From www.aberko.com

DEERSTALKER HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT

Brand History
The Deerstalker brand was first owned by a wine & spirit merchant from Edinburgh named J.G.Thomson. He noted the importance of trade marks and realising that these proud, forthright men epitomized the Highland spirit, registered the name and a label with the character of a Deerstalker in 1880, just five years after trade marks came into being.

Since that time it has been trade marked in every major country and there are five marks in the UK alone. J.G.Thomson’s offices were in the port for Edinburgh (Leith) and became known as The Vaults. The building remains to this day and is now home to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Exports took place from the Vaults to all corners of the globe. The brand then changed ownership as a result of acquisitions, but in 1994 took on a new chapter in its history when purchased by Aberko Limited.

Stalking and Whisky
The stalking of deer in the Scottish Highlands is as much a tradition as the distilling of whisky itself, and may be traced back to the 1700’s. Most estates employed stalkers, fiercely independent men, who were respected for their knowledge of the ‘mountains’ and their abilities to track the native red deer.

Deerstalkers achieved notoriety in the Mid 1800’s when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert rebuilt Balmoral Castle & settled for much of the year in the Highlands fishing and stalking; characters such as John Brown became known far outside the Highlands. Whisky, already established in Scotland now became ever more popular south of the border partly as a result of the bond between the royal family and the Highlands.

Stalking deer in the Highlands and for that matter the Lowlands and the Western Isles has a long and noble tradition and is today a necessary activity for controlling numbers of red deer and for providing much needed income into Scottish estates. There remain today many professional stalkers who have inherited the skills of their forefathers, and provide a valuable contribution to the economy of the region.

It is appropriate that a whisky should be named after a profession so closely associated with the source of the national drink.

DEERSTALKER HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT – 18 YEAR OLD

The Distillery
The 18 Year Old Deerstalker Highland Single Malt takes its malt from the Balmenach Distillery. The distillery is located in a beautiful part of Speyside named the Haughs of Cromdale, site of a Jacobite battle in 1690 and of numerous illicit whisky stills prior to the era of licensing. Its ownership passed through the Macgregor family to DCL, United Distillers, and in 1997 to Inver House who have given their kind permission for Aberko to bottle limited quantities and to sell under the Deerstalker name.

It is extremely rare to find any Balmenach at 18 years of age and now unchill filtered at 46% abv and taking its colour entirely from the casks where it has ‘slept’ some 18 years we are delighted to present it alongside the 10, 12 and new 15 Year Old.

Balmenach 18yo (46%, Deerstalker, +/-2011) Whisky Intelligence Tasting Note

The nose is much like opening a tin of hard candies covered in icing sugar while at the same time revealing some excellent fruit in the form of banana and jam (but not berries, perhaps some marmalade?). After some small time in the glass there is some good malt, zest, dried fruit juniper and pine resin. The dusty icing sugar and malt continue throughout. The taste is strong and very solid, the dried fruit and malt are much more intensified than on the nose; very rich with some ground pepper, a little leather and tobacco and a wonderful sweetness that intermingles with the other descriptors so very well. Some dry notes arrive towards the end just prior to the mouthful going down the gullet. The finish is of bananas, the dried fruit and the pepper; all very vibrant and then after a moment a sensational arrival of the icing sugar dusted candies. The finish is very long and active with lots of malt.

What a sensational dram with something to like all along the journey.

$89

Score 87 points