WhistlePig 100% Amburana – exclusive to The Whisky Exchange

It’s not every day I try a whiskey that stops me dead in my tracks. It happens even less often to our head buyer Dawn Davies. She’s dedicated her life to tasting interesting things, and when she tells you that you need to try something, you listen to what she says. The most recent thing that it happened with? WhistlePig Amburana.

What is amburana?

When it comes to types of wood used to make whisk(e)y, it pretty much starts and stops with oak. You get the occasional chestnut cask, or tales of weird and wonderful things hiding in warehouses around the world, but most spirit sees the inside of an oak cask or two, and nothing else.

In the world of cachaça it’s much more likely that you’ll see other wood used. Still far from common, as cachaça is normally unaged, but when it comes to ageing Brazil’s national spirit they like to use something they can find locally – step forward amburana, a tree that grows across Latin America.

Outside of cachaça, there are a few other amburana experiments, with a handful of rums and beers now using the wood to add something a little different to their make-up. But, as far as we know, WhistlePig are the first people to use it to age whiskey, and they’ve not done it often – thanks to some detective work by the British Bourbon Society‘s Andrew Watson, we’ve found two other releases, both only available in the USA and both sold out.

What does amburana do to flavour?

The key flavour that amburana brings to the party is tonka, a bean with a complex character that brings together vanilla, cinnamon and coconut in a big, perfumed combination.

While tonka is a favourite tasting note of whisky fans around the world, it’s usually just used as a synonym for vanilla – a crime I am occasionally guilty of committing. After sniffing our WhistlePig Amburana, it’s an offense I will no longer perpetrating – there’s a lot more to tonka than vanilla.

Our WhistlePig Amburana

At the Whisky Show back in 2018, there was a mysterious sample floating around. WhistlePig’s Daniel Khan was pouring it for other exhibitors and the occasional adventurous guest, and word spread quickly. It came around to me and I was sold – it was  totally unlike anything else I’d ever tried. TWE buyer Dawn tried it and quickly did some buying: we secured a few casks to be bottled specially for us.

Jump forward a few months and it’s now here.

The whiskey started out at MGP Ingredients in Indiana, made using the distillery’s 95% rye/5% malted barley recipe that is the base for many of the great American ryes available today. It was matured in new 200-litre American-oak barrels – medium/long toast and char 3. While the label says 12 years, it was actually 13-and-a-half years before the folks at WhistlePig decided to add their own twist to it.

They sourced new amburana casks from the Kentucky branch of the Speyside Cooperage and filled them with the now-mature rye for just ten days. That’s all it took to turn the whiskey from being a classic MGP rye into the complex beast it now is.

WhistlePig Old World Cask Finish Rye 100% Amburana

Nose: Fragrant wood, with coconut, real tonka bean, glacé cherry, mint fondant, pine resin, fresh cut grass, butter-icing and sultana-studded fairy cakes all popping up. Cherry Bakewells, minty spongecakes and a freshly mown field.

Palate: More coconut starts us off: Lamingtons and milk-chocolate Bounty bars. Mint and toasted spice builds through the centre, followed by creamy sweetness and a touch of balancing green grassiness. Darker notes of brown sugar and treacle hide at the bottom.

Finish: Grassy notes fade to leave chocolate, creamy coffee, coconut and green apples.

Buy now >

It’s one of the most unique whiskies I’ve ever tried – there is simply nothing else like it. At its heart, it’s still a great, spicy rye whiskey, but the layers of flavour on top of that add another dimension that I’m still trying to wrap my head around. It’s not for everyone, but if you want to explore the edges of the world of whiskey, this is one for you – we’ll have Perfect Measure samples arriving soon.

Now to go and find some Avua Cachaça Amburana and continue my investigation…

The Whisky Exchange exclusive WhistlePig 100% Amburana is now available from our London shops and online.

Tonka bean image is from Wikipedia user Mecredis and is used under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Visit the brand new Whisky Shop website today!

We’ve been really busy since you’ve been away and redesigned The Whisky Shop website! As well as getting a brand new facelift you’ll find the new website much easier to navigate. Don’t worry, we still have the same fantastic selection of whiskies from new releases, exclusives, old & rare, customer favourites and everything in between!

Take a look today!

