Whisky Focus - Kininvie Special Release #1 Single Cask Bottling

Coming soon! Kininvie Special Release #1 25 Year Old

Last Saturday 4th July, William Grant & Sons marked the Kininvie distillery’s 25th Anniversary by disgorging three casks of Kininvie single mat whisky that were filled and laid down on the distillery’s very first day of production, the 4th of July, 1990.

Even though the distillery has now been in production for 25 years, Kininvie is still a very rarely seen whisky, but what we have have had the pleasure of to date has been very highly rated by whisky drinkers, including myself.

The three casks disgorged last Saturday 4th July are destined to be bottled as the highly anticipated Kininvie Special Release #1 which will be available from November 2015. Each of the three casks which have been hand-selected by William Grant & Sons sixth Master Blender, Brian Kinsman, have been individually allocated to one of three markets – the UK, Taiwan and mainland Europe.

Full details of the Kininvie Special Release #1 25 year old are not yet available but William Grants have told me that each of the three single casks will be bottled at cask strength and non chill-filtered. Details of the actual strength wont be available until it is bottled. I did ask whether it will be bottled in 35cl bottles like some previous bottlings or full size 70cl bottles, but that info is not yet available. I would assume there will be some info on each bottle to identify which cask it came from or which market it was bottled for. Whether or not they were all the same type of cask, William Grant has not yet revealed. Whatever it is I am sure they will be sought after by whisky drinkers and collectors. Before anyone asks, William Grant have not yet revealed the asking price but as soon as I have more details I will let you know, watch this space.

These rare first drops of Kininvie really are a piece of Kininvie history and marks the first chapter in what should be an exciting collection from the distillery whose secrets will continue to be revealed over the coming years.

The Kininvie distillery opened in 1990 by Janet Sheed Roberts – who was the last remaining granddaughter of William Grant – has, to this day, remained largely a family secret. The first Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the distillery to bear the Kininvie name was launched as a 23 year old exclusively in Taiwan in 2013 followed by the UK and Nordics in 2014. All markets completely sold out at launch making the Special Release #1 even more desirable for whisky collectors and aficionados. Then there was (and still is) a travel retail exclusive Kininvie 17 year old which was released in July 2014,  this was made up of 80% American oak cask matured whisky with the remaining 20% from Sherry Casks and it is an outstanding expression and can still be found in some airport shops.

Kininvie is a premium Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the launch of which marked a significant milestone in William Grant & Sons’ history. It is the first new Speyside single malt created by the family since The Balvenie in 1892. It has a distinctive Speyside character, boasting rich, fruity, floral aroma with orange notes overlaid with honey and vanilla. William Grant tells me that each of the three casks of the Special Release #1 has a unique flavour profile making the liquid singular and exceptional.

Craig Cranmer, the Kininvie’s distillery manager, commented: "Kininvie is something of a hidden gem, we have cherished and nurtured the casks for 25 years knowing they contained incredible whisky. Now the time is right to share the first drops of our history, straight from the casks where they have been maturing since the distillery’s first days."

Kininvie ‘the first drops’ Special Release #1 will be available from November 2015 in the UK and mainland Europe and from February 2016 in Taiwan.

If you can't wait until November then you will find some bottlings of Kininvie available from specialist whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange
 

• UK Shops
   
• USA Shops
   
• European Shops
  

Whisky Focus