Show Notes
“Whiskies are made to be opened; to be enjoyed; and to be shared about,” insists Hamish Malcolm, aka The Dram Caddy, who provides whisky and golfing tours across the east and north-east of Scotland. "They’re not meant to be stored on a shelf.”
We first spoke to Hamish back in July 2025 about how he pairs whisky tastings with rounds of golf. But what value for money whiskies does he recommend his guests should be drinking?
He’s picked out six “bang for buck” whiskies, while John’s picked out three he just loves.
John’s Favourite Picks
1. The Famous Grouse What do expect from a former Scotland rugby international? For years Famous Grouse sponsored Scotland rugby. “I just like it," he says. "It’s got everything you want in a blend.”
2. Loch Lomond 10 Year Old If you caught our fourth ever podcast way back in 2025, you’d know Loch Lomond was Captain Haddock’s favourite whisky, long before Loch Lomond came along. “I just like Loch Lomond. Single malt 10-year-old whisky,” John admits. “This is really apple, vanilla. I think it’s been three different types of American oak casks. It’s just got so much going on.”
3. Bunnahabhain 10 Year Old If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know John’s a big fan of Islay. “This,” he admits, “is my go-to whisky. I don’t know why. I just love it. It’s a sherry bomb. Loads of sherry. Really fruity. Caramelly. Vanellish. It’s very nutty. It just gives you that whack.”
Hamish’s 6 “Bang for Buck” Whiskies
1. Glenmorangie 12 Year Old “Glen Mo 12, if you’re shopping around, you can still get for £30,” he says. “A mixture of sherry and bourbon casks, it’s a great light whisky to kick off a tasting.”
2. Symington’s 10 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky “If you’re not in the whisky world, maybe Symington’s name wouldn’t immediately jump off a supermarket shelf. But if you are, you know what you know. And Andrew’s name on a bottle is pretty important.” 46% ABV. £35. “It’s a mixture of Edradour, Ben Nevis and a Pedro Ximenes cask, so quite sweet, and it’s also a bit of grain whisky from North British Distillery.”
3. Signatory Vintage Speyside (M) 17 Year Old This 17-year-old from Andrew Symington’s Signatory range is from first fill Oloroso sherry butts. 57% ABV. £85. But thing is – Hamish is really cryptic here – there’s no distillery mentioned… Just a mysterious “M”.
“In most cases in independent bottling, it’ll tell you what distillery it’s from,” Hamish explains. “This one simply says ‘Speyside open brackets M closed brackets.’ So some people, John, some people assume this is a Macallan.”
Is it? “I couldn’t confirm or deny that. Get Andrew back on,” Hamish says with a wink.
4. Springbank 10 Year Old Springbank 10-year-old, “lightly peated in a rugged style” from Campbelltown; 46% ABV. “£55 maybe £65,” Hamish says. “This was a really sought-after whisky. You could buy it on a Monday and double your money on a Thursday online.” Which, he adds, is why some retailers restrict it to one bottle per customer.
5. Ardnamurchan AD Cask Strength Lightly peated, cask strength. High 50s ABV. £57. “A lot of whisky for your money”. A QR code on the back, Hamish explains, tells you “what type of barley was used, what farm the barley came from… and what members of staff were on duty and put it in the cask.”
6. Thompson Brothers 18 Year Old Highland Single Malt Another independent bottling. 48.5% ABV. £65. “There’s no clue obvious on here which distillery this is from,” Hamish teases, “but it does say on the back, ‘to park your expectations’ of what this whisky might be.” Highland Park? Hamish won’t say.
Slàinte! ------- Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie
Creator & producer: David Holmes Art work & design: Jess Robertson
Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home) Vocals: Andrea Cunningham Guitars: John Beattie Bass: Alasdair Vann Drums: Alan Hamilton Bagpipes: Calum McColl Accordion: Gary Innes Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Sco
More from Cask to Glass
How do you take over an iconic whisky brand like Highland Park from a “Hall of Famer”, who’s shaped and directed its flavour and style of nearly 30 years? And how do you keep its signature taste and feel consistent, so consumers know exactly what they’re getting, yet make it exciting and refreshing?
Up to 70% of a whisky’s flavour comes from the wood. But what actually happens inside the barrel to create world-class whisky? Legendary Master Distiller Billy Walker unpacks the exact science of oak maturation, cask chemistry, and why age still matters.
Is Scotch Whisky "unfairly" taxed in the UK compared to other drinks?
"If you take away the cooper, you take away the cooperage, you take away the barrels, then you don't get whisky," says Ray Prosser, Sales & Operations Manager at Oakwood Cooperage, the largest independent cooperage in the UK. Not just because Scotch Whisky must by law be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years, but because, Ray says, 70% of whisky's flavour comes from the wood.
How do you take your whisky? On a Brazilian beach, with coconut water obviously. Or better still coconut water ice. In 2025 Brazil was the joint-fifth largest market for Scotch whisky by volume - 54 million bottles. But with a population of some 200 million people, Brazil's still an untapped market. So how do you crack it?