A DEEP AND SMOKY CHARACTER

Crafted to reflect the diverse history of The Macallan single malt and house a subtly smoky Macallan, M Black is the latest and most complex release in The Macallan Decanter Series. It celebrates the mastery, creativity and character that defines the very heart of The Macallan’s single malt.

An evolution of the iconic M Decanter, M Black continues the collaboration between three masters of their crafts: The Macallan, Fabien Baron and Lalique. At the heart of Baron’s design vision are the six facets of the decanter that pay homage to the Six Pillars foundation stones that define the character of The Macallan.

Fashioned in the highest-grade black crystal for the first time, and crafted from a very limited number of casks, The Macallan M Black tells its own story of exceptional cask ageing and the commitment taken to nurture and mature The Macallan spirit.

Our new location is open for tastings and tours

Starting this Thursday!

12pm-5pm

Our new location is open for tastings and tours

Starting this Thursday!

12pm-5pm

6731 West Coast Rd, Sooke, B.C.

We’re so excited to show you our new space!

Open 12 am – 5 pm, 7 days a week.

Check out our new tasting room and exclusive merchandise.

Let Master Distiller Jason MacIsaac show you our new distillery, including our new copper stills!

Follow The Action

Start your summer off fresh with the new
Sheringham swag.

FlexFit hats, t-shirts and sweatshirts featuring our refreshed logo,
and new glassware and barware available too!

And as always, we invite you to

#MakeitaSheringham 

Directions:

From Port Renfrew         From Victoria 

Our address is 6731 West Coast Rd, Sooke, B.C. (In the building behind the Suds and Pups Carwash) Parking is on the side and behind the building.

Now easily accessible by BC Transit.

From Downtown Victoria, take the number 50 bus, which turns into the number 61 bus. Get off at Otter Point at Ayre and walk South toward Highway 14. Turn right, and walk one block (about 400 m total from the bus stop).
We’re located behind the Suds and Pups Carwash.

Auchentoshan Three Wood Single Malt Whisky (750ml) ($56.99)

94 points Wine Enthusiast: “The name of this whisky is a nod to how its matured in three different casks: American Bourbon, Spanish oloroso and Pedro Ximénez Sherry. Its robust, with a deep amber hue and rich caramel scent. The flavor profile shows toffee, campfire smoke and a mouthwatering butterscotch note on the exhale. It almost reads like a peated Bourbon. (KN)” (12/2015)

K&L Notes: A favorite of the employees at Auchentoshan and many at K&L, the Three Wood is deep amber in color, nutty, rich and aromatic on the nose. It’s extremely full on the palate, sweet sherry flavors complement the high tones and fruity nature of the spirit. The finish is long and warm. Aged in Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry, and Pedro Ximenez casks the Three Wood is the perfect combination.

Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 30, 2018

This is a wonderful single malt for those looking for an easy drinker. The the nose is light and pretty with a hint of bees wax. In the mouth it is light and delicate with the sherry aging adding juicy notes. What makes this single so nice is that all of the flavor aspects are balanced and harmonious. There is a delicious finish.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 25, 2018

Filled in 3 different barrel types, this dram showcases American Bourbon casks, Spanish Olorosso butts, and unctuous Pedro Ximenez casks. This cask regimen does several things. The bourbon highlights the inherent fruity, vanilla cake, and creme brulee character of the spirit. The Olorosso adds gobs of cocoa, nuttiness, and toffee. And of course, the PX dials up a beautiful sweetness, intensity, and raisined fruits. While this triple casks regime adds layers of complexity, body, and richness, it also belies the notion that Lowland whisky is light and simple. At just $56.99 this is a shameless sherry dram for every day enjoyment. While the lowlands does have some highly coveted bottles, it’s this kind of easy enjoy-ability that makes it such a special place for whisky.

Will Blakely | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: June 22, 2018

The Three Wood beautifully showcases the movement away from age statements and toward creative cask finishes. On the nose, it immediately offers enticing aromas of dried fruit, orange peel, caramelized sugar and ample spice. On the palate, it tastes full and complex despite its three distillations. Vanilla and dry sherry dominate at first but give way to soft tones of toffee and raisins. Typical of lowland malts, the finish brings a lingering nutty sweetness, but with a hint of charred wood. Altogether, it makes for an endlessly enjoyable dram that satisfies most any palate. I highly recommend this bottle for fans of bourbon or Irish whisky trying to break into Scottish single malts. It’s also a great pick for scotch drinkers looking for something new in a sherry-focused style.

