THE SINGLE CASK ANNOUNCE CHARITY BOTTLING IN SUPPORT OF THE DRINKS TRUST

Award-winning independent bottler The Single Cask is donating an ‘Ultra Rare’ single malt scotch whisky from their Glenrothes-based warehouse in a special first-time collaboration with The Drinks Trust.  

The Single Cask – home to a warehouse in Glenrothes of over 3000 casks – has collaborated with drinks and hospitality charity The Drinks Trust to release an ‘Ultra Rare’ single cask whisky from Teaninich Distillery. Priced at £79.00, the charity bottling will be released via The Single Cask website on Monday 26th August with all proceeds to support The Drinks Trust.

Born from The Single Cask’s Family Series, the 10-year-old bottling from Teaninich Distillery is 1 of only 54 bottles, finished in a Madeira wine barrel and falls under The Single Cask’s ‘Playful’ mood category. The striking label design merges casks with pineapples to highlight the fruity notes in the whisky, while using bright colours to bring a sense of happiness, inclusiveness and a warmth.

The ‘Ultra Rare’ whisky has been taste-tested by The Single Cask’s expert team of Taste Masters; bright copper in colour with a fresh, fruity nose of passion fruit, drizzled in honey syrup. In taste it’s sweet blossom honey, with a citrus tang of blood orange, delicate spice, orange zest, and crème brûlée. Full tasting notes can be found on The Single Cask’s website: https://www.thesinglecask.co.uk/

The whisky bottler recently took on the challenge of demystifying whisky flavour as they relaunched their brand. By using five mood categories, whisky fans can quickly navigate to whichever whiskies they are in the mood for. Every one of the 3000 casks in The Single Cask’s Glenrothes warehouse fits within one of their five mood categories: Cheerful, Playful, Bold, Curious and Easy-going.

The Drinks Trust is a charity dedicated to the drinks and hospitality workforce. It strives to empower the drinks industry and offers services including financial assistance, wellbeing support and industry training. In 2023,  The Drinks Trust supported over 5,400 beneficiary acts and spent nearly £720,000 on support services.

Jan Damen, General Manager at The Single Cask, said: “Charities like The Drinks Trust offer outstanding support to our industry. We are very proud of our collaboration and delighted to help wherever we can. We love working with inspiring people doing good for the drinks industry and that’s exactly what The Drinks Trust does. The Single Cask only bottles exciting and entertaining whiskies worth talking about, and this ‘Ultra Rare’ release is definitely worth talking about!”

Ross Carter, CEO of The Drinks Trust added: “Our collaborations with donors, including The Single Cask, are rapidly evolving and enabling the delivery of crucial funds and services to our beneficiaries facing hardship. These partnerships also assist businesses in achieving their CSR goals, benefiting the entire industry and raising the charity’s profile, allowing us to extend our reach and impact even further. We couldn’t be more grateful to The Single Cask team for their generous support.” 

The Single Cask pride themselves on bottling only the most outstanding, characterful, and distinctive single casks of whisky. The company values the distinct personality and cherishes the individuality of every

The Single Cask
The Single Cask was founded in 2010 by Ben Curtis, built on the belief that the search for the ultimate dram never ends. Bottling unique spirits, hand-picked one cask at a time – The Single Cask bottles award-winning whiskies at natural cask strength, without any intervention such as chill filtration or artificial colours.

Powered by the incredible sense of togetherness whisky creates and a growing fascination with the one-of-a-kind personality of single cask bottlings, the passion soon led to the launch of their first bar in Singapore.

Now with a Glenrothes-based warehouse home to over 3000 casks, new retailers, on-trade partners and importers (such as the newly appointed High Spirits in the Netherlands) they are creating an ever-growing fan club family.

The Single Cask’s expertise is in the sourcing of casks and in the maturation – a bold pursuit to uncover whiskies that are both of exceptional quality and character. All their bottlings are tasting panel approved by The Single Cask Taste Masters – an exclusive panel of experts who seek out the thrill of the taste, helping it to become the best experience possible.

