Heavenly new single casks just in from Chorlton Whisky!

A delightful summer dram from Glenburgie, a peaty, well aged Knockdhu and a Campbeltown blend containing Glen Scotia and Springbank – to round things off we’ve also added a superb and nicely aged Orkney dram, that’s apparently not Scapa, so could be the other one? – who knows!?

Available now for immediate dispatch.

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Glenrothes 25 Year Old

Matured in a high proportion of first-fill sherry casks, The Glenrothes 25 Year Old is bottled at 43% abv and at natural colour.

Hamish Says…

£650.00

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NEW IN AT
THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

Find your next favourite whisky in our latest influx of new arrivals. We’ve welcomed a wide selection of independently bottled single malts from Signatory Vintage, North Star and Mossburn, including great value expressions from seldom seen distilleries such as Linkwood and Ben Nevis.

Plus, we’ve added a 12-year-old Glenallachie finished in Sauternes casks, a trio of 5-year-old single malts from Isle of Raasay separately matured in Chinkapin oak, Bordeaux red wine and American rye casks!

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Elijah Craig Launches Toasted Rye Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

New expression finished in custom toasted new oak barrels adds sweet complexity to Elijah Craig Straight Rye’s unique spice

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (July 2024) – Elijah Craig, a leading family of premium American Whiskeys, today announced the launch of Elijah Craig Toasted Rye. In 1789, Elijah Craig was the first to char oak barrels to make Bourbon, leading to him being credited as the ‘Father of Bourbon’. The newest expression continues this tradition of barrel innovation and as a result, adds complex layers of soft and creamy milk chocolate to the characteristic spice notes of Elijah Craig Straight Rye.

The process begins with fully matured Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, which is dumped and then re-entered at barrel proof into a second, custom toasted new oak barrel designed in partnership with Independent Stave Company. The toast on these secondary barrels is unique to Elijah Craig Toasted Rye. At the end of the nearly hour long toasting process, a cap is placed on the barrel to quickly ramp up the heat to an extremely high temperature allowing phenols to embed in the surface of the barrel for an added element of smoke to complement the spice and sweetness of the Rye. Unlike many other finished whiskeys, this whiskey retains its status as a Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey because the second finishing barrel is both new and charred.

Elijah Craig Toasted Rye leads with an aroma of toasted oak, crème brûlée, almond and hazelnut. Notes of milk chocolate and subtle baking spices fill the palate, while a creamy mouthfeel begins to take shape. The finish is soft and warm with lingering, drawn-out spices.

“From the moment our tasting panel tried Elijah Craig Toasted Rye through our ongoing innovation process, we knew this expression was going to be special,” said Elijah Craig Group Product Director Max Stefka. “The custom toasted barrel from our partners at Independent Stave Company takes an already world-class whiskey and adds in a dessert-like bouquet of flavors.“

Elijah Craig Toasted Rye is made as a traditional American Straight Rye Whiskey with 51% rye, 35% corn and 14% malted barley. This combination of grains, which relies heavily on corn as the secondary grain rather than a higher percentage of rye, has been the primary Rye mashbill used by Kentucky Bourbon distilleries since taking over nearly all American Rye production post-Prohibition. Allowing Elijah Craig Rye to rest for a finishing period in the secondary barrel adds the perfect amount of balance from the toast to the classic rye spice.

Each bottle of Elijah Craig Toasted Rye Whiskey will bear hints of softened dark green with the toasted rye designation prominently featured at the top of the label and decorated on the bottle. This highly allocated release will be available nationally by late July at a suggested retail price of $54.99. Elijah Craig Toasted Rye’s release comes four years after the launch of Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon, an offering also available at an SRP of $54.99 for fans of the brand across the country.

Elijah Craig has won numerous accolades for its various line extensions. Most recently, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C923, A124 and Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel received Double Platinum designation at the 2024 ASCOT Awards. In 2023, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B523 won a gold medal from Bartender Spirits Awards and the World’s Best Small Batch Bourbon and Best Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon at Whisky Magazine’s 2023 World Whiskies Awards. Whisky Advocate named Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B517 its 2017 “Whisky of the Year”.

ABOUT ELIJAH CRAIG BOURBON: Known as “The Father of Bourbon,” Elijah Craig is credited with being the first distiller to age his wares in charred oak barrels to make Bourbon. The clear, unaged corn whiskey became transformed into a bold amber liquid with a distinctively smooth flavor that makes Bourbon what it is today. Elijah Craig’s community impact continues through Elijah Craig Old Fashioned Week, providing total donations of more than $400,000 to date to organizations supporting the hospitality industry. Produced by Heaven Hill Distillery, the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and led distillery and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon, the Elijah Craig lineup includes: Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Elijah Craig’s accolades have included Whisky Advocate’s Whisky of the Year, Best Small Batch Bourbon and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and World’s Best Small Batch Bourbon and Best Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon at Whisky Magazine’s 2023 World Whiskies Awards. For more information, please visit www.elijahcraig.com.

