The Tapped Cask

{"id":559845638314,"title":"Torabhaig","created_at":"2023-02-27T13:35:40+00:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Isle of Skye is the biggest of the Inner Hebridean islands and about the same size as Islay, the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight put together. Talisker has been the sole distillery on Skye since its founding in 1830, and given the reputation that that distillery holds which has radiated into the island as a whole, it's surprising that it took until 2017 for another distillery appear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/IMG_3538-2_1_Sarah_Janes_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1677504865\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever while Torabhaig might be new, it is a distillery project that has been in the making for over 50 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSir Iain Noble, the man who founded Noble Grossart, Scotland’s first modern merchant bank, moved to the Isle of Skye in 1972. He purchased 20,000 acres of land, including a hotel at Isle Ornsay, which had been part of Lord Macdonald’s estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNoble – who founded independent blender and bottler Pràban na Linne (Gaelic Whiskies) in 1976 – planned to convert a 19th century listed farm steading at Torabhaig into a distillery. He’d obtained planning permission for the project as early as 2002, though sadly passed away in 2010 before his plans could be realised.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAround the time of his death, Mossburn Distillers, a subsidiary of Dutch drinks group\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/scotchwhisky.com\/whiskypedia\/2605\/marussia-beverages\/\"\u003eMarussia Beverages BV\u003c\/a\u003e, was also seeking a site on the island to build its own distillery. While the group hadn’t previously considered the renovation and preservation of a historic building for its project, Noble’s Torabhaig farm steading proved the perfect location.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMossburn set to work renovating the property in 2013, which by that point was a shambles of old buildings. The project took three years, with a bespoke removable slate roof that was designed to allow access to the two stills for repairs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/IMG_4824-Edit-3_1_Sarah_Janes_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1677504902\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery commenced production in January of 2017 and the first bottles were released in 2021. Whisky here follows the island style and in particular the style of Skye - which has of course been established by Talisker - of medium peat, medium fruit and a certain oily salinity reminiscent of the sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mash here is done in a 1.5 tonne kettle and fermentation in one of eight 8,000 litre Douglas Fir washbacks. The first distillation goes through Torbhaig's 8,000 litre wash still and comes off at an average strength of 26% ABV. The spirits still is 5,000 litres and produces a spirit at 69% ABV. Total output here is 500,000 litres of alcohol a year, or around 1.5M bottles of whisky. That might not sound like much but unlike most distilleries in Scotland all of the whisky made here is destined for single malt bottling (for the time being).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/P6303134_1_Sarah_Janes_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1677504931\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2023-03-13T13:08:41+00:00","updated_at":"2023-03-13T13:08:41+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"torabhaig","tags":"Islay, single malt, tag:distillery, tag:history, talisker, torabhaig, whisky","image":{"created_at":"2023-02-27T13:35:40+00:00","alt":"","width":1440,"height":960,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/NU4A0423_copy_Sarah_Janes_-_01.jpg?v=1677504941"}}

{"id":559845671082,"title":"Waterford","created_at":"2023-02-27T14:01:53+00:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWaterford Distillery was founded in 2015 by Mark Reynier, formerly the co-owner of Bruichladdich, on Islay. Located in the southern Irish \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecity \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eof Waterford (famous for the crystal manufacturer by the same name\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and an ancient Viking settlement\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) the distillery was converted from a brewery that had previously produced that well-known Irish stout, Guinness. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/WaterfordDistillery_The_Facilitator_River_Suir_01_600x600.jpg?v=1677507690\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe focus here is on local barley, showing that terroir has an impact on the final spirit (a project that Bruicladdich is also quite invested in). The idea then is to taste the origin of the raw grain in the finished single malts. For each bottling of their 'Single Farm Origins', the distillery uses only barley grown on a single farm. To achieve this, they work with over 100 Irish farms that grow 19 different types of barley, some of which are organic and some biodynamic. Waterford has also produced the first Irish whiskey that has been certified as organic by the Organic Trust.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Waterford-SingleFarm-Signs-Official-Web-5_600x600.jpg?v=1677507700\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe grains that Waterford \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003euse are stored \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ein what they call the 'cathedral' which is effectively a large warehouse with compartmentalised grain silos running the length of the building. This can hold up to 35 different grain harvests here, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand there is a second warehouse called the ‘chapel’ which is similarly arranged\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. The \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebarley is dried here, before their partners Minch Malt malt it (without peat, although some experimentation has been done with Irish Peat through a malthouse in Scotland – the first peated releases came out in Autumn 2022) ready to be taken\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e to the distillery for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emilling\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, mashing, fermentation \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026amp; distillation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEach farm provides 120 tonnes of barley per harvest, which becomes 100 tonnes once it’s dry. This becomes 75-80ish once malted and then that produces around 200-250 casks of spirit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWaterford have a hydro-mill and mash filter set up, which is unique in the world of single malt whisky, and their temperature-controlled fermentation times are a minimum of 120 hours \u0026amp; include a period of malolactic fermentation, which means the flavour of each farm is allowed to express itself fully \u0026amp; lots of esters are produced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWaterford use groundwater filtered through volcanic rock to produce their whisky. The water is pumped via three different wells on the distillery site. The distillery's output is around one million litres per year, but the distillery plant is designed to produce up to three million litres on two stills.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/WaterfordDistillery_Stills_top_view_600x600.jpg?v=1677507695\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDistillation here is done twice in pots stills in the same style as Scotland (Irish is typically triple distilled) and you might also notice that the 'e' has been dropped from 'whiskey', going against the Irish convention. Waterford is effectively a Scottish single malt, made in Ireland for the simple reason that Emerald Isle grows amazing barley and has the infrastructure in place to meet the demands of a terroir, single-farm obsessed distilling operation. It could also be said that the Irish whiskey industry is a greater potential for growth - particularly on the premium side of things - than the already well developed Scottish single malt industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInitially, Waterford distilled on old stills from Inverleven distillery in Scotland, which were made back in 1968. Due to Inverleven \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebeing mothballed in 1991, the stills moved to Bruichladdich, but were never used there – one sat in the carpark and often had a welly sticking out of its neck!  When Waterford were converting their old Guinness brewery into a distillery, they main equipment that was missing was stills. Unfortunately, when they tried to order some new ones from Forsyths, they were told there was a 3+ year waiting list for stills as Forsyths had so many projects booked in (lots of distilleries increasing capacity\/reopening at that time, as well as being built new!), so Mark Reynier contacted his old team at Bruichladdich and had the Inverleven stills shipped over, cleaned up (wellie removed!) and installed – Waterford thought they’d get 3 years use out of them, but they lasted 5 years. The new stills from Forsyths were commissioned to be exact copies of the ‘old ladies of Inverleven’, one of which is now installed in the garden at Waterford Distillery. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/WD-Stills-Wide-2020-WEB_600x600.jpg?v=1677507686\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWaterford run their stills very slowly – roughly 1\/3 of the speed that Forsyth’s recommends, which means their hearts-cut (which is always done manually by the distillers, despite the modernity of the rest of the distillery!) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecan be very precise, and also can be focused to carry through a great deal of the cereal character - and in particular the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esavoury, freshly-harvested-barley nose\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.  The wash still, with 19,000 litres capacity, is slightly larger than the spirit still, with 11,000 litres. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe spirit is oily and aromatic and it takes 1 week to distil one farms spirit.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn order to ensure the focus of the flavour profile is on the barley, each farms spirit is filled into 4 kinds of casks, and these are combined in bottling to mean that Waterfords whisky doesn’t taste predominantly of a cask-type, but of the barley. These are virgin American oak, first fill ex-bourbon, ex-premium French wine casks, and VDN (Waterford’s catch-all term for sweetened and fortified wines like sherry, port, madeira, marsala etc). Warehouses are located a short journey away from the distillery, near the coast and are designed to ensure coastal breezes continually flow around the casks. Waterford spend a huge proportion of their total production costs on top-quality wood and the use of French wine casks to such a prominent degree is something Bruichladdich fans will recognise from Mark’s time there.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Waterford-Ballygarran-Ned-Official-WEB-42_600x600.jpg?v=1677507676\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn much the same way as wine is shaped by the specific terroir of the vineyard and the vintage, Waterford have to date released whiskies from around ten farms, and some of them from multiple harvests or seasons. Every bottle has a terroir code on the back which can be input on the Waterford website to reveal a staggering level of detail around the production \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eof the whisky, from when the barley was planted all the way through to bottling\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eincluding pictures of the farm and farmers, and details of each and every cask used in the spirit you are drinking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Cuvee, our March 2023 world whisky, is a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecombination \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eof 25 different farms\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, each turned into whisky \u0026amp; aged for a minimum of 4 years, 5 months \u0026amp; 19 days separately, and then layered together based on their flavour profile to create a rich and rounded single malt\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and therefore the perfect introduction into what Waterford are up to.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2023-03-08T11:30:00+00:00","updated_at":"2023-03-13T13:29:52+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"waterford","tags":"irish whiskey, irish whisky, single malt, tag:distillery, waterford, waterford whisky","image":{"created_at":"2023-02-27T14:22:38+00:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":683,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/Waterford-Trevor-Harris-Harvest-2019-WEB-33.jpg?v=1677507759"}}

