Whisky’s Light and Dark Side - Bourbon and Sherry Casks with John Shearlock - Tuesday 17 June 2025
Notes on the lineup…
Talisker 11yo Special Release 2022 55.1%
Maturation - Matured in and blended from a mix of 1st-fill ex-bourbon casks, refill casks, and wine-seasoned casks.
Peat - 18-22 parts per million
Region - Islands
Talisker - Talisker produces a highly individual new make which mixes smoke, fruit, sulphur, salt and pepper. The malt is medium-peated, the worts clear, the fermentation long. It is in distillation that things go slightly strange.
Reflux is heavily promoted (a purifier and kinked lyne arm), pushing for fruitiness, but copper contact is reduced due to worm tubs, resulting in sulphury notes in the new make, and possibly leading to the signature pepperiness in the mature spirit. The purifier pipe also adds oiliness.
Arran Quarter Cask Single Malt 56.2%
Maturation - Initially matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels before being transferred for secondary maturation into smaller Quarter casks also made of the finest American oak.
Region - Islands (Arran)
Arran - Once home to over 50 distilleries, the Isle of Arran is now home to just two. Arran was opened in 1995 and its sister distillery, Lagg, on the other side of the island, launched in 2019.
The distillery style shows light cereal crunchiness behind a distinctly citric note.
Glen Scotia Victoriana Single Malt 54.2%
Maturation - Matured in first and second fill bourbon casks, then finished for up to 12 months in heavily charred bourbon barrels and Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry butts, before being married together for a further six months.
Region - Campbeltown
Glen Scotia - There are elements of flexibility built into Glen Scotia. Unpeated, medium-peated and heavily-peated malt are all processed in its open-topped, cast iron mash tun giving wort which is fermented in (new) stainless steel washbacks, Fermentation time will vary between short (nutty) and long (fruity).
In 1924 when distilleries were shutting left right and centre in Campbeltown, Scotia (as it was originally known) was purchased by Duncan MacCallum who had founded Glen Nevis. He was forced to close it in 1928, but it reopened in 1930. That year, however, MacCallum committed suicide after losing his life savings in a scam, and his ghost is said to haunt the distillery to this day!
Laphroaig 10yo Sherry Oak 48%
Maturation - After drawing rich character from ex-bourbon barrels, the spirit then rests in European oak casks previously filled with oloroso sherry.
Region - Islay
Laphroaig - A substantial distillery with seven stills and a capacity of over 3m litres per annum (bigger than Ardbeg and Lagavulin).
Laphroaig has retained its own floor maltings which still account for 20% of its requirements. They have been retained specifically because it is believed that the Laphroaig kiln produces a more creosote-like phenolic character than the malt the distillery receives from the Port Ellen maltings. Certainly, a tarry iodine note is one of the signatures of the spirit.
A very long fore shot run means there are less estery notes in the new make, while a deeper cut means that heavier phenolics are captured compared to Ardbeg and Lagavulin.
Glenlivet 'Signatory' 2007/14yo Exclusive Selection Ink #3
49.3%
Maturation - 1st fill sherry butt for 14 years.
Region - Speyside
Glenlivet - Situated high above the river Livet with a view out towards Cardhu and the slopes of Ben Rinnes, The Glenlivet has been operational on this site since 1859.
After a recent expansion and refurb it is one of the most modern distilleries in Speyside with a vast Brigg’s mash tun which sends clear wort to wooden washbacks. Distillation, which is slow, takes place in two stillhouses, in seven sets of stills.
Owner George Smith’s greatest achievement was his decision to make a new style of whisky. By the 1860s, The Glenlivet was noted for producing a spirit with a ‘pineapple’ note, evidence that the floral, estery character seen today has a long history – and one which broke with the heavy, dense, rich styles prevalent at that time.
Aberlour a'Bunadh Single Malt Batch 77 60.8%
Maturation - Spanish oak sherry butts
Region - Speyside
Aberlour - Short ferments encourage a rich malt profile, whilst stills that are short and wide-necked, encourage more reflux and copper contact pushing for lightness. Distillation is relatively slow, preserving richness and deep flavours.
Kilkerran 16 YO
46%
Maturation - 70% bourbon, 20% sherry, 10% rum (2024 release).
Region - Campbeltown.
Glengyle Distillery - Originally built in 1872 by William Mitchell (brother of Springbank founder John Mitchell) - closed in1925 due to post-war downturns and then reopened in 2004 by J&A Mitchell & Co., the owners of Springbank.
Fermentation is long (around 70–100 hours), in larch washbacks, encouraging ester development.
The house style is lightly peated (around 12–15 ppm), giving it a gentle smoky background and typically offers earthy, maritime, and waxy notes (typical of Campbeltown malts). Worm tubs and a dunnage warehouser add to the heavier earthier style.
