KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 14 - G&M Mortlach 15 Year
Posted on December 19, 2023
by EvanWhat sets this indie bottle apart from other indie bottles we have tasted thus far in the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar? The fact this this whisky is made at Morlach Distillery, and Mortlach is a distillery you CAN get official bottlings of. The official releases include a 12 Year Old, 16 Year Old, and 20 Year Old, all bottled at the oddly specific 43.4% ABV.
Mortlach Distillery was founded back in 1823 and is located in Speyside, within Dufftown. It is the oldest distillery in Duftown and its nearest distillery neighbours include Glendullan, heavy hitters Glenfiddich and Balvenie, as well as the aptly named Dufftown Distillery itself.
Mortlach is known as “The Beast of Dufftown” thanks to its heavy and often meaty distillate profile that often shows up in its whisky as well. This rich, characterful profile makes it highly sought after by blenders. The distillery is owned by (stop me if you have heard this before) alcohol giant Diageo. The whisky Mortlach produces is showcased throughout the Johnnie Walker range, including the bold and peated Black Label.
The distillation process at Mortlach is curious and unique, thanks to both utilizing worm tubs and being distilled 2.81 times. Not double-distilled or triple-distilled, but some strange and confusing mathematical equation between them. The copper at Mortlach is made of three wash stills and three spirit stills, all with different sizes and shapes. Somehow, these stills create three different types of spirit that are then merged into what we know as Mortlach’s style. This process was first adopted in 1896 and has not been changed since.
Here is a YouTube Video that delves into the 2.81 Distillation Process from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
That still doesn’t make sense to me. And when I am confused, I find the best thing to do is taste whisky. Shall we give it a go?
G&M Distillery Label Mortlach 15 Year – 46%
Matured in First Fill and Refill Sherry before bottling at 46%, this 15-year-old Mortlach is part of the G&M Distillery Label range.
Evan’s Tasting Note
Nose: Plenty of dried fruits and a bit of licorice, all smooth and round in style. Also a bit of frozen orange juice concentrate, lemon pound cake, polished leather, milk chocolate, and raisins.
Palate: Ever had a pink grapefruit sliced and then broiled with brown sugar on top? That, plus raisins and dried cranberries, chocolate fudge, toasted almonds and walnuts, dark roast coffee beans, wood spices, and a touch of molasses.
Finish: That broiled pink grapefruit and brown sugar note sticks around along with a trail mix of dried fruits, assorted nuts and bits of dark chocolate. Nicely warming
Comment: This is a delicious whisky. It is sherried, but by no means over-sherried. The citrus ...
Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 13 - Berry's Tullibardine 1993
Posted on December 13, 2023
by EvanThis Berry’s single cask of Tullibardine is not a KWM cask, surprisingly. Instead, it is a single cask of 1993 Tullibardine that Berry Bros. & Rudd bottled back in 2019. For some reason, it only just came to Canada this year, but still at 2019 pricing. I am not sure what kind of time vortex it was in between 2019 and now, but I am happy that it resulted in us receiving these bottles.
Finding any 1990s Tullibardine is becoming a difficult proposition, because the distillery did not produce any whisky between 1994 and 2003, and most of the early 90’s Tulli has already been bottled. We will get back to that point in a few paragraphs.
Tullibardine Distillery is located in the southern Highland town of Blackford, just north of Perth. Its nearest neighbours include the Glenturret Distillery which is a 25-minute drive north on the A822 and also Deanston Distillery which is a 20-minute drive west on the A9. The distillery sits on the site that once held a series of breweries over the past 500 years. In 1488 King James IV, then aged 14, paid a visit to a brewery in Blackford to purchase beer for his coronation.
Tullibardine Distillery itself was founded in 1949, making it the first distillery to be built in Scotland after the end of World War II. The distillery was sold by architect and Founder William Delme-Evans in 1953 to a company named Brodie-Hepburn LTD. That company was purchased by Invergordon Distillers in 1971, which in turn was purchased by Whyte & Mackay in 1993. The distillery had been operating for four and a half decades but was mothballed in 1994.