{"id":559709421738,"title":"Glasgow Distillery Co.","created_at":"2023-01-24T12:02:32+00:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 2014 The Glasgow Distillery Company became the first Single Malt Whisky Distillery in Glasgow for over 100 years. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFounders Liam Hughes, Mike Hayward and Ian McDougall adopted the name \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlasgow Distillery Company from one of Glasgow’s original whisky distilleries. Back in 1770, the original Glasgow Distillery Company was founded at Dundashill and remained active until the beginning of the 20th Century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlasgow was once a city with a vibrant distilling trade, but by the 21st century only one whisky distillery (Strathclyde, which produces grain whisky) remained.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving secured funding from private investors in Asia, together with a £130,000 Scottish Enterprise grant, the new Glasgow Distilling Co. acquired the lease for a building in Glasgow’s Hillington Business Park in 2013.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Logo_600x600.jpg?v=1674561702\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the end of the following year it had begun producing Makar Gin and by March 2015 the first casks of its Glasgow single malt were being laid down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe distilling magic happens within their unique copper pot stills christened: 'Annie', 'Mhairi' and 'Tara' - after family members of the three founders - with later editions 'Margaret' and 'Frances', named after two of Glasgow’s most influential female artists and sisters, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.glasgowdistillery.com\/the-distillery\/latest-news\/celebrating-the-citys-great-female-artist-with-naming-of-new-whiskey-stills\"\u003eMargaret and Frances MacDonald.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/GlasgowDistillery_Copper_Sebastian_Bunford-Jones_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1674561616\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe spirit produced by Glasgow distillery’s two copper pot stills is light and fruity, and following maturation in ex-Bourbon casks will result in a whisky typical of a Speyside distillery. However, with no precedent of a typical Glaswegian whisky style to work from, the distillery’s founders are keen to forge their own ‘metropolitan’ style. The team are already distilling both peated and unpeated malt, and experimenting with laying whisky down for full maturation in ex-port, sauternes and marsala casks to name a few.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Cooper_Rolling_casks_Sebastian_Bunford-Jones_600x600.jpg?v=1674560293\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn June 2018, they announced plans to double its production capacity to more than 1m bottles a year ahead of schedule, with the installation of two new copper pot stills from Carl in Germany (Margaret \u0026amp; Frances) – exact replicas of the plant’s existing pair. Seven washbacks would also be added, taking the total to 11.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe distillery’s first single malt was released as a limited edition in 2018. The first widely available release was launched in April 2019 as part of the 1770 range, which will also feature a peated malt and a triple-distilled whisky. We featured this whisky around the time of its release and then again about a year later, which was a fun comparison to make as the whisky found its feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn February 2023 we are featuring this distillery for a third time, this time with a Whisky Me exclusive, matured entirely in marsala casks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2023-02-07T12:44:22+00:00","updated_at":"2023-03-17T13:35:20+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"glasgow-distillery-co","tags":"","image":{"created_at":"2023-01-24T12:02:32+00:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":682,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/Glasgow_Distillery_Co_Casks_Sebastian_Bunford-Jones_-_01.jpg?v=1674561753"}}

{"id":559708405930,"title":"Balcones","created_at":"2023-01-24T07:23:07+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFounded in 2008 and gaining distribution in Europe by 2010, Balcones was the distillery that introduced the UK to the potential of Texas as a whiskey producing region. It felt like a maverick departure from most of the other American whiskey brands. Not only were Balcones’ spirits not produced in Kentucky, they weren’t even\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebourbon!\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eOr whiskey! (they omit the ‘e’ at Balcones.) Put all that together and what they’re basically saying is, “we’re not interested in what you’re making and where you’re making it. We’re making our own thing, and we’re making it here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/DSC03491-2_Emma_Heron-Smith_600x600.jpg?v=1674562360\" alt=\"\"\u003eSo the early roster of products was made up of a rye, a malt and two corn based spirits, plus a smoked whisky, most of them displaying “TEXAS” front and centre on the label, with the lone star emblem on the bottom label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMy first taste of the Balcones stable of products was in 2011, at The Whisky Show in London. The team from Balcones were hard to miss. Amongst the sweaty clusters of tweed-jacketed whisky geeks, they stood out like 10-gallon hat in an elevator. Nobody more so than the Balcones founder, Chip Tate. Here was a man who looks exactly how you would imagine a man with the name “Chip Tate” would look: white t-shirt, black beard, and a set of braces holding together a barbecue belly. His physical appearance was every bit as disruptive to pretentiousness that far too often plagues the whisky fraternity, as his whiskies were to the sanctioned archetypes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThat disruptive mentality didn’t end there however. On September 14\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e, 2014, the Balcones board suspended Chip Tate from his position as President and filed a restraining order against him after it was alleged that he threatened to burn down the distillery and shoot one of the investors. Tate denied the accusations made against him and and claimed the the board were trying to steal the company away from him. A few months later, Tate agreed to be bought out of his shares and signed a noncompete agreement that prevented him from making whiskey until March 2016. Chip Tate was a whiskey celebrity by this point, the embodiment of the American craft whiskey movement, and the whiskey world watched with keen interest as all this played out. Tate has since gone on to setup Tate \u0026amp; Co., his second Waco whiskey venture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Copy_of_DSC03755_Emma_Heron-Smith_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1674562837\" alt=\"\"\u003eMeanwhile, Balcones got \u003ci\u003ebig\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2016, the distillery relocated to an 65,000 square foot former “Fireproof” self-storage building that dates back to the 1920’s. This distillery is 25 times bigger than the previous location. Although “relocated” is perhaps a misleading term, since the new site is spread over four floors and the upgrade was reported to cost $12 million dollars. They built a brand new distillery. And it’s a far cry from the original welding shop operation located six blocks away, where space was so tight that the copper still had the dual purpose function of distillation and mashing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhat’s most interesting about this transition from micro distillery to… \u003ci\u003emidi\u003c\/i\u003e distillery (we’re not yet at the size of the Kentucky juggernauts) is the consideration of the product itself. How do you go about upscaling all of your equipment by at least an order of magnitude while maintaining the same flavour profile? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe cereals at Balcones are milled in one of two ways deepening on their type. Malt gets the roller mill treatment, corn and rye gets the hammer mill. The mills are unusual, and so is the “chain and disk” grain transportation system, because both are sourced from a brewery equipment supplier. A lot of our team have coming from the craft brewing industry, and the technical terms used here are a sort of a mish-mash of American brewing, American distilling, and Scottish distilling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/DSC03672_Emma_Heron-Smith_600x600.jpg?v=1674562351\" alt=\"\"\u003eThe distillery runs ten different mash bills, comprising of various corn mashes, various malted barley mashes (including peated, unpeated and Texas grown malt) as well as bourbon (high rye and wheated) and rye (Elbon Rye from Northwest Texas accompanied by crystal, chocolate and roasted rye).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe two mash cookers and seven fermenters are all 25,000 litres capacity. The fermenters are outside of the main building but are connected to a temperature sensor that pumps coolant when necessary (pretty much all the time). Fermentation takes seven days, which is long by any whisky distillery standard. This extended ferment has the effect of lowering the pH of the beer, creating new aldehydes and esters that will provide character in the whiskies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDistillation is done on copper pot stills manufactured by Forsyth’s in Scotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eBack in the old distillery, where space was tight, the 250 gallon still was backed in to a corner, and with no room for the condenser, the line arm of the still had to tun through a wall and in to another section of the building. This long, upward slanting line arm was a trait of the still, removing sulphurous compounds in the spirit through extended copper contact and creating prejudice against heavier volatile aromatics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSo when it came to upscaling the distillery, it was essential that the new spirits stills had a line arm that was much longer and wider than the original, so that it remained in proportion with the bigger still base. When Forsyth’s did the calculations, they quickly realised that the line arms on these stills would need to be at least 50 metres long and the condensers would need to be located in the next block. This was considered to be a little impractical, so Forsyth’s came up with the idea of coiling the line arm on top of the still, which gave the line arm the length they were after.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/DSC03489-2_Emma_Heron-Smith_600x600.jpg?v=1674562325\" alt=\"\"\u003eThe condensers cool over two stages, first changing the state of matter of the spirit from gas to liquid, then reducing temperature from 110°F to 60°F which is the temperature that the hydrometers are calibrated to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBalcones Single Malt is produced is as true to the Scottish style as is possible in Texas. The malt is sourced from Simpsons in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a 70 year old lauter mash tun is used (sourced from the Speyburn distillery), and of course the stills were made in Scotland too. Most of the barrels used to make it are new American oak casks, but some re-fill casks are used too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIn spite of their enormous facility, most of Balcones maturation takes place in another location on the outskirts of Waco. The distillery looses around 15% a year to the Angel’s share, meaning that by the time they come to bottle some of their older, 4+ year expressions, the barrel is only half full\/empty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/DSC03915_Emma_Heron-Smith_600x600.jpg?v=1674562345\" alt=\"\"\u003eEverything here is 53 gallon casks made from American, Hungarian or French oak, using custom toast and char levels. That presents quite a few variables, especially when you throw wine casks in to the mix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBut when you factor in the ten mash bills the distillery operates and multiply by perhaps twenty cask variants, you’re left with a couple of hundred potential whiskey recipes. With that in mind, the fact that Balcones are “only” bottling 20+ expressions feels almost restrained.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBaby Blue was their first release, and is perhaps the most quintessentially Texan of their products. Made from a variety of blue corn, it has herbal and savoury characteristics to balance sweet, corn flavours. Corn whiskey is made in much the same way as bourbon, only the mash must contain a minimum of 80% corn and the spirit must be matured in barrels other than newly charred American oak (to distinguish it from bourbon). Ex-bourbon barrels are typically used but you sometimes see corn whiskies matured in un-charred American oak.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2023-02-07T12:44:07+00:00","updated_at":"2023-02-07T12:44:07+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"balcones","tags":"american whiskey, balcones, chip taste, chip tate, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, tag:production, texas","image":{"created_at":"2023-01-24T12:23:06+00:00","alt":"","width":1500,"height":1001,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/20180811_Balcones_BR7_9881_Emma_Heron-Smith_-_01.jpg?v=1674562986"}}

