LAST ORDERS!

It’s a fine summers day here in Scotland and we’re looking forward to the big game tonight (June 22nd), MON THE SCOTS!!! We’re down to the last remaining bottles of our team of exclusive drams. They’ve received some exceptional feedback and accolades themselves so we will be toasting our team with one in hand tonight!

Our Tamdhu single cask is due to go live as our ‘Malt of the Moment’ in the coming days but we’d like to buy the first round and exclusively offer you, our mailing list members this discount ahead of the final whistle!*

To receive a £5.00 discount on our Tamdhu, just enter the code ‘monthescots‘ at checkout.

Grab your favourite while you still can.

BUY NOW

Slàinte

Abbey Whisky

Discover the best kept secret in Scotch: The Mortlach Range

Commonly referred to as ‘The Beast of Dufftown’, Mortlach Distillery was founded in 1823 in the heart of the Speyside, on a site previously occupied by illicit stills. Their signature 2.81 times distillation process, referred to simply as ‘The Way’, sounds a tad confusing but makes for a distinctive, bold spirit full of ‘meaty’ and ‘muscular’ character and they achieve this unique quality of spirit using six stills in a variety of shapes and sizes.

When it comes to maturation, American and European sherry casks pair perfectly with Mortlach’s robust spirit adding fruity and spicy complexity. The core range is bottled at 43.4% ABV which was the original bottling strength that their forebearers bottled Mortlach at as detailed in accounts from the early 1800s.

A spirit well known for its integral contribution to the illustrious Johnnie Walker blend, we are now lucky enough to enjoy Mortlach as a single malt in this fantastic range. Read on to explore the three expressions…

This 12-year-old single malt, dubbed ‘The Wee Witchie’, is an ode to Mortlach’s smallest yet most essential still which adds a characteristic to the spirit incomparable to anything else.

Matured in American and European oak ex-bourbon and sherry casks the nose begins with a light spice, dried fruits and rich toffee, giving way to a meaty palate of demerara sugar, dark chocolate, cherry jam and a wisp of tobacco.

Mortlach 12 Year Old
The Wee Witchie

£50.00

Dubbed the ‘Distiller’s Dram’, this 16-year-old Mortlach is an ode to the famous first bottling of this expression back in 1992. Maturation is exclusively in sherry casks to impart rich, fruity, and fragrant notes atop the bold complexity of Mortlach’s new make spirit.

On the nose begins a punch of earthy stewed dark fruits and warm baking spices. The palate is robust and coats the mouth with sweet dried apricots, honey and leathery spice with savoury elements and a lingering intensity to finish.

Mortlach 16 Year Old
Distiller’s Dram

£80.00

The 20-year-old Mortlach is the oldest in the current core range and is named ‘Cowie’s Blue Seal’ in tribute to one of the very first bottlings dating back to 1909. Alexander Cowie who took ownership from his father George in these early days of the distillery was a pioneer in advancing production at Mortlach and creating the legendary spirit we know today.

Matured exclusively in sherry casks this single malt is rich and palate clinging, with aromas of dried fruits, leather, and cedarwood. The palate is pleasantly oily with barbecue pork crackling, blackberries and cocoa nibs, and surprising brightness of citrus zing. A deep and complex finish ends with dark chocolate raisins and gentle liquorice.

Mortlach 20 Year Old
Cowie’s Blue Seal

£200.00

limited stocks…

Exclusive Apollo 9

The final remaining bottles from the series still available.

Caol Ila – “Oh Man That’s Great” – Apollo 8 – 10 Year Old

Strathmill – “Back Home. Almost” – Apollo 10 – 14 Year Old

Caol Ila – “The Eagle Has Landed” – Apollo 11 – 8 Year Old

Shop Apollo Exclusives

This range of bottles has a serious reputation to uphold. Affordable, cask strength, natural colour, non-chill filtered, limited release…but available.

