Notes on The Casual Dram:18
Notes on the lineup… (tickets available here)
Loch Lomond 'Cadenhead' 17YO 46%
Cask - Sherry (unspecified)
Region - Highlands
Whiskybase score - 87.34
At Loch Lomond you will find 13 stills including swan necked pot stills, straight necked pot stills (with rectifying plates), continuous grain stills and coffey-style malt column stills, making the distillery, without doubt, one of Scotland’s most flexible and innovative distilleries.
Armed with these stills, the distillery churns out a variety of expressions which are mostly named after the islands of Loch Lomond; Inchmurrin, Inchfad, Inchmoan, Croftengea and Old Rhosdhu to name but a few.
For the Loch Lomond expressions, like this one, a combination of the swan-necked and straight-necked pot stills are used. The latter have controllable levels of reflux and produce super-high abv spirit which is fruity and light. Combine this with a hint of smoke and peat and the results can be quite pleasant.
Glenfarclas 185th Anniversary 46%
Cask - a combination of hand-picked casks going back over 6 decades
Region - Speyside
Whiskybase score - 88.09
There is a painting dating back to 1791 that shows whisky production in full flow on the Glenfarclas site, and yet, there is no evidence of a licensed distillery there at that time. So, with no set founding date, the distillery has chosen to use the date the distillery was first officially awarded a license, which was in 1836.
Based on this, in 2021, Glenfarclas turned 185, and to mark the occasion, Callum Fraser (Distillery Manager) and Douglas Belford (Managing Director) were given the enviable task of going out into the warehouses to hunt for casks from across the decades that they felt best represented the 185-year history. These included whisky from six different decades, meaning there is spirit in the mix dating back to the 1960s.
Springbank 17 YO Madeira Wood 47.8%
Cask - Bourbon & Rum, Fresh Madeira Finish - (Number of bottles 9200)
Region - Campbeltown
Whiskybase score - 88.59
The Springbank distillery really throws the kitchen sink at its whiskies; 100% onsite floor malted barley, 2.5 times distillation using a wormtub on the wash still, dunnage warehouses, a lick of peat at 12-15ppm (for the ‘Springbank’ expression at least) and typically a pleasing assemblage of casks used in the final blend.
This bottling sees bourbon and rum finished in fresh madeira (as opposed to stale madeira?) and is bottled at a slightly peculiar abv of 47.8%! Presumably the whisky has been brought down to this abv in the belief that it is a sweet spot. However, after 17 years in a humid, cool warehouse - is it just possible this is cask strength?! Unlikely, but more research is needed on this topic.
GlenAllachie 2008 / 15 YO PX Hogshead 6521 - 49.1%
Cask - PX Hogshead
Region - Speyside
Whiskybase score - 90
GlenAllachie was built by Mackinlay, McPherson & Co (a subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries) in 1967. It was designed by William Delmé-Evans who also designed Jura and Tullibardine, and operated mainly as a blending malt for brands like Clan Campbell.
It passed through several owners through the 80s and 90s (Pernod Ricard and Invergordon) and closed for periods, only to reopen fully in the 1990s when it was still being used for blending and had no single malt presence.
Its revival began in 2017 when it was bought by The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, operated by former BenRiach MD Billy Walker. At this stage focus shifted to single malt production and a core range was released in 2018.
Long fermentations (up to 160 hours), traditional shell-and-tube condensers and maximised copper contact create an ester-rich, fruity style.
Again, the question with this one is where the abv of 49.1% comes from?!
Mystery whisky
Whiskybase score - 88.72
