|
|
|
|
|
REGIONS OF SCOTLAND |
|
We have chosen classic examples from five of the six whisky regions of Scotland. These are
|
|
The most Southerly distillery in Scotland is the very small and independently owned Bladnoch which produces under 100,000 litres per year. This expression is known as the "beltie" (because of the Belted Galloway cows on the label) and is one of the first bottlings made by the present owners. Bladnoch sell it directly from their website for £36 or get it from Master of Malt for £34.95. A review of this Beltie by Whisky for Everyone is here.
A variety of Bladnoch whisky is available including 17-20 yr old made under the old ownership, and a sherry finish, a lightly peated, and a 46% version of the Beltie (all three are 8 years old) and made since the reopening. This article by Whisky Fun compares the old and the new whisky. Bladnoch have large warehouses and rent out cask space to other distilleries. They have access to a lot of old whisky which they sell these via their forum at very reasonable prices (for example, 25 year old Caol Ila for under £50). There is a good article on Bladnoch here. If you develop a taste for Bladnoch you can buy an individual cask from the distillery.
For tasting notes and discussion see our Bladnoch 8 Beltie forum page.
Founded in 1821, Linkwood is an important component of Johnnie Walker and White Horse blends and, although not one of the famous Speysiders, has a loyal following. Considered by some to be a ‘traditional’ distillery, its management once forbade the removal of spiders’ webs at the distillery in case the environmental changes prompted a change to the flavour of its whisky.
Linkwood 12 can be bought for £38.95 from The Whisky Exchange. There is an informative discussion on this whisky over at Whisky Magazine. Linkwood are owned by whisky giants Diageo, but the distillery itself doesn't seem to have a web presence at all. Some basic information can be found at Whisky.com
For tasting notes and discussion see our Linkwood 12 forum page.
Balblair is one of Scotland's most under-rated distilleries. You'll find it on the road from Inverness to Wick in the most North Easterly part of Scotland close to Glenmorangie and Dalmore. The air here is meant to be the purest in the United Kingdom and until relatively recently the distillery's standard offering was called Elements. But the whisky was relaunched a few years back and instead of an age statement its various expressions are now marked with a year representing a vintage in a similar way to wine. The new vintage is the 2000 which was released in September 2010 and can be bought from Whisky Online for £29.99. The Edinburgh Whisky Blog comments are here. Balblair are owned by Inverhouse, who own 5 distilleries.
For tasting notes and discussion see our Balblair 2000 forum page.
Arran distillery only opened in 1995. Famous for producing some of the best (although illegal) whisky in the 18th century, the island supposedly has the purest water in Scotland and a warm climate for speedy maturation. Arran’s whisky is creamy, rich and fruity, not what you would expect from the Islands, but fabulous nonetheless. We have therefore selected the new Arran 14 year old for our Island representative.
Arran 14 was released in September 2010 and is available from the Arran website for £38.99. Dominic visited Arran in the spring of 2010 and reviewed this whisky on his blog. Cask Strength also visited over the summer. Whisky Notes have a nice review.
For tasting notes and discussion see our Arran 14 forum page
We are excited to have a brand new expression for our Islay representative, Bruichladdich's Port Charlotte An Turas Mor (Gaelic for ‘the great journey’). Bruichladdich's Port Charlotte expressions have received rave reviews, justifiably in our opinion. Bruichladdich are opening a new distillery in the village of Port Charlotte using stills and equipment from the now-defunct Inverleven distillery in the Lowlands.
This no age statement Port Charlotte (PC) whisky was released in September 2010 and can be bought from Whisky Online for £35.00. It is a combination (or as Bruichladdich call it, a "multi vintage") of earlier PC expressions which were bottled at cask strength aged 5-8 years old. PC is peated at 40 ppm and matured in Bourbon casks, but PC-5 has a first fill Sherry finish and PC-6 a Madeira finish. These all combine wonderfully in the new more affordable An Turas Mor expressions.
For tasting notes and discussion see our Port Charlotte An Turas Mor forum page