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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 22: That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Bunnahabhain 10 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

By Evan

Day Twenty-Two in our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar brings us another bottling from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. This is the fourth we have seen thus far - and the second we have Single Malt we have gotten from them. We are heading back to Islay today for That Boutique-y Whisky Company Bunnahabhain 10-Year-Old!

2017 was the last time we had any Bunnahabhain in our KWM Whisky Calendar, which is a bit of a travesty by my estimation. Bunna is my personal favourite distillery on Islay - I love it for both unpeated and peated Single Malt distilled there.

Bunnahabhain Distillery is the northernmost distillery on Islay – it lays off the beaten path and is somewhat remote even when compared to the rest of the island. The distillery was actually only reachable by boat until the 1960s, when a road was finally built to it. Bunnahabhain is one of a trio of Scottish Single Malt Distilleries owned by Burn Stewart (Distell Group).

Burn Stewart and its parent company also own Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull which we discussed on both Day Four and Day Seventeen. and Deanston Distillery which resides on the Scottish mainland in Perthshire. Like its siblings, most of the flagship single malts Bunnahabhain range are bottled unchill-filtered and with no added colouring at the curious but commendable strength of 46.3% ABV.

This Islay distillery was founded in 1881 and started its life making the heavily peated whisky that the region is famous for. For most of its history its whisky was exclusively used in blends such as Black Bottle, and even today only a fraction of its production is bottled as a single malt. In 1963 production was increased and at the same time the distillery's style was changed to the lighter, unpeated single malt whisky it is known for today. Since 1997 there have been small amounts of heavily peated (35 PPM malt spec) single malt made each year but it is not what the distillery is known for.

The core of Bunnahabhain's production and lineup doesn't show a very noticeable peat if it shows at all as they use a malt spec with a maximum phenolic level of 2 PPM. This makes it one of the more gently peated Islay single malts available. The distillery and its whisky are sometimes referred to as the 'Gentle Giant of Islay' What it lacks in smoke and peat it typically makes up for in nuanced and complex character and plenty of sherry cask influence, at least in official bottlings. Will this Bunnahabhain have any sherry cask influence to it? Based on the colour, I would guess not... Shall we find out?

That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Bunnahabhain 10-Year-Old - 50.5%

We did not receive any of the 1287 500ml bottles of this 10 Year Old Bunnahabhain from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, but we did get some 50ml mini bottles of it! ...

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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 21: That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Strathclyde 31 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

We are going all Boutique-y once more: behind Door Twenty-one lives the oldest whisky in the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar by a whole four years! This is the Strathclyde 31 Year Old Single Grain Scotch from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

This Strathclyde whisky marks the second Single Grain Scotch Whisky in this year's KWM Whisky Calendar, and possibly only second in this style we have ever put in during the six years of making our own Whisky Calendar. The first Single Grain was from a closed distillery we tasted back on Day Three. So, what is the deal with Strathclyde?

Seriously, I am asking.

I honestly don't know much about Strathclyde Distillery off the top of my dome. I have only tasted a handful of bottlings from this distillery that I can recall - most of them have been from indie bottler Cadenhead. Give me some time and I will get back to you with a bit more information, okay?

--- Hours Later ---

Phew! Okay, so here's the deal: Strathclyde is a Distillery located in Glasgow, on the South side of the River Clyde which bisects Scotland's largest city. Like many Grain Distilleries that have come and gone or still exist, the Glasgow location means that it resides in the Lowlands region-wise. Strathclyde was one of two Single Grain Whisky-producing distilleries in Glasgow until Port Dundas Distillery was closed in 2009. With the recent boom times that Scotch Whisky has enjoyed, there have been a few other distilleries popping up in the city along the River Clyde but all of them are dwarfed production-wise by this veritable Grain Whisky factory.

Strathclyde's history begins in 1927 on the site which previously held a cotton mill. It did not start producing Grain Whisky until nine years later in 1936 - before that, it focused on making neutral grain spirit used for gin. For a nearly two-decade period between 1957 and 1975 Strathclyde also housed a set of pot stills that produced Single Malt Whisky that was called Kinclaith.

