White Pepper

Bunnahabhain Toiteach

Bunnahabhain Toiteach

Bunnahabhain was founded in 1881 and was for its first several decades only received supplies by sea. Interestingly, the village of Bunnahabhain itself was founded to house the workers for the distillery, making the two even more intertwined than is often the case. Word began to spread after an actual road was put in during the early 1960s and production expanded. The name of the distillery in Gaelic means “Mouth of the River”. In 2003 the distillery was purchased by Burn Stewart, which is currently folded under Heineken Beverages. The Bunnahabhain Toiteach breaks a little from tradition in being lightly peated, as the distillery is generally more known for making unpeated whisky. Toiteach is pronounced “toch tach” and means “smoky” in Gaelic. It has since been replaced by the Toiteach A DhĂ  but you can still find the original floating around in stores on occasion.

Glen Grant 15 Year

Glen Grant 15 Year

Glen Grant was founded by James and John Grant, two brothers who had previously made whisky illegally but were finally granted a license in 1840. The Grant family had a number of successful generations that followed to expand the business and even though primary ownership eventually passed out of the family, they still maintain a stake in the company. The Campari Group owns the distillery now and it is one of largest selling single malts in the world, with an annual output of 5.9 million liters. Four tall, slender pot stills create a core line of six single malts – though a good deal also goes into Chivas blends – that features 5 age expressions, including this Glen Grant 15, that range from 10 to 21 years old.

Starward Nova

Starward Nova

Starward distillery was founded in 2007 by David Vitale. Producing whiskies from the outset, Starward received investment from spirits conglomerate Diageo in 2015 via their Distilled Ventures program, which allowed the distillery to expand their facilities. Starward Nova is the brand’s signature offering, featuring malted barley fermented with brewer’s yeast. It then goes into a variety of casks from Australian wineries, namely shiraz, cabernet and pinot noir from the Yarra and Barossa vallies, where it remains for the entire maturation of approximately two years. Starward asserts the aging process is accelerated due to the area’s volatile climate.