Bruichladdich Wins Again & New Bruichladdich Greener Still; Special Cask from Isle of Arran; New Darnley Gin RTD
Hello everyone
If you‘re in UK and Europe, I hope you‘re not suffering badly from heatwaves or wildfires. Ditto for Canada. Not good for any part of the world trying to make good whisk(e)y. Or any wines and spirits for that matter. Scientists tell us we may look back on this year from the not too distant future as one of the easier ones weather-wise and yet we still have climate change deniers. I don‘t get where their heads are at and wouldn‘t expect anyone involved in making fine drinks to get it either.
Let‘s turn to the better news and applaud a new release, Bruichladdich Greener Still. This is a 15 year old whisky launched as the final bottling to celebrate the 25 years since Bruichladdich was reopened in 2001 and showcases the distillery‘s commitment to environmental and social sustainability as per its BCorp certification. This bottling follows on from the Blacker, Redder and Golder Still bottlings from some years back. Where they concentrated on cask maturation types, this one focuses on barley and greener growing. It‘s distilled using a combination of organic, biodynamic and bere barley, the latter coming from Orkney, way up off the northern Scottish coast and cultivated in partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Agronomy Institute. The organic barley is grown on the Scottish mainland without artificial input while „...the biodynamic barley is from carbon-positive Yatesbury House Farm in Wiltshire, England, Bruichladdich’s only exception to its 100% Scottish barley rule“. You have to go where the good stuff is.
This latest Bruichladdich edition has been matured for all its 15 years in first-fill bourbon barrels, and purely at the distillery on Islay. No mainland warehouse transfers for Bruichladdich. The whisky is bottled at 51.6% ABV, not chill-filtered and with no added colour (NCF/NAC). Comment comes from Gareth Brown, Global Marketing Director at Bruichladdich Distillery, who said: “Bruichladdich Greener Still is the whisky we have been quietly working towards for 25 years. It’s a statement of intent that says flavour and environmental responsibility not only can go hand in hand – they must. When our founders brought Bruichladdich back to life in 2001, they set out to reconnect land, community and dram. Since then we’ve championed local barley, worked directly with farmers, explored Organic, Bere and Biodynamic crops, and committed to being a certified B Corp. Bruichladdich Greener Still is that journey in one bottling, a single malt Scotch whisky rooted in the soil as much as in our stills.” Beautifully put. A sample is promised to me so if it arrives on time, I intend to include my own notes in my end of August piece for this site. As ever, I‘m being very good and not looking at their official notes till I‘ve done mine. Waiting impatiently!
Not only this but we need to congratulate Bruichladdich for a fourth win in the Master of Malt Whisky Championships since 2022. See the Master of Malt website at https://www.masterofmalt.com/master-of-malt-whisky-championships/ for more info on all entrants and runners-up. In order to celebrate this, MoM have a Bruichladdich exclusive for sale – Bruichladdich 16 Year Old from 2008 in the Micro Provenance Series. It‘s from a single cask and bottled NCF/NAC at 59.2% abv and is priced at £139.95. There are also special offers from the runner-up brands at Lagavulin, Tobermory and Springbank as well as from all others who entered this year. Please look it up and see if there‘s anything you‘re interested in acquiring for yourself if not for your bar or restaurant, though a little limited edition or price-reduced offer is always nice to have on your whisky list for sale.
Moving to another island, news came in recently of a new offer from Isle of Arran Distillers‘ Lochranza Distillery. Following the success of last year’s limited-edition Palo Cortado Sherry cask offer marking their 30th anniversary, they‘re back with another release: a selection of fully matured, 10-year-old Peated Arran Single Malt casks, launched in celebration of their Cask Sales Manager’s 20 years with the company. The Cask Sales Manager in question is Gillian Snaddon and, in fact, her title is Bulk Stock & Cask Sales Manager. Always nice to see a company recognising and celebrating their staff. You may ask, peated? From Lochranza? Well, some small amounts of peated whisky were made at Lochranza up until 2017 ( one release being Machrie Moor) when land was acquired for their Lagg Distillery which now produces all their peated whisky.
Gillian herself commented, “Not every day I get to present aged single malt whisky casks, especially ones as unique as these peated ones. Knowing that this style of spirit is no longer produced, they really represent a true piece of irreplaceable Arran history. What a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the past 20 years, my journey as well as the whisky we produce, and to mark the occasion with such a superb offer for our existing cask owners and new customers alike.” Indeed, Arran is one of the few distilleries still to offer cask sales to private clients. These 10year old Arran Single Malt first-fill bourbon peated casks were filled in 2016 with spirit distilled from 20ppm Scottish Barley, and are priced at £10,500. Each cask has been re-gauged this year and contains approximately 92–105 regauged litres of alcohol. All purchases include 5 years of storage and insurance. You can visit Arran Whisky’s website to register your interest in buying a cask and to find more information - https://www.arranwhisky.com/our-distillery/buy-a-whisky-cask . If you fancy yourself as a cask owner or want one for your bar or restaurant then Gillian will doubtless guide you through.
The last word this time goes to gin. Darnley Gin from the Wemyss family to be exact. One of the key ingredients in their Darnley‘s is 
elderflower which grows on the Wemyss Castle estate. This new offering is Darnley’s Elderflower Gin Spritz, in a can where the elderflower is blended with Sicilian lemon juice and a hint of mint. All at only 7% abv. There‘s no mention of retailers in the release but you can buy it via their website at https://www.kingsbarnsdistillery.com/products/rtd-darnleys-spritz? for £3.50 for a single can and £42 for 12. A tempting taste and worth a try for me.
That‘s all for now before I dip into the frantic atmosphere of Edinburgh at Festival time. Back at end August with more.
Till then, happy dramming.
Slainte,
Caroline
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