An excellent addition to Livingstone’s ground-breaking Macbeth series. The Bloody Sergeant – who recounts Macbeth’s heroic deeds to King Duncan in the Play’s first act – had to be embodied by a rugged Highlander and this Blair Athol does the job perfectly. Matured in a combination of bourbon hogsheads and red wine casks, this is a richly texture dram packed with fruit and complex tannins. Expect blackberries and baking spices on the nose before a weighty palate of toffee and malt with a pickle of gunpowder in the finish.

This bottling is one of 10 characterful whiskies chosen to represent The Household of Macbeth. Each expression in this collectable series features character insights from whisky writer Dave Broom and specially commissioned illustrations by Sir Quentin Blake.

Joe Rogers - The Whisky Exchange

NOSE

• Apple tart, calvados and blackberries. A spicier side emerges over time, bringing cloves, cinnamon, and raisins.
  

PALATE

• Toffee, vanilla cream, autumn leaves, liquorice, a slice of Dundee cake, black bread spread with good butter, black tea, and dark malty ale. This is a big, heavy whisky.
  

FINISH

• Medium-length with some grippy tannins and a few grains of gunpowder.
  

OBSERVATIONS

• The casks chosen to bring the Bloody Sergeant to life provide excellent structure to Blair Athol’s rich, fruity spirit. That sense of tannin and spice, combined with those apple and berry notes make for a very satisfying dram.