The Drinks Trust
The Drinks Trust is the charity dedicated to the drinks and hospitality workforce. It strives to empower our industry people through services designed to assist financially, restore well-being and develop skills, and to do so with compassion and respect. In doing so, The Drinks Trust seeks to create an equitable industry where opportunities to thrive are open to all. To find out more, please visit www.drinkstrust.org.uk For media enquiries, please email Alessandra Brugola, Marketing Manager, at alessandra@drinkstrust.org.uk

Website – https://www.thesinglecask.co.uk/

Social media:

Facebook – @thesinglecaskuk

Twitter – @thesinglecask

Instagram – @thesinglecask_official

The Certificate in American Single Malt Whiskey, our brand-new online course created in partnership with the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC) is now available!

The format is short, easy-to-follow multimedia lessons over seven modules:

💜 1: The History of American Single Malt Whiskey
💜 2: The Business of American Single Malt Whiskey
💜 3: Raw Materials
💜 4: Production Process (From Grain to Liquid)
💜 5: Maturation
💜 6: Blending & Bottling
💜 7: Sensory
Final Assessment

Opt to receive six 30ml American single malt whiskey samples – from Virginia Distillery Co., Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, Boulder Spirits by Vapor Distillery, Andalusia Whiskey Co., Whiskey Del Bac and Clear Creek Distillery (McCarthy’s) – to accompany the Sensory module (USA & UK only).

With expert insights from Steve Hawley (ASMWC), Matt Hofmann (Consultant), Joe O’Sullivan (Minden Mill), Murphy H. Quint (Cedar Ridge), Tyler Pederson (Westland), Jared Himstedt (Balcones), Caitlin Bartlemay (Clear Creek), Ty Phelps (Andalusia), Stephen Paul (Whiskey Del Bac), Emma Crandall (Balcones) & Todd Olander (Root Shoot Malting), you’ll master the craft roots and innovative techniques at the heart of this exciting new category.

So, whether you’re a whiskey lover or industry professional, hop on the American single malt whiskey bandwagon today and get started with this new course! ✊

Learn More

Williamson 10 Year Old 2013 Oloroso Finish Berry Bros Milroy’s Exclusive 57.1% ABV

We teamed up with fellow London drinks merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd for our latest exclusive bottling: a 10 year old Oloroso-finished single malt from Islay. While we can’t say exactly which distillery it comes from, those in the know will recognise the ‘trade name’ of this iconic producer. The ashy, smoky spirit pairs indulgently with the rich dried fruits from the cask, for a mouth-watering, sumptuous dram. We’re proud of the spirits we bottle exclusively, and this one is a bold, invigorating stand-out. 

Tasting note:

Nose: The peat smoke is immediately apparent, along with figs, dates, prunes, and a hint of meatiness from the Oloroso wood.

Palate: Commanding and pronounced, dark chocolate and beeswax jump out from the fruity tobacco smoke.

Finish: Baking spices linger on.

57.1% 70cl

£87.50

£61.25

NOW AVAILABLE

CLASSIC CUT – 2024 EDITION

We are pleased to share that Classic Cut – 2024 Edition is now available for purchase on The Macallan Online Boutique. Created from a combination of Sherry Seasoned European and American oak, and Ex-Bourbon casks, the 2024 Edition of Classic Cut has been bottled at 52.4% ABV and features notes of vanilla, tropical fruit and lemon. A multisensory myriad of dynamic and evolving flavours are unveiled with the addition of water, unlocking the doors within the Classic Cut universe.

COLOUR

Estate Sunrise. ​

AROMA

Rich Vanilla, Orchard Fruits, Marzipan, Citrus Peel, Fresh Picked Herbs and Sweet Oak.​

PALATE

Rich Vanilla, Baked Custard, Milk Chocolate, Sweet Green Apple and balanced Oak Spices.​

FINISH

Long, Rich and Sweet Finish.

