William M. Dowd photos

• Third in a series of holiday gift-giving suggestions for the spirits connosieur. Go here for part one and here for part two.

We've done the rums and bourbons, so today we head across The Pond to Scotland to check out some Scotch whiskies that, while mayboe not as widely known as Johnnie Walker, are among the best made.

GLENMORANGIE SIGNET

There are many interesting characters in the Scotch whisky industry, but Dr. Bill Lumsden's infectious enthusiasms for experimentation with woods and blends sets him apart. Lumsden is head of distilling and whisky creation at the glenmorangie distillery in Scotland.

I usually like to build my case for making a "good" or "bad" judgement step by step. I'll dispense with it here to immediately declare that anyone who does not find Signet (shown above) a brilliant product should have her/his taste buds removed. They're obviously out of order.

Lumsden has been tinkering with this expression for about a decade, according to his associates. He has married barley grown on the Glemorangie land with a chocolate malt as well as maturing various whiskies used in the blending in a variety of woods. Precise ingredients are being kept vague for competitive reasons.The deeper flavors of tobacco, leather and chocolate are key factors in the richness of taste. But Signet doesn't stop there. I detected fleeting notes of sherry and orange zest in the nose, followed on the palate by pineapple, green apple ... even a bit of honey and maple.

This is a very complex creation. Lumsden uses the word "voluptuous." I concur.

Suggested retail price: $185 for the 750ml bottle.

MONKEY SHOULDER

When William Grant & Sons began producing Monkey Shoulder a few years ago, it quickly became the darling of the UK cocktail scene. I first ran across it during a bar crawl in Edinburgh, Scotland, at Olorosso, an upscale restaurant and cocktail lounge overlooking the city.

Monkey Shoulder is a bold, smooth whiskey with spice notes and nuances of vanilla and toffee.

It is made from a blend of single malts from the company’s three Speyside distilleries — Glenfiddich, The Balvenie and Kininvie — by malt master David Stewart, who eschews grains in creating this spirit.

Stewart produces only very limited amounts of the whisky, but you may be able to work with your local spirits seller to order a bottle. It's a perfect blend to use in potent cocktails.

By the way, the origin of the whisky's name comes from a term for a physical injury that was common in the days when distilleries' workers stooped over for long periods of time while turning the malt, causing them to hunch their shoulders.

Suggested retail price: $37 for the 750ml bottle.

THE GLENLIVET LINEUP

Today, the Glenlivet portfolio has grown under the ownership of the international corporation Pernod Ricard to include six whiskies -- the basic 12-year-old expression, a 15-year-old French oak reserve, the Nadurra (Celtic for “natural”) 16-year-old, as well as 18- and 21-year-old expressions and, for just the past eight months, the XXV, a 25-year-old. The Glenlivet Cellar Collection also has seven releases, with the 1972 expression the latest on the market. Here are my notes on a [pair of the offerings.

• 15-Year-Old French Oak

My particular favorite among the Glenlivets. It spends 12 years in used American white oak barrels, then a portion of it is matured in French Limousin oak before being returned to the whole. It is the only Glenlivet that uses French oak. It presents citrus and cedar notes in the opening nose and everything from pepper to mango on the tongue, with a long, clean slightly spicy finish.

Suggested retail price range: $49 to $54.

• Nadurra

This is a cask strength whisky (115.2 proof, or 56.1% alcohol by volume) best sampled as a 3-to-1 water-to-whisky mixture. It is non-chill filtered, which means it could get cloudy on the shelf. Nothing wrong with that. The flavor is light, yet crisp, quickly giving way to intense notes of honey and toffee. Long, lingering finish.

Suggested retail price: $60 to $65.

KING’S CREST 215 YEAR OLD BLENDED SCOTCH

This blend comes from The Speyside, one of Scotland's smallest distilleries but plenty big on attitude when it comes to comparing itself to the market niche leaders. I found this lovely blend, priced like Johnnie Walker Blue Label, a worthy competitor.

In fact, it might even be considered slightly superior in the peaty, hazlenut flavors that removed all traces of any unpleasant heat.

While its purveyors like to trumpet the result of the master blender's work, the company will say only that "We believe our King's Crest has become a legend in it's own right. But what makes a legend? For our master blender it is the combination of several elements, however he is very reticent to disclose them."

It can be disclosed that the maltiness, the vanillas and caramels, the hint of pineapple and citrus notes indicate a very complex and satisfying whisky.

Suggested retail price: $200.

NEXT: Liqueurs and oddities.