FOUNDERS’ PRIVATE CELLAR – 17 YEAR OLD PORTUGUESE CABERNET SAUVIGNON

£295.00
55.3% ABV

Our Founder’s Private Cellar is an incredibly rare release – a bottling that only happens when a cask has exceeded our high expectations of rich character and depth. We are incredibly proud each time we release one of these exceptional casks from the cellar, a tradition started by our founder, James Nelstrop.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 17yr Old was distilled in 2007 and has quietly rested for 17 years. Whilst they were slow to develop in the early years, the resulting single malt from eth long wait is wonderful. Botted at cask strength, the full and wonderful work of our distillers and the cask shine through.

The nose: The wine creates aromas of dates, toffee and dark chocolate.
The palate: Red fruits, apples & brown sugar,
The finish: Full bodies, medium to long, dry finish.

Non-chill filtered. Natural colouring.

DR BILL LUMSDEN X AZUMA MAKOTO
23 YEARS OLD 

70cl | 46% ABV

This rich, elemental, and extraordinarily rare limited edition is born from a partnership between Glenmorangie’s Director of Whisky Creation, Dr Bill Lumsden, and Japanese botanical artist, Azuma Makoto.

With such a whisky in mind, Dr Bill first tasted Glenmorangie long aging in bourbon casks where he found scents of jasmine sprigs, lemon balsam, armfuls of orchids and peaches fresh from the tree. Then imagining how he would ground those flavours in the depths of deliciousness, Dr Bill picked out his first ever malt finished in Chardonnay white wine casks from Burgundy. Before 2006, such casks had never been used at Glenmorangie. That year, fascinated to discover how their wood might shape Glenmorangie, he had filled a small handful with aged whisky. Long finished in this way, his experimental casks revealed notes of burning oak bark, moss dampened by rainfall and the earthy scents of the forest floor.

£1049.95

TASTING NOTES:

NOSE: Rich, heady, pungent and fragrant. A burst of syrupy fruits (peach, pineapple, damson and plum), followed by some more savoury notes like burning oak bark, roasting chestnuts, baking sourdough and some hints of the forest floor. Water releases some herbal and floral notes with a touch of scented incense, aromatic orchids and even some grapey, vinous notes.

TASTE: Rich, sweet and fruity, with an almost waxy mouthfeel. There are flavours of lemon balsam, honeycomb, poached pears with a dusting of cocoa powder, followed by some gentle woody/balsamic notes.

FINISH: The aftertaste is lingering and mellow, with hints of eucalyptus, lemon and toasty oak.

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I generally try to avoid outturns at the height of the ‘summer’, but (as you may have surmised from the quotation marks indicating my disdain) it’s mostly been so oddly late-October-like this season that I think we can get away with it. All three of these new drams are pretty summery in their own way too.

So, without further ado…

First up we have an 18-year-old Knockdhu. There’s not a huge amount around from this distillery to start with, but this is their peated variety which is even more of a rare pleasure.

So, on the nose we start on that promised summery note with nectarine, tinned mandarin segments, bits of custard cream and trifle, and honey granola. It’s only after a second you start getting a sense of smouldering charcoal, coal tar and ointment, and an elusive savoury note (what is it? Onion bhaji? Potato rösti? Answers on a postcard please.)

The palate is sweet, creamy, and more directly peaty than you might think from the nose. I find malted vanilla shake, lemon meringue pie, and a general sense of honeyed maltiness. Balancing that are big clouds of peat smoke, touches of herbs and liquorice, and a lightly Laphroaig-y iodine-y medicinal note. The finish is really long and quite chewy.

This is fabulous stuff – squarely in that sort of Ledaig / Laphroaig space, but with its own distinct identity. A fun one to pour blind to a peat-loving friend!

This hogshead produced only 179 bottles at a cask strength of 58.9% and they are available for £115 each

Staying in Speyside, but otherwise a million miles away, we have a 14-year-old Glenburgie. One of the eternal contenders for the ‘most underrated distillery’ list I think.

Proper summer now, on the nose, with Campino strawberry and cream sweets (thanks to Matt and Beck at Hopscotch for pointing this out … now I can’t think of anything else!), some cool green foliage, a little hoppy ale, plus apple, peach and banana.

The palate is surprisingly malty and full-bodied, starting with butter candy with fruit (pineapple, citrus juices and zests, mango), and rosewater breaking through. The balance of richness and zestiness is really enjoyable, and leads into a malty and earthy finish with honey, peaches and a little peppermint in the aftertaste.

