Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky
While not known for whisky on the international stage, South Africa has been the home of wine, gin, and beer for a great many years. The James Sedgwick distillery was founded in 1853 in Wellington but didn’t start to gain more attention until former English cricketer Andy Watts was made Master Distiller in 1991. Having trained at distilleries in Scotland, he saw the potential to further develop the distillery’s existing brand, Three Ships, throughout the 90s and early 2000’s. He launched Bain’s Cape Mountain in 2009, a single grain whisky made from South African maize. Named after Andrew Geddes Bain, Andy helped introduce South African whisky to the wider world. Thanks Andy!
Fettercairn Fior
Fettercairn seems a distillery practiced at running under the radar. It has existed on two sites (not simultaneously), been closed and reopened, then bought and sold since beginning production in 1824. The distillery is currently owned by Whyte & Mackay (owner of the Jura and Dalmore distilleries), which is owned by Emperador, which is owned by Alliance Global Group. Never seeming to have a great deal of time in the limelight that other, better known distilleries enjoy, Fettercairn is nevertheless known for a unique method of cooling their stills involving running water down the outside that results in only the lightest elements being collected, along with the beautiful, patina-coated stills resulting from the curious method. This Fettercairn Fior serves as an introduction to the core expression.
Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
Masataka Taketsuru founded Nikka Whisky in 1934, fifteen years after traveling to Scotland to learn about whisky production. Nikka’s first distillery was in Yoichi and the company now owns seven distilleries. The Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries are where malt distilling takes place and the Nikka Taketsuru, named after the company’s founder, combines single malts from both locations. Nikka currently makes several No Age Statement kinds of whiskies around a similar price point, along with a few more expensive age statement whiskies.