Speyside

Mortlach 16 Year

Mortlach was the first official distillery in Dufftown, founded in 1823 and known as “The Beast of Dufftown”. Operating relatively uninterrupted since then across several owners, it has long passed under the radar of many enthusiasts since its output has gone primarily into blends with only the occasional special single malt release. This changed in 2013 when the brand relaunched with more emphasis placed on its single malt offerings. This Mortlach 16, the Distiller’s Dram, comes from a new trilogy announced in 2018. Like all expressions since 1896, it is distilled 2.81 times, and matured entirely in ex-Sherry casks.

By Adam | June 10, 2020 | Speyside | No Comments |

BenRiach has received a lot of attention over the years for their higher range age statements, both straight and peated series, as we’ve examined before. In recent years, the distillery has slimmed down the number of regular offerings, their flagship range now featuring a 10 year and this 12 year old. The BenRiach 12 Sherry Wood is sherry through and through, spending the entire maturation process before being finished with a mix of casks that once held Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherries. Whereas sherry is popular with finishing scotches, it is a rare scotch that can stand to spend the entire maturation process so.

By Adam | March 5, 2020 | Speyside | No Comments |

In 2016, Glenfiddich released the Glenfiddich IPA Cask offering to inaugurate their Experimental Series. This yearly series is geared toward, as the name indicates, experimenting and pushing the envelope of what might be considered normal within the industry while still playing within regulatory bounds. This expression takes the current trend of cask finishing and adds a twist by doing so in barrels that once held an IPA-style beer at Speyside Craft Brewing specially created by a collaboration between Master Blender Brian Kinsman and Craft Beer Expert Seb Jones.

By Adam | November 20, 2019 | Speyside | No Comments |