BUY NOW

GlenDronach Parliament

Our Malt of the Month for May is the magnificent GlenDronach Parliament. Matured in a combination of the finest Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for a minimum of 21 years, this fine Highland dram has won numerous accolades, including a Gold Medal at the San Fransisco World Spirits Competition…

Available at Abbey Whisky for only £105!

*Limited stock at this price*

With May First Friday and festival fever just around the corner, click over to our website now to browse the new Outturn ahead of the release. This month we’re celebrating our wonderfully unique whisky with all 12 flavour profiles making an appearance, including two special festival bottlings. Don’t miss out, GO…

Our new collection of colourful characters is available on Friday, 3 May at 9am.

PREVIEWS        READ OUTTURN

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Liz, Paul & Charlie

Why is our whisky blog called the ANGEL’S BLOG?

Named after a few things really, the angel’s share; the amount of alcohol (whisky) that is lost to evaporation when the liquid is being aged in oak barrels. Up to 2% (in Scotland) of the volume of the cask can be lost each year through evaporation, called the angel’s share. Paul’s dad; he has been an angel for some 60 years or so, liked a dram when he was with us (I was told by my Uncle Harry) and I believe he is still taking his share in that distillery in the sky. No, not Heaven Hill, that is American and worldly, the other heavenly distillery with a unique membership policy. Our Paul; he writes almost all of the whisky blogs, with a few being from friends around the whisky world now and then. Club Patron (It did used to be a club) is another Maclean, this time of the Charlie variety; Charles Maclean. We know Charlie well (cousin) early on Paul (McLean) asked Charlie did he wish to become a club member, his reply; Yes, I will be your Club Patron.  And so it came to pass … you can find him here; https://whiskytours.scot/charlie

Our blogs https://whiskytours.scot/blog are a blend of interviews, product launches and information, stories and observations, many of which are Paul’s views, good or bad, Paul is no literary giant, mostly he struggles with grammar etc, so Liz often amends his work. He writes as if he is talking to you, we have had so many people on tour and email, saying they prefer it this way, so – he carries on! This is quite ironic when he numbers amongst his friends authors Charlie Maclean and Ingvar Ronde – who DO write whisky books (Very well). Not only does he continually write these whisky blogs (and whiskey blogs), but also does every blog for our McLeanScotland web; http://mcleanscotland.com At the top of this blog you will see an angel reading a whisky book … or is it Paul’s blog?

So, if you like this drivel he writes, carry on logging in every week, as Liz will place another online, sometimes monthly when he is away on tour. Afraid there is no stopping him, maybe it’s something to do with being a west coast child of Scottish/Irish blend? They do tend to chat a bit.

BrewDog, Compass Box, Duncan Taylor and Zuidam have huddled together to release a new range of ‘boilermaker’ whiskies. The launch has been timed to coincide with the renaming of the brewery’s LoneWolf distillery as BrewDog distillery. The three whiskies in the new series have been created to bespoke recipes designed to pair with BrewDog’s beers as a boilermaker or hauf and hauf serve. Transistor, a blended Scotch by Compass Box’s John Glaser, is designed to partner with BrewDog’s flagship beer, Punk IPA. A blend, the whisky contains a ‘good proportion’ of grain from Cameronbridge, as well as malts from Linkwood, Teaninich, Dailuaine and Clynelish, with some maturation in French oak? Bottled at 43% abv, described as ‘pineapple, orange and lychee’ notes, with a sweetness that is cut through by the ‘spiky, tropical, hoppy bitter notes of the beer’. Who writes these notes?

Torpedo Tulip is a 100% rye whisky from Millstone, made at the Netherlands’ Zuidam distillery. Matured exclusively in ex-oloroso Sherry casks and bottled at 46% abv, the whisky is described as ‘rich stone fruit’ and ‘underlying spice’, and has been chosen to pair with BrewDog’s American pale ale, Dead Pony Club.

Skeleton Key is a blended Scotch whisky created in collaboration with Duncan Taylor to pair with BrewDog’s Jet Black Heart stout or Zombie Cake porter. Containing a proportion of peated Bunnahabhain and a high ration of single malt, including whisky from Glentauchers distillery, Skeleton Key (46% abv) is described as having ‘bold, maritime and peat smoke aromas’ which pair with the chocolate and coffee notes in the beers.

