More Drams, Less Drama

Quick review: Strathclyde 31yo batch 4 TBWC

10th December 201911th December 2019Coldorak

Behind the tenth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a Strathclyde 31yo batch 4, bottled at 45% abv by that Boutique-y Whisky Company and the first single grain of this calendar. The black and white label details the chemical components created when the cooperage toasts the wood making the barrel, those substances being what’s behind the flavours we recognize in our whiskies. But boutique-y being boutique-y, you’ll quickly see that they cannot stay serious and scientific until the end and give a quicker explanation for those not that interested. And what about Strathclyde, a distillery many people never heard about? It’s a grain distillery located in Glasgow on the south bank of the River Clyde, in a district called Gorbals, and is pretty awful looking (it was an old cotton mill). It’s owned by Pernod Ricard (Chivas Brothers) and is used mainly as a component for Ballantine’s and Chivas blends. I could not find a price for this whisky.

Quick review: Blended Whisky #2 22yo batch 3 TBWC

9th December 201910th December 2019Coldorak

Behind the ninth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a Blended Whisky #2 22-year-old batch 3, bottled at 41.8% abv by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. The black and white label seems to show a white glove going through a barley field. This batch was released in May 2018 with an outturn of 1650 bottles. It is still available at Master of Malt for a mere £63.95.

Quick review: Blended Malt #1 18yo batch 3 TBWC

8th December 201910th December 2019Coldorak

Behind the eight window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a Blend #1 18-year-old batch 3, bottled at 47.3% abv bottled by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. The funny label represents a congregation of people on a hill, praying to a giant floating teaspoon with an aureole, and cleric people at its errr… feet? This seems to be a not-so-subtle hint to tell you this “blended malt” is in fact a single malt that has been teaspooned. When an independent bottler buys a cask from a distillery that does not want its name to be known, the distillery can add a teaspoon of a any other single malt to the cask, making it by definition a blended malt. Yep, even with a teaspoon worth in a full cask, it cannot be called a single malt anymore, and thus the name of the original distillery cannot be used. Anyway, it’s available on Master of Malt for a mere £64.95 which is I think very good value. But let’s dive on and let us explain what we think of this teaspooned malt.

Quick review: Royal Brackla 12yo batch 1 TBWC

8th December 201910th December 2019Coldorak

Behind the seventh window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden the first batch of Royal Brackla from Boutique-y: a Royal Brackla 12 year-old batch 1, bottled at 47.9% abv (like yesterday’s Auchroisk or the Teaninich from a few days ago) by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. Brackla became in 1833 the first distillery to obtain a Royal Warrant, from King William IV, and thus changed its name to Royal Brackla. Only three distilleries bear the name “Royal”: Royal Brackla, Royal Lochnagar and the now demolished Glenury Royal. Royal Brackla is located in the Speyside region but is listed officially as being in the Highlands, and is one of the five distilleries owned by Dewar’s (the others being Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie and The Deveron). Royal Brackla was used solely to produce single malt for blends for a long time before a marketing manager, Stephen Marshall, helped by Master Blender Stephanie Macleod, succeeded in convincing the management to release a range of single malts, and since 2015 there is an official range consisting of a 12, a 16 and a 21yo. Royal Brackla has a medium capacity of production at about 4.1 million litres of pure alcohol per year.

Quick review: Auchroisk 12yo batch 7 TBWC

6th December 201921st July 2020Coldorak

Behind the sixth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden an Auchroisk 12 year-old batch 7, bottled at 47.9% abv by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. Auchroisk is a quite recent distillery, as it was built in 1974, and is located in Speyside. Owned by Diageo, it was created mainly for blends, with only one official bottling, a 10 year-old in the Flora & Fauna collection and occasional apparitions in Diageo’s Special Releases. Fun fact: Diageo did not bother to pay enough attention to the page dedicated to Auchroisk on their malts.com website: you can still see a filler “lorem ipsum” line just when they start presenting the Auchroisk “range”. Auchroisk has a medium capacity of production at about 5.9 million litres of pure alcohol per year. I could not find any website selling the Batch 7 of this Boutique-y’s Auchroisk unfortunately.

Quick review: Blair Athol 21yo batch 5 TBWC

5th December 201921st July 2020Coldorak

Behind the fifth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a Blair Athol 21 year-old batch 5, bottled at 51.5% abv by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. Blair Athol is located approximately half-way on the A9 from Edinburgh to Inverness, and is the most visited distillery owned by Diageo. It is mostly used for Bell’s blend, with only one official bottling, a 12 year-old in the Flora & Fauna collection, a brief apparition sometimes in Diageo’s Special Releases, and a NAS exclusive to the distillery. While better known than Teaninich (see yesterday’s post), it has a way smaller capacity of production at about 2.8 million litres of pure alcohol per year. I could not find any website selling the Batch 5 of this Boutique-y’s Blair Athol unfortunately.

Quick review: Teaninich 11yo batch 2 TBWC

4th December 201921st July 2020Coldorak

Behind the fourth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a a Teaninich 11 year-old batch 2. Bottled at 47.9% abv, this single malt bottled by that Boutique-y Whisky Company is matured in ex-bourbon casks. Teaninich is a little-known and dull-looking Highland distillery owned by Diageo and mostly used for blends north of Inverness. While little known, it has a big capacity of production of 10.2 million litres of pure alcohol per year. I could find a German website selling the 50cl bottle for around 40€ but not shipping to UK.

Quick review: New York Distilling Company 2yo b3 TBWC

3rd December 20193rd December 2019Coldorak

Behind the third window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a 2 year-old rye spirit from the New York: the New York Distilling Company 2yo Batch 3. Bottled at 47.7% abv, this rye spirit bottled by that Boutique-y Rye Company is not whisky yet (in Europe and UK, but in the USA it is), but it’s available from Master of Malt for £37.95. But if it’s not whisky yet, should we review it?

Quick review: Speyside #3 8yo b1 TBWC

2nd December 20192nd December 2019Coldorak

Behind the second window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a 8 year-old whisky from an undisclosed distillery in Speyside: Speyside #1 8yo Batch 1. Bottled at 50.7% abv, this whisky is not yet available in UK or France, but if we trust the Boutique-y brand ambassador Dave Worthington, it’s available at least in Denmark and Netherlands.

Quick review: Bourbon Whiskey #1 24yo b1 TBWC

1st December 20191st December 2019Coldorak

Behind the first window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a 24 year-old Bourbon from an undisclosed distillery: Bourbon Whiskey #1 24yo Batch 1. Bottled at 48% abv, the bottle was usually sold at £199.95 on Master of Malt but was on sale for half that price on the evening of the 1st of December. But let’s crack on and taste this bourbon!