Talisker 18 Year
Talisker was founded in 1830 by the MacAskill and, after almost two centuries a more than one change of hands, is now owned by spirit conglomorate Diageo. The five stills at the distillery – two wash and three spirit – have a unique feature called swan neck lye pipes. A loop in the pipe moves some vapor into the worm tubs, which condenses some of the alochol therein before it is distilled again. Along with having travel retain bottles and a few No Age Statement expressions, the core of the lineup features five aged offerings, beginning with the Talisker 10. The Talisker 18 Year has long been part of the distillery’s output, along with the 10.
Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve
The Glenlivet was founded in 1824 by George and John Smith, and has remained almost continually open for over two centuries apart from a few years during World War II. Currently owned by the Chivas Brothers Group under the Pernod Ricard corporate umbrella, it is currently the largest selling scotch in the United States and second biggest in the world. While a minority of the distillery’s 10.5 million liters per year output goes into Chivas Brothers blends, the vast majority goes into single malts like the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve. The bedrock of the Signature Collection, this single malt is matured in oaks with a selection of first-fill American oak casks.
Craigellachie 13 Year Bas-Armagnac
While Craigellachie exists in the Speyside region of Scotland, the distillery has long been proud of forging its own style that doesn’t always match up with its neighbors, whether that means using heritage equipment from a bygone era or adding a new twist to the production process. A new entrant into distillery’s core line of offerings, the Craigellachie Bas-Armagnac takes the distillery’s core 13 year single malt and finishes it for over a year in casks from Gascony that once held Bas-Armagnac. Translated as Lower Armagnac, it is a region in southwestern France along the border with Spain. Grapes grown in this region are blended into a specific style of brandy that uses column stills in the distillation rather than the pot stills often used in cognac production. The Bas-Armagnac region accounts for about 60% of all Armagnac production.