Brilliant laid-back summer drinking, this, and also a slightly sad farewell to one of the casks I’ve sat on the longest (I bought this in 2017!). The lady in blue on the label is also dispensing some epic side-eye, which I find quite endearing.

This hogshead produced only 149 bottles at a cask strength of 53.9% and they are available for £75 each.

And last up we have a 10-year-old Campbeltown Blended Malt. This is primarily Glen Scotia with a little bit of Springbank.

The nose starts with milk bottles sweets and sea air! There’s a lovely freshness, with pineapple and melon coming though, plus chalk, little medicinal touches, toffee and wintergreen. There’s a little bit of dirty Campbeltown funk deep down, if you go looking for it, and a bit of light smoke if you add water.

The palate has amazing body and texture: fat, oily, lemony, and coastal. Lemon toffee (is that a thing?), rosemary, hints of tinctures and bandages, leading into a salty finish with a wee bit of peat popping up in the background.

Super-clean, super-evocative and (if I may say) pretty great value for money.

This hogshead produced 323 bottles at a cask strength of 58.0% and they are available for £59.50 each.

And…

…that’s it for now. A diverse and entertaining little trio, I hope you’ll agree!

If you’re instead tempted by something older, I should mention that a discount code that is still in operation:  MANNOCHLESS for £5 off the 16-year-old oloroso Mannochmore from the last outturn.

Thanks as ever for your support, and do drop me a line with any questions or queries (no deep philosophical quandaries before noon though, please) or if I can be of assistance in any way. Otherwise I’ll see you back here for the autumn outturn.

Cheers!

David

The latest batches of The Hearach single malt whisky are now on sale!

You can secure your bottles of batches 13, 14, 15, and 16 through our online store and at the distillery shop here in Tarbert while stocks last.

You can also buy bottles from our network of specialist retailers and independent stores across the UK as well.

Many of our global friends can also find our island dram in their countries too.

We’re also delighted to share the tasting notes from these four new batches, each provided by our fellow islanders (including myself) who poured a preview dram and wrote their own thoughts on the found flavours and aromas earlier this week.

Le gach deagh dhùrachd,

Mike Donald, Chief Storyteller

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TRIPLE PRODUCT RELEASE

We are launching Whisky Sponges Edition 96 and 97 together as a pair of bottlings that celebrate two of our favourite and most beautiful Whisky islands: Islay and Jura. We wanted to find two examples such as these which were both unpeated and – most crucially – had both spent their entire lives maturing at their respective distilleries on their islands of origin. We spent quite a long time working on this mini project and searching for casks that ticked all these boxes. We are super happy with the results and have bottled both as they arrived, at natural cask strength.

WHISKY SPONGE ED.96 BRUICHLADDICH

The Bruichladdich is a 2005 1st fill barrel, it’s a wonderfully rich, creamy and powerfully maritime example. Waxy, peppery, robust, full-bodied and hugely characterful with loads of distillery and Island character.

WHISKY SPONGE ED.97 JURA

The Jura is a 1994 refill hogshead and it is classic, long-aged refill matured Jura, very complex, elegant, waxy, oily, mineral, herbal and coastal. Evocative and beautifully detailed old Island single malt.

These two bottlings represent the start of the final run of Whisky Sponge bottlings on our way to Edition No.100 and the end of our Whisky Sponge series. All the bottlings in this final run are whiskies which represent distilleries, profiles and characteristics that we adore and sit very close to our hearts.

WHISKY SPONGE 6TH SECRET EDITION WILLIAMSON 10 YEAR OLD

This is the sixth, and final, ‘Secret Sponge’ bottling. It’s a 2014, 10 year old Williamson single malt. This one is actually a small batch whisky we’ve been watching carefully for a few years now. Over two years ago, we combined two hogsheads of this Williamson single malt and married that mix into an ex-Laphroaig refill butt. This is the first, small controlled bottling we’ve taken from this cask, the rest we will likely bottle between 15 and 18 years of age. This is a special, small bottling at 57.1% and is a deeply powerful, pure and expressive example of this Islay make.

THE MACALLAN RED COLLECTION 73 YEARS OLD

We are pleased to introduce the newest release to The Red Collection, The Macallan 73 Years Old. The Macallan Red Collection is an exquisite range of distinguished and rare single malt whiskies, shaped by the actions of our founder Alexander Reid and key characters throughout our history. This precious single malt is a testament to the incomparable craftsmanship, knowledge and skills nurtured by The Macallan’s Master Whisky Makers, past and present.

DISCOVER THE WHISKY

FROM PAST TO PRESENT

To celebrate the launch of The Macallan 73 Years Old, a new animated film and series of illustrations have been created in collaboration with renowned Spanish painter and artist, Javi Aznarez. Javi Aznarez depicts the timeless craftsmanship, knowledge, and skills that have been passed down through generations of The Macallan’s Whisky Makers.

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