The Tapped Cask

{"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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/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":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/FEW_Spirits_x_AB_-204.jpg?v=1648640304"}}

{"id":557625442474,"title":"Caol Ila","created_at":"2022-03-30T12:09:39+01:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eWhen we think of Islay whiskies it’s usually the big names like Laphroaig, Bowmore and Ardbeg that spring to mind. But Caol Ila, or ‘Sound of Islay’ as it translates too, is the quiet giant of the island, turning out more whisky than any other producer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the past most of the spirit made at this distillery, recessed in to the cliff near Port Askaig, went in to blends like Johnnie Walker, and much of it still does. Indeed, were it not for Johnnie Walker and J\u0026amp;B’s thirsty need for something smoky you would have to question where 324 tons of barley that gets delivered to Caol Ila every week actually goes. But Caol Ila has established itself as a competitive stand alone malt in recent years, and rightly so.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2022-03-30_at_12.13.29_2x_ca50c6ae-aa49-4f72-824d-586afdeb2179_480x480.png?v=1648638865\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the outside the beautiful old warehouse, which dates back to the distillery's founding in 1846, is contrasted by a much newer production building that replaced the old one in 1970. The still house overlooks the thin stretch of water that is known as ‘the sound’, to the rising ‘paps’ of Jura. A view that would challenge any distillery for sheer breathtaking magnificence and made all the more epic by the four gigantic stills that pump out 6.5 million litres of new make spirit a year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaol Ila is a 24 hour operation, manned by only one person at a time. The stills are only 50% filled, giving prolonged conversation with the copper. This integrates the peat nicely in to a citrus driven dram. Here, it’s not an all out domination of peat, but a controlled melody of smoke that wafts and wavers through the dram, plucking out other interesting facets as it goes and leaving behind a taste of Islay in its wake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2022-03-30_at_12.13.46_2x_7fbb1563-cb6e-47d1-805f-7ee41e421926_480x480.png?v=1648638843\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduction increased in 2011, “It was the wash backs that were holding things back” Billy Stitchell, the now retired distillery manager once told us. Another two were added to make six in total and it effectively doubled the output of the distillery. The washbacks here are different than most in that they are vented and the CO2 that is produced by the fermentation is pumped out of the massive Canadian larch containers. This makes for a spookily empty experience when you dip your head in to the airspace and your nose is greeted by a soft breeze, rather than the usual pungent sting of fermentation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBilly Stitchell over saw things at Caol Ila for nearly 40 years years until he retired at the end of 2013. This marked the end of the Stitchell family legacy at Caol Ila, who have acted as Regent for for the distillery for four straight generations. His exit was marked by the special release of Caol Ila un-peated, entitled ‘Stitchell Reserve’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2022-03-30_at_12.14.32_2x_70724018-799b-4264-b07c-2cfa51a519dd_480x480.png?v=1648638885\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs one of Tristan and Tom's favourite distilleries in Scotland, we are super excited to have bagged three unique casks of Caol Ila and to share their contents with you, our members. Our 10 year old release has been cut to a respectable 52% ABV, thus retaining much of the cask character while ensuring we have enough to go around! We get notes of coal smoke, fresh citrus and a little maritime influence too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelow is the video we recorded at Caol Ila when we visited back in 2018.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HFv9togaZZ0\" 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","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-04-08T12:30:00+01:00","updated_at":"2022-04-08T12:30:00+01:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"caol-ila","tags":"caol ila, islay, scotch, single malt, tag:distillery, tag:history, tag:production, whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-03-30T12:15:43+01:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":770,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/international-scotch-day-2018-caol-ila-distillery-min.jpg?v=1648638944"}}

{"id":557482016938,"title":"Brenne","created_at":"2022-02-28T10:36:56+00:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrenne is a French single malt brand that was founded in 2012 by former ballerina turned whisky entrepreneur,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brennewhisky.com\/allison\" ga=\"auto\" ga-act=\"Background\"\u003eAllison Parc\u003c\/a\u003e. Teaming up with a third-generation cognac maker, Brenne is made at a traditional eau-de-vie farm-distillery in the heart of Cognac, which has been producing the base spirit for cognac since the 1920's. The alembic stills used to make cognac work under the same principles as the copper pots we find in Scotland, so the distillery was able to turn its attention from distilling wine to distilling beer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2022-02-28_at_10.35.14_2x_a5fe9049-5893-472f-b513-7c9f844e9028_1024x1024.png?v=1646044535\" alt=\"\"\u003eAllison self-distributed the first bottles of Brenne via Citi Bike in Manhattan. The flagship Brenne Estate Cask sold out within two months and Allison expanded distribution to 35 states, and France, over the next few years. Her second expression, Brenne Ten, was introduced in October 2015; only about 300 cases of the limited-edition 10-year-old single malt whisky are available each year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo types of heirloom barley grown on the estate are the starting point for Brenne. After malting, a proprietary strain of yeast is used, creating a beautifully floral mash.