Took me a while to find one of these, but here it is. I feel there is a small flaw in this whisky, the tinniest of tiny issues. That issue may be down to me personally and my lack of wine knowledge. Regardless, this is still a very, very good bottle of Glen Scotia. Something really worth tracking down and opening.

https://youtu.be/D7cSlbcqq4s

New Glencairn Pipette – the perfect partner

for the Glencairn Glass

Scottish crystal company, Glencairn Crystal Studio, creator of the world’s favourite whisky glass, the Glencairn Glass, is launching a new Glencairn Pipette this week for whisky-lovers to add a splash of water to their dram.

As makers of the world’s best-selling whisky glass, now selling over 3.5 million Glencairn Glasses around the world per year, the family run team at Glencairn Crystal know that adding water to whisky can enhance the flavours and aromas found in your favourite dram.

Over the years customers who enjoy a drop of water with their whisky have often told the Glencairn Crystal team that they would relish a pipette to match their Glencairn Glass. It is for this demand that the Glencairn Pipette has been carefully crafted to complement the Glencairn Glass.

The handblown glass Glencairn Pipette is designed to be the ideal length for the Glencairn Glass and holds 1ml of water. Weighted at the top with a beautiful miniature Glencairn Glass, the pipette is fashioned to be comfortable in the hand, whilst allowing better regulation of the amount of water added, with its precisely engineered control-aperture set within a wide bulb at the upper end.

Whether one adds water to whisky or not is up to individual whisky drinkers’ tastes, however many whisky lovers believe that adding water can ‘open up’ the aromas and flavours, dramatically altering and enhancing the taste – interestingly scientists in Sweden supported this with a study in 2017.*

Scott Davidson, Glencairn Crystal’s New Product Development Director, commented: “Our business is built on family values and we pride ourselves on our strong relationship with the Glencairn Glass community of followers. We are always open to feedback and new ideas and after listening to our customers, we are delighted to introduce the new Glencairn Pipette as the perfect partner to the Glencairn Glass. For those who love a splash of water with their whisky, our pipette will enable the drinker to add a little drop at a time and will prevent the risk of drowning their favourite dram with too much!”

The Glencairn Pipette costs £6 and is also available to buy in a set with a Glencairn Glass (£11) or in a set with both a Glencairn Glass and Glencairn Jug (£22) via the Glencairn Crystal online shop.

This year marks the 40^th birthday of Glencairn Crystal Studio.  Founded by Raymond Davidson in 1981, the company is not only synonymous with the famous Glencairn Glass, but has also become a world expert in the design, creation and manufacture of high-end crystal and glassware decanters, often for the worlds’ rarest and most exclusive spirits.

For further information about the new Glencairn Pipette please visit: www.glencairnpipette.com  and to learn more about Glencairn Crystal’s 40^th birthday and its most successful and pioneering decanters please visit: www.glencairn.co.uk/40th-birthday.

Notes:

The Glencairn Pipette:

• *Why whisky tastes better with water – study by scientists in Sweden. See link here
• For those new to using a pipette, simply dip it into a glass or jug of water, cover the tiny hole at the top to hold the water inside and then gradually uncover the hole to release one drop at a time into your whisky.
• The Glencairn Pipette can be personalised but only on a minimum order quantity of 5000.

About Glencairn Crystal:

• The Glencairn Glass, created in 2000 is the world’s favourite whisky glass.  Glencairn Crystal now make over 3.5 million Glencairn Glasses per year, across hundreds of brands, distributed to over 140 countries worldwide.
• The company has won three Queen’s Awards – one of the highest awards in British business – starting with the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2006 for the Glencairn whisky glass and then the Queens Award for Enterprise in 2012 and 2017.
• Glencairn Crystal’s clients include leading drinks companies such as Brown-Forman, Diageo and Pernod Ricard as well as sporting organisations including the world famous premier clubs; Liverpool, Celtic and Rangers. Also organisations including Muller, Cunard, Facebook and Google, plus corporate clients including the Houses of Parliament and Scottish Parliament.