Tullibardine remained closed and silent until it was purchased along with some ageing stock in 2003 by an independent consortium of owners. It was quickly revived, and began production once more while much of the older stock was released in vintages. If you have been into whisky for more than a decade, you might remember seeing various vintages including 1988, 1993 and 1994 on the shelves until around 2011 when the distillery once again changed hands: this time to current owner Picard Vins & Spiritueux.
If you have been following the Scotch Whisky scene for more than a decade, you might recall that Bruichladdich Distillery was in a similar situation for a while. Bruichladdich was revived in the year 2000 by a group of investors after the distillery was mostly silent except for some sporadic production over the previous half-decade. During the time after being re-opened, Bruichladdich released a massive amount of special editions and vintage bottles on an even grander scale than Tullibardine was accomplishing at the time. Bruichladdich’s insane amount of releases seemed to dry up around the time when they were purchased by Remy Cointreau in 2012.
Neither ‘Laddie nor Tullie’ could have continued these old whisky releases indefinit...
KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 13 - Boutique-y Strathmill 14 Year
Posted on December 19, 2023
by EvanStrathmill Distillery resides in the town of Keith, within Banffshire. As the name suggests, the distillery is built on the site of an old mill that was used to mill oats for porridge. Its neighbour Glen Keith Distillery is much the same in this, and the town of Keith was once known for both milling and weaving. A local Kilt Museum helps celebrate this history, and is apparently a great place to visit if you are into staring at (or up) this plaid fashion kit.
The distillery was built in 1892 and originally carried the name Glenisla-Glenlivet. It was sold in 1895 to W&A Gilbey, a wine and spirits merchant owned by two brothers. The company changed the distillery name to Strathmill upon purchasing it.
Like the Teaninich we sampled back on Day Two of this year’s KWM Whisky, Calendar, Strathmill might not be a whisky name that jumps out at you. Most of the whisky it creates is used in blending. The primary Blended Scotch that Strathmill is used for is J&B Rare. Also like Teaninch, the distillery is owned by spirits giant Diageo. There are no official bottlings of Strathmill that currently hit any part of the Canadian market, but independent bottlings such as this one from That Boutique-y Whisky Company do crop up here and there.
The label for this Boutique-y Strathmill bottlings contains references to the distillery once being a mill for oats and currently being used for Gin distillation instead of whisky production (according to the 2024 Malt Whisky Yearbook). Goldilocks is critical of the porridge, but two-thirds of the time she is critical of EVERYTHING. For a fictional character known best for unlawful entry and a predilection for inserting herself into an already whole family unit, you would think she would be less choosy. The bear looks enticed, at least.
Strathmill’s whisky is usually known for having a delicate, fruity, and slightly oily style. Will that show up in this bottling? Let's find out.
That Boutique-y Strathmill - Batch 10 - 14 Year Old - 55.5%
This is the 10th Batch of Strathmill to be bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. It was distilled in 2006. 417 bottles were filled at a strength of 55.5% of this 14 Year Old.
Evan’s Tasting Note
Nose: Floral and flour-al, with notes of glazed donuts, strawberry yogurt, oatmeal raisin cookies, Bran Flakes cereal, macadamia nuts, and angel food cake.
Palate: Much more spice-driven than expected, but with a nice creamy texture. Candied ginger, Neapolitan ice cream, shortbread biscuits with a strawberry jam filling, and light pineapple notes.
Finish: Fruity and spicy with a light honey note along for the ride.
Comment: This is not nearly as delicate as I expected thanks to the fruit and spice notes. It is not a whisky that jumps right out of the glass to strangl...
Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 12 - Rosebank `The Roses` 21 Year Old
Posted on December 12, 2023
by EvanOver the past week in the 2023 KWM UBER Whisky Calendar, we have had whiskies from a closed and demolished distillery (Caperdonich on day 6), and from a whisky brand potentially in transition from one distillery to the next (Canadian Club 45, which I feel like I just talked about yesterday). Today, we get to taste a whisky whose tumultuous history includes both the finality of closure and death and a somewhat surprising rebirth. Say hello to Rosebank `The Roses` 21-Year-Old Enchantment.
Rosebank Distillery is situated right beside the Forth and Clyde Canal in Falkirk, Scotland. It is about a 30-minute drive to the west along the M9, from Edinburgh Airport. It is also about a 12-minute drive west of the giant twin horse head sculptures known as The Kelpies, and a 10-minute drive East from the amazing Falkirk Wheel.