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/C_-_distillery_fields_2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1646044430\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is then twice-distilled in an alembic Charente still, creating a fruit-forward new-make spirit that pairs perfectly with the floral notes of the starting mash. This distillation process is thought to take the whisky in a more floral direction than if it were distilled in copper pots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Still_Alembic_1024x1024.jpg?v=1646044404\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe spirit is matured in new French Limousin oak and Cognac casks, before being proofed with water from the Charente river for bottling. Brenne is the first single malt in the world to be aged exclusively in these two types of barrel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Barrels_2Rows_2_copy_2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1646044508\" alt=\"\"\u003eIn 2017, 2018, and 2021, Allison was named World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year by Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky, USA, becoming the first woman to receive the award and the only three-time recipient of this honour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-03-08T17:00:01+00:00","updated_at":"2022-03-08T17:00:01+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"brenne","tags":"brenne, distillery, french whisky, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, tag:maturation, tag:production, world whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-28T10:36:56+00:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":801,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Brenne_Estate_Cask_sunset_closeup.jpg?v=1646044616"}}

{"id":557481853098,"title":"Speyburn","created_at":"2022-02-28T09:55:58+00:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLocated in a tight little glen opposite Glen Grant, Speyburn started operation in 1897 and was one of a number of distilleries designed by local architect \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/scotchwhisky.com\/magazine\/whisky-heroes\/7007\/whisky-heroes-charles-doig\/\"\u003eCharles Doig\u003c\/a\u003e. The owners of the distillery were John and Edward Hopkins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLike many distilleries it was absorbed into Scottish Malt Distillers (the malt arm of Distillers Company Limited) in 1916. It then fell silent four a total of four years in 1930. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJump forward to 1991 and the distillery was acquired by Inver House Distillers and remains under their regency to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Distillation_1024x1024.jpg?v=1646043147\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpeyburn has a capacity of 1.9 million litres of pure alcohol a year from just two stills. Speyburn is one of a few distilleries in Scotland that use traditional worm tub condensers. Like most worm tub distilleries this method of condensing produces a deliberately sulphury new make which changes in cask to reveal the a delicate, fragrant character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Speyburn_Maturation_1024x1024.jpg?v=1646043181\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery fills casks at 69.3%, which is a few percentage points higher than the industry standard, and results in a more oaky lactone (polish, butterscotch) notes being pulled from the cask.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-03-08T17:00:01+00:00","updated_at":"2022-03-08T17:00:01+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"speyburn","tags":"distillery, scotch, single malt, speyburn, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, tag:history, tag:maturation, tag:production, whisky","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-28T10:14:09+00:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":800,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Speyburn_Distillery_2.jpg?v=1646043249"}}

{"id":557354418346,"title":"Westland","created_at":"2022-02-03T11:59:23+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOver the past decade Westland Distillery in Seattle has established itself as one of the most respected distilleries in the US, and is famed for producing single malt whiskies in the Scottish style but with a special emphasis on celebrating the Pacific Northwest. In some ways their approach is reminiscent of a new world wine maker making old world style wines. Westland’s founders, Matt\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eHoffmann and Emmerson Lamb view Washington as one of the best places in the world to make single malt whiskey. The Skagit Valley and Palouse Region offer some of the best cereal growing condition in the world. The Cedar River Watershed, which is one of the last unfiltered water sources in a metropolitan area, provides a great water source for the distillery. Westland consider it a “national treasure.” Then there’s the climate, which is very mild