In our travels to London (2000,2001), we came upon a quaint little store called, Cadenhead’s Covent Garden’s Whiskey Shop. It’s in Covent Gardens near the theatre district. It specializes in cast strength single malts – no water, no color added. The shop may not be much bigger than your living room, oh but the treasures it holds. These bottles are taken from a limited number of casts and numbered. Each has provided the taster with unparalleled pleasure and is listed here lest we forget the particulars. All are rated as 6 stars!
If you have the chance to visit London, make sure you plan to visit. The proprietor is most knowledgeable and helpful. We consider this a “royal place.”
| Distillery | Region | % Alc | Age | No. of Bottles |
| Dauluanie-Glenlivet | Speyside | 61.0 | 12 | 306 |
| Glen Keith-Glenlivet | Speyside | 59.2 | 16 | 216 |
| Glen Spey-Glenlivet | Speyside | 46.0 | 14 | 222 |
| Glencadam | Highland | 55.8 | 18 | 216 |
| Knockdhu | Speyside | 55.9 | 12 | 306 |
| St.Magdalene | Lowland | 41.6 | 26 | 456 |
More recently, we had the good fortune to visit the birthplace of the single malt and the capital of the highlands, Inverness, Scotland. We didn’t have to walk far before we found the The Whisky Shop. We purchased a number of rare malts and tasted a few more thanks to our new friend Scott Mackenzie Dunn. He is most knowledgeable. His suggestion that we tour Altbea by car made our week’s stay.
You can sample some special single malts called, “Glenkeir Treasures” at these stores and they can be bottled right from the cask for your purchase. We sampled several and have posted them here. All were six stars in our book.
| Distillery | Region | % Alc | Age | Tasting Date |
| Ben Nevis | Highlands | 50.0 | 9 | August 2005 |
| Glen Keith-Glenlivet | Speyside | 59.2 | 16 | August 2005 |
We also attend scotch tastings. These events allow us to taste other rare scotches that rank as Malts of Distinction. Many come from the private bottlings of the Single Malt Scotch Society of America. They are cask strength, unfiltered, and uncolored.
| Distillery | Region | % Alc | Age | Tasting Date |
| Bowmore | Islay | 54.3 | 14 | May 2004 |
| Glen Mhor | Highland | 55.5 | 27 | May 2004 |
| Glen Scotia | Cambeltown | 63.4 | 12 | May 2004 |
| Tullibardine | Highland | 56.4 | 13 | May 2004 |
| Scapa | Highland | 62.4 | 18 | May 2004 |
| Lochranza | Highland | 57.8 | 9 | March 2009 |
| North Shore | Islay | 54.0 | 18 | March 2009 |
And then finally, we have conducted several important scotch hunts in the states. During our last trip to New Jersey, we found Bayway World of Liquors in Elizabeth and had the good fortune to meet Pat McCarthy. We spent about an hour and a half tasting several of his private label malts – The Classic Casks of Bayway World. They were excellent. We also tasted the soon to be released Bruichladdich aged in Caribbean rum filled casks! Our rating – all six stars.
| Distillery | Region | % Alc | Age | Tasting Date |
| Highland Park | Highland | 43.0 | 23 | July 2007 |
| Bruichladdich | Islay | 46.0 | 11 | July 2007 |
| Glen Roths | Highland | 43.0 | 16 | July 2007 |
| Glenfarclas | Highland | 54.3 | 18 | July 2007 |
* Rare scotches worthy of the title Malts of Distinctions that are not commercially available are listed here. We count them in our totals but do not provide tasting notes.