Review | Fettercairn 16 years old (2024 Edition)

The Highland distillery of Fettercairn has refreshed its core domestic and travel retail ranges to coincide with its 200th anniversary celebrations this year. Part of this has been to announce the permanent addition of this Fettercairn 16 years old expression to its revamped domestic range. It joins the flagship 12 years old, with a 24 years old expression completing the set. The new travel retail range offers 14-, 17- and 25 years old whiskies. 

Review / Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12

The new whisky is the latest limited addition to the Cask Strength series from the Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12 has used whiskies of differing ages matured in ex-Pedro Ximénez and ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía in the south of Spain. The whisky has been created by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Glendronach. The series was started by former owner Billy Walker and has gained somewhat of a cult status amongst whisky fans. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 12 is bottled at 58.2% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is available through selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide. A bottle will cost £75. 

Review / Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 11

This new whisky is the latest bottling in the popular annual cask strength series from the east Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 11 is a celebration of both natural strength whisky and of Glendronach's heavily sherried style. It has been created by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Glendronach, using a combination of spirit matured in Spanish oak ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. 

The Batch 11 has been bottled at 59.8% ABV and is limited in number, although the exact quantity has not been revealed. It is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It will be available in specialist whisky retailers in selected global markets. A bottle will cost £68/ $78 US. 

Distillery Visit / Fettercairn

Tucked away at the foothills of the Cairngorm mountains sits a hidden gem of a distillery. Turning off the A90, the main road between Aberdeen and Dundee, the country lanes begin to narrow to the point where you wonder where you are going. Then you see the sign of Distillery Road and your destination sitting on the curve ahead - the distillery of Fettercairn.

The distillery has been there since 1824 and looks like many traditional distilleries of the age. However, something very contemporary is happening there as Fettercairn spearheads a programme to reintroduce Scottish oak to the Scotch whisky industry and its expressive flavours into people's glasses. We were invited to learn more about the distillery and innovative project.

Review / Fettercairn 18 years old

This new whisky is the latest to join the core range of Fettercairn and is a planned annual bottling. It is the first release from the increasingly popular east Highland distillery's innovative Scottish Oak Programme. The initiative has seen pockets of matured and new make spirit filled to virgin Scottish oak casks. These casks have been constructed at the famous Speyside Cooperage specifically for Fettercairn and using wood selected from trees found in the Highlands. It has also seen 13,000 Scottish oak saplings planted close to the distillery, which is hoped will form the new Fettercairn Forest. This will supply Scottish oak for generations of whisky makers to come once they reach maturity.

Review / Fettercairn Warehouse 2 (Batch 004)

This whisky is the latest limited edition release from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. It is the fourth bottling to appear in the Warehouse 2 series. The series is designed to showcase some of the hidden gems maturing within Fettercairn's 14 dunnage warehouses, and Warehouse #2 in particular. There are three cask types that feature in this new batch - 1st-fill ex-bourbon, 2nd-fill ex-bourbon and ex-German Pinot Noir wine barrels made from Hungarian oak. These have been used in the percentages of 74%, 20% and 6% respectively. All were distilled and filled in 2014. The casks were hand-selected and then married together by Gregg Glass, the Whisky Maker for Fettercairn. 

Review / Fettercairn Warehouse 2 (Batch 003)

This whisky is the latest limited edition release from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. It is the third bottling to appear in the Warehouse 2 series. Batch 003 follows the first two batches from 2021. The series is designed to showcase some of the hidden gems maturing within Fettercairn's 14 dunnage warehouses. There are three cask types that feature in this new batch - ex-bourbon and ex-rum barrels, plus ex-red wine barriques from France. These have been used in the percentages of 57%, 16% and 27% respectively. All were distilled and filled in 2015. The casks were hand-selected and then married together by Gregg Glass, the Whisky Maker for Fettercairn.

Review / Fettercairn Warehouse 2 (Batch 001)

This whisky launches a new series of limited editions from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. The Warehouse Collection is designed to showcase some of the hidden gems maturing within Fettercairn's 14 dunnage warehouses. It kicks off with this bottling - the Warehouse 2 Batch 001. The new whisky features single malts distilled in 2010 and these have been matured in Warehouse 2 at the distillery in five different casks types made of American oak or European oak. These include virgin unseasoned casks, ex-sherry butts and barrels, ex-bourbon barrels and ex-Port pipes. These have then been married together by Gregg Glass, Whisky Maker for Fettercairn.

Review / Glendronach Batch 18 Single Casks #2091 & #5897

These two whiskies form part of the latest batch of the highly anticipated annual single cask series from the Highland distillery of Glendronach. The Glendronach Batch 18 consists of 18 single casks, which span a range of ages and vintages, and each was hand-selected by Dr. Rachel Barrie - the Master Blender of Glendronach. The oldest was distilled and filled to cask in 1990, while the youngest is from 2009. 

All casks are either ex-Oloroso sherry, ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry or ex-Port in origin and are bottled at their natural cask strengths - these range between 48% and 61.9% ABV. All are also non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The price range is £97/ $129 US to £861/ $1,140 US. Each cask will only be available to purchase in an allocated region. The two reviewed here will only be for Europe and the UK. Full details of each cask are listed in our recent Inbox blog post here.