and not at all different to that of the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Westland_Instagram_1200px_x_1200px_West_Is_Whiskey_1024x1024.jpg?v=1643889409\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlthough Westland\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003emake only single malt whiskey, they use more than one type of malt do it. They call it a five malt grain bill, which constitutes a blend of Washington Select Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt, and Brown Malt in varying proportions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSpeciality malts are malts have undergone special heating processes in which the starches are converted to sugars by heat and moisture right inside the hull. As a result, these malts contain more complex sugars, some of which do not ferment, leaving a pleasant caramel-like sweetness. They range from pale gold to dark or burnt browns.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Westland_Mashing_1024x1024.jpg?v=1643882157\" alt=\"Pouring off fermented wash\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eThe five fermentation tanks here are 10,000 litres and made from stainless steel. Westland use a Belgian Saison brewer's yeast—that has a ton of flavour but ferments more slowly and yields a little bit less. It’s for that reason that fermentation times can go on for up to six days here. Unusually for a malt whiskey distillery, Westland also add enzymes to their mashes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Enzymes are a concession we had to make when we chose to use the darker roasted malts,” says Tyler Pederson, production manager at Westland. “We could brew without them, but with them we know we’re getting the maximum possible starch conversion.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTheir saison yeast is happiest when fermenting at low temperatures between 15 - 20°C (the Scottish influence at Westland extends even to a use metric volumes and temperature measured in celsius). However Westland ferment at around 26°C which they think helps to make a more ester rich beer. The target here is bright fruity ester notes along with some phenolics. Tyler says that the aromas of clove and banana come through in the third day of the fermentation. By the end of the fermentation Westland have themselves a beer of 8% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWestland products are distilled twice, true to the Scottish style. The stills are made by Venodme, with the wash still weighing in at 2,000 litres and the spirit still 1,500 litres\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Our process is very similar to how they operate in Scotland,” says Tyler. “But we do have some things we that are very unique.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Westland_Spirit_Safe_2_1024x1024.jpg?v=1643882103\" alt=\"Cutting the spirit\"\u003eOne of these unique things is that Westland make a cut in both their spirit distillation and their wash distillation. Tyler collects from the first distillation in two batches, switching when the low wines drop below 15% ABV. The first batch will be on average around 35% ABV and Tyler explains  that if he dilutes this with water to below 27.5% ABV, that a phase separation takes place\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eand many of the fatty acids that were previously suspended in the solution float to the top of the vat. Tyler then draws off the liquid from the bottom of the tank, leaving the fatty acid oil slick behind. Now that this fraction of the low wine has been cleaned up, it’s re-distilled as a spirits run. The purpose of forcing this phase separation is to remove some of the heavier, oily components from the spirit, which lighten the texture of the whiskey and helps promote clean, fruity aromas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOn a typical day Westland will collect around 900 litres of 70% spirit. This will then be diluted with water ready for filling in too cask. Barrels are filled at 55% ABV if it’s new American oak and 62.5% for wine cask and other types of used barrels.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWestland’s warehousing is located on Washington’s North Bay in a small town called Hoquiam. The 8,000-person town, which happens to be Westland founder Emerson Lamb’s hometown, has a steady, predictable and damp climate, similar to that of Scotland: an ideal environment for the maturation process. Westland have about one barrel there for every person living in the town.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/american_single_malt_600x600.jpg?v=1643889503\" alt=\"\"\u003eThere are three main bottlings coming out of Westland: American Oak, which is made from the five grain mash bill and matured for a minimum of three years in a combination of new oak casks and refill bourbon casks; Sherry Oak, which is also made from the same mash bill but aged in a combination of new American oak and ex-oloroso sherry and ex-Pedro Ximenex casks; and finally Peated, which is made from 100% pelted malt, aged in new oak casks and refill bourbon casks, then blended after maturation with what is effectively the whiskey that goes in to the American Oak bottling. Although Westland bottles don’t mention how old the liquid inside is, all of their releases are are aged for a minimum of three years.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-02-04T12:00:03+00:00","updated_at":"2022-02-04T12:00:03+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"westland","tags":"american single malt, seattle, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, tag:production, tag:science, usa, washington, westland","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-03T11:59:23+00:00","alt":"","width":1500,"height":1125,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Westland_American_Oak_Lifestyle_Bottle_16_2.jpg?v=1643889564"}}

