Vanilla

Stronachie 12 Year

Stronachie 12 Year

This Scotch has a complicated history. Stronachie was a distillery near the town of Forgandenny that closed in 1928. The firm that represented the distillery in Scotland, A. D. Rattray, decided to bring the name back with a new offering in the early 2000s. The whisky that’s actually in the bottle of this current iteration, however, is from the distillery of Benrinnes. So even though the original Stronachie was a highland malt, the whisky actually in the bottle today comes from a Speyside distillery. While confusing at first, taste-testing of a rare bottle from the original distillery actually matched better to a Speyside, as the process of making whisky has changed over the centuries. So, less confusing. History and sourcing aside, however, the chief question is…how does such an echo of bygone times taste?

Edradour 12 Year “Caledonia”

Edradour 12 Year “Caledonia”

This is a release made by Edradour from a cask specifically chosen by Scottish composer Douglas Maclean in 2009 from a selection first distilled in 1997. There’s even a video. His music may sound familiar to some, for his piece “The Gael” was adapted by Trevor Jones for the movie The Last of the Mohicans in 1992. His other famous piece is “Caledonia,” after which this spirit is named. Three cheers to a small distillery like Edradour that can take a highly unique step like this. It may not be around forever, but a bottling like this deserves enough attention to fill your glass. Now, more importantly, what special qualities did Dougie Maclean taste in this whisky?

Port Charlotte The Peat Project

Port Charlotte The Peat Project

With a name like the Peat Project, there’s no ambiguity about what you’re going to get. This Port Charlotte variant is a bit misleading in that it’s not a Port Charlotte scotch (the actual Port Charlotte distillery closed in 2009), but part of the Port Charlotte line of offerings from Bruichladdich. The main Bruichladdich whisky is predominantly floral for an Islay and not peated. Port Charlotte is where the peat happens, including their super-peated Octomore.