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Introducing
the new single malt whisky ranges from
Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, The
Deveron and Royal Brackla, "The Last
Great Malts Of Scotland".
Perhaps this will not be news to some
of you as word on these new whiskies has been out on the whisky grapevine
for a wee while now but I have held off
from mentioning them until I had at
least had the chance to taste a few of
them. I don't think I have ever announced the release of so
many Scotch single malt whiskies at one
time and never have I announced the
release of so many whiskies which we
rarely see
bottled by the original distillery as
single malts.
John Dewar & Sons who are well known for
there Dewar's and William Lawson's range
of blended whiskies have been very quiet
on the single malt whisky front considering the five malt
whisky distilleries they own but I am
pleased to say that is now in the
process of
dramatically changing.
Dewar's have launched what they are calling
"The Last Great Malts
of Scotland", a range of new expressions,
including some never before released single malts
from each of John Dewar & Sons five malt whisky distilleries -
Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, The
Deveron and Royal Brackla.
Dewar's have clearly taken notice in the
surge in popularity of single malt whisky
in recent years and the huge increase in
demand from us discerning whisky drinkers for more
expressions of our favourite single
malts and to experience whiskies not normally
available.
They have clearly been very busy for
some time behind the scenes taking
inventory of their maturing stock,
tasting and assessing to come up with a
core range of single malt whiskies from five
malt whisky distilleries which they will
be able sustain a global demand for and
not effect the supply of malt whisky
destined to go into the Dewar's blends.
Now that the the hard
work has been done you will be pleased
to hear they have began
to release their treasure trove of
top-shelf single malt whiskies to whisky drinkers
around the world.
The distinguished drams of Aberfeldy
which is the one distillery from the
five which many of you will already be
familiar with,
Aultmore, Craigellachie, The Deveron which appears to have been rebranded,
you may know it as Glen Deveron and
Royal Brackla are being launched under
the title of the "The Last Great Malts
of Scotland",
each with a compelling story and
character. For generations, these
distinctive whiskies have been distilled
and left to mature undisturbed in oak
casks only to go into blended whiskies.
All five of these distilleries produce
single malts which has long been rated
as Top Class by blenders and more
often than not this rating is a measure
of just how good a single malt
is. Now, at last,
malt whisky fans around world will be able to taste
a range
of single malts selected from each of these
five distilleries.
The one thing all these single malt
whiskies have in common, I am pleased to
say, is they all have a very clear Age Statement.
The whiskies are:
Craigellachie
Craigellachie has released a portfolio
of single malts for the first time in
history. The distillery stays true to
its traditions of whisky-making,
including the use of worm tubs – so
called for their coiled copper tubing –
to cool the spirit. A challenging
Speyside whisky, it was described as
"old-fashioned" even in 1891 as it makes
no concessions to modern-day trends.
Single malt fans appreciate
Craigellachie for its remarkable
sulphuric, savoury, meaty character. The
new Craigellachie will be available from this month, with a
Craigellachie 13 Year Old,
Craigellachie 17 Year Old, a travel
retail exclusive
Craigellachie 19 Year Old, and a
limited
Craigellachie 23 Year Old
and if that is not enough the four
whiskies will be joined next year by the
Craigellachie 31 year old.
The new Craigellachie whisky range, like
Aultmore, is presented in its natural
unadulterated form, non-chill filtered,
no added caramel colouring and they all
carry a clear age statement.
Aultmore
 Aultmore
has been a very rarely seen Speyside malt
whisky, known
locally as "a nip of the Buckie Road".
The distillery’s water filters down
through the misty, mysterious area
called the Foggie Moss. Aultmore is
rated a Top Class whisky by blenders and is a dram sought
after for its gentle grassy notes.
The new Aultmore range will be available from
this month
with a
Aultmore 12 year old and a
Aultmore 25 year old in
limited quantities. There is also a
travel retail exclusive
Aultmore
21 year old available now. I believe a Aultmore 30
and 35 year old will follow.
