New Cutty Sark and Bladnoch; One of One Auction Results

Hello everyone

Two treats have come my way recently. The first was a new Cutty Sark and the second a new expression from Bladnoch.

Cutty Sark 17 Year Old Triple Cask Matured (42.3% abv) was launched recently at the Tax Free World show in Cannes. I had thought it was to be a travel retail exclusive but that was just the launch event. If you were reading this column in 2023, you may remember my enthusiasm for a very special and limited expression of Cutty Sark sampled by us scribes. I was hoping this new one headed in the same taste and character direction and it didn‘t disappoint. Some days after delivery, came an online meeting for whisky writers with Master Blender, Stephen Woodcock so we were all able to share our own notes. My own are:

Appearance: Light amber with tawny and light copper highlights. Tears swift, fat and close at first then slower and wider apart.

Nose: Richly fruity and enticing; barley sugar sweets; softly spicy. Citrus zest (tangerine/orange). Touch of milk chocolate. Oak creeeps in. With water, a little waft of sherry cask sulphur and more malty.

Palate: Slightly oily mouthfeel. Spiced fruit – plum and vine; pastry/brioche notes. Baked golden syrup and dark sugars and dark chocolate (despite the nose version!). A touch of oak and rich maltiness. Some dark chocolates were supplied with the sample and, taken together with the whisky,brought out a marzipan note and the cocoa powder sings.

Finish: Quite long, fruity and slightly dry at the end with some oak tannins.

I have to say this slips down very silkily and easily. Stephen wanted to draw on the same inspiration as he had for the Cutty Sark Centenary Blend. There is 40% malt whisky conent here, same as in the 12 year old blend. He said they had some „great oloroso sherry casks and top notch tawny port casks“ so decided to split the whisky 50:50 between the two types for 17 months. They were initially in ex-bourbon wood then vatted and divided between the port and sherry woods. The vatted grain whisky element was in first-fill bourbon wood for 17 years. The final strength of 42.3% is a nod to the creation of the Cutty blend in 1923. Stephen Woodcock reckons it doesn‘t really need water as it‘s a very smooth dram on its own – true, but for yourselves or for recommending to your customers, it should be drunk as the individual prefers. Please just do try it on its own first.

Price is at the £85 – £90 level though the UK is not yet a key market. Those are Spain, USA, Portugal, Greece and Japan for domestic markets as well as global travel retail (mainly Dubai). This 17 year old will be a permanent addition to the Cutty Sark range and a second batch is already laid down and waiting its turn. A very pertinent point made during the Zoom meeting by Ian Buxton was that, in the UK, people don‘t understand the value of premium blends. He‘s right and there‘s an education job to be done there.

Just arrived today is a sample of the new Loch Maberry, part of the Stories of Bladnoch series and source of the River Bladnoch which supplies the distillery‘s water. It‘s bottled at 48.6% abv and is, “ … the second instalment in a limited-edition series of single malt whiskies, celebrating and selected by individuals who have a deep affinity with the distillery. Chapter Two reveals a tale of reconnection with Elizabeth Cobbett, the great-great-granddaughter of Thomas McClelland, who with his older brother John, founded the distillery at Bladnoch over 200 years ago“.

My notes are:

Appearance: Light-medium amber, old gold highlights. Tears very slow and sticky.

Nose: Very fruity and raisiny. Quite soft and mellow. Marshmallows; sweet oak wood. Dark chocolate cherries; honey and milky coffee. Peach.

Palate: Rich, oaky with baked peach fruit and raisins. Dark chocolate bitterness.

Finish: Quite long with some sweetness and nuts (almost unripe); coffee grounds.

We’re further told, „Elizabeth always knew her family had once run Bladnoch Distillery and a brief visit in the 1990s while in Dumfries and Galloway was enough to satisfy her curiosity at the time, until 20 years later, after her parents’ passing, she uncovered photographs in their attic. Delving into her family history, Elizabeth discovered her grandmother, Margaret Tyrer (née McClelland), had been born in 1882 near the distillery, where the McClelland family earned their living before moving to Liverpool at the turn of the century when Bladnoch was sold.“

„Over the years, Elizabeth followed Bladnoch’s revival online, where maps and photographs showed the old stone buildings on the river restored, while the distillery’s website gave her a way to stay connected through its newsletter. When Bladnoch invited people to share their stories, Elizabeth responded which led to her return visit to meet master distiller Dr Nick Savage to help select a cask for Loch Maberry: Stories of Bladnoch, Chapter Two. Guided by Nick, Elizabeth nosed and tasted a selection of samples before choosing Cask 450/2006.“

It was distilled in 2006 and matured in a sherry butt, yet lighter on palate than you might expect after all that time in sherry wood but no less tasty for that. There is no added colour and no chill-filtration. Price is £150 and it‘s available via the www.bladnoch.com site. Elizabeth Cobbett declares herself privileged to have been chosen to select a cask and is rightly proud. It‘s a delightful story.

I mentioned the Distillers‘ One of One Auction last time and did indeed attend the auction preview on the Thursday evening. On the Friday afternoon, both the bidders and Sotheby‘s did everyone proud by raising £2.9 million for disadvantaged young people aged 16 – 25 in Scotland for training and education leading to work. Almost double the hoped for result. This means the charity‘s three events so far have raised some £6.6 million.

The star of the show in terms of money raised was The Glenlivet Spira 60 Years Old which fetched an eye-watering £650,000 including buyer‘s premium which Sotheby‘s have again kindly donated to the charity. Only a few lots didn‘t make their upper estimate which is a shame as they all deserved to do better. My own former brands The Glendronach and Laphroaig did well, though The Glendronach was one of those not quite making its upper estimate of £100,000 so someone got a bargain there. It sold for £93,750 but was an auction record for the brand. The Laphroaig fetched £125,000, much better than its upper estimate of £80,000. Two stunning results were the Glen Grant Eternal 77 Year Old which sold for £400,000 against top estimate of £120,000 and The Ladyburn One of One 2025 Marilyn Monroe by Sam Shaw 58 Year Old which went for £225,000 against top expectation of £50,000. However, it is a particularly rare whisky.

One story which has tickled me is of the Glenfarclas presented in a beautifully carved wooden box. I was told yesterday those in charge wondered what packaging to put round the bottle and someone mentioned one of the distillery team who was good at woodwork. He agreed to carve something if they paid for a piece of wood which he then carved by hand. I do hope that‘s true and what a lovely result! It also went for £81,250 versus estimate of £45,000.

Last mention for now is from a release which arrived in my inbox today to advise that The Loch Lomond Group‘s Luss Distillery is open but I‘ll say more if I get time to go along and have a look at it myself. My next column will feature the Isle of Raasay Distillery which I visited early this week and interviewed a few of the team there.

Till then, happy dramming.

Slainte mhath,

Caroline