September Whiskies of the Month
There’s nothing more symbolic of the Scotch whisky industry than the casks we age this wonderful spirit in. That iconic golden-amber hue, and the rich flavours of vanilla and cinnamon we associate with Scotch, owe themselves to the oak wood the casks are made from. Any Scotch whisky tour guide will tell you there are two main wood types used for ageing Scotch; American white oak (Quercus Alba) – from the bourbon industry in the USA – and European Oak (Quercus Robur) – from the sherry industry in Spain. Both cask types are somewhat of a classic. Every distillery from Bladnoch in the Lowlands to Highland Park on Orkney uses some combination of this winning duo and, let’s be honest, it is a winning duo. However, if 90% of Scotch is aged in ex-bourbon barrels and around 7% is, at least, finished in ex-sherry casks, what accounts for that other 3%? This September we’ll highlight some of the more unusual casks used to age our beloved Uisge Beatha.
Lowlands - Lochlea Ploughing Edition (Second Crop)
To open September’s Whiskies of the Month, we have a rather unusual offering from the Lowlands. Lochlea Distillery’s Ploughing Edition showcases one of the most innovative cask types in the entire industry. Though it’s not the species of wood, a standard American white oak cask, but rather what has previously been aged in the cask that makes it so special. Prior to housing Lochlea’s spirit, this cask had another life ageing the legendary peated, smoky, whisky from one of the distilleries on the Island of Islay. Though there is historic precedent to this practice, it wasn’t necessarily deliberate and probably stemmed from the indiscriminate re-use of casks (some of which might have previously held peated spirit).
However, this niche innovation became a deliberate undertaking in the 2010s with the rise of small batch bottlings. This clever re-use of pre-peated casks allows small independent distilleries, such as Lochlea, access to that iconic smoky profile without having to go through the extra steps to run costly and labour-intensive peated barley through their apparatus.
Highlands - Murray McDavid Juniper Hill 9
The next whisky to be highlighted comes from the independent bottling company, Murray McDavid. By focusing on whisky maturation rather than spirit production, Murray McDavid and other independent bottlers have the freedom to get creative with the casks they use.
Their limited-edition expression, Juniper Hill, is aged in Muscatel wine casks for nine years. Muscatel, sometimes referred to as Moscatel, is a sweet style of wine made from the Muscat grape varietal. It is produced in many different countries around the world, and each variety offers something unique.
Murray McDavid has selected Moscatel de Setúbal casks to age their whisky, the Muscatel which has seasoned the casks having hailed from the Peninsula of Setúbal in Portugal. This variety of Muscatel is a fortified dessert wine, meaning that it has been fortified with grape brandy. This gives the wine an incredibly strong and sweet flavour, and the whisky being aged in these casks develops a rich, spiced and complex character. This inventive use of casks has allowed Murray McDavid to distinguish themselves from other independent bottlers, creating a Highland single malt that truly stands out from the crowd.
Speyside - Glen Moray Port Cask Finish
Following on from this, our selection from Speyside this month is Glen Moray Port Cask Finish. Founded in Elgin in 1897, Glen Moray Distillery is known for its affordable and high-quality single malts, which are aged in a variety of different cask types. This is in part due to the distillery’s acquisition by French drinks giant, La Martiniquaise in 2008. As well as being France’s second-largest spirits group, La Martiniquaise owns a variety of wine brands, including those which produce port.
Port is a sweet fortified wine produced in the Porto region of Portugal. Traditionally being shipped to the UK in casks instead of in bottles, many whisky distillers and blenders would make use of discarded port casks to age and store their whiskies during the 1800s. This practice fell out of style as the use of ex-bourbon casks became more popular from the 1940s onwards. The use of port casks then had a resurgence during the 1980s and has been a popular choice for whisky maturation ever since. Glen Moray’s Port Cask Finish single malt takes on the typical rich spice of a port cask whisky, with notes of caramel and Christmas spice on the finish.
Islay - Smokehead Tequila Cask Terminado
The region of Islay comes next with a characteristically fiery offering in Smokehead Tequila Cask Terminado. Like our selection from the Highlands this month, Smokehead is a line of independent bottlings from family-owned spirits company, Ian Macleod. “Smokehead” is a term affectionately used to describe superfans of Islay’s traditionally fiery and medicinal style of single malt. True to its name, Smokehead takes a peated spirit and ages it in a wide range of casks, including ex-Sherry, ex-Rum and even ex-Stout casks.
Each cask is going to produce a different range of notes in the final single malt, and, as a result, an interesting contrast with the smokiness of the dram. For this bottling, a Mexican Tequila Cask has been used. Originating from the Mexican state of Jalisco, Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant (also known as the Tequila agave plant). It is famously enjoyed neat, with salt and lime or in a Margarita cocktail. Finishing this smoky Islay spirit in a cask seasoned with Tequila, has therefore given the final product unique spiced agave notes, as well as hints of citrus and pineapple.
Blend - Dewar's Caribbean Smooth
This month’s blended whisky comes from long-celebrated blending company, Dewar’s, with their Caribbean Smooth bottling. Long being masters of the craft of blending, Dewar’s, headed by master blender, Stephanie Macleod, have blended up to thirty malt and grain whiskies each aged at least eight years, before finishing the maturation process in rum casks from the Caribbean. Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice, before being aged in barrels. The resulting blend from Dewar’s delivers notes of brown sugar, caramel and tropical fruits, creating a whisky with a touch of Caribbean character.
Luxury - The Singleton 14 Year Old Special Release 2023
Wrapping up September’s Whiskies of the Month selection is the luxury Singleton 14 year old 2023 Special Release. Distilled at Glendullan Distillery, which is one of three distilleries that produce The Singleton Single Malt (the other two being Dufftown and Glen Ord distilleries), this limited-edition single malt has been aged in ex-Chardonnay de Bourgogne casks. This choice was reportedly inspired by the work of French fashion houses, and the resulting single malt takes on a silky consistency and lightness, taking on notes of toffee, apricot and pear.