The Blog

Outrun for QTR3 Confirmed

It is with great pleasure that we can reveal the outrun for QTR3 2018. Admittedly, due to the availability of certain of casks we have displaced what was originally going to be released in favour of a range of older casks that are more suitable for release now because the ABV of the original stock is high enough to merit further maturation.

1991 Bruichladdich matured in a Bourbon Hogshead

Located on Islay this cask could prove to be one Lady of the Glen's rarest cask acquisition's as at the point of distillation standard Bruichladdich would have been peated and this would be a classic example of this, now Bruichladdich releases peated stock under Port Charlotte and The Octomore brands. Three years after distillation of this cask the distillery would be closed only to be reawakened under new ownership 2000.

1989 Bunnahbhain matured in a Bourbon Hogshead

Acquired in light of a dropping ABV this cask if left any longer could have slipped into the non-Whisky world of below 40% at which point it could only be used in blends. However, the cask has been rescued and bottled to present a 29 year old Whisky.

2002 Port Charlotte Pedro Ximenez Hogshead

Another rare find, Pedro Ximenez is an intensely sweet sherry which infuses very dark colours with notes of dried fruits, raisins and dates. Typically sherry is seasoned in butts which are larger casks compared to hogshead casks (typically associated with bourbon)  but when it is used in a hogshead the extra wood to Whisky contact increases the concentration of exposure meaning although there are less bottles than in a butt the flavour is more intense. The spirit of Port Charlotte is the name given to Bruichladdich's peated releases so this is a medium peated Islay Whisky.

1987 Invergordon Hogshead

This released had been planned since QTR1 but delays in movement of the cask meant that it could only be bottled now! Invergordon is a grain distillery but this very special cask has been released on it's own as a 31 year old single cask release. Coincidently, a 1987 Invergordon cask was our 2^nd ever release and it proved to very, very popular.

There releases should be available in 6-8 weeks. 

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Porto for the purpose of visiting the bodega where I will be sourcing casks for the further development of the Lady of the Glen portfolio. Sourcing quality casks is an essential part of cask management as all Whisky needs to be matured in Oak casks and as the oak contributes over 50% of the final bottled Whisky's flavour there is no point in sourcing exceptional spirit if its going to be wasted in substandard casks – further to this point as an independent bottler it is important that my Whisky is different from distillery standard releases which will typically be matured in American oak casks. 

The majority of Oak casks are second hand casks sourced from America whereas European Oak from European bodegas tend to be more expensive but provide the Sherry, sweet wines and Port seasonings that provide those more sought after flavours in Whisky.

Portugal hosts among the finest bodegas in Europe through their long history of coopering and their access to Port Wines, different styles sherry and sweet wines which allow them to season their casks with exceptional flavours ideal for influencing Whisky character. 

In Portugal bodegas are referred to as Tanoaria and entire communities would be built around these thriving workshops with coopering skills being learned father to son. Coopers are essential for the production of good quality Whisky as without coopers casks cannot be created to mature the spirit that is created. However, changes in demand meant a lot of the workshops and communities were decimated. Similarly, Scotland has experienced this and as a result both countries endure a shortage of coopers; in 1980 there were approximately 1,017 coopers in Scotland, the low point was in 2005 when there was only 188 due to the closure of two cooperage sites, although as of 2017 this figure has risen to 250 coopers. 

My first impression of the bodega was that it was similar to visiting a builders merchants with my Dad, with pallets of different types of wood being weathered outside while inside the warehouse was filled with pallets of empty casks and saw dust coating everything.

As can be illustrated in these photos, coopering is still a very manual process that enjoys an honest craftmanship. 

This family business enjoys its quirks such as staff being able to enjoy vegetables from the owners vegetable garden next to the bodega and the cooking of lunch within the confines of the warehouse stoves used for charring. 

In the months to come Lady of the Glen will be releasing heavily sherried Whisky which has been matured in Pedro Xemenz Octaves from the bodega and in the years to come there will be some wonderful Ruby Port, Tawny Port and Sherried influence Whiskies, allowing us to look forward to the finest that single Malt Whisky has to offer.

Scottish Field Whisky Challenge Winners

We're delighted to reveal that the Lady of the Glen Tobermory vintage 2008 cask has placed first in the £50 - £100 category as well as being the fifth highest placed whisky in the challenge. 

As winner of the £50 - £100 category the release will go forward to the Grand Final tasting held later on this year.

You can see the full results of the challenge here https://emagcreator.com/specialpublications/SF_117_Whisky_Summer_Challenge_2018/

In addition, the Lady of the Glen 8yo Secret Islay has placed as the ninth highest scoring whisky. Although this release sold out, we used some of the contents from this award winning barrel and finished it in a PX Octave, bottles of which are still available here for £90.00

I'm pleased to reveal that Lady of the Glen will feature in the Wide Day's music convention Whisky tasting.

Wide Day's create an environment for friendly socializing and relaxed business discussions for people interested in music. There is a growing consensus that their approach leads to more collaborations, working relationships and often friendship within the industry. To find out more about the convention please read their brochure here

Lady of the Glen will feature in Felipe Schrieberg's tasting on Saturday afternoon.

Felipe Schrieberg is the whisky blogger for Forbes.com and he recently founded the Rhythm and Booze Project (instagram.com/therhythmandboozeproject), which combines his passion for the water of life with live music, multimedia and special events. 

Ahead of Felipe hosting the tasting for the Saturday delegates, which includes Lady of the Glen, Wide Day's asked him to compile the ideal musical accompaniment to a special selection of malts. 

“I put together the playlist to last as long as drinking a glass of whisky, providing the perfect soundtrack to your chosen dram,” explains Felipe, who hopes to inspire people to follow suit and create compilations for their favourite nip. “There are infinite combinations of whisky and songs, so part of the joy is to come up with your own discoveries,” he adds. “Here are some to get you started.”