{"id":559643885738,"title":"Morris","created_at":"2023-01-03T11:34:53+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe Morris family began producing fortified wines in 1859, and six generations later they are still at it... only now they're making whisky too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRutherglen, in North-East Victoria is regarded as the capital of fortified wines in Australia and its where Morris are located. Vines came here during the Gold Rush era of the 1850's, where the rolling hills and Murray river meet to make perfect growing conditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Desktop-1024x1024_Barrrels_1_460x_2x_34cbbc54-fdb5-4d47-9cca-8be3e1e388d1_600x600.webp?v=1672745648\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSingle malt whisky production began at Morris in 2016, shortly after the Morris family wineries united with the Casella family to form Cooper \u0026amp; Grain Distilling Co. The first whiskies were launched in 2021 - Signature (our Jan '23 drop) and Muscat Barrel (which, like the name suggests, is matured in Muscat wine casks).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn McDougall, who had previously worked at Balvenie, Laphroaig and Springbank in Scotland, was brought in as a consultant distiller, to tutor Morris' head distiller Darren Peck. And the late Jim Swan consulted on whisky maturation. Both were integral to designing a unique barrel maturation program, including barrel selection and providing the team with a unique barrel toasting regime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was in addition to the selection of the fortified barrels from the Morris' own winery, with the fortified notes extracted from these barrels assisting in building the flavour and complexity in the whisky, as well as cementing a unique relationship between the wine and whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Morris_Whisky-003_joel_600x600.jpg?v=1672745496\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe barley used in Morris Whisky production is 100% Australian sourced, malted in Australian maltsters and then brewed at the family-owned brewery. Distillation is done on the original hybrid copper pot and column stills which were on site since 1941. They were previously used to make spirit for fortifying wines and have been fully restored for whisky making purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Morris-Whisky-The-still_600x600.webp?v=1672745551\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe whisky is matured in a combination of American and French oak, ex-Shiraz and Cabernet red wine barrels, selected from family-owned wineries in the Barossa and Coonawarra regions. This stage of maturation take three years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Signature Whisky is then finished in a combination of Morris fortified barrels. The use of the wine barrels is noticeable in the whisky, which has dark fruit notes as well as warmer citrus fruit characteristics. Fruitiness is the name of the game though and this one does not hold back!\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2023-01-09T08:00:01+00:00","updated_at":"2023-01-09T08:00:01+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"morris","tags":"Australia, morris, single malt, tag:distillery, tag:history, whisky, winery, world whisky","image":{"created_at":"2023-01-03T11:34:53+00:00","alt":"","width":2500,"height":1667,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/Morris_Whisky-035_joel.jpg?v=1672745693"}}

{"id":559515533482,"title":"The Dalmore","created_at":"2022-11-30T12:49:53+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDalmore, with its proud stagg head and blood red colour - only the mighty Macallan can compete on prestige amongst malt whisky investors. Just like Macallan, Dalmore is a powerful whisky, capable of holding its own through extended periods of time in European oak casks. This means old Dalmore can be especially complex stuff, like stuffing a cigar box filled with fruit cake and liqueur chocolates into your mouth all at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhite \u0026amp; Mackay, who have owned the brand since 1960, have taken full advantage of these superpowers by more recently augmenting the core range of Dalmore expressions with a vast array of special release bottles that promise high statements and deliver a high price. Indeed, Dalmore seems to have well and truly found its place within the realms of high-rollers of this world, who tend to place at least as much emphasis on the status that a bottle affords them as they do the flavour of the liquid inside. Dalmore was the first distillery to break six figures when, in 2012, A bottle of Dalmore 62 year old was bought for a new world record of £125,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/r52aeWEB8XIBhOpQqPe9rZzyf8AIwUhhR6uaowqQ4zE_600x600.webp?v=1669812424\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA few years before that a 62 year old bottle of Dalmore broke all previous records and sold at auction for £32,000 - it\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003ewas one of only twelve that had ever been produced and contained whisky distilled in the 1860’s and 1870’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/13c23b539ed94b721ed199eb3df22992_600x600.jpg?v=1669812409\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt was around that time, in 1874, that the first water-jacketed spirits still was installed at Dalmore, which is one of the unique features of the distillery today. There’s a second one there now, both of them promote a tremendous amount of reflux within the still and grant the distiller heightened flavour selection abilities. The wash stills are also geared towards copper contact, with flat tops and line arms protruding from one side. This is reflected in the new make spirit, which is broad in character, being both heavy and robust as well as light and effeminate. It’s this distillery character that affords the spirit resilience to long periods in oak and differentiates Dalmore from other brands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/news_3063_600x600.jpg?v=1669812420\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWe find it fascinating that run of the mill engineering decisions made in the Victorian age resonate through the centuries and ultimately define the nature of a product that is sought after all over the world today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThis month (December 2022) we are featuring a slightly lower cost expression of Dalmore compared to the 62. 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Select is, however, quintessentially a Dalmore whisky. It exudes exotic spice, dried fruit and crisp citrus. In fact, it's pure Christmas in a glass.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-12-09T07:49:24+00:00","updated_at":"2022-12-09T07:49:24+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"the-dalmore","tags":"62 year old, dalmore, tag:distillery, the dalmore","image":{"created_at":"2022-11-30T12:49:53+00:00","alt":"","width":750,"height":500,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/dalmore.jpg?v=1669812594"}}

{"id":559512879274,"title":"Rampur","created_at":"2022-11-29T14:30:10+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eRampur Distillery is one of the largest and the most efficiently-run distilleries in India. It is spread over 100 acres of lush green campus. Most of the distillery's production is of neutral spirit made from molasses and grains, destined for mass marker Indian whisky and rum. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/C551_2022_Radico_242_F1_Willem_Hunter_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1669810100\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut hidden amongst the main distillery is another, smaller, operation, producing malt spirit for whisky. This is the oldest part of the distillery which dates back to 1943, and it's what makes Rampur the oldest whisky distillery in India.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProduction volumes break down as follows:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e33 million litres of grain alcohol per year \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e66 million litres of molasses alcohol per year\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2.6 million litres of malt spirit per year\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven though the malt spirit part of production accounts for only 2.5% of total output, 2.6 million litres is a lot of spirit and were the distillery a standalone operation in Scotland it would sit in the small to medium size area of the pack.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd neither would it look particularly out of place. The stills and still house are modelled after the Scottish style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/C551_2022_Radico_003_copy_Willem_Hunter_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1669810107\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith that in mind, you might wonder what (if anything) distinguishes Rampur from any other single malt distillery in Scotland. The answer to that would be 'climate'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLocated in northern India, near the foothills of the Himalayas, Utar Pradesh is subjected to an enormous swings in temperature over the course of the year. Ranging from 0ºC in the winter to 50ºC in the summer, this shift causes significant expansion and contraction in the oak barrels used for maturation. Much like a teabag that it continually squeezed and decompressed, all that heat and cold speeds up some of the mechanisms of maturation significantly and gives Rampur whisky its signature style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Rampur_Maturation_Hall_copy_Willem_Hunter_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1669810112\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRampur Double Maturation is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. The sherry cask imparts dried fruit characteristics while the bourbon barrel is responsible for some spice, especially ginger. Without wishing to stereotype Rampur and Indian whisky, dare we say that the finished product is somewhat reminiscent of a really good fruit chutney?\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-12-09T07:49:24+00:00","updated_at":"2022-12-09T07:49:24+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"rampur","tags":"indian whisky, rampur, rampur double maturation, rampur single malt, tag:distillery, type:Distilleries","image":{"created_at":"2022-11-30T12:10:35+00:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":621,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/01.jpg?v=1669810236"}}

