Master of Malt is an online whisky supplier who has gained much renown for their "Drinks by the Dram" programme which allows buyers to buy 3cl samples and "try before you buy" the full 70cl bottles.

Now they offer their own range of whiskies.

Master of Malt, 8y blended, 40%

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics 'live' review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich, dark gold

Nose: Aromatic rich oak, cloves, a hint of lavendar and after some minutes; soft Italian leather.

Palate: Creamy whilst having a slightly watery mouth-feel. Hints of figs and currants and a touch of marzipan with black cherries and some hints of toffee. Although none of these flavours are strong or predominant. Subdued rather than rich.

Finish: Medium to long with nuts and wood.

Overall Impression: This is a decent blend but as I mentioned above it is rather subdued with faint suggestions of flavours rather than in your face power, although this isn't always a bad thing to have! My personal feeling here is that it's slightly let down by the bottling strength of 40% and would benefit considerably from 43% or even 46%.

Master of Malt, 40y Speyside, 40%

'Secret Bottlings' series

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich amber, almost treacle toffee

Nose: Lots of richly sherried and fruity butterscotch. Quite floral and certainly not so overpowering for one so rich.

Palate: Toffee, butterscotch, sherried dark fruits and black cherries, but slightly thin (abv?). This picks up on my second tasting as it now appears much more solid and richer.

Finish: Long, oaky and sherried

Overall Impression: Excellent. I love this whisky even though it appeared a little thin on my first trial. Almost a 'Great', almost.

Master of Malt, 30y Speyside, Edition 4, 40%

'Secret Bottlings' series

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich coppery amber

Nose: Slightly stale and musty fruit alongside a woodiness with a hint of perfumed soap. After some minutes there's a suggestion of lightly smoked creme brulée which expands further to include wild mushroom. As more time passes the smokiness expands further, but this is the smokiness of aged wood, not peat!

Palate: Slightly thin mouth-feel offering light wood and fruitiness, then faint creaminess with suggestions of vanilla and raisins.

Finish: Long but quite light

Overall Impression: Very aromatic and enjoyable, but remaining quite light for a 30y sherried Speysider. Is this a bad thing? Not at all, it's really very enjoyable.

Master of Malt, St. Isidore, 41.4%

The Bloggers' Blend

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€ (Just!)

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Shiny cork

Nose: Fruits, woody and lightly rubbery, with the fruitiness suggesting a cocktail of raspberry, guava and peach. There's also a hint of wood-smoke as opposed to peatiness. Is that also a suggestion of creamy custard poured over apple crumble with raisins? I think it is.

Palate: A veritable cocktail of flavours here with wood, plums, custard, raspberry coulis, cardamom seeds and cloves accompanying beef remoulade and gravy. This all sounds quite unbalanced but it is surprisingly harmonious.

Finish: Medium to long with a suggestion of creme caramel and cloves.

Overall Impression: Lots happening and really not bad at all.