Distillery Visit - Clydeside

Visiting a distillery for the first time and adding it to our list is always exciting. But when that distillery is new and has just started production, then it is even more exciting. This was the case when Matt paid a visit to the Clydeside distillery in Glasgow and was given a tour of their state-of-the-art facilities that are pulling whisky fans down to the banks of the River Clyde.

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From the moment you approach the Clydeside, you cannot help but be impressed. Walking along the River Clyde from the centre of Glasgow takes you passed the modern architecture of the SSE Hydro complex and the disused Finnieston Crane, a true ghost of Glasgow's maritime past. Soon afterwards the distillery appears around a curve in the river.

Review - Bowmore Mizunara Cask Finish

This new release from the Islay distillery of Bowmore offers something genuinely unique - a Scotch single malt that has been matured in Japanese mizunara oak.  This is the first whisky of its kind and stems from the fact that Bowmore is owned by Beam Suntory, the biggest whisky producer in Japan.  Mizunara oak is rare and only grows in northern Japan and small areas of China and Russia.  Trees are very slow growing and take 200 years to reach full size.  Because of this Beam Suntory only make around 100 such casks per year and runs a sustainability programme to replant saplings for future generations.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (March 6, 2015)

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.

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 - Bowmore 'The Devil's Casks II'

Following on from the acclaimed first release, The Devil's Casks II is the new limited edition single malt release from Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay. The whisky is so named as it is believed in local legend that the devil once hid in a cask of Bowmore to hide from angry residents and escape to the mainland. We are not sure about this story, but it is said that the circular church in the village of Bowmore (pictured, below) was built in such a shape so as to prevent the devil having any corners to hide in.

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 - Bowmore 15 years old 'Laimrig'

This whisky is the latest of Bowmore's Laimrig releases.  The Laimrig first appeared in 2009 as an exclusive for Sweden and has been released in annual limited batches ever since.  The name translates as 'pier' from Gaelic and refers to the stone pier of Bowmore harbour, which is next to the distillery on the shores of Loch Indaal.  The Laimrig batches are bottled at cask strength and are predominantly aged in ex-bourbon casks, before being finished for about a year in ex-Oloroso sherry butts.

Have just tried - Auchentoshan 1975 Vintage (2013 Edition)

This whisky is the latest in the award winning Vintage series from Auchentoshan.  The series showcases exceptional old casks that have been maturing at the distillery since the 1970s, which is widely regarded as a time when some of the best single malts were produced there.  The 1975 Vintage (2013 Edition) has been maturing in ex-bourbon American oak casks, which were hand selected by Auchentoshan's Master Blender Rachel Barrie, and is exclusive to the travel retail sector.

New release - Glen Garioch 1999 Vintage

This whisky is a new bottling from Glen Garioch, which is Scotland's most easterly distillery.  The 1999 Vintage is the latest addition to its popular and ever-growing small batch vintage range. This new expression is the first whisky from the distillery to have been fully matured in ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Any ex-sherry cask whisky is normally mixed with that matured in ex-bourbon casks to produce the single malts in Glen Garioch's core range.

New release - Bowmore 'The Devil's Casks'

The Devil's Casks is the new limited edition single malt release from Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay. The whisky is so named as it is believed in local legend that the devil once hid in a cask of Bowmore so as to hide from angry residents and escape to the mainland. We are not so sure about that story, but it is said that the circular church in the village of Bowmore (pictured, below) was so shaped to prevent the devil having any corners to hide in.

New release - Auchentoshan Virgin Oak

The Auchentoshan Virgin Oak is the latest new limited edition bottling from the increasingly popular Lowland single malt distillery. This news follows hot on the heels of a similar release from Auchentoshan's sibling distillery of Glen Garioch, which we have reviewed here. The whisky has been fully matured in ex-American virgin oak casks (the term 'virgin' refers to the fact that the casks have never had any spirit maturing in them before), which is rare in the Scotch whisky industry.

New release - Bowmore 23 years old Port Cask Matured

This new whisky from the oldest single malt distillery on the famous whisky island of Islay offers something a little unusual and intriguing. The spirit was laid down to mature in 1989 and has spent its full life in ex-Port wine casks - these types of casks are more commonly used for finishing (the process where nearly fully matured whisky is placed in a different cask for a short period of time) and rarely for a full period of maturation.

