England v Scotland in Single Cask Rivalry

6 October 2010, Dumgoyne: Award-winning Glengoyne Distillery has  challenged some of England’s best known and highly respected independent whisky retailers to select a rare limited edition single cask from the Glengoyne warehouses that they would be proud to name The English Merchants’ Choice. This will be the second Merchants’ Choice Single Cask bottling release, with the first being chosen by a team of Scottish specialist retailers.

Taking place in Glengoyne Distillery’s state-of-the-art Blending Room, the group of six whisky connoisseurs nosed, sampled and debated a wide range of Glengoyne’s finest single cask malts before collectively selecting a 13 Years Old European Oak Sherry Hogshead cask, bottled at 54.6% vol to have the honorary title of The English Merchants’ Choice.

Not only tasked with selecting this exceptional single cask, the Merchants had to unanimously agree on all of the Merchants’ Choice values, from the bottle, packaging, label design and wording, to its name and tasting notes. 

The final tasting notes from the selection panel included an appearance of light straw with a nose of green apples, vanilla and leather followed by notes of ginger bread and orange peel on the palate. The bottling was also described as bold, elegant and delicately balanced.

Iain Weir, Marketing Director for Ian Macleod Distillers, brand owners of Glengoyne commented: “We had a fantastic response to our Scottish Merchants’ Choice release in December 2009 and thought a bit of healthy North-South rivalry had some great potential.”

“It is a novel proposition allowing our Merchants to select their own bottling but with their expert knowledge and passion for whisky, they were bound to pick a winner from Glengoyne’s finest casks. Now we will just wait to see which proves more popular – the English or Scottish selection.”

Just 291 bottles of this limited edition bottling are available now (UK only), from the six selection panel whisky specialists (see below), with an RRP of £105.00

With special thanks to:

Ben Ellefsen (Master of Malt)

David Gardener (Nickolls & Perks)

Isabel Graham-Yooll (Milroy’s)

Michael Hopert (Royal Mile Whiskies London)

Malcolm Mullin (The Vintage House) 

Mark Rowe (Constantine Stores)

For further information visit Glengoyne Distillery at visit www.glengoyne.com

Notes:

Tasting notes

SINGLE CASK-  The English Merchants’ Choice 1997 (13 Years Old)
 
Description

Appearance: Mahogany/Iroko

Nose: Raisins and citrus developing to sweeter mocha with a hint of leather

Palate: Intense complemented with orange peel and dried fruits

Finish: Delicate, yet bold and balanced
 
Wood Type- European Oak Sherry hogshead                                                                     
 
Cask No. 2716
 
No. of Bottles 291
 
Strength  54.6% vol                                                                                                    
 
Distillation Date 17th June 1997
 
Bottling Date 21 September 2010
 
Approved By  Ben Ellefsen (Master of Malt), David Gardener (Nickolls & Perks), Isabel Graham-Yooll (Milroys), Michael Hopert (Royal Mile Whiskies London), Malcolm Mullin (The Vintage House) and Mark Rowe (Constantine Stores)