Review - Dewar's 25 years old

This Dewar's 25 years old whisky replaces the no age statement Signature expression at the top of the popular Dewar's blended Scotch range. The move is designed to show the Dewar's commitment to the age statement category. The new 25 years old expression has been created by Stephanie Macleod, the Master Blender for Dewar's, and uses some of the company's oldest single grain and malt whiskies.

In an additional twist, once blended together the whisky has undergone a further maturation in casks used to mature Royal Brackla single malt. The Royal Brackla distillery is widely regarded as the brand home for Dewar's and its whisky is one of the signature malts in the range of blends.

Review - Aberfeldy 16 years old

John Dewar & Sons, the owners of the Highland distillery of Aberfeldy, have released a new expression in to their core single malt range. The Aberfeldy 16 years old has been matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and will sit between the current 12 and 21 years old expressions in the range, which forms part of the owners wider Last Great Malts portfolio. There is also an 18 years old, which is exclusive to the travel retail sector. This new release was launched back in November and will be available in eleven selected world markets - Belgium, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK.

Review - The Deveron 12 & 18 year olds

The Deveron is the first ever range of single malts to be released from the Macduff distillery in northern Aberdeenshire.  The name of the range is taken from the River Deveron, which flows next to Macduff and then out in to the North Sea shortly afterwards. The new range features expressions of 10, 12 and 18 years of age with all bottled at 40% ABV. The range is the last to be released in a series by owners John Dewar & Sons called The Last Great Malts - this has seen whiskies released from their five Scottish distilleries, most for the very first time.  The other four are Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie and Royal Brackla.

Review - Royal Brackla 12, 16 and 21 years old

This new range from the Royal Brackla distillery forms part of a larger range called The Last Great Malts.  This showcases whisky from each of the five Scotch distilleries owned by John Dewar & Sons. Ranges from Aberfeldy, Aultmore and Craigellachie are already on the market, both in domestic and travel retail, with Macduff (which will be bottled under the Deveron name) to follow shortly this Autumn. It is the first full range to ever be released from the distillery and one whose whiskies we were very unfamiliar with.

Distillery visit - Aberfeldy

Aberfeldy is one of the most visited whisky distilleries in Scotland, despite the Aberfeldy range of single malt not featuring in the world's Top 20 best sellers.  Its Highland location and relative proximity to Edinburgh and Glasgow help a lot but the main reason for its popularity is the distillery's importance to Dewar's, one of the most popular blended Scotch brands.  Aberfeldy is one of the signature single malts in the Dewar's range and this is reflected in the Dewar's World of Whisky visitor centre being at the distillery.

Review - Craigellachie 19 years old

This is the travel retail exclusive bottling for the Craigellachie range that was released last year.  This was the first range of malts to be released by the distillery and was part of a wider programme of single malt releases by owners John Dewar & Sons, part of the Bacardi group. This programme, entitled The Last Great Malts, aims to showcase Craigellachie and the other Scottish distilleries owned by the group - Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Macduff and Royal Brackla. Only the Macduff and Royal Brackla now remain to be released, and both will appear later this year.

Review - Aultmore 12 years old

This whisky is the new single malt from the little known distillery of Aultmore. It forms part of a new range of whiskies, which is the first such range from the distillery.  The range features this 12 years old, plus 21 (which is a travel retail exclusive) and 25 years old expressions.  These have just been released and will be joined by 30 and 35 years old versions later in 2015.  The range forms part of Bacardi's The Last Great Malts range, which showcases whisky from the group's five single malt distilleries - Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, Macduff and Royal Brackla.

Distillery visit - Aultmore

Last Summer, we were delighted to attend a press trip that saw us visit the five single malt distilleries owned by John Dewar & Sons - Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, Macduff and Royal Brackla.  The trip was organised to promote their new series of whiskies entitled The Last Great Malts, which sees most of the distilleries getting a range of single malts for the first time.

Distillery visit - Craigellachie

Last month John Dewar & Sons announced The Last Great Malts programme.  This sees the company, which is owned by multi-national drinks company Bacardi, releasing a range of single malts to showcase their five Scottish distilleries.  Four of these - Aultmore, Craigellechie, Macduff and Royal Brackla - have never had a range of malts available before, while the existing Aberfeldy range has been revamped and expanded.

Craigellachie is the first of the four to appear on the market - read our thoughts and tasting notes on the range here - and prior to the launch Karen and Matt C were invited to the distillery, which is not open to the public ...

New releases - The Craigellachie range

The Craigellachie range is a brand new series of bottlings and represents the first range of single malts to ever be released by the distillery.  The launch is part of a wider programme of single malt releases by Craigellachie's owners John Dewar & Sons, which is part of the Bacardi group.  This programme is entitled The Last Great Malts and aims to showcase Craigellachie and the four other Scottish distilleries owned by the group - Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Macduff and Royal Brackla.

Inbox - August 22, 2014

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Have just tried - Aberfeldy 12 years old

This whisky is the flagship single malt from the Highland distillery of Aberfeldy.  It has just recently been re-launched with new packaging.  This is pictured above and focuses on numerous aspects of the distillery's history and heritage, with the gold lettering paying homage to the discovery of gold particles in the local river.  This new identity, which is the first re-branding for Aberfeldy since 1999, forms part of a larger plan for its single malts - the current 21 years old expression has also been given new look, a new travel retail exclusive 18 years old has been added with more ages planned to join the 12 and 21 year olds in the core range.

