Rampur distillery was founded in 1943 in the Indian city of Rampur, making it the oldest distillery in India and also part of the Radico Khaitan liquor conglomerate. The company has a portfolio producing spirits for the Indian domestic market, the international market, and the Indian military market, along with neutral spirit for use in a variety of commercial products. They also own their own bottling plant, enabling them to incorporate much of the production process. Rampur is part of the international portfolio. Situated at the base of the Himalayas, the location and elevation give it greater climate variance not seen elsewhere in India. The Rampur Asāva are aged for a time in ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to casks formerly containing cabernet sauvignon wine from India. This expression was first released in October 2020.
Compass Box The Story of the Spaniard
Compass Box was founded in 2000 by American John Glaser and quickly made a name for themselves by bottling and marketing a range of blended scotch. While Compass Box found early notoriety for its conflicts with the Scotch Whisky Association but over the years they have gone from being outsiders to being respected innovators with numerous industry awards under their belts. The Story of the Spaniard is meant to be a showcase of sherry and the influence the fortified wine can have on scotch. Each of the several blends has some component of sherry maturation. The story behind the Story is a nod to Glaser’s first experience with sherry during travels in Spain.
Fifty Stone
Maine Craft Distilling was founded in 2012 by Luke Davidson and Fred Farber. Like many in the new wave of craft distilling, Luke experimented with a private still (in his barn) after malting grain for local brewers and eventually tried his hand at whiskey, inspired by scotch but using ingredients native to Maine. Like a very few Scottish distilleries, Maine Craft Distilling is a malt-to-barrel operation, with many of the machinery from Scotland. While the distillery makes rums, vodkas, gins and brandy – including a curious blueberry liqueur – the Fifty Stone is their only whiskey. Named after the old British unit of measure, fifty stones was traditionally the weight of barley required to make a barrel of whiskey (one stone usually equaled 14 pounds). The barley is smoked using Maine peat and Maine seaweed. Purportedly made in the Highland (we assume that equates to Scottish) style.