{"id":558391951530,"title":"Rebel Bourbon","created_at":"2022-11-01T15:10:49+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe Rebel bourbon brand is a Kentucky straight bourbon currently produced by Luxco at Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky. Luxco own a few distilleries, including MGP (which under contract make most of the big brand rye products) and Limestone Branch, and within all that is around a dozen bourbon brands, including Yellowstone, Ezra Brooks and Rebel. The Lux Row Distillery is a relatively new operation (more on that shortly) in the context of the older Kentucky set, but the Rebel bourbon brand goes back some time...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUp until a couple of years ago, Rebel was known as Rebel Yell, which is a brand that dates back to the 1940's. It was created by Louisville mayor, Charles R. Farnsley, who teamed up with the Stitzel-Weller distillery to launch a bourbon brand to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the company. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/www.whisky.com\/fileadmin\/tx_datamintsflaschensync\/file-import\/warehouse_7c77572ed4_aff482b7abbb446b3d6e01cbef0cda78.JPG\" alt=\"Stitzel-Weller Distillery\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name Rebel Yell comes from the distinctive shouting sound made by confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The yell's first appearance in combat may have come at the First Battle of Manassas, on July 21, 1861, and is strongly associated with the Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson The association with confederacy may be a contributing factor in the renaming of the Rebel brand in recent times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191214142239129_COVER-scaled_600x600.jpg?v=1667315600\" alt=\"Rebel Yell\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRebel Yell was a real icon back in the day though, and ended up featuring in a few movies and even lended itself to a song and album by Billy Idol, \u003cem\u003eRebel Yell\u003c\/em\u003e. Idol allegedly got the idea after attending a party with The Rolling Stones. It was, so it turns out, Keith Richards' favourite brand of bourbon. Idol explained on VH1 Storytellers that people were drinking \"Rebel Yell\" bourbon at the party and thought that would be a great title for an album. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/R-886701-1627741925-4648_600x600.jpg?v=1667315665\" alt=\"Billy Idol\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early 1980s, after some changes of ownership following the break-up of Stitzel-Weller around 1972, the brand was purchased by the David Sherman Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri which later became Luxco. By 1984, Rebel Yell was distributed nationally and being produced at the Heaven Hill distillery in Louisville.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRebel bourbon was and remains to this day a wheated bourbon, notable for its higher proportion of wheat in the mashbill. This was the trademark style of Stitzel-Weller since its founding, so it can be (and is) argued that the Rebel 100 recipe dates back to the 1850's.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Rebel-100-Kentucky-Straight-Bourbon-Whiskey-100-Proof_600x600.png?v=1667315715\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLuxco Distillers opened the Lux Row distillery in 2018, which is just four years ago at the time of writing. So while we began this article by stating that Rebel 100 is made there, this is only half true. the Lux Row distillery is busy manufacturing whiskey that will one day become Rebel bourbon, Ezra Brooks and David Nicholson brands (and no doubt a few others) but for the time being the Rebel 100 in your glass is more likely sourced from Heaven Hill.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-11-08T07:13:53+00:00","updated_at":"2022-11-08T07:13:53+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"rebel-bourbon","tags":"lux row, luxco, rebel, rebel 100, tag:distillery, tag:history","image":{"created_at":"2022-11-01T15:10:49+00:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":900,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/LRD_Image_Q3_CNV_1-1200x900.jpg?v=1667315450"}}

{"id":558393426090,"title":"Nc'nean","created_at":"2022-11-02T08:38:25+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eNc'nean is a small malt whisky distillery located on the Sound of Mull, with views across the water to the island of Mull. Its position is pretty much as far west as you can go on mainland Scotland, and what with the various lochs and estuaries that penetrate the landscape, this makes Nc'nean a bit of an adventure to get to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/IMG_5208_low_res_1024x1024_b5f88511-1bef-4527-a01a-f9b966d06894_600x600.webp?v=1667839581\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNc'nean was setup by Annabelle Thomas, whose family owns the farmland where the distillery is situated. Production began in 2017 and the first whisky was released in 2020 (we featured it as a monthly dram!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe approach here is organic, sustainable, tasty. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey use only organic Scottish barley, the whisky is bottled in 100% recycled clear glass bottle, they recycle 99.97% of their waste, and the distillery powered by renewable energy. That renewable energy comes in the form of wood, sourced from in and around the estate. You might not think of burning wood as a particularly sustainable practice, but it turns out that cutting down and burning big old tress and then planting new ones (which Nc'nean do in partnership with Highland Carbon) actually captures more CO2 than it produces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrow in a super-efficient biomass boiler and you understand why it is that Nc'nean have been officially verified as net zero carbon emissions - a first for a UK distillery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/MG_2504_low_res_1024x1024_70a2ca44-b517-4515-a2ce-076b6f210d85_600x600.webp?v=1667839578\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat with all these environmental credentials it's understandable that one might imagine attention to detail in production is neglected (as this is often the case) but not so at Nc'nean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith that organic barley base, fermentation takes a leisurely 114 hours and production in general is diverse, with a range of spirit recipes being matured in red wine, bourbon and virgin oak casks. These are then married together in specific ratios to create each new batch of whisky. No two batches are the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd since Nc'nean is still only five years into spirits production we can assume that future batches will continue to be a journey of exploration as stocks mature and slowly a distillery style emerges. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Whisky_colour_casks_1024x1024_cf9fcb23-ad4e-41d0-813c-f3edbe58662f_600x600.webp?v=1667839566\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor what it's worth, we certainly think Nc'nean sits on the lighter, fragrant end of the whisky spectrum. The first release had a strawberry and cream note on account of those red wine casks. With this latest one (BU06 - the November 2022 dram) we're getting a touch of tropical fruit and more resolved spices from the barrel.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-11-07T16:50:01+00:00","updated_at":"2022-11-07T16:51:59+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"ncnean","tags":"nc'nean, tag:distillery, tag:production","image":{"created_at":"2022-11-07T16:50:01+00:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":683,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/MG_2404_filtered_1024x1024_187d9149-0af6-459b-a2a9-86c3a2e1aa4f.webp?v=1667839802"}}

{"id":558280376490,"title":"Armorik (Warengham Distillery)","created_at":"2022-09-30T10:58:05+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eFrance is famous for its fine wines, cognac and calvados, so it might not be the first place you think of when it comes to whisky. But it should be. France drinks more bottles of scotch whisky than any other nation - 176 million of them in 2021, which is more than 10% off all scotch whisky exports and equates to around 3.5 bottles of whisky for every French adult.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot content with importing a whole lot of whisky, France also has a growing domestic whisky industry. We featured \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whisky-me.com\/blogs\/learn\/brenne\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Brenne\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eBrenne\u003c\/a\u003e in March 2022, which is a relatively new player in the French whisky industry. Now, in October 2022, we're returning to France and to the Warengham Distillery - the one that started it all. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Warengham Distillery was founded in 1900 by Leon Warengham. It produced herbal and fruit liqueurs, including Elixir d’Armorique, a blend of 35 plants, which has received numerous honours at international trade fairs over the years, and is still produced at the distillery today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 1960's, Paul-Henri, the latest generation of Warenghems, joined forces with Yves Leizour. Leizour's son, a trained pharmacist, ended up running the operaton in the 1980's, and it was he who took the decision to launch the first French whisky. In 1987 'WB Breton whisky' was released to the market. It was a blended whisky made up of 25% malt whisky and 75% grain whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Distillery_Hero_a8e0e034-8eea-47e9-8fea-f8cba6b2bc9e_600x600.jpg?v=1665383064\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe whisky was well received and by the early 1990's Leizour had built a dedicated distillery for producing malt whisky. In 1997 France's first single malt, Armorik, was released.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2015, the distillery participated in the creation of the Breton Whisky geographical indication (GI), enabling all Breton whisky to be defended and promoted. The GI also provides a guarantee of transparency for whisky lovers. All “Breton Whisky” (or “Whisky de Bretagne”) must therefore meet demanding specifications, guaranteeing its quality and the know-how of the distiller. It must have been produced from water sourced from Breton soil and have been fermented, distilled and aged in Brittany.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/STILL_HOUSE_600x600.jpg?v=1665383035\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArmorik Double Maturation continues this commitment to locally sourcing materials via a partnership with a local cooper who makes Breton oak casks. Armorik Double Maturation is matured in these barrels first before being transferred to sherry casks for a second maturation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is a pronounced oakiness in the whisky, which manifests itself as nuttiness, caramel and a little spice to add structure. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-10-10T07:24:40+01:00","updated_at":"2022-10-10T07:24:40+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"amorik-warengham-distillery","tags":"armorik, breton whisky, brittany, french whisky, tag:distillery, tag:history, warengham distillery","image":{"created_at":"2022-09-30T11:17:04+01:00","alt":"","width":2560,"height":1920,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/warenghem.jpg?v=1664533025"}}

{"id":558186201258,"title":"Adnams","created_at":"2022-09-01T07:56:36+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eAdnams are better known for their brewing (which they have been doing since 1872) and pubs than they are for their whisky and gin, however this is slowly changing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2008 the Adnams Chairman, Jonathan Adnams, along with some of the brewing team, started exploring the possibility of making spirits. After touring some of the emerging distilleries in the US, the project came to life in 2010 with the opening of the Adnams Copper House Distillery, which has somehow been squeezed in and amongst the old brewery buildings in the heart of Southwold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Adnams__Brewery__Southwold_-_geograph.org.uk_-_776192_600x600.jpg?v=1662015281\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vision was that the Copper House Distillery would draw on Adnams brewing heritage, and in conjunction with the brewery, produce quality spirits from ‘Grain to Glass’ on a single site. This was the first time in recent memory that a UK brewery began making spirits, and since all of the products at Adnams are distilled from scratch (nearly all the gin producers in the UK buy in neutral grain spirit to make their gin - Adnams do not) it immediately placed them in a very exclusive club.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CopperHouseDistillery2_500x500_4b7f8dc7-8e0f-4964-a753-fc0fcdc13ea0_600x600.webp?v=1662015071\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter rebuilding our brewhouse in a new area on site, they removed the old brewing plant, leaving two old brewing coppers that sat in the Copper House, in what was now a redundant part of the building.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the installation of handmade copper stills and rectifying columns made by Carl GmbH in Germany, this refurbished building got a new life as the Copper House Distillery. They installed a beer stripping still, a copper pot still, and a 45-plate rectifying column, in a triple column configuration, as well as the supporting tanks and equipment. Since then, to the right of the original installation, they have added two more pot stills including a dedicated 900-litre copper pot still with an Alembic head, used to make whisky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe spirits begin life in the brewhouse, where they take malted grains, add water and heat, and covert the starch in those grains to sugar. This is fermented with Adnams house yeast (which has been in continuous use since the 1940's) to create a wash that is used in the distillery. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/IMG_7788_14_480x480.jpg?v=1662015324\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAdnams use locally grown, East Anglian malted cereals. Adnam's Rye Malt is made from a mash bill of 25% East Anglian malted barley and 75% rye (grown by Jonathan Adnams at his farm in Reydon). After distillation, it is matured in new French oak for at least five years. \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-09-07T08:00:00+01:00","updated_at":"2022-09-07T08:00:00+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"adnams","tags":"adnams, distillery, rye malt, southwold, tag:distillery, whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-09-01T07:56:36+01:00","alt":"","width":1503,"height":1000,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/csm_Copper_House_Distill_257ad3cf111ecc3ab3fcef98ecf6569c_005c675dfc.jpg?v=1662015397"}}

{"id":558183710890,"title":"Fettercairn","created_at":"2022-08-31T08:12:04+01:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the main attractions of Laurencekirk, the village nearest to Fettercairn, is a huge, ostentatious red sandstone archway spanning the road that commemorates the visit to the village of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1861. The Royal couple were staying at Balmoral and obviously enamoured by the village, \u003cspan\u003esnuck away on the evening of the 20th September to stay at the Ramsay Arms (the village pub). They enjoyed drinks and a meal there, all in secret.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/james-wright-fettercairn-village-1-revision1-compressor_600x600.jpg?v=1661929800\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy that time, the Fettercairn distillery was already into its foruth decade, having been founded in 1825 by the local landowner Sir Alexander Ramsay. Ramsay was one of the first Scottish landowners who campaigned to license Scotch Whisky distillation. In 1824, he applied for a license, and the Fettercairn distillery was opened. He recruited illegal whisky makers to be his first stillmen. Ramsay sold his estate, including the distillery, in 1830 to Sir John Gladstone, father of four-time British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (he was Chancellor of the Exchequer when Vicky \u0026amp; Al were in town).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Gladstone family had little to do with the operations of Fettercairn however, and allowed the distillery to be run by tenants right through until its sale in 1923. The distillery was closed during this period of downturn and eventually ended up in the hands of Associated Scottish Distilleries (ASD, the Scotch arm of National Distillers of America which, at its height, owned Bruichladdich, Glenury Royal, Glen Esk, Glenlochy, Benromach and Strathdee).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/james-wright-fettercairn-warehouse-3-revision1-compressor_600x600.jpg?v=1661929830\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen ASD ceased trading in 1954, its estate was split up and Fettercairn ended up in private hands. Its new owner, Tom Scott Sutherland, had the distillery until 1971, when it was bought by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/scotchwhisky.com\/whiskypedia\/2647\/the-tomintoul-glenlivet-distillery\/\"\u003eTomintoul-Glenlivet\u003c\/a\u003e; from there it joined Whyte \u0026amp; Mackay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike most distilleries, Fettercairn has mainly been a contributor to blended whisky, but it has long been bottled as a single malt though not necessarily been made widely available. Whyte \u0026amp; Mackay began making efforts to promote Fettercairn malt in 2009 when a range of aged expressions and some NAS bottlings under the name Fior and Fasque (the name of the Fettercairn estate) were released.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore recently, in 2018 Fettercairn was relaunched (with fresh new packaging) by Whyte \u0026amp; Mackay with a new range of single malts aged between 12 and 50 years old. We visited Fettercain in the summer of 2019 \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wLASF61OpTQ\" title=\"Fettercairn Video\"\u003eto video the distillery\u003c\/a\u003e ahead of sending out the 12 Year Old in October of that year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wLASF61OpTQ\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFettercairn’s core range of whiskies change subtly every year. The 2021 release of 16 year old (the whisky we are sending you in September 2022) is notable for its use of oloroso and palo cortado sherry casks for maturation. The upshot is a balanced delivery of flavour, ranging from spiced ginger to honeyed malt, banana, and lemon sherbet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-09-07T07:30:01+01:00","updated_at":"2022-09-07T07:30:01+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"fettercairn","tags":"tag:distillery, tag:history, type:Distilleries","image":{"created_at":"2022-08-31T08:12:04+01:00","alt":"","width":1800,"height":991,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/james-wright-fettercairn-interior-edit-check-22-revision1-compressor.jpg?v=1661929925"}}

{"id":558103003306,"title":"Penderyn","created_at":"2022-08-08T20:46:34+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eIf Welsh whisky sounds a little strange  to you, allow us put you at ease. Penderyn have been making whisky in Wales for over 20 years now, which is easily long enough to establish the category despite there being only a handful of other distilleries entering the market (Dà Mhìle, Aber Falls, Coles). Moreover, distilling in Wales has a long and rich history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLegend has it that Reaullt Hir (\"The Great Welsh Warrior\")  distilled \u003cem\u003echwisgi\u003c\/em\u003e from beer brewed by the monks of Bardsey Island in AD 356. These monks then allegedly developed the art of distilling further. However, the the name Reaulit is a High Medieval loanword from Anglo-Norman French and would not have been used before the eleventh century. Also, there is scant evidence of distillation apparatus in Europe before the 12th century. But since Scotland' oldest reference to the manufacture of whisky comes from the late 15th century it is possible that Wales got in there first! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/download_1024x1024.jpg?v=1659986716\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat we do know is that by the nineteenth century the Welsh whisky industry was thriving, as whisky enjoyed its heyday period. By the end of the century it was in decline however, with the main and most notable distillery being that of R. J. Lloyd Price. The Welsh Whisky Distillery Company obtained a royal warrant and included Royal in its title, a moniker assigned to three malt distilleries in Scotland (Brackla, Lochnagar and Glenury)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Western-Daily-Press-Royal-Welsh-Purity_1024x1024.jpg?v=1659986755\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Welsh Whisky Distillery Company died in 1910 (the distillery became a POW camp for German soldiers during WWI) and Wales would have to wait almost a century for a whisky revival. In 2000 the foundation of the Welsh Whisky Company (now known as Penderyn) was announced. A distillery was built at Penderyn in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Production commenced in 2000 and the finished product, the first whisky commercially produced in Wales for a century, went on sale in 2004 in the presence of none other than the Prince of Wales himself, Charles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/1100374_1_10_1024x1024.jpg?v=1659986738\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhilst most Scottish and Irish distilleries use a conventional two or three-pot still system, the technology developed at Penderyn allows an extremely clean ‘flavourful’ spirit to be produced from a single \"Faraday\" still, designed by Dr. David Faraday, descendent of the ground- breaking Victorian scientist, Michael Faraday. More recently Penderyn have added another Faraday still as well as two lantern shaped stills.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs wells as new stills, Penderyn have new \u003cem\u003edistilleries\u003c\/em\u003e too... Their second location opened in Llandudno, North Wales, in May 2021, and a further distillery is planned for Swansea, in South Wales, later this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/1100374_1_9_1024x1024.jpg?v=1659986696\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePortwood, as the name suggests, is finished in casks that were previously used to mature port wine. Known in the industry as ‘port pipes’ these barrels are amongst the largest typically used to mature whisky, ranging from 350 litres to 550 litres — almost three times the size of a bourbon cask. The port cask imparts a soft, pink blush to the whisky, along with berry fruit and floral notes.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-08-30T21:59:54+01:00","updated_at":"2022-08-30T21:59:54+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"penderyn","tags":"penderyn, port, portwood, tag:distillery, type:Distilleries, wales, welsh whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-08-08T20:46:34+01:00","alt":"","width":3071,"height":1977,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/54c902a4370a0vis_centre_cloudy.jpg?v=1659987994"}}

{"id":558022983850,"title":"Lowlands","created_at":"2022-07-08T07:22:04+01:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Lowland region, which was once a powerhouse of whisky production, has been, until recently, the least sparsely populated of the now debatably irrelevant scotch whisky regions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLowland whiskies were as varied in their style in the past as they are today, though legislation around tax and production volume incentivised Lowland distillers to produce a lighter style of whisky and this is a reputation that the region has held onto.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Lowlands malt whisky region was first defined as part of the 1784 Wash Act, which introduced a theoretical ‘Highland Line,’ running across Scotland from the Firth of Clyde in the west to the Firth of Tay in the east, with differing levels of excise duty initially being paid on either side of the line.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Act aimed to stimulate legal distilling in the Highlands and to reduce illicit distilling, and applied lower rates of duty to small distilleries north of the Highland line—a state of affairs that persisted until 1816. The specifics of the tax policy meant incentivised Highland distillers to run their stills as fast as possible, since they were taxed based on the still volume rather than the amount of spirit produced. In the Lowlands it was the other way around, thus creating a distinction of spirit character between the two regions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was during the latter decades of the 18th century that a major, commercial Lowlands distilling industry developed. Lowland distillers traditionally used coal rather than peat in the malting process. Additionally, triple distillation—where spirit is run through three stills instead of the usual two—was often employed, helping to define the quintessential Lowlands style—whiskies that are comparatively light in flavour in body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2010 the Lowlands had just three active malt distilleries (Girvan, Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan) with only the latter two actually bottling any malt whisky. There are now 16 active distilleries in the Lowlands and at least a further seven in planning stages, which means that this is the fastest growing region in Scotland. This should come as no surprise, given the towns and cities that populate the south of Scotland, some of which have a rich history of distilling ripe for revival.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-07-08T07:27:47+01:00","updated_at":"2022-07-08T07:28:56+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"lowlands","tags":"lowland, scotland, single malt, tag:flavour, tag:history, whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-07-08T07:22:04+01:00","alt":"","width":1210,"height":550,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/whisky-regions-of-scotland-2-aspect-ratio-1360-618.webp?v=1657261325"}}