{"id":557354090666,"title":"Bladnoch","created_at":"2022-02-03T09:45:40+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBladnoch Distillery is a Single malt Scotch whisky distillery in south west Scotland. It is one of six remaining Lowland distilleries, located at Bladnoch, near Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, making it the most southerly malt distillery in Scotland (Newcastle is further north!). Bladnoch has been a hotspot for whisky tourism for a few decades, partly due to its quintessentially rural aesthetic that still hints at the working farm that once occupied the site.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/190702_BLADNOCH_8186_1024x1024.jpg?v=1643881331\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBladnoch’s history as a distillery dates back to 1817, when John and Thomas McClelland were first granted a licence to distil Whisky on Bladnoch farm located on the banks of the Rive Bladnoch.For nearly a century, successive generations of McClelland family grew and modernised the distillery. At its peak, the site had six washbacks and annual production of approximately 230,000 litres of alcohol, granting it the moniker “Queen of the Lowlands”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMore recently, the distillery was owned by Arthur Bell \u0026amp; Sons (which would later become part of Guinness\/United Distillers) between 1983 and 1993, a period during which the brand’s distribution was increased and a visitor centre was established.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eAt the start of the Bell’s era the whisky made here was light and floral, but the blender’s template of nutty and spicy became the norm towards the end of its ownership.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/190702_BLADNOCH_35237_1024x1024.jpg?v=1643881372\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eFollowing a slump in demand United Distillers closed the distillery in 1993 and ownership transferred to Raymond and Colin Armstrong, who initially had plans to turn the site in to a holiday village. In fact, this was a condition stipulated by United Distillers within the terms of the contract. No whisky production was permitted. The brothers had a change of heart however, and spent six years petitioning UD to remove the condition, which they were finally granted in 2000 (albeit with a limit of 100,000 litres a year - a paltry volume by any malt whisky standards). It’s for this reason that most of the income in this era came not from selling whisky but hosting events and renting warehouse space to other distillers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eThis, unfortunately, meant that the business was unable to sustain itself. The distillery was mothballed in 2009 and the company went in to administration in 2014.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eThen along came the Australian entrepreneur, David Prior, who acquired the company from Raymond and Colin Armstrong, and began an extensive refurbishment of the distillery and a return to the grassy, light lowland style of years past.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eDavid Prior is the only Australian national to own a Scottish malt distillery.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Bottle_cut_out_600x600.jpg?v=1643881441\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eVinaya is matured in a combination of fist fill sherry and bourbon casks, revealing notes of fresh apple, sweet floral grass and\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003echocolate. ‘Vinaya’, a Sanskrit word meaning respect and gratitude, pays homage to the original founders of the distillery who paved the way, as Bladnoch looks forward to an exciting new era of production and innovation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-02-04T10:00:01+00:00","updated_at":"2022-02-04T10:00:01+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"bladnoch","tags":"bladnoch, lowland, scotch whisky, single malt, tag:distillery, tag:history, tag:production","image":{"created_at":"2022-02-03T09:45:40+00:00","alt":"","width":1798,"height":1200,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/BLADNOCH_NO-1.jpg?v=1643881541"}}

{"id":557221937322,"title":"Arbikie","created_at":"2022-01-05T12:27:33+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eArbikie is a very new farm to glass distillery owned by the Stirling family. Located on the east coast of Scotland, not far from Dundee, it is one of a new wave of farm distilleries that pay special attention to ingredients by managing whisky production from the sewing of the seed right through to blending and bottling. This gives the Stirling family unrivalled influence over their final product, being able to select not only the variety of grain but also where it is planted, the type of soil used to grow it, and the perfect time to harvest - all before even getting in to the intricacies of whisky making itself!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Cask_lunan_bay_1024x1024.jpg?v=1641385990\" alt=\"\"\u003eFarming in the Stirling family goes back at least as far as 1660, initially on the west coast of Scotland. The lands passed through seven generations until Bill Stirling moved to Lunan Bay (the sunniest part of Scotland with about 1500 hours of sunshine every year) on the east coast of Angus in the 1920’s. He then passed his land on to his son John, then his son Alec, who expanded the acreage further. The Arbikie distillery and farm estate is today run by Alec’s sons, John, Iain and David.