Lemon oil

Ardbeg Blaaack

2020 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee, a fan club of Ardbeg enthusiasts and a way for the distillery to stay in touch with fans of the brand. Every year in the spring, the distillery will release a special Committee Release. While available to non-Committee buyers, members hear about the upcoming whisky first and sometimes have a chance to buy it before retail. The 2020 Committee Release is the Ardbeg Blaaack. The name references a black sheep, depicted on the cover amidst a sea of white sheep. The sheep are there because the whisky was matured in ex-pinot noir casks from New Zealand, another island nation known for having an extremely high number of sheep.

By Adam | March 20, 2022 | Islay | No Comments |

Not all Scotch regions were created equally, and neither have they aged with equal grace – or solvency. The Campbeltown region once had over thirty distilleries yet now only three remain. While Hazelburn was a distillery in Campbeltown, it closed in 1926 in part due to the rise of prohibition in the U.S. and beyond. This current spirit, however, is a bottling by one of the three surviving distilleries in town, Springbank. It also holds the distinction of being one of only two distilleries in Scotland to perform every step in the whisky making process; the other is Kilchoman. The Hazelburn 12 is triple-distilled (you can tell from the picture on the bottle of three pot stills) and is non-peated. The distillery’s peated offering, Longrow, and the main Springbank whisky have all won awards. This is Scotchology’s first Campbeltown.

By Adam | March 3, 2015 | Campbeltown | No Comments |

Auchentoshan is the only triple distilled single malt in Scotland, more time consuming and costly than the regular double distillation. This process is supposed to create a more complex flavor while at the same time being gentler than the high alcohol concentration might suggest. They also have a cream liqueur that’s exclusive to their distillery. If it’s anything like Mrs. Walker’s Drumgray Highland Cream Liqueur, then it would be worth a trip and tour regardless what the rest of the offerings were like. Auchentoshan is also one of the few lowland distilleries still operating in Scotland, making its exploration near a requirement. Oddly enough, the Auchentoshan Classic is not currently listed on their website, so it may be in the process of being rebranded (as the Classic is a rebranding in 2008 of their Select).

By Adam | July 3, 2014 | Lowland | No Comments |