Have just tried ... Glen Deveron 10 years old

Glen Deveron is a single malt whisky that is produced at the little known Macduff distillery, close to the Highland coastal town of Banff. The distillery was founded in 1962 and was originally named as Glen Deveron due to its proximity to the River Deveron. It became Macduff in the 1970s, following a change of ownership. The current owners are John Dewar & Sons, a subsidiary of the Bacardi group, and most of the three million litres produced there each year is used in Dewar's popular range of blended whiskies. Macduff is one of the few distilleries in Scotland to have an odd number of stills - they have five and this is unusual as stills normally operate in pairs, so therefore most distilleries have an even number of them.

Popular in Europe
Glen Deveron single malt whisky is relatively difficult to find in the UK market, but has a strong market share in southern Europe. This stems from when it was owned and marketed by Martini in the 1980s and laterly, by Bacardi since they took control of Dewar's in 1992. Because of its strong showing in these markets, Glen Deveron creeps in to the world's top 30 for single malt whisky sales. Single malt releases are limited to just this 10 years old, although this is joined occasionally by 12 and 15 years olds. All releases by John Dewar & Sons carry the Glen Deveron name, while any bottled by an independent bottling company carry the Macduff name. Such independent bottlings are rare, especially older whiskies.

Our tasting notes
This Glen Deveron 10 years old is bottled at 40% ABV and should cost between £25-30 from specialist retailers. The colour is a rich gold and the nose is initially sharp with a distinct citrus-like zing (think of orange zest). This settles after a short time to reveal prominent cereals and oak aromas that are backed up with further nuttiness (imagine almonds), some burnt sugar and caramel notes and a tiny whiff of peat smoke. On the palate, there is that initial sharp zesty tang again but as before, this fades with time to allow the other characteristics through, especially very prominent oak, wood spice (think of cinnamon and nutmeg) and cereal notes. Behind these are more subtle, sweeter elements such as some honey, nuts (almonds again), caramel and soft distant peat smoke. The finish is disappointingly short - it is again sharp and fresh, giving way to an increasing woody bitterness that was not unlike that previously experienced in one or two bourbons.

What's the verdict?
We have never tried anything from Macduff and it is always interesting to try whiskies from new distilleries. This seems a peculiar whisky that is at odds with itself. It has numerous pleasant sweeter characteristics that balance well with the more bitter and distinct cereal and woody oak notes, especially on the nose and palate. However, the short, sharp finish unbalances the whole experience and the initial sharpness on the nose, palate and finish may put some people off this whisky. You can see why it is popular in southern Europe, where temperatures are much warmer than the UK, as its freshness would lend itself to the addition of some ice or use as a mixer. Worth trying but we tick Macduff/Glen Deveron off our list and move on ...

Have just tried (Speyside edition) ... Craigellachie 1991 'Connoisseur's Choice' from Gordon & MacPhail

Craigellachie is located in the heart of the Speyside whisky region in Scotland. It can be found on the edge of the village of the same name and sits at the point where the River Spey and River Fiddich join. Craigellachie was founded in 1891 by Alexander Edward and Peter Mackie, and they commissioned the reknowned architect Charles Doig to design and construct it. The most famous feature of his design at the distillery are the huge floor to ceiling windows of the stillroom. Problems with the construction and cashflow meant that the distillery did not start production until 1898.

Peter Mackie started his own company, Mackie & Company Distillers, and they took sole charge of Craigellachie in 1916. In 1924 the company name was changed to White Horse Distillers following Mackie’s death. White Horse later became part of the large Distillers Company Limited group, although the name remains as one of the best selling blended whiskies in the world. The current owners are John Dewar’s & Sons, who in turn are part of the Bacardi Group. They use much of the 3.5 million litres of spirit produced at Craigellachie each year in their popular range of Dewar’s blended whiskies. As a result, only a tiny percentage is released as single malt and even this (a 14 years old) is rare.

This Craigellachie is released by the Elgin based independent bottling company Gordon & MacPhail. The best way to find single malts from little known distilleries, such as Craigellachie, is through the numerous independent bottlers. Having said that, Craigellachie still remains hard to find. This bottling is a current release and can be found in specialist whisky retailers and Gordon & MacPhail’s website and should cost roughly £35 a bottle.

This bottling of Craigellachie has been matured in bourbon casks and the colour is golden yellow. The nose is sweet and grainy with lots of malted barley and vanilla present. There is also some fruit (think of sultanas especially), toffee, some toasted nuts (imagine almonds) and a hint of dried grass or hay. It is an intriguing and pleasant nose that makes you want to sit a continue taking in the aromas. On the palate, this feels rich and creamy with the vanilla, toffee and toasted nut elements particularly prominent. These are joined some sweetness - the fruit and grains from the nose - some honey, some dry woody spice (imagine cinnamon bark) and a slightly odd hint of menthol eucalyptus and that dried grassy note. The finish is fairly short with the sweetness turning drier and woodier towards the end. This is a lovely whisky that is rich, sweet and spicy but with that interesting menthol-like twist. It should be tried to if the opportunity arises and offers very good value for money, especially when considering that it is an 18 years old single malt from a little known distillery. A lovely dram.