The online Diploma in Single Malt Whisky is here

After many months of preparation and a hugely enjoyable run-through with our pilot group, we’re delighted to announce that the course is available to buy. You can now earn your SQA-certified whisky diploma – our highest award – from the comfort of your own home. Over three weeks, you’ll discover a world of knowledge from the in-depth material, allowing you to better appreciate your favourite drams and get more from every drop. 

READ MORE 

GORDON AND MACPHAIL

One of the largest and oldest Independent Bottlers in the world, Gordon and MacPhail have a selection of whiskies that are the envy of most in the trade. We are delighted to have some of their unique bottles available from the Connoisseur’s Choice and Distillery Label ranges. Offering a wide choice of whiskies from a range of distilleries and cask finishes at great prices, they are certainly worth a look if you are wanting something with a difference.

K&L Exclusive: Unbeatable Pricing on a Sublime, Age-Stated Scotch

1997 Hector Macbeth (Glenfiddich) 23 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel

Cask Strength Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Pre-Arrival) ($129.99)

In yet one more stroke of inspired wheeling and dealing, our spirits buyers have managed to secure another rare cask of sublime, aged malt from the much-beloved Hector Macbeth label. This 23 Year Old follows in the footsteps of other stupendous offers from this bottler and is a slightly deeper and richer expression of the same incredible Glenfiddich juice that made up the previous bottlings. For our Scotch aficionados who got in on those whiskies while supplies lasted, they know just what’s in store for them here. While you’d expect to splash out a couple hundred dollars (at least) for such an age-stated single malt bottling under the marquee label for which it was originally distilled, you can get your hands on the same spirit for just over the century mark from Hector Macbeth. Countless whisky fans have discovered the joy (and incredible bargains) that these “teaspooned” malts bring to the table, and this one is no different. We’ve taken in a painfully small quantity, so anyone looking to score a well-aged Scotch at a steal needs to act with utmost urgency before supplies disappear.

*This item is expected to arrive for pickup or delivery by late summer 2021

1997 Hector Macbeth (Glenfiddich) 23 Year Old “Hepburn’s Choice” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Cask Strength Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Pre-Arrival) ($129.99)

We’ve had a consistent run of excellent casks under the Hector Macbeth brand over the last few years. This lot of ’97 teaspooned hogsheads from the Glenfiddich distillery have been consistently exceptional. Many people loved last year’s expression, which had spent over three years in an old sherry barrel, but others missed the purity and malty complexity of the unadulterated Wardhead that we’d bottled each of the previous two campaigns. Those whiskies, sold to our bottler under the Wardhead brand, were all distilled in February of 1997 and declassified by the distiller to be sold off to blenders. The Scotch industry is full of these unusual quirks and part of the industry’s charm is the complicated relationships between various distillers, blenders and bottlers. In the end, even a great brand like Glenfiddich, the world’s best selling single malt, needs occasionally to generate cash flow in the moment. That’s why they’re willing to sell off tankers of their prized spirit under a different name, but we don’t really care what it’s called or that it’s listed as blended malt. All that matters to us is that it’s absolutely delicious. This bottling has a similar profile to previous casks in this lot, but here with more depth and richness. Expect orchard fruit, sweet malt, honeysuckle and pink peppercorn. Delicious and complex with a vivid delineated fruit that seems to be a hallmark of these gorgeous old ‘Fiddichs.

Exclusive to Global Travel Retail, explore a collection that fuses the passion behind The Macallan whisky making with innovative art, music and culture.

EXPLORE THE SERIES

The Macallan Distillery Experience, The Macallan Distillers Ltd, Easter Elchies,

Craigellachie, Moray AB38 9RX, Scotland, +44 (0)1340 318 000

Diageo becomes first ever official spirits sponsor of the National Football League

The multiyear sponsorship will include brand-specific programming throughout the NFL calendar