A Mixture: New Bottlings

Hello everyone

Well, there was nothing really to say end of August so I agreed with Jo of TWA I‘d be back in September after my holiday in France topped and tailed by one night in Luxembourg and one in Belgium. Last year I tried some Belgian whisky but didn‘t manage it this time. Didn‘t get round to any of the French ones either. The restaurants I was in seemed to have only non-French whiskies and in Belgium it was hard enough to get into a restaurant without a booking even on a Monday night. We hadn‘t been in Bruges for about 10 years and the tourist population seems to have ballooned so, although it’s lovely, not intending to go back there any time soon. It‘s just too busy. Interesting beers, though!

Quite a few new expressions have been launched in my absence. One of those which popped up just today is the new Big Peat expression from Douglas Laing & Co. It‘s always an interesting discovery and some I‘ve liked more than others but that‘s the case with any whisky. This latest expression is to celebrate 15 years of the Big Peat Islay Blended Malt offerings. It really doesn‘t seem that long since it first emerged and all congratulations to the company for achieving this much success with it.

This new one comes in at 50% abv, a limited edition for global markets, not just one or two and predominantly matured in red wine casks (similar to another DL recent launch but I don‘t know if they‘re the same wine type). We‘re told, „This special edition of Big Peat has been released in a bespoke, giftable carton featuring 15 discoverable points surrounding Big Peat, the Isle of Islay and the unique Whisky itself. Also featured is a scannable QR code offering consumers the chance to join Big Peat’s Club with more to be announced in 2025.“ You‘ll find this in specialist whisky stores and online from now at a price of around £65/Euro75.00.

The other recent DL launch earlier this month is in their Old Particular Red Wine Cask selection from the Old Particular range and it‘s a 13 year old Blair Atholl. Sadly, no samples of this one as it features rarer liquids from the DL stocks. This one has been finished in a single Sangiovese Red Wine cask and is the second bottling in the exclusive Old Particular Red Wine Cask collection. They say, „Each pairing in this collection is said to have been meticulously selected to enhance the inherent qualities of the chosen Malt Scotch Whisky, elevating the complexity and depth to introduce new and exciting taste experiences. The journey continues into Italy with this second release, using a Sangiovese Red Wine Cask sourced from sunnier climates. The well-rounded and intricate characteristics of Sangiovese seamlessly intertwine with the rich depth of Blair Athol, bringing tasting notes of “dark cherries, dried fruits, spiced oak and sweet vanilla”. Well, I daresay the proof will be in the drinking. Sounds tasty, though. This is a limited edition at 48.4% abv, NCF/NAC and if you live in a market it reaches, it will be around £96/Euro 111 per bottle.

Another newbie of which I am expecting a sample is from Kilchoman. I always look forward to their new expressions as it gives a chance to compare and contrast with others from their ranges. It‘s the 14th Edition of their 100% Islay expression and I still have a couple of previous ones in my stores. The barley is Publican from a single farm and taken from the 2013 and 2014 harvests so it‘s 9 years old. This time it‘s been matured in selected bourbon and oloroso sherry casks which Anthony Wills has chosen as 9 bourbon:1 sherry. A sample has been sent out to me so I hope to say more end of this month.

On the note of releases one anticipates eagerly, Bruichladdich have also announced the Octomore releases for

2024. It‘s Series 15 for that heavily peated range this year too and this year‘s three bottlings are: 15.1 – first fill bourbon casks; 15.2 – matured in a combination of wine, bourbon, and ex-cognac casks (this one’s really intriguing me) and 15.3 – matured in bourbon casks and Spanish Oloroso hogsheads and the only one from all Islay barley as opposed to all Scottish. I‘m not yet sure if samples will be coming so will hold off on more for now, other than to say this is always an exciting offering just to see how marvellously creative Adam Hannett can be.

One final sample I know is supposed to be with me soon is a tasting pack of five whiskies from luxury single cask, single malt whisky brand Ferg & Harris, each featuring „an inspired cask wood finish for a truly distinctive dram“. I daresay I‘ll find out before too much longer. Yet another to look forward to.

Till end of this month, happy dramming.

Slainte,

Caroline