LINDORES ABBEY DISTILLERY SIGNS EXCLUSIVE CASK SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH TORO ALBALÁ – Scotch Whisky News
LINDORES ABBEY DISTILLERY SIGNS EXCLUSIVE CASK SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH TORO ALBALÁ
The first of the Pedro Ximenez casks from Toro Albalá being filled by Martin Johnson, father of co-founder Helen McKenzie Smith, who is the same age as the 1937 cask credit: F.D Young Photography
The first of the Pedro Ximenez casks from Toro Albalá being filled by Martin Johnson, father of co-founder Helen McKenzie Smith, who is the same age as the 1937 cask credit: F.D Young Photography
Lindores Abbey Distillery announced today that it has secured an exclusive cask supply contract with Bodegas Toro Albalá in Montilla Moriles. Under the agreement, Lindores Abbey Distillery will have exclusive access to a wide range of ex-Bodega Butts for maturing and finishing their single malt.
The legendary Bodegas, perhaps most famous for its 1946 Don Convento which scored 100 points in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate guide, is seen as a perfect partner by Lindores Abbey Distillery founder, Drew McKenzie Smith.
“Toro Albalá and Lindores Abbey Distillery are the perfect match. Both are family-run companies that place an emphasis on producing the very finest product. We have been looking to form long-term agreements with the finest wine producers, and this is the first of these. You cannot do better than 100 Parker points, and we are sure that these casks, which are exclusively from PX, will be the perfect partner for our award-winning new make spirit.”
A team from Lindores will be visiting the Bodega in Montilla in October (travel restrictions permitting) to personally select and collect the further of the casks, some of which have lain in the Bodega for more than 70 years.
“We cannot wait to get some casks back over here and filled. Ex-Bodega Butts containing wines like the Don PX are so difficult to find nowadays, so we are thrilled,” Drew said.
Export Director for Toro Albalá Antonio Sorgato is equally enthusiastic. “To reach an agreement with Lindores is great. It’s a perfect arrangement for us. Being associated with Lindores Abbey Distillery and the abbey where whisky production in Scotland was first recorded is something special. We know the quality of our wines and really look forward to seeing how the casks will work in Scotland.”
The first single malt from Lindores Abbey Distillery, the spiritual home of Scotch whisky, will not be offered for public sale – the run of 1,494 bottles will be exclusively available through membership of the 1494 Society. The historic bottling will be launched in March 2021.
Notes
The first release from Lindores Abbey Distillery, the spiritual home of Scotch whisky, will be exclusively available through membership to the 1494 Society. Lifetime membership costs £500 and includes a numbered bottle of our first ever whisky release, priority access to all future numbered bottlings, lifetime free access to the distillery, a donation to the preservation of the Abbey ruins, a tree planted in your name in our Abbey orchards, and an exclusive invitation to the annual Bear Burning party.
Joining the 1494 Society means becoming part of the Lindores Abbey family and accompanying us on our journey to revive the spiritual home of Scotch whisky and celebrate Lindores’ primordial role in whisky history.
Only 1,494 Memberships to the 1494 Society are, and will ever be, available – once they are all spoken for, there will be no way to procure a bottle of the first release directly from Lindores Abbey Distillery. Only a fraction of membership places remain, and we expect these to be sold out by the time we release our first whisky in March.