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAs with most places in Scotland, there is a history of distilling on the Arbikie lands, which dates back to 1794 - over a hundred years before the Stirling family arrived. The modern Arbikie distillery is located on the farm, in the remains of the old cattle barn overlooking the coast. The distilling team is led by Master Distiller, Kirsty Black (listed in the top ten female master distillers in the world by Spirits Business Magazine) and Christian Perez. Besides making whisky, Arbikie produce a range of vodkas and gins too. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Kirsty_Black_1024x1024.jpg?v=1641386025\" alt=\"\"\u003eWhere whisky is concerned, Arbikie took things in a brave and exciting direction. Their first whisky release is not a single malt but in fact a \u003cem\u003erye whisky\u003c\/em\u003e. Scottish rye whisky hasn’t existed for more than a hundred years, so unlike single malt there are no particular expectations or assumptions on style or taste. \u003cstrong\u003eHighland Rye 1794\u003c\/strong\u003e is made from from a mash of Arantes rye, Viscount wheat, and Odyssey malted barley then matured in new, charred American oak barrels. It is distilled in copper pots, which retains much of the character of those carefully grown cereals, which are necessary to do battle with the flavoursome new oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Arantes_Rye_1024x1024.jpg?v=1641386115\" alt=\"\"\u003eThe end result is not like a typical American rye whisky, nor is it like any other single grain scotch we’ve tasted. But rather something new. Or old? Sottish rye whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/1794_Bottle_and_Background_1024x1024.jpg?v=1641386180\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-01-07T15:44:14+00:00","updated_at":"2022-01-07T15:44:14+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"arbikie","tags":"arbikie, rye whisky, scottish rye, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, tag:history, tag:maturation","image":{"created_at":"2022-01-05T12:36:33+00:00","alt":"","width":1500,"height":1000,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Distillery_-_CREDIT_THE_GIN_COOPERATIVE.jpg?v=1641386194"}}

{"id":557221740714,"title":"Glentauchers","created_at":"2022-01-05T12:16:31+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eEstablished in 1897, Glentauchers was one of the distilleries founded by the hugely successful blender James Buchanan, with design overseen by the legendary Charles Doig. Doig was a true innovator in distillery architecture and the man responsible for the attractive pagoda roof (or “Doig's ventilator”) seen atop most of the distilleries in Scotland today. These were originally designed \u003cspan\u003eto draw air up through the bed of barley lying on the kiln haircloth below,\u003c\/span\u003e but since all but a few in-house maltings have closed, now remain only ornamental.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/media.scotchwhisky.com\/images\/media\/7b2708669ce9b7453e7fa8c142839cf8.jpg\" alt=\"Doig ventilators at Strathisla distillery\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlentauchers was one of the many distilleries that suffered from the slump in demand in the early 1980s and thus was mothballed in 1985. Allied Distillers (which later became part of Chivas Brothers which is itself owned by the French liquor giant Pernod Ricard) snapped it up in 1989 but didn’t restart production until 1992.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, the distillery has three spirit stills and three wash stills, with a total production capacity of 4,500,000 litres of pure alcohol per year. This makes it the 33rd biggest distillery in Scotland, sitting alongside the likes of Dalmore and Glenfarclas in production volume. Unlike those distilleries however, almost all of Glentauchers ends up in blended whisky. Bottles of Glentauchers single malt are uncommon outside of the the independent bottler Gordon \u0026amp; McPhail and no true distillery bottling exists to this day save for a 15-year-old Glentauchers which was made available under the Balantine’s brand in 2017.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo yes, we are rather excited be sharing our own casks of Glentauchers with you and making it available to buy by the bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/main_1024x1024.jpg?v=1641385268\" alt=\"\"\u003eThe long ferment and leisurely distillation at Glentauchers produces a new make that sits on the floral and fruity end of the flavour spectrum. Our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whisky-me.com\/products\/glentauchers-6-year-old\" title=\"Glentauchers 6 Year Old\"\u003e6-year-old\u003c\/a\u003e has spent all its years in first fill sherry casks however, which lends a significant burst of fruit and spice to the dram that is at odds with the delicate new make. Beauty and the beast in a single glass!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/whisky-me.com\/products\/glentauchers-6-year-old\" title=\"Glentauchers 6 Year Old\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Pack_cut_out_600x600.png?v=1641385302\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2022-01-07T15:44:05+00:00","updated_at":"2022-01-07T15:44:05+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"glentauchers","tags":"6 year old, distillery, glentauchers, malt whisky, scotland, single malt, speyside, whisky me","image":{"created_at":"2022-01-05T12:23:05+00:00","alt":"","width":1686,"height":1000,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/csm_still_house_59178a43_b650a6e7f2aebf05481c0ed44845ed4a_a28da6daf3.jpg?v=1641385386"}}

