Pine

Glenmorangie The Tale of Cake

Glenmorangie The Tale of Cake

Glenmorangie has undergone a quiet expansion in branding over recent years. Eschewing the dark wood tones and lofty Highland landscape photos plastered over the marketing boxes, websites and social media of other distilleries, Glenmorangie infused newer releases with bold color palates and creative stories. This is an unashamed move to appeal to segments of the population who might not have considered single malt scotch beforehand or who considered the drink too stuffy, infusing it with a sense of fun and whimsy. The Tale of Cake is the brainchild of Dr. Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling for Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, and is meant to evoke a “cake moment”, or rather the sense of joy and savoriness he associated with cake at various point in his life. The ex-Tokaji casks this limited edition is finished in are a Hungarian dessert wine.

Berkshire Mountain 10 Year Oktoberfest

Berkshire Mountain 10 Year Oktoberfest

Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD) was founded in 2007 in Massachusetts by Chris Weld. Chris tried making a still in the 8th grade, which feels qualified as a good start. The distillery sits on an old apple farm and a working spring. In the proceeding years, the distillery has made a variety of vodkas, gins, rums, and bourbon, along with corn and single malt whiskies. BMD seems to love experimenting, as they have developed multiple kinds of each spirit by making use of their small batch production. The distillery is also into collaboration with local breweries and farms, as shown by their recent Craft Brewers Whiskey Project. The Berkshire Mountain 10 Year Oktoberfest is another entry in collaboration, as this single malt is aged for ten years and was distilled from an Oktoberfest beer by nearby brewery Berkshire Brewing. 

Ardbeg 5 Year Wee Beastie

Ardbeg 5 Year Wee Beastie

There has been a growing trend for the past decade and more of fading age statements on scotches as distilleries are feeling the crunch in supply from demand in an exploding global market. Brands have replaced age statements with whiskies lacking them, to varying success, so it is a surprise to see a major distillery like Ardbeg release a new core offering to their line that carries an age statement. Even more unusual is that it is a young age. The unofficial benchmark for most single malts to list their age is 10 years, as evidences by the many 10 or 12-year scotches on the market. Going younger, especially to 5 years – only two years more than the minimum regulated age required to even be called a whisky in the EU – is even more against the grain. While the Wee Beastie is so named to market the rawness of youth, it already holds a place of interest simply for its bold choices.