
How should I drink it?
However you like. A few drops of water in anything above 46% opens up the aromas and takes the edge off the alcohol, which is worth trying at least once. Ice mutes flavour, but if that's how you enjoy it, that's how you should drink it.
Come and have a look
There's even more to discover on the whisky shelf at our West Didsbury shop, and James or whoever's on that day will happily talk you through it. Several of these are open by the glass in our bars at Didsbury, Mackie Mayor, Altrincham Market House and the Picturedrome in Macclesfield, so you can try one properly before you buy a full bottle.
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