{"id":557085655210,"title":"Starward","created_at":"2021-12-06T07:45:32+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe original Starward distillery was setup in 2007 in a former aircraft maintenance hanger, on the outskirts of Melbourne. Back then, Australian whisky was already well established (and centred mostly around the island of Tasmania) but bottles were difficult to track down in Australia, let alone the rest of the world. The founder of Starward, David Vitale, wanted to change this by making a whisky that could be shared and enjoyed rather than tucked away as an investment item. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: start;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Starward_Founder_David_Vitale_1024x1024.jpg?v=1638778667\" alt=\"\" style=\"float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVitale set out to make a quintessentially Australian product, so all of the ingredients at Starward were sourced \"within a day's drive.\" This meant barley sourced from between Hunter Valley in Northern Sydney and the Adelaide Hills and apera (a sweet Australian fortified wine) and red wine casks from Victoria to mature the whisky. The weather in Melbourne is, well, temperamental, which is much to the benefit of Starward whisky. Hot summers and cold winters, along with Melbourne's famous ‘four seasons in a day’ encourage expansion and contraction of casks, accelerating the effects of maturation and imparting a uniquely Melbournian twist on the juice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter some early success, followed by funding from Diageo's Distill Ventures accelerator program, Starward re-homed in 2016, moving to a purpose built unit in Melbourne's Dockland s Precinct.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/stills_1024x1024.jpg?v=1638778545\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Vitale is from an Italian family, and firmly believes that whisky belongs on the dinner table, along with good food and good company. The use of red wine and apera casks for maturation helps here, bringing about the familiar dark fruit qualities that mean Starward pairs well with with Australian BBQ, cheese and, well, just about everything edible. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/Web_image_master_file_1024x1024.jpg?v=1639475950\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStarward Nova is matured in lightly charred or steamed barrels sourced from Australian wineries making great shiraz, cabernets and pinot noirs. Often filled fresh when the barrel is still wet with wine.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe use of red wine casks gives the whisky exceptional length with bright aromatic notes of red berries, orchard fruits, vanilla, caramel and soft oak spice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2021-12-08T15:59:03+00:00","updated_at":"2021-12-14T10:15:22+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"starward","tags":"starward, tag:distillery, tag:flavour, type:Distilleries","image":{"created_at":"2021-12-06T08:18:24+00:00","alt":"","width":1200,"height":871,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Starward_Distillery_1.jpg?v=1638778705"}}

{"id":557077168298,"title":"Linkwood","created_at":"2021-12-02T12:54:17+00:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eThe Linkwood distillery is located on the outskirts of Elgin, in the heart of the Speyside region. The distillery was originally built in the 1821 and kicked in to action in 1824, shortly after the 1823 Excise Act which successfully curtailed illicit distilling in the region. Linkwood was completely rebuilt in the 1870's and a new distillery building was added opposite the old one in the 1970's. By this point it was under the ownership of the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) which through a series of mergers would eventually go on to become Diageo. In the 1980's Linkwood's older distillery building became an experimental site, used by Diageo to research distillation techniques and their affects on the resulting spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/CleanShot_2021-11-17_at_09.37.50_2x_20dd1357-3cb3-4972-bd6a-f5073a5ca362_480x480.png?v=1638449242\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe spirit made at Linkwood sits on the lighter end of the Speyside flavour spectrum, being almost Lowland in its delicate, fragrant quality. However, there is a weight to the spirit once it gets in your mouth, which makes it prized by blenders. Indeed, over 99% of Linkwood is destined for one of Diageo's blended whiskies. The rest appears in the occasional independent bottling or is packaged as the only official distillery release, Linkwood Flora \u0026amp; Fauna 12 Year Old. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/bottle_480x480.jpg?v=1638449520\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bottle has the emblem of a swan on the label, which is a reference to the distillery's resident population of Swans. Legend has it that longtime manager Roderick Mackenzie thought the environment so important to the taste of Linkwood, he forbade the removal of spiders’ webs from the rafters in case the character were to change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0539\/2665\/8218\/files\/6304220_IMG_0558_480x480.png?v=1638449585\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":76389875882,"author":"Tristan Stephenson","user_id":71976517802,"published_at":"2021-12-08T15:59:03+00:00","updated_at":"2021-12-08T15:59:03+00:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"linkwood","tags":"","image":{"created_at":"2021-12-02T12:54:17+00:00","alt":"","width":1100,"height":733,"src":"\/\/whisky-me.com\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/6304112_IMG_0401.png?v=1638449658"}}