From Dufftown to Dublin, Craigellachie to Kentucky, Tobermory to Tokyo, whisky has travelled around the world and found a home on the shelves of thirsty connoisseurs all over the globe. Whether you prefer your smoky Islays or dabble in a dram from Japan, you’ll find what you’re looking for at The Whisky Shop – including some exclusive single casks not available anywhere else!

Next day UK delivery available
International shipping

Japanese Whisky

Yamazaki 12 Year Old

£129 Buy Now

Hibiki 17 Year Old

£495 Buy Now

Hakushu 12 Year Old

£195 Buy Now

SINGLE CASK EXCLUSIVES 

Kilchoman 2007

£115 Buy Now

Glen Scotia 2006 Bourbon Cask

£85 Buy Now

Balblair 1997

£140 Buy Now

THE LOWLAND DELIGHTS OF AUCHENTOSHAN

Often overlooked, the Lowlands have a tremendous experience to offer. Specifically – an elegant drinking experience for those that actually love to drink their whisky, not just watch it collect dust on the shelf. Featured here is one of our favorite Lowland distilleries: Auchentoshan. The only Scottish malt to be 100% triple distilled, the entire lineup screams elegance and harmony. That’s not to say the whiskies are all light, which is often the notion regarding lowland malts. The base of all Auchentoshan expressions, the unpeated new malt spirit, is light and fruity with a beautiful character reminiscent of a fresh farmhouse ale, complete with a full complement of stone fruit notes and lovely baked-bread aromas. This is the DNA of Auchentoshan – a clean, bright, and fruity malt. This lighter bodied spirit plays very well in a wide variety of casks, but has the intensity of flavor to stand up to even boldest of sherry casks and still hold its character.

Auchentoshan Three Wood Single Malt Whisky (750ml) ($56.99)

One of the most impressive bottlings in Auchentoshan’s line up is the humble Three Wood. Filled in three different barrel types, this dram showcases American Bourbon casks, Spanish Oloroso butts, and unctuous Pedro Ximenez casks. This cask regimen does several things. The bourbon highlights the inherent fruity, vanilla cake, and creme brulee character of the spirit. The Olorosso adds gobs of cocoa, nuttiness, and toffee. And of course, the PX dials up a beautiful sweetness, intensity, and raisined fruits. While this triple casks regime adds layers of complexity, body, and richness, it also belies the notion that Lowland whisky is light and simple. At just $56.99 this is a shameless sherry dram for everyday enjoyment. While the Lowlands does have some highly coveted bottles, it’s this kind of easy enjoy-ability that makes it such a special place for whisky.

Auchentoshan “Bartender’s Malt – Edition 1” Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) ($44.95)

Equally as noteworthy is the “Bartender’s Malt – Edition 1.” Auchentoshan named this whisky the “Bartender’s Malt” because it was designed and blended by a team of twelve different bartenders from all over the world who helped to select the barrels. Here’s the really compelling part: they used single malt whisky from the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and current decade in the blend, from ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, ex-wine, and even German oak barrels! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: innovative blends like this are what’s going to drive the business forward, especially in a market where single barrel pricing is proving to be cost prohibitive and access is getting more and more difficult. For a very affordable price, this is a drinker’s whisky. It is absolutely jam-packed with sweet barley flavor, loads of vanilla, spicy ginger, candied orange peel, and a symphony of oak and baking spices on the finish that light up your mouth for minutes with distinct and supple flavors of milk chocolate. Bottled at 47% ABV, it’s got punch as well.

Sherry casks part 4: what about soleras?

[This is the continuation of an old series. Here are the previous instalments if you’d like to catch up – What was a sherry cask, What is a sherry cask and What goes into a sherry cask]

What is a solera?

The solera system is at the heart of the sherry-ageing process. It is, simply put, a method of continuously blending younger and older sherries to ensure a consistent character over the years.