I had the chance to sample the Aultmore
12 and 21 year old two weeks ago when
passing through Glasgow airport where
they were being launched and I was very
impressed with what I tasted. The entry
Aultmore 12 year old was smooth, fresh,
grassy, floral, fruity, a candied
sweetness with a medium finish. The
Aultmore 21 year old was velvety smooth,
lovely mature sweet oak, light cereal
and a gentle candied fruity sweetness,
almonds, butterscotch, the oils make the
flavours cling to the mouth to give a
deliciously long finish. The 12 was good
but the 21 was a big step up in both age
and quality.
You will be pleased to hear that all the
whiskies in the new Aultmore whisky
range are presented in their natural
unadulterated form, non-chill filtered,
no added caramel colouring and they all
carry a clear age statement.
Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy, known as the "Golden
Dram", draws its water from the Pitilie
Burn. Pure and fresh, its waters are
famed for containing deposits of
alluvial gold. This is the whisky from
the five which you are most likely to be
familiar with, a fresh and fruity dram
which is much admired
for its honey notes, displaying a
classic Central Highland style rarely
tasted in single malts today. Named
"Highland Whisky of the Year 2014" by
the Whisky Magazine. The Aberfeldy range is
not new but it has a new look, available globally as a
Aberfeldy 12 year old
and a
outstanding
Aberfeldy 21 year old, with a
superb
Aberfeldy 18 year old
recently launched exclusively in Travel Retail.
A small range of of three at the moment
but all quality whiskies, the distillery plans to launch a
Aberfeldy 16 year old sherry finish and a
30 year old in 2015.
The Deveron
 The
Deveron (as it now appears to have been
rebranded from Glen Deveron) is produced
at the Macduff distillery which was
built in 1963. The reason the whisky
wasn't named Macduff is the Distillers'
Company Limited, now Diageo, owned the
brand name Macduff.
Most of the whisky produced since the
distilleries construction has gone into
blends such as William Lawson's although
some has been sold as single malt under
the name Glen Deveron.
Glen Deveron was first released as a
single malt in the 1960s at 5 years old
then in the mid-1970s, at 8 years old.
There was also a Glen Deveron 12 year
old year old in the 1980s and more
recently there was a 10 year old.
Not much more than a year ago a Glen
Deveron 16, 20 and 30 year old were
released exclusively in travel retail,
they are still currently available but I
am not sure what the future holds for
them given that Dewar's have decided to
launch the new domestic range under the
name The Deveron.
The Deveron range of single malt is due
to be released in the summer of 2015,
the new range will contain 12, 18 and 25
year old single malts, which Dewar's
tell me will be the perfect fireside
malt. Soft fruity notes combine with an
easy drinking style.
Royal Brackla
 With a previous limited edition release
of a 35 year old £10,000 (US$15,000) a
bottle, Royal Brackla is a truly regal
malt. Founded in 1812, in the northern
Highlands, it hails from the first
distillery bestowed with a royal warrant
and has since been lauded as "The King’s
Own Whisky." Heavily sherried, rich,
fruity and full, Royal Brackla is a fine
dram to savour as it slowly reveals its
complexity. A Royal Brackla 12 year old,
16 year old and 21 year old expression
will be released in March 2015.
Summary
Aberfeldy is already available but
they will be adding a 16 and 30 year old
to the range in 2015, the Craigellachie
range is now appearing on the shelves of
the whisky specialist shops and it will
be joined soon by the new Aultmore
range, The Deveron range wont make an
appearance until the summer of 2015 but
the current Glen Deveron travel retail
range is available now but I am not sure
if this will be rebranded as The Deveron
either way the travel retail range is
worth a look. Last but not least the
Royal Brackla range should be appearing
in whisky shops from March 2015.
The new single malts will be available
as a complete set of five or in various
combinations of the expressions in 10
initial markets around the world
including Canada, France, Germany,
Japan, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, United
Kingdom, United States and Global Travel
Retail.
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