The Grain Whisky Complex is owned by Chivas Brothers/Pernod Ricard and has been the company's only such distillery under that Pernod Ricard ownership. Since it is capable of producing more than 40 million litres of spirit per annum, which cover's most of the company's needs for its blends. Strathclyde's Grain Whisky is used in the number two and number three best-selling Blended Scotch Whisky brands Ballantine's and Chivas Regal.

No official bottlings of Strathclyde Single Grain Scotch are currently being released by Pernod Ricard - not a shock since the company doesn't do a very good job at showcasing many of its own distilleries. There have been a few different indie bottlings of Strathclyde to make up for Pernod-Ricard's shortsightedness such as Cadenhead, Cooper's Choice, and this mini from That Boutique...

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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 20: Balblair 18 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

Day Twenty is here, and we are getting to the tail end of the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar. Today, we will be revisiting Balblair Distillery. This time we will be trying one of the Highland Distillery's newer age-stated releases: The Balblair 18-Year-Old.

As we discussed eleven drams ago, back on Day Nine, Balblair has quite recently undergone a large shift in philosophy when it comes to the distillery's own releases. What happens when a brand reinvents itself like this? There had to be a bit of worry that Balblair would lose all of its previous fans but also not create any new ones in the process, right? On top of that: would the distillery character and DNA survive the change from vintages to age statements as well?

The 1997 Vintage we tasted on back on Day Nine was matured solely in ex-Bourbon casks. The Balblair 18-Year-Old we will be tasting today has some sherry cask influence in the mix. This 18 Year Old purportedly spends the first fifteen and a half years in refill ex-bourbon casks before a finishing period of more than three and a half years in first fill Spanish Oak that previously held Oloroso Sherry.

Math is definitely not my forte, but doesn't that total add up to potentially more than eighteen years in cask? I don't have enough fingers and I am too lazy to take my socks off right now, but I think this means that there is potentially -even likely- nineteen-year-old whisky in this mini bottle...

That possibility is one of the benefits of forgoing vintage statements on your whisky, where you are handcuffed to selecting from just that one year's worth of ageing casks. The beauty of age-stated bottles of whisky is this: The age you put on the label is only the minimum age of any whisky in the bottle, so this 18-year-old in front of us may actually contain some nineteen-year-old liquid in the bottle as well. They could go even older than that if they wanted to.

This means that when selecting casks for a batch of 18-Year-Old Balblair, they can choose any casks in their warehouses that are at least that old or older. It opens up a lot of possibilities and makes it a lot easier to remain more consistent between batches. It may not be as fun for us whisky geeks, but for many consumers knowing that the Balblair 18 Year Old that they purchase today is as close the company could make it to the previous batch and the batch they bottle five years from now can be important.

Like 1997 we have already tasted, the 18-year-old is bottled at 46% ABV, is unchillfiltered and contains no added colouring. Tasting two single malts from the same distillery but with different philosophies behind them still gives us a great opportunity to discover Balblair's true character. The basic principles on quality are still in place for the new line, so let us try this newer look Balblair out!

...

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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 19: Bowmore 12 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

Another classic distillery label is on the docket for today's entry in our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar. We are heading back to Islay because Door Number Nineteen gives unto us the Bowmore 12-Year-Old!

Bowmore Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and is the oldest on Islay that still exists, having been founded in 1779. It currently vies with Lagavulin to be the 2nd best-selling Islay Single Malt brand. As I mentioned on Day 10, Laphroaig sells the most and has for quite a while.

The Distillery itself lies within the town which shares its name and is right against the shoreline of Loch Indaal. Even though the distillery is on the coast, it can still be considered closest to the centre of Islay. The town of Bowmore only predates the distillery by less than two decades, and it was the first planned settlement in Scotland.

