Welcome to the fifth and sadly last of our Whisky Regions guides. It's been a fun stroll through the beautiful distillery countryside of Scotland and hopeful the information has been of some use.
What I'd like to do as a last summary is to list all of the whiskies we've featured as fine examples of their particular region but then also make some additional recommendations by highlighting one particular distillery from each region as well and giving you a little background by way of some distillery notes.
First up, here's our recommendations list pulled together. I have also taken the libertyy of including the price of each of these fine expressions as you'll find them at www.prestigewhisky. Here you'll find them all available direct to your door.
Highland Dalmore King Alexander III at www.prestigewhisky.com for £ 123.99
Speyside Glenlivet 12 Year Old £25.99
and the Macallan 21 Year Old £121.00
Island Isle of Jura, Paps range, 'Mountain' £95.00
Islay Ardbeg 10 Year Old £32.99
Campbeltown Glen Scotia 12 Year Old £23.99
Lowland Rosebank 1991 £44.99
So if you'd like to try any of these feel free to drop into the main site and have a browse. In most cases we also stock these expressions older, bigger borthers - if you have any specific brands or distilleries you're interested in feel free to contact us on either 0845 6254395 or info@prestigewhisky.com
To finish, lets move on to highlight our favourite distilleries.
I'd like to focus on the following :
Glenglassaugh, Highland
Island, Highland Park
Speyside, The Balvenie
Islay, Bruichladdich
Glenglassaugh Distillery Note, from Glenglassaugh Managing Director Stuart Nickerson :
Our distillery purchased by the Glenglassaugh Distillery Company ( which is owned by a Dutch registered investment company called Scaent Holdings) on 29th February 2008, after lying silent for 22 years. The previous owners, The Edrington Group, had not invested in the production plant or the buildings during that period although they were still using a large warehouse for storing casks from other distilleries. Since purchasing the distillery we have invested heavily, around £1.0m in refurbishing the distillery and it was officially opened on the 24th of November by Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond. The first distillate from the new distillery was produced on the 4th of December and on 16th December we filled our first casks.
In addition to the distillery we also purchased all of the Glenglassaugh stock which Edrington owned, which unfortunately was not very much. However we do have enough to allow us to release a 21 year old product, once only, and then have small amounts of 30 year old and 40 year old for sale each year for the next 10 years.
In 2009 we have launched three separate products, all of limited supply. All of the products come from individual casks, are non-chill filtered, non-coloured and are bottled at the distillery.
As you'll see from the above. Glenglassaugh was re-opened formally fairly recently and it's one of the distilleries that we really love to deal with. At the moment you'll find the 21 Year Old, 30 Year Old and the grand daddy of them all the 40 Year Old all for sale within our Highland section at www.prestigewhisky.com.
Highland Park Distillery Notes :
Highland Park, the most Northern of all Scottish distilleries dominates both the city of Kirkwall and the famous Scapa Flow. At the end of the 18th century, preacher Magnus Eunson who was a famous smuggler, is supposed to have distilled spirit on the place of the current distillery. He was hiding stocks of illegal spirit under the pulpit in the church.
The current distillery was built in 1825 by Robert Borwick, but it soon became the property of John Robertson. Later on the ownership of the distillery has been shared between Borwick and Robertson, until the last retired. After the death of Robert Borwick, his son George became manager of the business until 1860. Since, Highland Park has been owned by different people and in 1890 James Grant, owner of The Glenlivet formed a partnership with William Stuart, owner of Miltonduff. The production capacity was doubled in 1898,
Highland Park is part of the composition of Long John amongst others.
One of the better known and more popular Island distilleries, Highland Park always scores highly in Prestige Whisky taste tests.
The Balvenie, distillery notes, largely taken from the Balvenie website :
BALVENIE CASTLE lent its name to the adjacent farm, Balvenie Mains. It also lent some stones to Balvenie New House, a replacement dwelling rather easier to heat and maintain than a medieval fort. After several decades the house itself stood empty, but soon developed a new role as the heart of a brand-new distillery from which the first spirit flowed on May Day 1893.
The basement became a warehouse, the first storey a malt floor and upstairs a loft to store the barley from the fertile thousand acres of Balvenie Mains.In the 1920s they built a new maltings right next door, using stone blocks from the now levelled New House. Little else has changed over the years.
They’ve added stills, but they’re the same special shape. They have matured their malt in many different casks and pioneered new expressions, but it’s still the same spirit that goes in. They’ve added people, but the unique atmosphere remains the same.
The exceptional quality of the single malt from The Balvenie is greatly due to the know-how of the craftsmen who create the whisky. Nearly all the operations in the process of making whisky happen within the distillery, from malting to repairing the casks. The Balvenie even has it's own cooperage.
The Balvenie is quite different from Glenfiddich, even if both distilleries belong to the same family. (The Balvenie has belonged to the Grant family for 5 generations).
The greatest part of the production is marketed as single malt, and the remaining is used in the Grants and Clan MacGregor blends, belonging to the same company.
Widely regarded as THE iconic Highland/Speyside distillery brand and a constant presence in the top five whisky brands almost forever. You'll find (a) the Balvenie on the whisky shelf of most restaurants and supermarkets and rightly so.
Bruichladdich Distillery Notes – from the companies website :
On the remote Atlantic Isle of Islay a small, privately-owned Scottish distillery produces artisanal Single Malt Whisky as it was in 1881.
Here, the islanders’ art of distilling is still connected to its agricultural roots, with organic and heritage barleys grown
on selected farms for ultimate individuality. Microchip-free distilling in tall narrow-necked stills followed by island maturation
and natural bottling produces a spirit acknowledged as the purest in Scotland. This sophisticated, complex, multi-layered
whisky is uniquely Islay-bottled to maximise the creamy texture and long finish - the ideal wine-drinker’s dram.
100% Islay From barley to bottle. Savour the flavour.
An Islay distillery which although small is understandably proud of its heritage - all hail the laddie !
Okay, that is all we have on whisky regions - we hope that you've found this series both interesting and informative and that it drives you to learn more about the wonderful world of whisky both Scotch and otherwise.
We would welcome any comments that you might have and of course our offer of a free copy of all five articles and a distillery map stands - just e-mail info@prestigewhisky.com if you'd like to receive them.
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