Extremely Limited Mature Scotch Exclusives at K&L California – Scotch Whisky News
Limited-Edition, One-of-a-Kind World-Class Whiskies
Featuring bottlings from Ardmore, Bunnahabhain, Tomatin, Tormore, and Tullibardine
Today’s offer represents the rarest of the rare in the world of Scotch. These mature, ultra-limited bottlings will easily provide a centerpiece to any collection rich in the best of whisky. Coming in both 700ml and 750ml sizes, the complexity and power across the board is unmatched, as these K&L exclusive single casks have been selected among many as the finest their respective distilleries have to present. Only a handful of bottles of each are available for the world, and you’re seeing them here first. We recommend swift action to secure your allocation on pre-arrival, as once these whiskies are gone, they’re gone for good.
* Please note that some of these rare spirits items are offered in our regular 750ml format, while others are bottled in 700ml format. These items are on pre-arrival, ready for pickup or delivery in late summer 2021. Please refer to each individual product page for more detail.
Tomatin is a fascinating distillery with a unique history and many incarnations, from starting as a bulk blender and supplier and eventually shifting to a steadfast focus on quality single malt production. From the early 1900s through the mid ’70s, Tomatin grew continuously. They added stills multiple times as demand for their product increased exponentially. By 1975, they were the largest single malt production facility in Scotland. Sadly due to market forces they never operated at their full capacity, and by the mid ’80s the massive bust in the market for Scotch was impossible to ignore. Tomatin was liquidated and became the first of many Scottish distilleries to be purchased by Japanese companies. Today owned by the company known as Takara Shuzo, Tomatin has many bottlings on the market, but it is the choicest single casks that command the most attention. Here we have an incredible single cask of sherry-finished Tomatin 25 Year Old at a natural strength of 49.3% ABV. Expect a great value single malt with tropical and stone fruits in abundance, melded with sherry spice and orange peel dipped in chocolate.
Tullibardine sits in Blackford not far north of the border between Highlands and Lowlands. Historically, it produced a nutty malt that was generally filled into tired casks and sold off for blending. Their lack of a strong wood management program meant that single casks were a crapshoot. If you managed to get a great one, you could have a phenomenal spirit. If the cask was past its prime, the whisky was nothing to write home about. In 1994, the distillery was shut down. It wasn’t until new ownership took over in 2003 that the distillery reopened and saw a huge influx of new casks. They also tweaked the spirit for a more high-toned fruit profile. While the results from this change have been excellent, it is the older, nuttier style that, if aged properly in a quality cask, really is a treat. This 31-year-old beauty comes from 1989, before the shutdown, and was filled into a quality sherry butt. The combination is an over-the-top nutty richness, dusty cocoa, and spices mixed with sun dried fruits.
Only 60 bottles will be available of this intriguing, old Highland peater. Distilled in April 1998 and bottled in 2019 at 50.2% ABV without dilution or chill filtration, the Platinum Selection represents the very best of what Hunter Laing has to offer. These casks are the bottler’s finest stocks and are selected not only for their exquisite rarity but also their unbelievable quality. Built in 1898 by William Teacher, the Ardmore Distillery is one of the Highlands’ best kept secrets, offering only an extremely limited selection bottled by the distillery, and the Ardmore malt remains a key component in the popular Teacher’s Highland Cream, which may be why they’ve neglected to market the wonderful peated Highlander beyond the current limited offerings. This very old barrel offers an incredible expression of old-school Highland malt with deep coal smoke, cured leather, wild honey, and tart red fruit. Just perfect at nearly 100 proof, it needs no water to open but could use some air to develop fully in the glass. Despite the high quality and limited availability, the price is extremely reasonable, and it should be given some serious consideration by any lover of old peated whisky.
This lovely Oloroso Sherry butt from the Tormore Distillery was distilled in May of 1988 and bottled in 2019. A sister to the wonderful barrel we purchased last year, this time bottled in 700ml, it represents one of the best values in old, sherried malt available in Scotland today. The Tormore Distillery and its iconic copper roof is one of Speyside’s newer distillers. Built in 1958, great care was taken with the design of the exterior, unlike at other distilleries of the period. The distillery was expanded in 1984 and can produce upward of 3.7 million liters of alcohol per year. Nonetheless, it’s extremely rare to find Tormore of any age in the U.S. The relatively short and wide stills give a rich and textured spirit that lends itself nicely to sherry aging. Bottled at natural cask strength of 49.1% ABV and without chill filtration, only 60 bottles of this exceptional cask are available in the U.S. exclusively at K&L Wine Merchants. As described by the bottler, “This amber coloured whisky matured in an Oloroso sherry butt has lashings of hazelnuts, coffee, chocolate and tobacco on the nose. Spicy and nutty on the palate with a touch of toffee leading to a long, rich, peppery finish.”
This stupendous old Bunnahabhain is as complex and delicious as it is rare. Of course, any Islay whisky that’s made it to the 30-year mark will command an extremely high price, but considering where the distillery’s own 25-year is priced these days, we felt this single cask offered significant value. Distilled in 1987 and bottled at a natural cask strength of 48.4% ABV.
Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA
