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Scotch Whisky
maker Whyte & Mackay is expanding its
Scottish Oak Programme across its entire
estate of distilleries, the programme
seeks to establish the use of native oak
as a quality raw material for the wider
spirits industry and support the skills
required from harvest right through to
cask creation.
Scotch Whisky maker, Whyte & Mackay,
has announced that they are expanding
their Scottish Oak Programme across
their entire estate of distilleries to
help establish the use of native oak as
a quality raw material for the wider
spirits industry, starting with Scotch.
Spearheaded by Master Whisky Maker Gregg
Glass, the programme aims to establish
the use of Scottish Oak widely among
whisky makers while addressing some of
the historical challenges around working
with Scottish Oak, such as porosity,
quality, consistency of the wood, and
cost versus true value.
Typically casks used in the production
of Scotch whisky are sourced from
abroad, most commonly ex-Bourbon barrels
from the USA, and European fortified
wine casks from Portugal and Spain.
Inspired by his time exploring local
sawmills with his Grandfather on the
Black Isle, Glass wanted to explore how
to harness all that the local
environment has to offer the whisky
maker. He set about exploring the role
Scottish Oak could play, and what it
would take in terms of forestry
management, and every skill required
from harvest to cask creation.
When Gregg Glass joined Whyte and Mackay
in 2016 he then began to implement the
programme in earnest. He has developed
partnerships with other organisations –
including local landowning estates,
sawmills and coopers – to create an
initiative with the vision to one day be
adopted by the Scotch Whisky industry.
Glass explains: "The Scottish Oak
Programme seeks to inspire change within
the Scotch whisky industry. We want to
champion the potential home-grown oak
offers the spirits industry, and the
incredible diversity of flavour it
offers the whisky maker.
"Our close relationships with industry
partners mean we know the provenance of
Scottish Oak and are even able to trace
it right back to the individual tree.
Through experimental whisky maturation
and analytical trials, we can assess how
the different variables – including
growing conditions, drying and wood
seasoning, oak type, coopering skills
and heat treatment – can impact the
flavour of the resulting whisky and
there is a myriad of exciting flavour
profiles to explore."
As the programme develops, the adoption
of Scottish Oak will grow to support
local businesses and craftspeople and
stimulate demand for traditional skills
from forestry management to coopering,
alongside apprenticeships and shared
learning. A key aspect is the use of
local sawmills and adapting historical
sawmill practice and kit, some dating
back to the 1930s, to equip local
businesses with the tools required to
process Scottish Oak, ensuring our local
skilled craftspeople have what they need
to apply their skill to locally sourced
Oak.
Glass’ vision looks not only to sourcing
oak for cask production, but to
encouraging a circular economy and
future-proofing Scottish Oak for the
next generation of whisky makers. To
that end, the programme has developed a
planting scheme which has already seen
over 15,000 trees replanted across
Scotland. In addition, Glass and his
partners are establishing dedicated oak
forests that are carefully looked after
to ensure longevity.
In 2019, Whyte & Mackay’s experimental
arm, Whisky Works, launched its first
Scottish Oak part-finished expression
suitably named ‘King of Trees’. The
10-year-old blended Highland malt was
created using wood from two 200-year-old
wind-felled Scottish Oak tree to make
one cask. The whisky maker is set to
announce a second Scottish Oak release
under its Fettercairn brand later this
year.
Andrew Russell, General Manager at
Speyside Cooperage Ltd, comments: "Owned
by Tonnellerie Francois Freres Group,
Speyside Cooperage Ltd was established
in 1947 in the heart of malt whisky
trail. We now have cooperages in
Tullibody in Clackmannanshire and
Shepherdsville in Kentucky as we
continue to preserve the time-honoured
craft of coopering by continually
training apprentices at all our sites.
"Whilst we supply and cooper casks
mainly built from American and European
oak to the drinks industry worldwide in
many sizes and for many liquids, the
building of Scottish oak casks is
something very different for us.
"From the selecting of trees, to the
sawmilling, air drying and coopering of
the oak grown in Scotland for over 100
years, it is a project we are very proud
to have been part of with Gregg and
Whyte & Mackay. We look forward to
producing casks from local forests in
Scotland for generations to come."
The Scottish Oak Programme is one part
of Whyte & Mackay’s commitment to a
sustainable future for whisky making.
The responsible sourcing of Scottish Oak
allows full traceability, will create
tree planting initiatives in rural and
urban communities, and help support
forest stewardship across Scotland.
The whisky maker’s sustainability agenda
is to be published in an upcoming Green
Print report, which lays out their
approach towards carbon neutrality by
2030 and the Scottish Whisky
Association’s target to achieve net zero
emissions by 2040, ahead of the Scottish
Government’s target of 2045.
You will find the
current Whyte & Mackay's portfolio of whisky
including Whyte & Mackay's blends and
single malts The Dalmore, Fettercairn,
Tamnavulin and Jura available
from specialist online whisky retailers
such as
The Whisky Exchange,
Amazon and
Master of Malt
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