{"id":557985431722,"title":"Four Roses","created_at":"2022-06-29T08:16:58+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe history of the Four Roses brand and distillery is as convoluted and complex as any a Kentucky bourbon brand, so pour yourself a measure and settle in... this may take a while.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet’s start with the version of history that the Four Roses brand likes to promote. This is a romantic one, centred around the company's founder, Paul Jones, Jr., and the the love of his life whose name seems to have been lost somewhere along the way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJones was born in 1840 in Lynchburg, Virginia, to a very affluent family. The story goes that a 20 year old Jones took an interest in a beautiful young woman from Atlanta. At that time, the city was holding its annual grand ball, which was exactly the sort of place the young eligible men like Paul Jones Jr. were expected to be seen and the perfect place to woo a nice southern belle. As was the custom at the time, Jones sent her a marriage proposal in writing by personal carrier. In upper society they used a Victorian tradition called \"flower language\" to communicate. In the letter, he wrote, \"when you show up at the ball, if you are wearing a corsage that has three roses I will consider it a rejection of my proposal. But if you wear a corsage with four roses it will clearly state your intention to accept my proposal of marriage.\" After over an hour of an agonising wait, she showed up wearing four red roses. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf this story is true, something must have gone wrong not long after because Jones remained a bachelor for his entire life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/bunch_of_roses_600x600.jpg?v=1656486836\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJones fought as a Confederate lieutenant in the Civil War along with his brother, and was called by General Robert E. Lee to defend the city of Atlanta in 1864. His brother died in the Battle of Atlanta and when the South finally surrendered in 1865, Jones, according to one account, “returned home to find his home in ruins and the family destitute.\" His family’s wealth which before the war had been considerable had been invested in Confederate bonds and was gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJones and his father relocated to Virginia where Jones worked as a salesman under distiller Rufus Rose (who turns out to be a more plausible source for the name of the Four Roses distillery). Rose was from Connecticut and a pharmacist by trade. He relocated to Atlanta, where he started a whiskey producing enterprise he called “House of Rose” in 1867. He built a large distillery on Stillhouse Road in nearby Vinings and established a retail store for selling whiskey in the downtown Atlanta. Amongst the products he made was Rose’s Atlanta Spirit Rye, Rose’s Mountain Dew, Blue Ridge Whiskey, New Sweet Mash, Old Reserve Stock and Special Old Corn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThings went well for Rose and they were going well for Jones too. By the 1880’s Paul Jones Jr. had established a sizeable liquor distribution business thanks in part to the volume of liquor that Rufus Rose’s distillery was turning. Georgia had other plans though, as it began experimenting with temperance and passing state legislature in 1884 with a temporary law banning the sale of alcohol. Paul Jones saw the writing on the wall and relocated to Louisville, Kentucky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRufus Rose stuck it out for a while but when Georgia went dry in 1907, R.M. Rose Distillers were forced to relocate to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rufus remained in Atlanta while his son, Randolph followed the operation to Tennessee. Rufus was still involved in the business however, and in 1906, according to accounts, he came up with the special blend that he called “Four Roses.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile, Paul Jones Jr. had bought himself a distillery in Kentucky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the mid-1800's John Graves Mattingly, of Marion County, KY, built several distilleries. One of them was named J. G. Mattingly \u0026amp; Sons in Louisville, built in 1845 and the other was called the Marion County Distillery which was built in 1866. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe fist of these, the J. G. Mattingly Distillery, was located between High and Rudd Avenues and 39th and 40th Streets had fallen in to financial bother. In September of 1889, the distillery ceased operation and went up for auction. Paul Jones bought it for $125,000 — equivalent to about $3 million today. The deal included a mill and fermenting house, a boiler house, a distillery spirits building and a cattle barn. The property also held five warehouses, all of them brick with slate or metal roofs. The distillery went on to become one of the most productive operations of the late nineteenth century, producing whiskey under the brand names, Paul Jones, Jones Four Star, Old Cabinet, Old Cabinet Rye, Small Grain, West End, and Swastika (in the pre-Nazi days the swastika had very different connotations and the motif is found in some traditional Native American art).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaul Jones Jr. died in 1905, which was around the same time that a fire destroyed the J.G Mattingly still house. With no children the business went to Warner Jones’ son (Paul’s nephew) Lavelle Jones. Meanwhile, R.M. Rose wen’t fairing much better, as Tennessee enacted statewide prohibition in 1910. Possibly in frustration, Randolph Rose sold the Four Roses brand name to the Jones family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo years into Prohibition the Paul Jones Company purchased the Frankfort Distilling Company and its Old Prentice Distillery. This distillery was built in 1910, on the banks of the Salt River, with Spanish-mission style architecture rarely seen in Kentucky. It’s is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. This is the present day Four Roses distillery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Distillery_Hero_600x600.jpg?v=1656486842\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMost distilleries were rendered non-operational during prohibition, but the Old Prentice distillery was one of six distilleries granted permits to sell their existing stocks of bourbon for medicinal purposes. It is one of the only examples of a distillery that stayed afloat during prohibition, accounting for roughly one in every five bottles of whiskey sold in the USA. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat said, by 1928, stocks of pre-Prohibition whiskey had dwindled and the company contracted the Louisville-based A Ph. Stizel distillery to supply them with spirits (another distillery granted a medical license). When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Frankfort Distilleries Inc. took over the old Stitzel plant and built another distillery in Shively. Prohibition was undoubtedly a setback for the Paul Jones Company and its subsidiaries, but following repeal they had a valuable head start over their rivals. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLavelle Jones died in 1941 and, in 1943, the Paul Jones Company sold all of its liquor interests to Seagrams. By that point the Four Roses had become the biggest bourbon brand in America. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo it was more than a little surprising when Seagrams took the decision, two years later, to focus on export markets, like Japan and Europe, and bottle a re-hashed, blended version of Four Roses for US stores. Seagram’s were a Canadian company, so blends and blending came naturally to them, but by all accounts the liquid was pretty bad, a combination of aged and up to 66% un-aged spirits from Seagram’s Lawrenceburg, Indiana (now MGP) and Maryland distilleries. It took a few years, but consumer faith plummeted in the US, as Seagram’s attempted to dupe them with identical packaging to the old Bourbon, but with the word ‘Bourbon’ quietly removed. It would appear that Seagram’s intuition was to snow-plough their newly acquired Bourbon out of the market place to make way for their ‘7 Crown’ and ‘VO’ Canadian whiskies—cannibalisation, in effect.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the latter part of the twentieth century, production at what was now known as the Four Roses distillery was overseen by Charles L. Beam (a grandnephew of Jim Beam). During Beam’s tenure, Four Roses introduced Benchmark Bourbon in 1969 and Eagle Rare in 1975. Charles Beam retired in 1982 and both brands were sold to the Sazerac Company in 1989 and are today made at their Buffalo Trace Distillery. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFour Roses Straight Bourbon continued to be produced for export, but true to the Canadian way it was blended from five distilleries located in Athertonville, Fairfield, Louisville and Cynthiana, along with the Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg. All five Seagram bourbon distilleries used the same yeast culture at the time, known simply as “V”. Slowly they got mothballed however, but each of their unique styles were re-imagined in Lawrenceburg by introducing new yeast strains in to the mix. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJim Rutledge, served as Four Roses master distiller for 20 years beginning in 1995, and finally finally handing over the reigns to Brent Elliot in 2015. Whisky Me co-founder, Tristan, met Jim a few times during his posting and can recall some of the conversations they had.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJim didn’t draw any direct comparisons between the old whiskeys of the closed distilleries and the whiskey produced at Four Roses today. \u003cbr\u003e“It’s the water they used that characterised the product,” he said. “Instead we use yeast to create a diverse stock of Bourbon that can be blended to our unique flavour profile.” \u003cbr\u003eThe distillery uses five proprietary yeast strains each coded by the letters ‘K’, ‘O’, ‘Q’, ‘F’ and the original ‘V’. The “Q” yeast, for example, is known to produce a floral spirit with notes of magnolia and rose. The “F” yeast, on the other hand, makes a minty, herbal smelling spirit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt Four Roses Distillery, the team run a different yeast strain each week, which helps to prevent cross-contamination of each of the strains. Yeast is pitched in to one of the distilleries 27 fermenters at exactly 67°F, and fermentation lasts around 4 days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn addition to the yeast, Four Roses use two separate mash bills, ‘B’- which has 35% rye, and ‘E’- which has 20% rye. This means that ten unique white whiskies are produced, each of them different before and after they’re dropped in to wood. Four Roses Yellow label is a blend of all ten yeast\/mash combinations, Small Batch a blend of only the ’S’ and ‘K’ yeasts with both mashes, and Single Barrel is always selected from the ‘B’ mash and ‘V’ yeast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduction volume at Four Roses is now at 8 million proof gallons, or enough to fill more than 130,000 barrels a year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFour Roses mature and bottle their products in Cox’s Creek—around 50 miles from the distillery. These warehouses are unusual for Kentucky, since they cling low to the ground like military bunkers waging a war with gravity. Casks are racked only one tier high, which explains the enormous footprint of the warehouse and the relative consistency of maturation between any two barrels, \u003cbr\u003e“We only get a five degree temperature fluctuation between the top and the bottom of the rack” says master distiller Brent Elliot, “which is nothing compared to the six-tier houses that other producers use.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe following is an anecdote from \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Curious-Bartenders-Whiskey-Road-Trip\/dp\/1788791592\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QPO5K1PLOXNB\u0026amp;keywords=whiskey+road+trip\u0026amp;qid=1657260753\u0026amp;sprefix=whiskey+road+trip%2Caps%2C96\u0026amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Curious Bartender's Whiskey Road Trip\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, written by Whisky Me co-founder, Tristan Stephenson:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eI can recall a conversation I once had with Jim Rutledge in the office of the Four Roses distillery. During the course of our meeting, he casually informed me that he had already made the best Bourbon any of us are likely to taste. The only problem was it had all been sold already, and even he only has half bottle left. The story started back in 1995, just after he had been appointed the role of master distiller. By way of seeking employee approval, he decided to give the staff a couple of weeks off over the festive season. The distillery operation was winding down and for one reason or another a sample of ‘V’ yeast was left in the propagator too long and begun to mutate. A lab technician beckoned Jim over to the microscope and what he saw was the Arnold Schwartzeneger of yeast cultures, which had mutated in to virile little hunks. Fermentation of the mash ensued, producing a one-of-a-kind fruity beer, and in-turn the resulting white whiskey was the best Jim had ever tasted—in his own words, “Everything the mutated culture touched, turned to gold.” Unfortunately, by that point the super-yeast in question had been disposed of and to this day remains extinct. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe white dog was put to cask, and as time went on it developed slowly, Jim recognised early on that this was a bourbon that would require more time than most to reach its full maturity. But eventually it did. Eighteen years later—an unusually long time for a Bourbon. The mutated ‘V’ culture whiskey was blended with two 13 year old whiskies and bottled as the 2013 Limited Edition Small Batch 125th Anniversary. Also, in absurdly-small volumes, Four Roses created a special selection bottling of the 18 year-old casks only.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAs Jim recounted the story to me, he thoughtfully gazed out of his office window at the custard-yellow ‘mission’ style buildings that populate the distillery, then he said “If I’d have kept a sample of that yeast, right now I’d be making the best Bourbon anyone has ever tasted, every day.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/bottle_ca02cbc3-bcd7-422c-b503-fecdf6ae2184_600x600.jpg?v=1656486831\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-07-08T07:13:43+01:00","updated_at":"2022-07-08T07:13:43+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"four-roses","tags":"four roses, kentucky, mattingly, tag:distillery, tag:history","image":{"created_at":"2022-06-29T08:16:58+01:00","alt":"","width":1000,"height":667,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/4r-coxcreek-6-27-18-0276.jpg?v=1656487018"}}

