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Founded in 1881, Bunnahabhain is an active distillery located in the north of Islay. Building the distillery was hugely expensive as it was a feat of construction involving the build of the actual distillery, the pier, as well as the surrounding houses and roads linking it to the rest of the island. The name is Gaelic for ‘mouth of the river’ as it takes its water from the nearby Margadale spring.

Importantly, Bunnahabhain spirit is unpeated and the distillery is recognised for producing a light-bodied, medium-sweet, low-peat distillate that expresses floral, malty notes with fruity, spicy, honey hints. The stills at Bunnahabhain are very large, which might imply little spirit to copper contact, but because the fill levels are relatively low contact is adequate.

Typically Bunnahabhain is matured in ex-sherry casks, but with this single cask release we have a matured in bourbon to impart vanilla and coconut flavours. Distilled in 1989 and matured in only one cask for a full 28 years, at some stage it is likely that this cask leaked because the yield was just 204 bottles and the ABV dropped to slightly lower than expected due to there being less volume in the cask.

On the nose, enjoy sweet caramelised toffee with juicy green apple, with hints of dark chocolate and bitter navel orange. On the palate, expect a smooth, light taste of foam banana penny sweet. The aftertaste is lingering with an oaky bitterness typical of more mature spirit.

Price includes complimentary delivery and presentation carton

Single Malt Islay Whisky

Bourbon Hogshead #2132 yielded 208 bottles

Distilled on the 21st of May 1991 and bottled on the 17th of September 2018 at cask strength with no artificial colouring.

When Bruichladdich was founded in 1881 by the Harvey Brothers it was a state of the art distillery within the Victorian era built to produce Whisky on Islay at an Industrial level. Even now the distillery retains some it's Victorain innovations such as having an open mash tun among other equipment.

The spirit for this release was distilled shortly before the distillery was mothballed in 1993 as it was deemed 'surplus to requirements'. Eventually the distillery would be re-opened in 2000 when it was acquired by a private investment group headed up by Mark Reynier and Simon Couglin.

In the early 90s Bruichladdich still used peat in their standard releases as evidenced in this single cask release which is lightly peated.

Tasting notes
Pineapple, white chocolate cream and black peppercorns

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Description:

Single Grain Highland Whisky

Bourbon Hogshead #104373 yielded 193 bottles

Distilled on the 8th December 1987 and bottled on the 25th June 2018 at cask strength with no artificial colouring. 

A delicious and rare single cask from Scotland's northern most grain distillery.

Tasting notes

Caramelised banana, toffee and cherry liquor

Price includes complimentary delivery and presentation carton

Single Malt Speyside Whisky

Barrel #13208 yielded 221 bottles which were bottled at cask strength with no no-chil filtering or added colouring

One of Speyside's rarer seen distilleries that is synonymous for producing a distinctive light style spirit. Here married with a bounteous in character first fill bourbon barrel.

Tasting notes

Ripened toffee banana, strawberry laces and shortbread

About the Distillery.

Mannochmore was founded in 1971 in the heart of Speyside, south of Elgin in Morayshire. The distillery's water source is the Bardon Burn which it shares with Glenlossie distillery.

The majority of the distillery's output is used in Diageos finest blends, making single malt releases and in particular single cask releases very rare. Despite it's lack of public exposure the distillery has produced cult releases such as the 'Cu Dhub' and the 'Black Whisky'.

Single Malt Islay Whisky

Distilled at a distillery located on the North of Islay. For legal reasons we cannot reveal the location of the distillery.

Matured in a first fill Olorosso Sherry butt for a full 14 years, cask number #1828.

About the distillery

Islay is renowned for producing Scotland's most distinct and recognizable Whiskies. The small island which enjoys 130 miles of coastline and it’s own micro climate has distilled Whisky with a limited number of exceptional distilleries for centuries. We were very fortunate to obtain this beautiful single butt from a private collector but due to the gravity of the butt the name had to remain secret.

The light quality of the spirit produced from this distillery’s large stills have allowed for a delightfully balanced sherry influence. We were so impressed by the wood’s condition after the Secret Islay maturation that we have opted to use the Butt again, as it has so much left to give, for the further maturation of a Caol ila.

