Archive For July 30, 2014
There are certain distilleries that just can’t stand the idea of independent bottlings carrying their name. Glenfarclas and the Grant’s distilleries (Glenfiddich, The Balvenie and Kininvie) come to mind (with the exception of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, although the Balvenie and Glenfiddich have very few barrels in Society hands). However, every once in a…
Bunnahabhain, the South African owned “other” Islay distillery, produces mostly unpeated whisky, yet has it’s own character due to the closeness to the distillation process and an affinity for long term maturation in special casks. At Bunnahabhain, they run the relatively large stills at only 47% of capacity, to increase copper contact and get more…
Pittyvaich is one of those almost secret closed distilleries as it didn’t even get through two decades of operation, as it was built in 1974 and mothballed in 1993, only to be demolished in 2002. It was an exact replica of the Dufftown distillery (producing Diageo’s Singleton of Dufftown) and once Arthur Bell & Sons…
Old Pulteney is one of the smaller distilleries, despite the fact that it can make an impressive 1.8 million liters per year. It’s located in Wick, and until 2012 was the most northern distillery on the mainland. Old Pulteney is known for its oily body and brininess and fully stands up to its moniker “The Maritime Whisky”…
This Highland Park spent 22 years in an ex-bourbon cask, and came out a real beauty. It was part of the June 2014 outrun and was one of 246 bottles dubbed by the society tasters as “big boys smoking in the sauna”. The beauty of the SMWS, and all single cask independent bottlers, is that…