{"id":557985333418,"title":"Annandale","created_at":"2022-06-29T07:46:42+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eAnnandale is a Lowland distillery located in Dumfries \u0026amp; Galloway, just five miles from Gretna Green, on the Scottish Border. While not the most southerly distillery in Scotland (that accolade goes to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whisky-me.com\/blogs\/learn\/bladnoch\"\u003eBladnoch\u003c\/a\u003e) it is the closest to the border and therefore the most accessible distillery from the north of England. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe small town of Annan is one such place, home to the Annandale Distillery. Originally established in 1836 by George Donald, the distillery was later bought by the Johnnie Walker brand in 1893 and was closed down in 1924. In 2007 the distillery was bought by the Annandale Distillery Company which is owned by Prof. David Thomson and Teresa Church, receiving a grant of £150,000 from the Regional Selective Assistance to assist with a £10.5m refurbishment project. The first spirit came off the stills in 2014, with both peated and unpeated liquids emerging from the same still house. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/David_Thomson_480x480.jpg?v=1656485159\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost single malt distilleries distill twice and have one wash still (which distills the fermented beer, or 'wash') paired with one spirit still (which does the second distillation to make the spirit). However, Annandale’s single copper wash still (12,000 litres) is paired with two copper spirit stills (2 x 4,000 litres). This increases the ratio of the surface area of copper to the volume of liquid inside the spirit still, which leads to increased purification of the spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCombine this with a good barrel sourcing program and cask strength, single cask releases, and the distillery has subsequently gained a reputation for sweet and fruity malts that have a softness that seems to belie their strength. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Annandale malt we have shared with you this month (July 2022) is taken from a single sherry butt (450 litres) aged for five years, and reduced to 50% ABV. We have exactly 100 70cl bottles of this whisky left to buy through the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whisky-me.com\/products\/annandale-5-year-old-single-cask\" title=\"Annandale 5 Year Old\"\u003eWhisky Me shop!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-07-08T07:09:16+01:00","updated_at":"2022-07-08T07:09:16+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"annandale","tags":"annandale, lowland, tag:distillery, tag:history, tag:production, type:Distilleries","image":{"created_at":"2022-06-29T07:47:32+01:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":1024,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/Bottle.jpg?v=1656485253"}}

{"id":557770866858,"title":"Glenturret","created_at":"2022-05-16T11:58:19+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe Glenturret is one of the more accessible distilleries in Scotland, being only an hour’s drive from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and just ten minutes from Perth. So it’s surprising to learn that the location was previously used to conceal an illicit distilling operation that was the precursor to Glenturret, going back over 250 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Scenic_shot_of_Lake_Turret_600x600.jpg?v=1652698526\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1763, a document relating to Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre makes reference to Thurot Distillery, the earliest known name for Glenturret. The Murrays of Ochtertyre were local landowners and farmers, and passionate brewers and distillers. The 1763 record states that Thurot Distillery had been ‘several years not charged’, which means it was not operating at that time. So we can assume the Murrays were distilling on this spot before 1763. t’s this historical timeline that is the basis for Glenturret’s claim of being the oldest working distillery in Scotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the the foundation of The Glenturret’s claim of being the oldest working distillery in Scotland, a claim that is contested by one or two other older operations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Distillery_shot_No_3_600x600.jpg?v=1652698503\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe distillery was originally known as Thurot, later becoming Hosh, when it came in to the possession of the Drummond family. It was only in 1875, when Thomas Stewart took over the distillery, that the name was changed to Glenturret. A tributary of the River Tay, the River Turret has always provided Glenturret with its water. Several times in the distillery’s long history, great floods have pushed the river to breaking point, as was the case during the great storm of 1828, when the Perthshire Courier reported that the distillery was \"completely inundated\" with water, and \"the utensils carried off and spirits destroyed.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Close_up_shot_of_whisky_still_600x600.jpg?v=1652698493\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTowser, a female long-haired tortoiseshell cat, was the resident pest control expert at Glenturret from 1963 till 1987. She was an officially recognised record breaker, having been estimated to have killed 28,899 mice in her time, the corpses of which were laid out on the still house floor each morning to be inspected by the stillman. The auditors for the Guinness book of records observed Towser's prowess over a number of days, and her total kill count was estimated statistically. She was commemorated by a bronze statue at the visitor's centre at Glenturret and her story was featured on BBC Television's Blue Peter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Shot_600x600.jpg?v=1652698523\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlenturret make predominantly unpeated spirit but, like many other distilleries, do distil peated malt for a week or two every year. Glenturret Peated Edition is the fruits of this short period of production, aged for ten years in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-06-09T08:12:22+01:00","updated_at":"2022-06-09T08:12:23+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"glenturret","tags":"distillery, glenturret, single malt, tag:distillery, tag:history","image":{"created_at":"2022-05-16T11:58:19+01:00","alt":"","width":2560,"height":1536,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/Cats-F8-1981-04-21-Towser-Glenturret-Distillery-Cat-C-DCT-1-scaled-e1596542566156.jpg?v=1652698700"}}

{"id":557731381418,"title":"Tomatin","created_at":"2022-05-03T12:48:12+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTomatin is a Highland single malt distillery, located around 25 miles south of Inverness. The distillery was established during the boom time of the late 19\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e century, in 1897, under the name Tomatin Spey Distillery Co. Ltd. The name derives from the Scottish Gaelic name Tom Aitinn (hill of juniper). The river Findhorn rises at Coignafearn, a large game estate near Tomatin, and then passes through Tomatin village itself. The village was pretty much non-existent before the arrival of the distillery, which grew up around it as the whisky business blossomed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIndeed, Tomatin is not a particularly well known distillery these days, but by the 1970’s it was the largest malt distillery in the world by production volume. This was partly thanks to the location of the distillery, which was picked by founder John MacDougall for its proximity to the newly formed Highland Railway that was built in the 1980’s. A good railway line meant easy transportation of cereals and wood in and finished whisky out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/7R405480_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1651578329\" alt=\"Repairing Barrels\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMacDougal failed as an operator however, and it wasn’t until an experienced wine and spirits merchant took over in 1909 that things began to take off. Going from two stills capable of producing 225,000 litres of alcohol in 1911, by 1975 Tomatin was producing 50 times that number across 23 stills! If the 1970’s Tomatin was operational today it would be second in size in Scotland only to Glenfiddich and Glenlivet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/7R405798_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1651578348\" alt=\"Still\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe distillery closed in 1985 during the whisky slump, but remained closed only for a year, when two Japanese companies, Takara Shuzo and Okra \u0026amp; Co., bought the operation and began a new chapter in Tomatin’s story.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/7R405687_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1651578351\" alt=\"New Make Spirit\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe new approach has been one of quality over quantity. Like most malt distilleries, the vast majority of Tomatin's production goes into blended whisky, including its own brands of Antiquary and Talisman. Also like most other distilleries, of late Tomatin has been making efforts to bolster its name as a producer of single malts and is expanding its core range. In 2003, the 10 year old malt was replaced by the 12 year old and a variety of older expressions have emerged too. More and more Tomatin juice is ending up in single malt bottlings than ever before, which can only be a good thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/7R406143_-_01_600x600.jpg?v=1651578343\" alt=\"Tomatin Range\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTomatin market themselves as the “Lighter Side of the Highlands’ which points to the softer, more delicate character of their products when put up against the more typical robust and wild drams we tend to find in this region.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-05-09T00:00:00+01:00","updated_at":"2022-05-10T09:10:02+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"tomatin","tags":"distillery, highland whisky, tag:distillery, tag:history, tomatin","image":{"created_at":"2022-05-10T09:10:01+01:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":801,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/200416_Tomatin_0495ce.jpg?v=1652170202"}}