The Kelpies - Photo By Rosstheamazing - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Falkirk Wheel - Photo is Public Domain
The Rosebank Story is an interesting one, that until very recently had a very sad ending. The distillery at its current home was originally founded in 1840, though there are records of a Rosebank distillery operating in the area before that going back to 1817. By the 1860s it had become a booming whisky-making production, with the distillery on one side of the Forth and Clyde canal and a maltings facility on the other.
Using a unique combination of Triple Distillation and worm tubs for its whisky production, Rosebank was often called ‘The King of The Lowlands’. The distillery provided a steady supply of Lowland Single Malt for many blends and while it did cease operations during World War I, it was quickly restarted at the end of that war and continued production straight through World War II. Its operations came to an end in 1993, as it was considered too old and too costly to undergo a much-needed refurbishment at the time and road access to the distillery was difficult.
The site of Rosebank and its buildings were sold to British Waterways in 2002. At some point during the winter holidays between Christmas of 2008 and the 2009 New Year, the copper stills and mash tun were stolen from the site. This seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Rosebank, and there was little chance of it every being revived. The former maltings across the Canal had been turned into a restaurant, and some of the former Rosebank buildings were converted to apartments.
Click above for a great YouTube video on Rosebank's history.
Then, in 2017 Ian Macleod Distillers – owners of the Glengoyne and Tamdhu distilleries – went public with its plans to purchase the Rosebank Distillery site and bring it back into operation. Ian MacLeod Distillers also purchased the Rosebank name and some aging Rosebank whisky stock from Diageo. Plann...
KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 12 - Old Forester 1920
Posted on December 19, 2023
by EvanDay 12 marks our first foray into Bourbon for the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar. We are going big and bold yet smooth as silk with the Old Forester 1920 Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Old Forester is one of a few Bourbons around that spells "Whisky" without the "e" on the label. The others that come to mind are Maker's Mark and George Dickel.
Old Forester Distillery and its owners Brown-Forman are one of a handful of makers of Bourbon and Whiskey in the United States that have a legitimate and continuous distilling history going back more than a century. Back in 1870, Old Forester launched and was the first Bourbon to be sold exclusively in glass bottles with a sealed top. This was a savvy move made by creator and pharmaceutical salesman Goerge Garvin Brown to market the authenticity and consistency of Old Forester in a market flooded with questionable and often adulterated whiskey.
In the beginning, there was no Old Forester Distillery - instead, the Bourbon was blended from three different distilleries and bottled at 90 proof or 45% ABV. Just over 30 years after launching Old Forester Bourbon, George Garvin Brown purchased one of the three distilleries he used for blending: The B.F. Mattingly Distillery gave him direct control over the whisky supply used for the Old Forester brand.
American Prohibition kicked off in 1920 with the ratification and enforcement of the Volstead Act. Prohibition lasted until 1933, and it is the primary reason that we see a lot of fanciful stories about those whiskey recipes that that great-granddaddy used and revived brands talking about their by-gone history that has an 80-year gap where they didn't exist. Prohibition destroyed many companies in the whisky, beer, wine and spirits game and made a large majority of operating distilleries shut down, never to reopen. Old Forester managed to survive and continue operation during Prohibition by receiving one of only 6 Federal licences within the state of Kentucky to continue making whiskey for 'medicinal purposes.
As mentioned earlier, Old Forester is owned by a company named Brown-Forman. Named after George Garvin Bown and his partner George Forman. The company is publicly traded but to this day remains family-owned and controlled. Brown-Forman owns a few other whisky brands that you may have heard of, such as the BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassauch distilleries in Scotland which the company purchased in 2016. The purchase of the three distilleries marked Brown-Forman's re-entry into Scotch Whisky, as it did own a small share of Glenmorangie PLC before they sold it to Moet Hennessy in 2005. Beyond that, they also own Woodford Distillery and the Woodford Reserve brand. Oh, and a small operation in Tennessee that goes by the name Jack Daniels. Maybe you have heard of that one?
Old Forester Distillery in downtown Lou...
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