Tasting Highland and Speyside Whiskies
Our next online tasting is coming up on the 5th of February, and we’ve put together a tasty wee lineup for it. This time around, we’re going to be sampling a selection of whiskies from the Highland and Speyside regions.
When it comes to choosing whiskies from these regions, we weren’t exactly short on choice. The Highlands is the biggest of all Scotch whisky regions, geographically speaking, and Speyside, which is itself a subset of the Highlands, is the area most densely populated by distilleries in all of Scotland. It’s safe to say that we could have gone in a few different directions, but we’re pretty happy that we’ve got an interesting mix to offer up. There’s a nice balance between new and old distilleries; we even have a new release from a closed distillery and a peated Speyside!
See the full line-up below.
Deanston 12-Year-Old
We love Deanston Distillery. Their single malt is something of a hidden gem in the world of Scotch whisky, and while its star continues to rise, we’d like to see even more recognition sent its way. The distillery was established in the 1960s, inside an old cotton mill and its uniquely waxy spirit character shines through in all the core bottlings. The 12-Year-Old, bottled at 46.3%, is the perfect dram to get us warmed up and ready for some big hitters.
Wolfburn No 204 Small Batch Release (Madeira Cask Finish)
A relatively new addition to the Highland whisky landscape, Wolfburn is one of the most northerly distilleries in Scotland, located in Thurso, Caithness. Founded in 2013, the new distillery has nonetheless been producing some excellent whisky. Their Small Batch Release series, in particular, has produced some belters. This expression is bottled at 46% and was finished in Madeira casks. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name.
Glenfarclas Aged 8 Years Specially Bottled for the Whisky Over Ice Festival
Distilleries don’t come much more traditional than Glenfarclas. It’s been run by the same family for almost the entirety of its existence and takes the old-fashioned approach to whisky-making. A majority of Glenfarclas’ spirit is matured in ex-sherry casks from Spain. This bottling was released to mark the occasion of the Whisky Over Ice Festival in Inverness in 2022. Expect the classic Glenfarclas sherry-led style. Bottled at 48.8%.
Glenmorangie The Lighthouse Aged 12 Years
Another classic malt, Glenmorangie Distillery, has been producing its distinctively light spirit in Tain since 1843. This whisky was bottled in 2021 to celebrate the new Lighthouse Distillery. Lighthouse is a new experimental plant on the grounds of the original Glenmorangie. Standing 20 metres high, it will be used to experiment with and trial new recipes and techniques. The whisky is matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks and comes at a strength of 48%.
Spey 12 Years Old Golden Mist
Finished in Brume Dorée French Oak casks. Spey whisky comes from the Speyside Distillery which has now officially closed its doors. The company behind the brand has plans for a new distillery in a different location, but in the meantime, they’re keeping up appearances by launching new products with their existing mature stock. The whisky has been matured in 400-litre French virgin oak casks. It’s bottled at a cask strength of 57.6%.
Benriach Smoke Season
Whilst not as beloved as its sister distillery Glendronach, Benriach still produces a fantastic malt in its own right. Something of a chameleon, Benriach’s spirit can adapt well to a wide array of diffeent cask types and peating levels. Smoke Season is the distillery’s most heavily peated whisky yet and has been matured in ex-bourbon and fire toasted virgin oak barrels. It’s bottled at 52.8%
This promises to be a great evening full of fantastic whiskies and some storytelling thrown in for good measure. Tickets are available at the link below.
Sadly, postage is only available to the UK.
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