A few premieres from the last few days
In the flurry of events and duties, mainly those related to the Whisky Festival in Jastrzebia Gora, we skipped reporting on a whole host of recent launches. It's time to catch up, because among the new editions that have appeared on the market, there are at least three that must not be passed over in silence.
First we take a look at the recently launched Ardgowan distillery. Located in the Lowlands, a little west of Glasgow, this distillery has yet to make its own whisky. Following the example of several other new projects in the industry (such as Isle of Raasay), one of the sources of funding for ongoing operations at the initial stage is looking at bottling whiskeys from other distilleries. This is how blended malt whisky was created Clydebuilt Sailmaker. It is a blend of distillates from six Scottish distilleries from the Highlands, Speyside and Lowlands regions, matured in first fill oloroso sherry casks.
Someone will say why bother with some malt blend? Well, if its creator is one of Scotch whisky's greatest creators, responsible for Bunnahabhain, Tamdhu, Highland Park, or Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark for many years at Edrington - it's probably worth it. Max McFarlane, as he is referred to, moved to Ardgowan directly from Edrington in the fall of 2019, having previously spent 44 years creating whisky from one of the major players in the Scotch whisky market.
Clydebuilt Sailmaker is the third whisky in the Clydebuilt series, referring to the shipbuilding traditions on the River Clyde and its estuary. The previous two were Clydebuilt Coppersmith and Clydebuilt Shipwright. All three are the work of the aforementioned Maks McFarlane, who is responsible at Ardgowan for producing the. Whisky, bottled as a 48% vol beverage., is expected to offer accents of pepper, dried spices, stone fruits, fresh nectarines, chocolate truffles and Seville orange marmalade in its bouquet. On the palate we should find notes of fudge, marzipan, mango and vanilla. The whisky was not marked with an age declaration. A single bottle is priced at £52.50.
Completely unexpectedly, a new whisky has appeared on the market also from Ian Macleod Distillers. We are talking about Tamdhu Dedication Society Single Cask 2003, whisky distilled in November 2003 and matured in a single sherry butt cask. Bottled as cask strength (in this case 55.4% vol.) whisky in its bouquet offers notes of vanilla, compote apples, sugar syrup, licorice and sherry. On the palate we can expect notes of fruit bread, plum jam and dark chocolate. A limited edition of 640 bottles is available directly from the distillery at a retail price of £349 per bottle.
A quick trip north to the Orkney Islands. One of the most renowned Scotch whisky makers, Highland Park, has just released the third batch of its cask strength whisky. Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 3 is a whisky with a strength of 64.1% vol. It was distilled on a dried barley base with a slightly higher than usual share of local peat, so in its bouquet and flavor the peaty and smoky accents will be more pronounced. The whisky was matured primarily in a combination of first-fill sherry casks, made from both European and American oak. A number of refill barrels were also involved in the couplet. Its tasting note lists accents of lightly roasted oak, honeyed lemons, aniseed, ripe mango, heather honey, vanilla whipped cream, violets, pink grapefruit zest, sponge cake and peat smoke. Buying a single bottle means spending about £65.
Fettercairn, a distillery located just outside the southeastern borders of Speyside, has announced the release of the fourth whisky in its Warehouse Collection. Fettercairn Warehouse 2 Batch No. 004 is a beverage with a strength of 48.8% vol., matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and re-fired Hungarian wine barrels. Whisky bottled without cold filtration and caramel coloring. Its tasting notes mention accents of Madagascar vanilla, compote pears, ground pepper, toffee, honey, nuts, passion fruit, subtle oak and spice. Buying a bottle is an expense of £60.
From Glenmorangie comes news of the release of a 23-year-old vintage whisky from the distillery, Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Single Malt 1998. Among other things, it is a whisky put together from distillates matured in fired fresh oak barrels, a precedent for this distillery. To date, fresh oak barrels have not been used at Glenmorangie. The distillate matured in this way was subjected to a blending with whisky matured in first-fill bourbon casks and "slightly sweet" whisky finished in oloroso sherry casks. The whisky offers notes of toffee, ripe pears, plums and baked apples, as well as delicate oak. on the palate we can expect vibrant fruitiness, chocolate, raisins and figs, and on the finish glazed almonds, leather and dates. The cost per bottle is $900.
Finally, two new products from Compass Box. Sixth edition of the blended malt whisky Flaming Heart (48.9% vol.), a blend of distillates from Laphroaig, Caol Ila and Talisker, among others, cranked up with whiskies from Highlands distilleries, aged for a minimum of five years in French oak casks. As you can easily guess, the island ingredients are meant to give the whisky a smoky peatiness, while those from French oak primarily offer a blend of spices. 9,606 bottles have been prepared, each costing £130.
The second limited edition whisky from Compass Box is Ultramarine (51% vol.). The composition of this blended whisky uses single malts as ingredients, but also whiskies previously blended and already matured as blends in sherry casks, as well as peated whiskies. These distillates date back to the 1970s. i 80. The whiskies were made in the 1920s, so we are talking about really old, mature whiskies. This whisky is intended as a reference to the deluxe blends that appeared on the market in the second half of the 1980s. The producer mentions Caol Ila and Glendullan distilleries by name, as well as Girvan and Cameronbridge grain distilleries. Ultramarine is to form the first part of the Extinct Blends Quartet series, will be available from October 2022, 5,982 bottles have been prepared and each will cost £295.
[08.09.2022 / photo: Ian Macleod Distillers]