Andalusia Stryker
Andalusia Whiskey was started by friends Tommy Erwin and Ty Phelps in 2015. They discovered the site of their planned distillery was once called the Andalusia Ranches, perhaps after the hill country of southern Spain. The Andalusia Stryker is one of the four main offerings from the distillery. Harkening back to the Scottish tradition of drying malted barley using peat smoke for some of their whiskies, Tommy and Ty give Stryker a Texas twist by smoking the barley with a mix of oak, mesquite, and apple wood, pointing towards Texas barbeque as their inspiration.
GlenAllachie 12 Year
Located in the heart of Speyside, a few thousand feet from the River Spey at the foot of Ben Rinnes, GlenAllachie was founded in 1967 by Mackinlay McPherson. It has changed ownership several times but is now independently owned and managed, one of the last remaining distilleries in Scotland to be so. While having much greater capacity, the current output of the distillery is around 500,000 liters of alcohol per year. They have 16 warehouses on site holding some 50,000 barrels. Despite this history, they have rebranded and are only relatively new on American shelves. Unlike many distilleries today, their line is dominated by a great number of age statement offerings across a few named ranges. The GlenAllachie 12 Year is the keystone of their core range and is a pure introduction, offering no cask finishes or proof hikes.
Highland Park 18 Year
Highland Park has been making whisky for over 200 centuries. One of the reasons for this longevity, besides producing good spirit, is that it’s not afraid to take risks and reinvent itself. The latest rebranding happened in 2017, when some standard bottlings were pulled (the 15 year, alas) and the current slate was given new bottle designs and new names, all without changing the liquid contained in those new bottles. The Highland Park 18 has been a standard offering for many years but now comes with the additional moniker Viking Pride (much like the 12 year is now Viking Honour). While we can’t fault the distillery for tapping into their legitimate geographical heritage, we’re just happy the scotch itself remains unchanged.