ABV

52.4%

SHOP

ralfy review 1041 – Isle Of Jura Cask 1892 @57.2%vol: (Distillery Only)

Sláinte To Six! Stephanie Macleod Wins ‘Master Blender of the Year’ For Record-Breaking Sixth Time

Benrinnes 12 Year Old “Cane & Grain” (Mahler-Besse) Single Cask Plantation Rum Barrel Aged Cask Strength Non Chillfiltred Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $79.99 View

Benrinnes is a historical and unique distillery in the Speyside region. Founded in 1826 and completely destroyed by a flood in 1829, the distillery was rebuilt in 1835 a few kilometers from the original site. Once again devastated by flames in 1896, it was entirely reconstructed in 1956. Benrinnes gained international recognition for the finesse of its whiskies produced through unique 2.5-ish distillations and traditional worm tub cooling. This incredible barrel of Benrinnes was purchased exclusively by the renowned Bordeaux Negociant Mähler-Besse. Aged for its entire 12 years in barrels that had previously held rum from the famous Plantation Rum producer based in Cognac. Distilled on June 10th, 2010, it was bottled in 2022 without coloring or chill-filtration at a natural cask strength of 56.2% abv.

2009 Linkwood 13 Year Old “Cane & Grain” Single Cask Ruby Port Cask Aged Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $79.99 View

Renowned for the quality and aging potential of its whiskies, the Linkwood distillery was founded in 1821 outside of Elgin. Just 2% of its production is designed for single malt production, while the remaining portion in the various Diageo blends like Johnnie Walker. Disilled in November of 2009 its spent 13 years maturing in high quality Ruby Port casks, and was bottled in January 2023 at cask strength of 58.2%. Bottled straight from the cask, this single malt is non-chill-filtered, and no colorants have been added. It was bottled exclusively for famed Bordeaux negociant Mähler-Besse. This single cask yields 277 bottles. K&L is the exclusive US source.

2008 Mannochmore 14 Year Old “Cane & Grain” Single Cask Marsala Barrique Aged Cask Strength Non Chillfiltered Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $89.99 View

The relatively young Mannochmore distillery was built in 1971 by Haig & Co. A stone’s throw from Glenlossie and a skip, hop, jump to Longmorn, its part of a group of core workhorse malts in northern Speyside that don’t get much fanfare outside of concoisseur and collectors circles. Only a tiny fraction of its production is destined for single malt production and even fewer sold as single casks. Their 3 sets of paired stills produce a fruit forward malty style of whisky that works wonders in high quality oak like this one. Distilled on February 5th of 2008 and aged for 14 years in freshly dumped Marsala barrique it was bottled in January 2023 at 51.6%. This single cask produced just 299 bottles bottled exclusively for famed Bordeaux negociante Mähler-Besse. Bottled straight from the cask, this single malt is non-chill-filtered, and no colorants have been added.

SPRINGBANK 21 YEAR OLD 46%

UK RRP £260 – £270

NOSE
Dunnage warehouse, old library books, leather, treacle and cinnamon notes kick off this rich dram.

PALATE
Viscous and thick on the palate, there are notes of dark fruits, bung cloth and dates, with touches of spice and peat smoke.

FINISH
A long-lasting finish, there are notes of salted caramel, toffee and the continuation of the peat smoke note.

This photo is credited to the teams of @frombarreltobottle

We’re hosting a special Gathering Dram-Along livestream, and we’d love for you to be part of the fun!

Join us at 8pm on Wednesday, 4 September on our Facebook page or YouTube channel for a special evening where we’ll unveil our exclusive Gathering bottlings live! Be among the first to discover these drams, hear the fascinating stories behind them, and share in the excitement as they’re revealed.

But that’s not all – we’ll have some quizzing, Gathering stories and plenty of chances to raise a glass with fellow members from around the world. It’s shaping up to be an unforgettable night!

So, mark your calendar, grab your favourite dram and get ready for a fantastic evening!

MEET YOUR DRAM-CIERGE

To help make the most of your SMWS membership, we’ve introduced a whole new level of tailor-made member services and personal guidance. With our members at the heart of everything we do, our DRAM-cierge is here for friendly advice, whether it’s a question about us, your membership or if you’d like us to share some whisky wisdom and recommendations. And if we don’t know the answer – we’ll track it down like a whisky ninja!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Penderyn Icons Of Wales 11: Patagonia – The Unbottling

Adam tries Penderyn’s recent collaboration with La Alazana, as featured in the July 2024 Whisky Showcase. Our members scored it 88.92 and put it in the “Fruity & Spicy” flavour profile.