The Armchair Tour of Scotland

“An Armchair Tour of Scotland” Our tasting features 3 new releases to our market. Tamnavulin (Whyte & Mackay) is the first up. Its Double Cask begins life in bourbon barrels and is finished in sherry casks. As we seldom see an Auchroisk bottling in our market, let’s opt for its 10-Year, a rare 43% ABV dram from Battlehill. Now hear this: Glenglassaugh 12-Year is da bomb! This one exceeded my expectations, and I bet that it will also pleasantly surprise you, too. Isle of Arran 14-Year was discontinued in 2019 (rather shocking as it was its best-selling bottling!). The discontinuation occurred alongside the introduction of the distillery’s new core range and the renaming of the distillery to Lochranza (no one calls it Lochranza, so if you refer to it, go with the Isle of Arran Distillery version).

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2014 Edition features barley grown on 8 farms on Islay. Unlike the 2013 Edition which used the Bere (aka Viking) barley variety, our edition was made from Concerto and Propino barley grown on Islay. Yes, the last one will demand your attention: Caol Ila 2008 Vintage 8-Year at cask strength 59.5% ABV and peated at 34-38 ppm. It is a Signatory bottling of a single cask selected by Binny’s of Chicago.

So, do join us and bring a friend, because “good whisky is made great when shared among friends.”  Join our dram family…

WHISKY MENU

1. TAMNAVULIN Single Malt / ‘Double Cask’ (Core Range) / NAS / 40% ABV / OB / Dist Owner: Whyte & Mackay (Emperador Distillers Inc./AGI) / Speyside (Livet)

2. AUCHROISK Single Malt / 10-Year / 43% ABV / IB: Battlehill (Duncan Taylor & Co.) / Dist Owner: Diageo Scotland Ltd. (Diageo plc) / Speyside (Central)

3. GLENGLASSAUGH Single Malt / 12-Year / 45% ABV / NCF / OB / Dist Owner:
BenRiach Dist. Co. Ltd. (Brown-Forman Scotland Ltd./Brown-Forman Corp.) /
Highland (Eastern)

4. ARRAN Single Malt / 14-Year / 46% ABV / NCF / OB: Lochranza Dist / Dist Owner: Isle of Arran Distilleries Ltd. (Auchincloss, Pierce & Mitchell) / Island (Arran)

5. BRUICHLADDICH Single Malt / 􀀃Islay Barley􀀘 / 2014 Vintage (8-Yr) / 50% ABV / NCF / OB / Dist Owner: Rémy Cointreau (E. Rémy Martin & Co.) / Islay (West Shore)

6. CAOL ILA Single Malt / 2008 Vintage (8-Year) / CS 59.5% ABV / NCF / SC# 311943 (Binny’s) / Bottle #166 of 314 / IB: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co. (Andrew Symington) / Dist Owner: Diageo Scotland Ltd. (Diageo plc) / Islay (North Shore)