Double distilled Irish single malt? Not words you hear together alot. However, between the folks at Cooley Distillery – they’ve made this style a more welcome and somewhat traditional approach to the modern Irish style. Bourbon, Oloroso and Moscstel wine casks unite together for this wonderfully juicy and summer driven style of fruity Irish style, a personal favourite. Cheers!
PLANNING PERMISSION SECURED FOR SCOTLAND’S NORTHERNMOST MAINLAND WHISKY DISTILLERY
Local husband and wife team behind new micro-distillery set for John O’Groats
A new micro Scotch whisky distillery is set to open in John O’Groats in 2021, following planning permission secured yesterday (2 March 2020) for a 32,670 square foot site which will house a distillery, visitor centre and bonded warehouse.
The micro-distillery will become Scotland’s most northernly mainland whisky distillery, thanks to its location near to the coastline of John O’Groats. The ‘end of the line’ distillery will have the capacity to produce up to 60,000 litres of whisky each year and will be the first Scotch whisky distillery in John O’Groats since 1837¹.
The distillery is the brainchild of local husband and wife team Derek and Kerry Campbell and to help bring their vision to life £198,000 of funding has been secured from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Situated in the heart of the area on a disused plot adjacent to the main car park, alongside producing whisky the venture will also offer a new visitor attraction to tourists and provide those travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats with an opportunity to toast their journey with a dram of Scotch whisky. It is estimated that six new jobs will be created during the first year, including a Master Whisky Maker and Visitor Centre Manager.
The new distillery and visitor centre will encompass one large building which has been designed to showcase the two copper stills and traditional whisky making process, while making the most of the fantastic views across the Pentland Firth through large glass windows placed along the front of the building. A 1,500 square foot dunnage warehouse will also be built on the site to mature and store the Highland spirit.
Founder Kerry Campbell said: “With a longstanding interest in the whisky industry, I began to truly appreciate quality Scotch whisky around 12 years ago and since then have developed a growing passion for Scotland’s national drink. After many conversations with my husband around the idea of building our own distillery and creating our own whisky, I’m delighted that we are now one step closer to making these plans a reality having secured planning permission on our dream site at John O’Groats.
“We believe the whisky we will produce will be unlike that from any other distillery, due to our coastal location in John O’Groats and the impact the local climate will have on our spirit as it matures. With traditional methods at the heart of our plans and an ambition to showcase whisky distilling in John O’Groats to the world, we are looking forward to opening the doors to our micro-distillery in due course.
“The support we have received from the local community and business owners to date has been fantastic and we can’t wait to welcome them to our distillery in 2021.”
Commenting on the funding provided by HIE, Keith Muir, HIE’s head of business growth for Caithness and Sutherland, said: “Tourism and food and drink are two key industries in Caithness, and this project features both. As well as producing a brand-new whisky, it will enhance the area’s wider visitor offering, notably around the North Coast 500. All of this encourages visitors to stay in the area longer, which benefits all local businesses and communities.
“We particularly welcome the improvement it will make to the look and feel of the John O’Groats end of the road attraction, in bringing a long disused site back into productive use. We are very pleased to support this venture and look forward to seeing it taking shape.”
Andrew Mowat, manager at the Seaview Hotel in John O’Groats, added: “The development of the new distillery and visitor centre is really exciting for the area and is another great example of the ongoing development of John O’Groats.
“It will complement the plans for the mill and brewery in the area. It will also help increase dwell time in John O’Groats, attract more visitors, increase employment and utilise a currently undeveloped site.
“We are now getting closer to achieving our aim of making John O’Groats a world class destination, with the community trusts and business community working hand in to realise this goal.”
Work on the distillery is due to begin in summer 2020, with the aim of opening the visitor centre to the public in summer 2021.
Notes
Records from the National Archive of Scotland show that a whisky distillery founded by James Sutherland and John Gibson in 1826 operated in John O’Groats until 1837.
It’s been an incredibly busy start to 2020 at the Academy. Next week, we return to Arniston House to host our first diploma courses of the year. Having recently expanded our team and launched a new website, we continue to go from strength to strength both in Scotland and abroad.
Below, you can read about our new partnership with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, two new online modules (Focus on Flavour & Introduction to the Olfactory System) and what candidates – from New Zealand, Germany and the United States – have been saying about the Introduction to Whisky Certificate.
Excitingly, we’ve also secured a place on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme. Clear recognition of our growth potential and passion for taking whisky education further, faster.
#PowerUp 🚀
We’re delighted to team up with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society to train their staff in the fundamentals of Scotch Whisky. The partnership will see us deliver a bespoke training package that mixes online material together with two Diploma in the Art of Tasting Whisky courses, recognising the importance of practical sensory skills alongside theory. Additionally, we look forward to hosting a special Diploma in Single Malt Whisky at the Vaults in August, open to all whisky fans. More details coming soon.
Friday, March 13th, 5-7PM
Scotch Tasting: Bruichladdich
Trickle Distilled from 100% Scottish Barley, Bruichladdich distillery’s methods date back to the 19th century – including some of the original Victorian machinery still used today. The process is both time and labor-intensive, but the results are well worth it.
(or email us at info@whiskyshopusa.com)
The follow up to the award winning GlenDronach Whisky Shop single casks has arrived. Don’t miss out, this beauty won’t be around for long!