Tasting notes

Medjool dates, maple syrup and ginger

Price includes complimentary delivery and presentation carton box.

Tullibardine is an active distillery located at Blackford in Perthshire. Although the distillery is part of the Highland region, it is located just below the Speyside region due to the way regional map cuts around Speyside. 

The distillery has a long history, stretching back as far as 1488 when it was the site of an ancient brewery where King James IV bought ale on his way to Scone palace. The distillery was built in 1949, making it a relatively modern distillery. The name derives from the Gaelic ‘tullach bhardainn’, meaning hill of warning and its water comes from the Danny burn. The distillery currently lives outside the ownership of the big whisky conglomerates, with its own cooperage, warehouse and bottling hall on site.

The distillery was reawakened in 2003 after lying dormant since 1994. The new owners invested heavily in exceptional casks for their new spirit, the benefits of which we can enjoy now. Distillation was supervised by Master Distiller John Black, who regrettably passed away in 2013. 

Tullbardine produces well-balanced distillates of medium body and sweetness encompassing low malty notes and hints of sherry, honey and spice.

The cask was matured in a first-fill bourbon barrel for a full 11 years, giving it a distinct bourbon sweetness. 

On the palate expect flavours of creamy vanilla fudge with white chocolate bringing a vanilla sweetness and milk qualities, enhanced by a scattering of spicy black pepper.

Enjoy complimentary delivery in the UK. Delivery to anywhere outside the UK will cost an additional £20.00

Ardmore is an active distillery located within the Highland region near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. Founded in 1898 its name translates from Gaelic as ‘big promontory’. 

The distillery was created to provide a good-quality smoky spirit for blends and so for a long time it was very rare to find an Ardmore single malt.

The distillate produced is of a medium peat level, with a medium-body and sweetness, expressing malty and sherry notes with hints of honey and spice. 

This release of Ardmore was matured for 8 years in a first-fill bourbon barrel #2615b. Distilled on the 13th of October 2007. We took 50 litres to mature in a Pedro Ximenez sherry octave in the hope the spirit would extract those incredibly sweet sherry flavours. In no more than 3 months we had achieved that with a yield of 58 bottles.

On the nose, enjoy marzipan, honey and almonds with a lingering smokiness and hints of seaweed. The palate is immersed in strawberry bubble-gum with a smoky aftertaste.

Ardmore is an active distillery located within the Highland region near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. Founded in 1898 its name translates from Gaelic as ‘big promontory’. 

The distillery was created to provide a good-quality smoky spirit for blends and so for a long time it was very rare to find an Ardmore single malt.

The distillate produced is of a medium peat level, with a medium-body and sweetness, expressing malty and sherry notes with hints of honey and spice. 

This release of Ardmore was matured for 8 years in a first-fill bourbon barrel #2615b. Distilled on the 13th of October 2007 and bottled 4th of May 2018 at cask strength with no artificial colouring. 

The yield was relatively low at 173 bottles because around 50 litres were taken to be finished in an octave for a separate release.

Our tasting revealed sweet smoked bacon on the nose, with a maple syrup sweetness and cornflakes with added toasted grain notes on the palate and a lingering smoky aftertaste.

Price includes complimentary delivery and presentation card.

Single Malt Islay Whisky

Octave 170000006B yielded 59 bottles

50 litres of eight year old Single Malt was taken from a secret distillery on North Islay and carefully matured in a 2nd fill Pedro Ximenez Octave for 4 months. Marrying the intense flavours of Islay with the dark sweet fruits of Pedro Ximenez Sherry.

Tasting notes

Leather, brine and salted caramel

About the release

Pedro Ximenez has a reputation as one of the finest styles of Sherry being naturally sweet and intense. An Octave can only fit approximately 50 litres of spirit and the greater wood to spirit contact, compared to a traditional hogshead, encourages more flavour extraction from the oak but evaperation increases meaning the yield is further reduced. We can't reveal the distillery where the single malt was distilled, only that the distillery is located on North Islay and that it is peated but it is very recognizable upon taste...

Price includes complimentary delivery and presentation carton box