Laphroaig Càirdeas 2023
Laphroaig has been creating Càirdeas (Gaelic for “friendship”) expressions since 2008, experimenting with with cask finishes or cask strength versions of older offerings. The Càirdeas 2023 is unique in that it combines two different casks not often seen in whisky maturation. Three quarters of the scotch is aged in second-fill Madeira casks. Madeira is a Portuguese island famous for producing fortified wine. The remaining quarter of the scotch is matured in first-fill port casks, the majority of which were of white port. Port is a fortified wine from the Duoro valley of Portugal, and white port uses white wine grapes instead of red. Therefore, this Càirdeas represents influences from multiple Portugeuse fortified wines.
Old Pulteney 15 Year
Old Pulteney was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and names after Sir William Pulteney. Currently owned by Inver House Distillers, which is itself a subsidiary of international beverage company ThaiBev. As such, Old Pulteney is under the same umbrella as the Balblair, Balmenach, Knockdhu and Speyburn distilleries. The distillery has the capacity to produce up to a million liters of spirit a year and almost all of that seems to go into their single malts, a majority of which are still age statements today. They had a foray into more No Age Statement (NAS) offerings years ago that did not make the impact they hoped, so the brand relaunched with age statements again a priority. The Old Pulteney 15 is double matured, though no further details are given to indicate if it is a true blending of fully-matured single malts or more a case of finishing without calling it such.
High Coast Timmer
High Coast began producing whisky in 2010 after being founded by a group of whisky-interested friends in 2007. Situated in Sörviken, Sweden, the distillery is exposed to a high degree of temperature variance throughout the year, including some terrifically cold nights during the winter. From the beginning, the distillery has employed a patience, thoughtful, transparent philosophy to create a creative slate of offerings. In 2017, the Origins product line was begun, the core offerings that are most widely distributed (the Hav is also one of these). The High Coast Timmer was launched in 2020 and is made of peated barley (39-46ppm) matured in a variety of cask sizes for approximately seven years.