Grass

Deanston Virgin Oak

Deanston is relatively new for a distillery in Scotland, being converted from the a cotton mill that was almost two centuries old when converted to a distillery in 1966. Since that time, Deanston has created a number of blended and single malt whiskies, albeit with occasional bouts of stoppage due to diminished demand or other factors. There are 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills, which produce a total of 3 million liters per year, offerings ranging from a core line of aged and unaged whiskies. It is also the only distillery currently in Scotland to be self-sustaining from an electrical standpoint, powered by a hydro-electric facility on site. The Deanston Virgin Oak is part of their core line up. Matured at first in ex-bourbon barrels like a majority of scotches, it is then finished for 9-12 months in fresh virgin casks from Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky, a family operation that got their start by the River Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland. While using virgin oak is normal for bourbon in the United States, it is very rare to see in scotch production.

By Adam | July 20, 2024 | Highland | No Comments |

Glengyle distillery was founded by William Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Springbank, in 1872 and closed in 1925. After many attempts to restart throughout the 20th Century, the distillery finally began production again in 2004 with new stills and other equipment under the same ownership group as Springbank. The distillery sells their offerings under the brand name Kilkerran because the name Glengyle is owned by Loch Lomond and used for their blended malt. The Kilkerran Heavily Peated is a single malt that, as the name implies, is made using heavily peated barley. This is the 8th Edition and was released in May 2023. Though past bottles have listed ppm levels (phenolic parts per million), this edition does not.

By Adam | May 5, 2024 | Campbeltown | No Comments |

ASW Distillery was began production in 2016, helmed by Jim Chasteen, Charlie Thompson and Justin Manglitz in Atlanta, though they did release a blended offering out of Charleston, South Carolina in 2011 called American Spirit Whiskey. While a relatively new distillery, ASW looked back to their families’ Scottish, Irish and French backgrounds to guide them toward developing spirits into the modern American market. They offer a wide range of bourbons, ryes and single malts, along with newer takes on white spirits. While they distill most of their offerings themselves, they do have some sourced spirits housed under their Fiddler brand. The ASW Tire Fire is an Islay-style single malt, distilled from peated Scottish barley out of the Highlands. It goes into the barrel – char levels 3 and 4 – at 45ppm. Some versions have been finished in ex-rum casks but the one for this review was not.

By Adam | April 5, 2024 | Foreign | No Comments |