Free UK delivery on all orders over £99 for a limited time
This single cask expression from Speyside’s GlenDronach distillery has been specially selected and bottled for The Whisky Shop. Distilled in June 1992 and matured in a single Oloroso sherry butt for almost three decades, this expression was bottled in 2020 at a natural casks strength of 58.4% abv, producing just 304 individually numbered bottles.
Welcome to this week’s episode of the show. This episode is dedicated to the Mackmyra Reserve cask programme, which allows the general public to purchase their own small 30 litre cask. These samples give you an idea of what happens to the spirit in these small casks and when you should bottle them.
Limited-edition Glenfarclas Pagoda Ruby Reserve released in
Glencairn Crystal decanters embellished with rubies
Glenfarclas has globally released it’s much awaited limited-edition Pagoda Ruby Reserve. The distillery’s oldest whisky released to date has been aged for 62 years and is beautifully presented in a stunning Glencairn decanter featuring hand-mounted precious rubies.
The Glenfarclas Pagoda Ruby Reserve joins the critically acclaimed Pagoda Reserve Trilogy, that comprises extremely rare whiskies aged 43, 48 and 59 years old. A further addition to the Pagoda Reserve Series will be released later this year with the Pagoda Sapphire Reserve 63 years old.
The Ruby Reserve is available in two editions:
Prices range from £22,716 (ex VAT) for the Limited Edition Silver 700 ml decanters, to £53,546 (ex VAT) for the Collector’s Edition Gold magnum decanters (1.5 litres)
Scottish family business, Glencairn Crystal, specially created these luxury decanters to contain the rare whiskies for the Pagoda Reserve Series produced from the highest quality hand blown 30% lead crystal, renowned for its ultra-clarity.
The Pagoda Ruby Reserve decanter is a showcase of Glencairn’s bespoke craftsmanship, as their first decanter ever to encase hand-mounted precious gemstones. The front age statement features 34 hand-picked and colour matched rubies to construct the number 62, to highlight the significance of the age of the whisky.
The sides of the decanter feature Chinese Guardian Lions in a carefully selected deep red to compliment the red crystal Pagoda shaped stopper. The solid silver and gold plated collars of the two editions are both individually numbered and infilled with a unique design and the Pagoda top is also engraved representing the Silk Road. The total effect is to provide flowing movement across the decanter from base to top.
With exceptional attention to detail from the outset, The Glenfarclas Pagoda Reserve Series features some of the most exclusive whiskies ever to reach the market. George Grant Glenfarclas Distillery Director (6th Generation) along with Scotland’s Ambassador to whisky in China and Keeper of The Quaich, Stephen Notman, carefully selected the very finest, super premium timeless casks. Distilled in three iconic whisky making decades of the last century, each special vintage predates the 1972 decommissioning of the famous Pagoda shaped kiln at Glenfarclas.
Glencairn Crystal was commissioned to produce its finest crystal cut decanters to house these exquisite whiskies. Finished with valuable gemstones and precious metals, each decanter is a work of art and embraces the pagoda symbol of Scottish whisky production and the quality and rarity of the whiskies within.
George Grant of Glenfarclas Distillery commented: “I take great pleasure in releasing this extremely rare 1954, single sherry butt cask 62 year old. The Glenfarclas Pagoda Ruby Reserve is a rare piece of Scotch whisky heritage and one of the oldest whiskies on the market today”.
Scott Davidson, Glencairn’s New Product Development Director, commented: “It has been an honour to create some of our finest ever decanters to pay homage to and celebrate the exceptional whiskies in the Glenfarclas Pagoda Reserve Series. We’re especially proud of the Ruby Reserve decanter as it has enabled us to showcase the talent of our craftspeople, some of whom have over 30 years experience in working with crystal. It has been a huge developmental project for us in aspects such as developing the tall, intricate, magnetic Pagoda top and a first for us in using precious rubies to embellish the decanter. We look forward to revealing the Pagoda Sapphire Reserve decanter to the whisky world alongside Glenfarclas later in the year.”
For further information visit
www.glenfarclaspagodaseries.com and www.glencairn.co.uk
Notes:
About Glencairn Crystal:
About Glenfarclas:
Irish Whiskey? Got it!
If you’re not into the green beer, we got whiskey just for you! Come shop our selection and maybe grab some Guniess to go with.
Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Nth Ultimate
Whisky and Spirits Experience.
The Universal Whisky Experience presents to you the Nth 2020, the World’s Premier Luxury Whisky and Spirits Experience. Hosted at The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, this master event showcases the best brands of both whiskies and spirits from all over the world. We are the only event in the world where you get to sample the most premium, rare, unique and expensive whiskies and spirits from all the major houses worldwide.
Celebrating a milestone year with its 10th Anniversary celebrations at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, you will find an experience to deliciously overwhelm your tasting senses. Indulge in exceptional whisky tasting opportunities, mingle with master distillers, blenders and mixologists and learn more about the whisky and spirits world in the most unique event of its kind.
Universal Whisky Experience and the Nth –founded By Mahesh Patel back in 2011 is excited to bring this event to Wynn Las Vegas as a reflection of the past 10 years and the amazing journey it has been for us all. Showcasing some of the world’s Most Expensive Bottles, Unique Master Classes, Luxurious settings and meeting new great friends. The Nth 2020 Experience will be the start to a new revolution in Whisky and Spirits Tasting around the globe.
Matured and hand -selected by the Urquhart family, owners of G&M. Exceptional singe cask whiskies from some of Scotland’s most famous, lost or lesser explored distilleries. Rare, vintage exceptional Scotch whisky.