All three no-age-statement expressions are available to purchase in all BrewDog bars as well as through its online retail site for £52 for a 70cl bottle – a wee bit high if you ask me. The brewery recently appointed ex-Johnnie Walker boss David Gates as its managing director of BrewDog Distilling Co., the company’s spirits arm. BrewDog opened its own distillery at its Ellon site in 2016, and following years of barley, yeast, distillation and maturation trials, has now settled on a recipe for its flagship single malt. Now known as BrewDog distillery, the site is set up to produce a number of spirits, including vodka and gin. The LoneWolf brand will continue to be used for BrewDog’s gin. How will Diageo etc react to this news re their drams?  Paul McLean, Perth.

A personal blether from Paul McLean. www.whiskytours.scot

Glenfarclas 2019 Events Calendar

For more information about any of the below events, please contact info@glenfarclas.com

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, 1st – 6th May 

Robbie Drams Festival, Ayr  Town Hall, Ayrshire Scotland, 1st June

Whisky Fringe, Royal Mile Whiskies, Edinburgh Scotland, 9th – 11th August

Whisky Social, Waterfront Hall Belfast, 14th September

Whisky Exchange, Old Billingsgate, London, 28th – 29th September

The Wee Dram Festival, Bakewell, Derbyshire, 19th October

Whisky Live, The Printworks, Dublin, 22nd – 23rd November

Glasgow Whisky Festival, Hampden Park Glasgow, 9th November

After an astonishing 46 years service, mashman Alistair Miller has officially retired from Glenfarclas.  He is pictured here with John and Ishbel Grant, who presented him with gifts including a bottle of 1972 Family Cask (distilled just before he started with us) and a framed picture of the distillery.  Many thanks for all your years of hard work, Ali!

Keepers of the Quaich Spring 2019 Banquet which was held at Blair Castle.

(In the picture on the left – Shareen Yew of Single Malt Sdn Bhd, with her husband, Ben Lip and in the picture on the right George Grant of Glenfarclas, Michael Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail, Ian McWilliam of Glenfarclas)

Sunday, 3rd March saw the official “handing over” of a special 3 litre Glenfarclas bottle which John Grant donated to the CairnGorms Branch of The Gillies Club (Australia).  The bottle will be the perpetual trophy for the ‘Norman Case Whisky Of The Year Award’.

Norman Case was the first person to import Glenfarclas to Australia, so it was our honour to contribute to this memorial award in his name.

A Bucket-List Bourbon from the Folks at Heaven Hill
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof “Batch C918” Bourbon ($59.99)

Since its inaugural release back in 2013, Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof has grown into an easy favorite among collectors. But collectors weren’t the only ones thrilled with this very special bottling, as the previous release earned Whisky Advocate’s top title of “Whisky of the Year.” “Batch C918” very much follows in this tradition of excellence. A seductive mélange of sweet caramel, brown sugar, baking spice, pepper, and woodsy notes all work together in perfect harmony. Clocking in at 131.4 proof, this is no timid beast. Nonetheless, it is surprisingly approachable even without a splash of water. Coveted bourbon releases often are priced upwards of $100, as demand remains at an all-time high. So it’s nothing short of remarkable that we have it here for only $60. This coupled with its irresistible profile means our allocation won’t last long. For fans of bold, unbridled Kentucky bourbon, you can’t go wrong here.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof “Batch C918” Kentucky Bourbon (750ml) ($59.99)

93 points Whisky Advocate: “When complex spice meets complex caramel, it makes for a wonderful American whiskey experience. That’s exactly what happens here with a cadre of baking spices over fruit, such as cinnamon baked apples, nutmeg sprinkled over pears, and peaches dusted with clove, followed by butterscotch, vanilla custard, and crème brûlée. The balanced and brilliant finish stays true to its complexity. (FM, Spring 2018)”

K&L Notes: The exceptional full strength version of Elijah Craig has become one of the most well regarded new releases in years. Luckily they’ve been able to offer it at a very reasonable price and while it continues to be allocated, it is not as elusive as some of the other high proof limited releases on the market today. An exceptional bottle that should be on most whiskey lovers’ bucket lists.