The town's gridlike layout and construction were initiated in 1768 by Daniel Campbell the Younger, who was the owner of the Islay and part of Jura. He resided in the famous Islay House and planned the town of Bowmore to resettle residents from the village of Kilarrow. Kilarrow was situated close to Islay House, near what is now called Bridgend. It is said that Daniel the Younger felt that Kilarrow spoiled the view between Islay House and Loch Indaal. All that remains of the old village is a cemetery on Islay House property.

On the upside, Daniel the Younger did also build the now-famous Kilarrow Parish that is atop the hill in Bowmore. The church is famous for being entirely round so that it gives to corner for the devil to hide in. Bowmore and the Kilarrow Parish lay a little over 4km south of Bridgend and where the previous village existed. Currently, the town of Bowmore is populated by around 800 residents.

As for the distillery, Bowmore's nearest neighbour is Bruichladdich, which is a 15-minute drive West to along the coastal road A847 to the other side of Loch Indaal. Caol Ila Distillery is about a 20-minute drive to the East along the A846. If you head South from Bowmore the Port Ellen Maltings (and soon the rebuilt Port Ellen Distillery is about a 20-minute drive as well, and from there you can get to Laphroaig Distillery, Lagavulin and Ardbeg which all lie within 10 minutes drive from there.

Like Laphroaig, the Bowmore distillery is owned by parent company Beam Suntory. Also like Laphroaig, Bowmore is one of three distilleries on Islay to have its own on-site floor maltings and peat kilns, which are able to produce just about one-third of Bowmore's needs for mashing and distillation.

Insert Peat Here: One of the Kilns At Bowmore Distillery

The 12 Year Old has been one of the core expressions in the Bowmore range for quite a while. Included in the core range are the no age statement Bowmore No.1, ...

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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 18: GlenAllachie 15 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

Day Eighteen is here for us and the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar, and it looks like we are taking a darker turn based on the look of the liquid in this bottle. It is beginning to look a lot like Sherry with the GlenAllachie 15-Year-Old!

GlenAllachie Single Malt Scotch and its Flintstone's-esque choice of font are still fairly new entries into the tough competition for your Scotch Whisky dollars. GlenAllachie Distillery was founded in 1967 by the same group that managed to revive the Isle of Jura Distillery a few years earlier. It ran for two decades before being shut down in 1987. In 1989 was sold to Campbell Distillers, which was owned by the company we now call Pernod Ricard. The company increased the amount of stills and reopened the distillery, using the whisky produced by GlenAllachie specifically for blending purposes.

All of that has changed quickly since a group led by Billy Walker purchased the distillery from Pernod Ricard in 2017. Since then, the distillery has undergone a sea change in both in branding and ownership philosophy.

Billy Walker might be a name you have heard before, especially if you are fans of the BenRiach and/or GlenDronach Distillery. He previously lead a group responsible for reviving both distilleries: first BenRiach in 2004, then GlenDronach in 2008. Glenglassaugh Distillery was purchased by the same group in 2013, but sadly Billy Walker and the company behind him ended up selling the joint venture of three distilleries to Brown Foreman in 2016. The upside of that sale is it allowed Billy Walker and another group to purchase GlenAllachie and begin working his magic with this distillery.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend - standing next to Billy Walker

So what is this magic that Billy Walker wields that others (especially Pernod Ricard, apparently) do not? There are a few key parts to it by my reckoning:

Put the focus on quality Single Malt Whisky above all else. To do this, you have to:

Slow the fermentation process of the mash. This takes more time between mashes and can slow down overall production, but it can have a major benefit on the spirit produced.
Only buy and fill high-quality casks. Part of his philosophy seems to be that the wood makes the whisky - or at least makes the whisky more palatable. Hence the re-racking of whisky left tired casks into top-quality fresh casks and the use of various finishing casks.

Another part of this seems to be: do not settle for refill hogsheads - at least not in the short term. Put whisky into first-fill casks whenever possible. Note: this can be expensive, as y0u cannot reuse casks as often as other companies do because of this.

Release, release, release. Then release some more.

If people aren't paying enough at...

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