The solera system of maturation – confusingly, the last tier of the solera is also called the solera. Picture courtesy of SherryNotes

A solera can be thought of as a row of casks. When you want some sherry, you remove some from the last barrel in the row and then top it up with wine from the previous cask. That in turn is topped up from the one before it, and so on until you get back to the first in line: that one is topped up with young wine.

Head over to SherryNotes to learn more about The Solera System.

The important thing to note about soleras is that they’re not about adding woody character to maturing sherry – they’re about letting the sherry develop on its own, interacting with the environment. As such, the casks used are normally old, added to a solera once they no longer have woody flavours to impart – porous containers rather than a mines of flavour.

So, back to whisky.

Do we use solera casks to mature whisky?

When whisky fans talk about sherry casks, they often assume they have been used to mature sherry – look at any discussion online about sherry-matured whisky and you’ll soon see some reference to soleras. However, that’s not the case – the most commonly used casks are modelled after transport casks, once used to ship sherry around the world.

Read more in the first two parts in this series: What was a sherry cask and What is a sherry cask.

Building new casks – these are destined to be filled with young sherry, transport-cask style

Solera casks are made of old wood and have little wood influence left to give. They are much prized by the sherry industry, only retired from a solera when they are no longer needed or are no longer suitable for maturing wine. They aren’t commonly used in the whisky industry, as not only are they rare but I didn’t think they were great for maturing whisky thanks to the deliberately engineered tiredness of the oak.

It seems I was wrong.

Talisker finished in solera casks

Diageo has launched a new Talisker bottling, a 1978-vintage, 40-year-old whisky that was matured in ex-solera casks from Delgado Zuleta. The solera in question is used to mature Quo Vadis, an incredible amontillado that I’ve have had the privilege of trying a couple of times – it’s exceptionally rare to find it outside of Spain and is one of the most memorable sherries I’ve ever tasted.

Find out more about Quo Vadis over on SherryNotes.

The whisky is a vatting of five Quo Vadis casks. Each cask is more than 100 years old, used for most of that time to hold sherry. They are fragile and were shipped to Scotland whole, rather than flatpacked, as re-coopering such old casks would have been almost impossible. Once they’d arrived, they were filled with Talisker, but the whisky only stayed in the casks for a few months – they were too active to be used for any longer.

Buy Talisker 1978 40 Year Old The Bodega Series >

What’s an active cask?

When we talk about a cask being ‘active’, we mean that it has had a lot of influence on the whisky. Normally, it’s the wood that has had the effect, but that’s not the case with a solera cask – it has to be the previous occupant of the cask. When the cask has been filled with sherry for more than a hundred years, there’s going to be quite a lot of flavour left in the wood.

Calling an ancient cask ‘active’ has sparked some online discussions, but it makes sense in this case – there’s a lot of flavour from the sherry in the wood, and it’s easily soluble in alcohol: the perfect recipe for rapidly adding sherry character to the whisky.

What’s the future for solera casks and whisky?

While it’s rare to see solera casks used at the moment, there is potential for us to see more in the future. Unfortunately, it’s not for pleasant reasons.

Sherry is no longer as popular as it once was and soleras are being closed down – demand is low and eventually you can’t keep holding on to stocks of old wine. Once the casks are emptied they are no longer needed at home, and with demand never higher for casks in Scotland, there is an obvious destination.

An increasingly large proportion of casks in The Sherry Triangle are now being created and seasoned specially for the whisky industry

I don’t think we’ll see them being used for long maturation – inactive oak and overly active sherry character seems like a bad combination for new-make spirit – but turbo-charged sherry finishes are already in demand and being able to put ‘solera cask’ on the label kicks things up a notch.

If you want to read more about sherry casks and whisky, make sure to read WhiskyNotes and SherryNotes, and this fantastic article: Sherry casks in the whisky industry.

Amber Glen (aged 3 years) has been awarded a Silver Medal at the Most Prestigious Scotch Whisky Masters Competition, alongside our joint Silver medalists Johnnie Walker Black Label, Ballantine’s 12-Year-Old, and  Scottish Leader 12-Year-Old.

www.amberglen.co.uk​