Review - AnCnoc Peatheart Batch 2

This whisky is a new release from the east Highland distillery of Knockdhu. The AnCnoc Peatheart Batch 2 is a limited edition and forms part of the brand's ever increasing range of smoky whiskies. These are made for a short period each year, a process which started 15 years ago, and use Highland peat cut locally during the malting process. It follows on from the inaugural batch of Peatheart from 2017, which was exclusive to Sweden, and has a phenol measurement of 40ppm (phenol parts per million). The Peatheart Batch 2 has been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. There are just over 10,000 bottles available.

Review - Fettercairn 16 years old

This whisky is a new addition to the core range of the Highland single malt distillery of Fettercairn. It joins the also newly released 22 years old expression in filling the previously large age gap between the 12 and 28 year olds in the range. The whiskies used to create this 16 years old were made using rare chocolate malt, which is more commonly used in the brewing industry, and then matured in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks. They then went for a finishing period of two years in ex-sherry and ex-Port casks. This 2020 edition of Fettercairn 16 years old is bottled at 46.4% ABV and will be released to both domestic and travel retail markets - prices are £69 for a 70cl bottle and £80 for a one litre bottle. 

Review - Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8

This whisky is the latest in the east Highland distillery's annual limited edition cask strength release and was released in Autumn 2019. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8 has been created by Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie using whiskies matured for a minimum of 10 years in both ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximénez casks, plus smaller quarter casks. It has been bottled at the natural strength of 61% ABV and is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8 is available in specialist whisky retailers worldwide and costs a recommended price of £62 per bottle.

Review - Fettercairn 28 years old

This whisky forms part of the recently revamped range of single malts from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. The relaunch occurred in the Summer of 2018 and was accompanied by a full bottle and packaging redesign, along with a refreshing of the brand logo. The four bottlings are designed to show an emphasis on old and rare stock and all carry age statement. In addition to this 28 years old there are expressions at 12, 40 and 50 years of age. The 28 years old is created using whisky produced in the late 1980s and very early 1990s and has been fully matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels. It is bottled at 42% ABV.

Review - Fettercairn 12 years old

This whisky is the best-selling core product in the recently revamped range of single malts from the east Highland distillery of Fettercairn. The relaunch occurred in the Summer of 2018 and was accompanied by a full bottle and packaging redesign, along with a refreshing of the brand logo. The four bottlings are designed to show an emphasis on old and rare stock and all carry age statements - these are at 12, 28, 40 and 50 years of age. This 12 years old expression has been fully matured in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled at 40% ABV.

Distillery Visit - Glendronach

It is not easy to find the distillery of Glendronach. The address is given as 'near Huntley' and as you drive along the busy A96 from Aberdeen towards Inverness you see a large brown tourist sign that tells the distillery is off to the right. But, then you drive. And drive. And drive, down and increasingly narrow and winding road.

You begin to wonder if you've gone wrong somewhere as the brown signs disappear, or if it even exists. But then you are rewarded - there nestled in a small valley is the padoga of a distillery. The picturesque scene means that you have finally reached your destination.

Review - Ardmore Port Wood Finish

The Port Wood Finish is the latest addition to the core single malt range from the east Highland distillery of Ardmore. It was released back in October of this year.  The whisky is made in the distillery's traditional mid-peated style, which has been produced there since the early 1900s.  It is currently the only Highland distillery to produce the majority of its whisky in the smoky style.  This whisky has been aged in ex-bourbon casks for 12 years before being finished in ex-Port half pipes. The Port Wood Finish comes in the new brand packaging, featuring map-style graphics of the local area and Ardmore's eagle logo.

New release - Glen Garioch 'The Renaissance - First Chapter'

This is the first bottling in a new series of four single malts from the cult east Highland distillery of Glen Garioch. The Renaissance Collection will showcase whisky that has been produced since the distillery was re-opened by owners Morrison Bowmore in 1997. It had been closed for two years prior to that. This first release is at 15 years old and called First Chapter.  It will be followed annually by 16, 17 and 18 year old expressions.  This new release appeared back in August.

New release - Ardmore 'Legacy'

The Legacy is a new core expression from the east Highland distillery of Ardmore.  The new release will replace the Traditional Cask bottling, which will eventually appear in another form during 2015.  The Legacy is the first release to feature a mix of the traditional peated Ardmore malt and a non-peated version, named Ardlair, which they have been making in small quantities each year since 2001.  The release also coincided with the launch of The Peated Malts of Distinction, a programme which showcases the entry level peaty/smoky whiskies of owners Beam Suntory.

New release - Glen Garioch 1998 Wine Cask Matured

This whisky is the first ever bottling from Glen Garioch to have been fully matured in ex-red wine casks. The casks in question were sourced from Saint-Julien in the famous French wine region of Bordeaux and the whisky has been maturing in the wine barriques for 15 years.  The spirit used was all distilled on June 23, 1998 and the casks have been hand selected and married together by Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender at Morrison Bowmore.

New release - Royal Lochnagar Triple Matured Edition

This whisky is the first of a new Triple Matured series released by Diageo.  There will be five single malts in the series and they will be exclusively available to members of their Friends Of The Classic Malts group.  Two are being released now - this from the Royal Lochnagar distillery and another from Talisker on the isle of Skye, which we will be reviewing shortly - and the other three will be announced and released in stages over the next six months or so.