New release - Glen Garioch Virgin Oak

This whisky is an innovative new limited edition expression from the up-and-coming east Highland distillery of Glen Garioch. The Virgin Oak is a rarity amongst single malts as it has been fully matured in virgin ex-American white oak casks and offers something new to the brand's ever expanding range. Speaking recently to Rachel Barrie, the Master Blender for Morrison Bowmore Distillers (the owners of Glen Garioch), she revealed that they have been experimenting at the distillery with these casks and the first were laid down for maturation in 2000.

Distillery Visit - Glen Garioch

Situated a short distance from Aberdeen. Glen Garioch (pronounced ‘Geery’) can be found in the town of Oldmedrum slap bang in the middle of the rolling hills and fields of the Aberdeenshire countryside. The word Garioch means ‘Granary’ and the area in which the distillery is located is known as The Garioch due to the fertility of the local farmland. With such rich agricultural land perfect for growing barley it wasn’t long before someone in the area had the bright idea of having a go at a bit of whisky distilling. Two such men were brothers John and Alexander Manson and in 1797 they founded Glen Garioch distillery.

New release - Bowmore Tempest Batch #4

The Islay distillery of Bowmore has launched the latest batch in its superb Tempest series. The series consists of small batch and cask strength single malts which are released annually. Batch #4 was released worldwide at the end of April and follows on from the previous three batches, which have raked in the awards. This batch has been matured in ex-bourbon casks for 10 years and is bottled at the natural cask strength of 55.1% ABV.  There are 12,000 bottles available and the retail price should be around the £50 mark.

The Bowmore Water Program

The topic of adding water to your whisky, or whether you should at all, has always been a hot topic amongst whisky consumers and ones that generates plenty of discussion.  Recently this seems to have been taken to a new level with the release of products such as the Uisge Source Water range - this currently has three waters from three different regions of Scotland, with the idea being that the best water to add to a particular whisky is that from the same region.  Now the first major single malt brand has stepped in with a new innovative scheme that looks at the science behind adding water to whisky ...

New release - Auchentoshan 1979 Oloroso Matured

This new whisky is the latest in Auchentoshan's vintage series from the 1970s.  Other expressions in the series include the 1975 Bourbon Cask and 1977 Sherry Cask, which we have previously reviewed. Auchentoshan is unique amongst Scottish whisky distilleries as they triple distil every drop of their spirit using three stills. Elsewhere in Scotland the common practice is to distil twice, whereas triple distillation is more commonly associated with Irish whiskies.

New release - Auchentoshan Valinch Batch #2

Just before Christmas, we reported in Inbox that Auchentoshan had announced the second release of their Valinch bottling.  The whisky is named after the 'valinch', a metal pipette-like device used to pull whisky samples from a cask, and is an annual cask strength single malt released in small batches. The 2012 edition is bottled at 57.2% ABV and has been matured exclusively in first fill ex-bourbon American oak casks. There are 12,000 bottles in this year's batch and is available now from specialist whisky retailers, priced around the £45-50 mark.

New release - Glen Garioch 1995 Vintage

The Glen Garioch 1995 Vintage is the latest release in the east Highland distillery's popular small batch single malt programme. It is the sixth special addition to the Glen Garioch range. It was produced and filled to cask just months before the distillery was mothballed (this is the term used when production ceases at a distillery, but the equipment remains intact) in October 1995.  Some of the other whiskies in the series have been very good, so we were excited to try this new expression.

New release - Bowmore 54 years old

Earlier this week Bowmore, one of Scotland's oldest whisky distilleries, announced the release of a very special single malt - the Bowmore 54 years old.  This exceptionally rare whisky was distilled in 1957 and is the oldest bottling of Bowmore ever released.  Not only that, but it is the oldest whisky to ever be released by any distillery on the famous whisky producing island of Islay.  This 1957 vintage is also set to be one of the most expensive single malts ever, and one of the most beautifully packaged. Intrigued? ...