Berry's Sutherland 2000 24 Year

Tasting Notes

Producer Tasting Note

"The nose opens with floral honey, toasted almonds, and a bright hint of lemon zest. Three years in a quarter cask have amplified this enigmatic dram’s spicy profile, as notes of cinnamon and vanilla meld with a base of sweet malt. The palate is well balanced, with the tart sweetness of sour apple sweets meeting warm oak spice, against a backdrop of creamy vanilla and gentle tannins. The finish echoes those earlier notes of honeyed almonds and bright citrus zest, ending with a final whisper of spice."

Independent Bottler

One of our favourite independent bottlers, Berry Bros. & Rudd is a stored London-based firm which has resided at #3 St. James Street, a stone's throw from St. James Palace, since 1698. Primarily a wine merchant, they have also played a prominent role in the Scotch whisky industry. In addition to founding the Cutty Sark Blend, and managing the Glenrothes brand for 30 years, BBR is also an independent bottler. We have long been impressed not only by the quality of their independent bottlings, but also their value! 

Berry Bros. & Rudd in Their Own Words

With two Royal Warrants and more than 300 years of history, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s original wine and spirits merchant. 

We can trace our history back to 1698, when an enterprising woman called the Widow Bourne started an “Italian grocer’s” at No.3 St James’s Street, selling tea, snuff, spices and the most fashionable drink of the day, coffee. The sign of the coffee mill still hangs outside our premises at No.3 today, in tribute to our roots.

In due course, our focus shifted to something a little bit stronger. As wine became important to the business, so too did spirits, and we started bottling casks under our label in the early 19th century, making us Britain’s oldest independent spirits bottler. Three centuries on, the family business continues to flourish, with its heart still very much at No.3.

While much has changed over the years, we are still owned and managed by members of the Berry and Rudd families, and we continue to supply the British Royal Family, as we have done since the reign of King George III. We still, from time to time, weigh customers on a giant set of coffee scales, a tradition which began in the 1760s, with Lord Byron, William Pitt and Beau Brummell among those who have had their weights recorded in our ledgers. Most importantly, we still believe that everything you should look for in a wine or spirit comes down to one simple question: “Is it good to drink?”

Distillery

I have a personal connection to the Clynelish Distillery - one that goes well beyond my love of their whisky. This connection is a little bit at odds with my love for the whisky if I am being honest. The distillery was founded by the Marquis of Stafford, aka the 1st Duke of Sutherland, one of the worst actors in the dark period of Scottish history known as the Highland Clearances.

The Highland Clearances took place between 1750 and 1860 in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Tens of thousands of tenant farmers were cruelly and systematically evicted from their homes so that their farmland could be used for the more profitable grazing of sheep. Many were forced out of their homes at gunpoint and shepherded away to live in towns and villages while their meagre possessions went up in smoke. The displaced peoples were compelled to become fishermen, kelp harvesters, or hard labourors.

In later stages of the clearances, after it became apparent that the displaced peoples were struggling to support themselves and were suffering from famine, landlords turned to “assisted passages.” Tenants who were selected for “emigration” had little choice but to board ship and depart for places unknown. This is almost certainly how my mother’s ancestors found their way to Canada.

I am a member of the ancient Clan Gunn on my mother’s side. The Gunns claim Gunni as their founder, who was himself the descendant of Viking raiders. Gunni’s wife, Ragnhild, was the sister of the Earl of Orkney, who granted her estates in Caithness. The Gunns would play a prominent role in the far northeast of Scotland - the lands of Caithness and Sutherland - for the next 500 years. There is still a strong Gunn connection to these lands, but the Clearances did much to break the Clan system and Gaelic culture.

In just six years between 1814 and 1820, the 1st Duke of Sutherland alone evicted more than 3000 families - no fewer than 15,000 people from Caithness and Sutherland. One old woman was burned alive after refusing to leave her home.

The Cylnelish Distillery was founded by the Duke of Sutherland in 1819, ostensibly to give some of his newly unemployed tenants something to do. But I recall another version of this story, which implies that the distillery was opened, not out of commercial intent, but rather to drive the illicit distillers operating on his lands - the last holdouts to his Clearance - out of business. It seems this man’s cruelty knew no bounds, at least by modern standards. Whatever the truth is, the distillery has survived to this day, and has somewhat of a dedicated following for its whisky.

The original Clynelish Distillery was closed in 1968, after a new modern Clynelish distillery opened adjacent to it in 1967. The old distillery, renamed Brora after the town, was temporarily revived between 1969 and 1983 to supply demand for the booming Blended Scotch industry. In the years since, Brora has become a highly sought after and collectible whisky. This might have had something to do with its owner Diageo’s decision to reopen it after nearly 40 years.

The Brora (the original Clynelish) and Clynelish Distilleries are located side by side on the outskirts of the picturesque seaside town of Brora. The latter recently opened a state-of-the-art visitor center and, like its older sister distillery, has developed a bit of a cult following - in this case for a specific trait. Clynelish has a distinctly mouth coating waxy profile which sets it apart from all other Scottish single malts. There was a bit of a panic many years back when the spirit temporarily lost some of this character after an overly thorough cleaning of the distillery’s equipment during the silent season. The collection of “gunky” oils in the feints receiver is behind this signature trait and is now carefully replaced after its cleaning.

The Clynelish 14 Year distillery bottling is a classic but has been harder to find in recent years. The whisky is also of signature importance to, and one of the biggest components in Johnnie Walker Gold Label blend. Keep your eye open for independent bottlings of Clynelish, especially from Gordon & Macphail and Signatory, they are always excellent.

The town of Brora is located a little over an hour north of Inverness and boasts a few nice hotels and a lovely oceanfront links course. There is also plenty of great hiking and mountain biking in the nearby mountains. One peak in particular, Ben Bhraggie, looms over the scenic nearby town of Golspie and boasts spectacular views of the Dornoch Firth, the Black Isle (a peninsula) and the Moray coast beyond. While you are there, you can pay your respects to the notorious 1st Duke of Sutherland, who built an imposing monument to himself atop the Ben. How you choose to do that is up to you, but I have a few ideas...

On that final note, I've taken my own small little bit of revenge out on the infamous Duke... Our friends at That Boutique-y Whisky Company even helped us immortalize said event, with our to
Boutique-y Clynelish* 20 Year KWM Cask!