{"id":557731348650,"title":"Mars","created_at":"2022-05-03T12:32:59+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eFounded in 1985, and mothballed from 1992 to 2011, the Mars Shinshu distillery is owned by Hombo Shuzo Co., Ltd. a Japanese \"shōchū\" maker based in Kagoshima Prefecture on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Mars Shinshu whisky distillery on the other hand is located in the village of Miyada, right in the centre of Japan’s main island and around 20km west of Suntory’s Hakushu distillery. Nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan can be found in Nagano Prefecture and its climate is more or less Alpine, with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. These environmental conditions, along with the soft granite filtered water used to make the whisky, contributes to a unique approach to whisky and it makes the Mars Shinshu distillery - at 800m elevation - Japan’s highest whisky distillery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.hk01.com\/di\/media\/images\/dw\/20200808\/368747389491744768.jpeg\/yDJGMA9zQ4XFENbOt5_1wUh6tg9Osxk2n4azpp-Gs6Y?v=w1280\" width=\"647\" height=\"431\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Hombo family, founder of Mars, began producing shochu in 1909, expanding their portfolio over the years to eventually include their most popular product, whisky. They obtained their whisky license in 1949 with the help of their advisor, Mr. Kiichiro Iwai, an icon in the rise of Japanese whisky. Kiichiro Iwai was actually the man that sent the godfather of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketusuru, to Scotland in 1918. Taketsuru’s experiences there, working at Springbank and Longmorn (amongst others) provided the knowledge needed to establish Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery and the development of Taketsuru’s own brand, Nikki. Kiichiro Iwai worked for Settsu Breweries at the time when he sponsored Taketsuru’s expedition and was later brought in to the Hombo clan to help with their brewing operations and to build their whisky distillery, using Taketsuru’s notes from Scotland in doing so.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.hk01.com\/di\/media\/images\/dw\/20200808\/368747106984398848.jpeg\/7GsCUqtlqpEDKj0I0vjA_SCKi7ywqgon-260fPtutHw?v=w1920\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none;\" width=\"652\" height=\"475\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eOriginally the distillery was located near Tokyo, but was quickly moved to the southern island of Kyushu, becoming the most southerly whisky distillery in Japan. Whisky production was moved to Nagano Prefecture in 1985, and the new distillery was furnished with pot stills, moved from the original Yamanashi site near Tokyo, which were designed by Kiichiro Iwai himself and based upon the records left by Masataka Taketsuru. In fact, the pot stills closely resemble the straight-head stills used at Taketsuru’s original Yoichi Distillery. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Japanese economy and demand for whisky was booming, and the Mars brand was born. by 1990, the party was over; the Japanese economy stagnated and demand for whisky dropped dramatically. Mars, being a relativity young player in the field, halted production in 1992.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy 2007, however, the whisky market started to recover. Improving year on year, Mars resumed production in 2011, after almost a two-decade hiatus.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/MarsTsunukiWarehouse_5_600x600.jpg?v=1651577758\" alt=\"\" width=\"649\" height=\"583\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile still not nearly as big or well known as Suntory or Nikka, Mars has acquired a reputation for quality products, winning a prize for the best-blended whisky at the World Whisky Awards in 2013.\u003c\/div\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-05-09T00:00:00+01:00","updated_at":"2022-05-09T00:00:00+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"mars","tags":"japanese whisky, mars kasei, mars shinshu, tag:distillery, tag:history, tag:Japan","image":{"created_at":"2022-05-03T12:32:59+01:00","alt":"","width":1600,"height":1200,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/mars-shinshu-2.jpg?v=1651577579"}}

{"id":557625475242,"title":"FEW","created_at":"2022-03-30T12:38:23+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eWhen US prohibition ended in 1934 most of the country began to return to normality and the booze once again began flowing. Pockets of motivated temperance advocates remained however, and nowhere more so than in the home of the US temperance movement -  Evanston, Illinois. Evanston was previously home to one Frances Elizabeth Willard (note her initials) who became president of the United States Womens Christian Temperance Movement in 1879, a position she held until death in 1898. The WCTU was originally organised on December 1873, for the purpose of creating a \"sober and pure world\" by abstinence. In the same year more than 200,000 retailers sold liquor in the U.S., a whopping 120,000 more than just 10 years before. So the cause for concern was understandable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2022-03-30_at_12.34.55_2x_436c86c8-f07c-4242-8200-1fd41f814869_600x600.png?v=1648640117\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile us whisky lovers may not agree with Willard's reasoning, it's difficult to ignore her tenacity. Her seemingly boundless energy took her on a 50-day speaking tour in 1874, an average of 30,000 miles of travel a year, and an average of 400 lectures a year for a 10-year period. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe \u003cem\u003ereally\u003c\/em\u003e didn’t like whiskey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the repeal of prohibition, when given the option to go “wet” or “dry” under an amendment to the Illinois Liquor Control Act, the citizens of Evanston took the dry option (boo!)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt wasn’t until 1972 that the City Council voted to allow restaurants and hotels to service liquor on premises. The Council later approved the sale of alcohol at retail liquor outlets in 1984. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut you still couldn’t \u003cem\u003emake\u003c\/em\u003e spirits in Evanston.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen Paul Hletko came along.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUndoing 160 years of Prohibition history was no easy task. Paul made many trips to Evanston city hall, dealing not so much with resistance to his wants but more just the inertia it takes to affect any kind of change in local government. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo Evanston is the spiritual home of temperance in the U.S. But it’s also the spiritual home of FEW Spirits, who are located only a half a dozen blocks away from Frances Willard’s former home, on 1730 Chicago Avenue. There’s a plaque outside the property that commemorates her time there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/FEW_Spirits_x_AB_-306_600x600.jpg?v=1648640063\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaul is a patent lawyer turned distiller, whose family has a background in making booze thanks to his grandfather ran a well renowned Czech brewery many years ago. Establishing FEW spirits in 2011 was in part a continuation of the family legacy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe distillery is small. Surprisingly small for a brand that has managed to gain some good international traction with their product.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFermentation is temperature controlled and a different yeast is used for each product they make here. Paul reckons that the yeast plays at least as big a role in the flavour of each expression as the mash recipe does. The fermenters are also agitated, so ensure even distribution of heat. Fermentation takes three days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDistillation is done in a Vendome steel beer stripping column, which is linked to a copper doubler. It’s more common to see distilleries of this size using pots instead of columns, which is why the column at FEW is one of the smallest column stills that Vendome have ever made. “I don’t think there’s an advantage or disadvantage to using columns over pots from a flavour point of view,” says Paul, “but what I will say is that when it comes to efficiency the column takes the place of eight pot stills.” The spirit comes off the doubler at 67% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/FEW_Spirits_x_AB_-200_600x600.jpg?v=1648640067\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe spirit is then cut with water to 59% ready for filling in to barrels. All products made here start their maturation in new American Oak casks with the exception of some single malt spirit that goes in to their own used bourbon barrels. Paul also has a range wine barrels, coffee barrels and even a 100 year old Irish whiskey barrel for special projects and perhaps future experimental releases.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe distillery is currently filling around eight barrels a day, which then get sent to one of three warehouses which are a mile or two away from the modest distillery building.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/FEW_Spirits_x_AB_-251_600x600.jpg?v=1648640059\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe FEW bottles are some of the prettiest in the industry, each one labelled with an illustration inspired by the 1893 Columbian Exposition (or Chicago World Fair). World Fairs showcased the latest in technology, the arts and products and were known to attract tens of millions of visitors.\u003cbr\u003e“That Fair was a turning point for Chicago and the rest of the world,” says Paul. “There was all sorts of cool stuff there that nobody had seen before.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bourbon bottle - FEW's flagship spirit and the product we're sharing with you - shows an illustration of The Statue of the Republic, a 65-foot statue that dominated the fair’s skyline. The original was destroyed, but there is a 24-foot bronze replica in Jackson Park that was created for the 25th anniversary of the fair in 1918. The bourbon is a mix of 70% corn, 20% rye, 10% malted barley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Bourbon_horiz_600x600.jpg?v=1648640242\" alt=\"\"\u003eIn FEW bourbon we find cherry juice and peach lemonade on the nose, which is joined by vanilla custard spiked with mace on repeat smells. Dry and nutty on the palate, with pecan and Brazil nut lingering until spice trickles in. The finish has just a touch of tannin, delivered in such a way that you really want another sip!\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-04-08T13:00:00+01:00","updated_at":"2022-04-08T13:00:01+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"few","tags":"american whiskey, bourbon, chicago whiskey, few distillery, paul hletko, tag:history, tag:maturation, tag:production, type:Distilleries","image":{"created_at":"2022-03-30T12:38:23+01:00","alt":"","width":1024,"height":682,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/articles\/FEW_Spirits_x_AB_-204.jpg?v=1648640304"}}