Chieftain’s Range

Rare Single Malt Scotch Whiskies

•Since 1936, Ian Macleod Distillers, through its dedication to tradition and quality, has amassed an unrivalled cask stock from Scotland’s many distilleries. This enviable collection includes extremely rare malts, some from closed or mothballed distilleries. The Chieftain’s collection hallmark is that each bottling must be fit for a King, a Leader or in the Celtic world, a Chieftain
•The new look Limited Edition Chieftain’s will appeal to the specialist, connoisseur, collector, enthusiast and those seeking an exceptional premium malt whisky gift. Each bottle is signed by our Chieftain’s Rare Malt Manager, and provides details of the wood type, cask number, number of bottles, vintage year, age and bottling date

•The small batch releases of Chieftain’s are selected for the Spring and Autumn collections each year with a variety of distilleries, vintages, wood maturations and strengths being made available

•The new, elegant antique bottle is reminiscent of a 1900 whisky bottle. It is decorated with a new style label design complete with new branding, calligraphy and watermark illustrations of Scotland, representative of the 5 different whisky producing regions. Each region is colour coded to signify the differences in the style of each whisky

•The new more individual rigid presentation gift box, surrounding the antique bottle, in ribbed and matt black with gold lining, is a true reflection of the quality of the whisky, and with its folding back head beautifully presents the product. On the rear of the box you will find a label describing the various styles of whiskies you can get from the different regions of Scotland, all of which are represented in the Chieftain’s range
•Chieftain’s is bottled at natural colour and unchill-filtered to preserve all the natural esthers of the whisky for fuller flavour and smoother taste.

•Each Chieftain’s bottling has its own personality and may vary in strength, colour and style. From the very pale, bourbon cask matured to the very amber sherry cask matured
•When finishing the whisky in a variety of wood, each cask is checked and selected by our expert noses and released only when we believe it has reached its peak and has not masked the personality of the original spirit

•Multi-award winning

The Cigar Malt Fifth Edition 15yo (46%, Chieftain’s Range)

Bottled at “Natural Colour, unchill-filtered” from an un named distillery. On the nose there’s some good cocoa or dark chocolate right away or even chocolate covered cherries along with some good sweet malt notes. Hints of maple and crème brulèe and some really nice fruit or fruit cake. All very pleasant. The taste is quite big with some vague hints of green malt hidden in the background (reminds one of Dalmore), some good malt, moments of the cocoa and chocolate with the addition of the fruit however nothing dramatic jumps out. Some slight floral notes come visiting (heather or mint or even lavender?) Hard to say but the floral does add some character. So far so good. The finish is long and little fruity with once again some good malt and more of the chocolate. The malt really takes over after a while and is very nice.

Price unknown

Score 81 points

Aultmore 12yo 1997/2009 (46%, Chieftain’s Range, Medoc Finish)

The nose is mildly industrial at first followed by some nice pleasant sweet notes which arrive bearing warm lychee, citrus and marmalade. After some time in the glass some good wood notes also emerge (clove and varnish) but they are very subtle. The nose is very nice and happily some good malt pops into the picture a little late in the game but welcome none the less. The taste is a some what drier than anticipated with some cured unlit tobacco, a little leather, coconut matting, cedar and then some malt. The malt is consistent in arriving late which is some what consistent. The wood notes continue yet while they are ever present they are not over whelming; some sweetness in the form of rich sun dried raisins does make an appearance. The finish is more of the industrial and is very active, the wood notes as described with some malt and the raisins but a bit of a jumble. It’s quite long and even; the malt wins in the end. Oh! Spoken too soon; some green malt pops up at the last (slightly bitter) and a hint of smoke.

What part the Medoc plays is unknown; it all seems to work but confused at some junctures.

$68

Score 80 points

Glen Grant 13yo 1997/2010 (46%, Chieftain’s Range)

The absolute palest sample ever seen at Whisky Intelligence; not that it matters but it does stand out for the unusual lack of colour. On the nose there are some green notes right off along with some over ripe fruit (apples, pears etc) then some malt and slight hints of perfume emerge from the glass. Interestingly there are very vague hints of smoke which is intriguing. Improves with some time in the glass. The taste is much as described on the nose but more emphasis on the malt, some really good black pepper (I say, perhaps Sumatran?) and then green malt and chocolate. Again quite intriguing. All very good, a little bit of a tussle between the malt and the green malt notes but in the end they work well together. Hints of juniper. The finish is once again much as the nose and the taste however a little bit more of the pepper and some oak spice and hints of the smoke again. A medium long finish. After a minute or two the malt really becomes evident as does the smoke….

An enjoyable dram that has not suffered from a lack of colour at all (Let that be a lesson to you). A peated Glen Grant…mysterious.

$50

Score 84 points

Ardbeg 1998 12yo (46%, Chieftains’ Range)

The nose has some quite nice peat smoke backed by some cedar aromatics, bees wax, and very clean, indeed some brine, coal smoke and iodine plus a little chocolate? A little time in the glass brings out some really good earthy notes; images of Islay peat bogs swirl into the imagination, the peat smoke and earthiness is also complimented by a little lemon and creaminess. All very intoxicating. The taste is a little fragrant at first (some juniper and cedar- very much form the oak side of the house) this quickly morphs into the chocolate and the earthiness as previously observed on the nose. A little prickly in the mouth and lashings of peat reek; all very Ardbeg at it’s best. The finish is quite dry; like stuffing wads of cotton in your mouth along with the peat characteristics, the citrus and earthiness. Very long, warming and pleasant. Cold unbuttered toast and lashings of crunchy peated malt…blood oranges. Ah very complex…

Perfect for either a winter night by the fire or a cool summer night by the ocean, a very enjoyable dram.

$90

Score 89 points

Many thanks to Sam Filmus of Impex Beverages for the samples…apologies for the delay in posting these tasting notes.