Oban 15 Year Cask Strength
Oban was founded in 1794 by John and Hugh Stevenson on the west coast of Scotland, across from the isle of Tobermorey. It is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, having only two pot stills and a distilling capacity under 700,000 liters a year. Because of distillery’s location in the town of Oban, the only avenue for expansion in recent years was discovered to contain remains of archaelogical significance and thus Oban was prevented from continuing. Due to the distillery’s limited production, the core range is not large, mostly comprising their standard 14 Year, Little Bay and Distillers Edition. This 15 Year Cask Strength is a US-exclusive release matured for over ten years and finished for four years in both ex-Oloroso and ex-Palo Cortado sherry casks from Andalusia, Spain.
Redbreast Tawny Port Edition
The Redbreast brand has long been fans of using cask maturation as part of their whiskey’s identity, such almost always utilizing some component of ex-sherry casks of some sort in their core offerings and many of their limited editions. The Redbreast Tawny Port Edition was launched in 2023 as the third release in the brand’s Iberian Series, which looks to pair whiskey with esteemed wine producers from the Iberian penninsula. It is a single pot still whiskies aged in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks, then transferred to ex-tawny port casks before being married and matured in freshly seasoned tawny port hogsheads for 14-25 months, resulting in layers of influence.
Ardbeg Anthology: The Harpy’s Tail
Ardbeg launched the Anthology series in 2023, inspired by tales of unbelievable encounters. The distillery’s marketing department has long loved to connect their releases with stories digging into the legends around Islay and of Ardbeg, and the Anthology opens with just such panache. The Harpy’s Tail is a 13 year scotch that is partially matured in ex-bourbon casks and partially matured in ex-Sauternes casks, then combined much in the same way that a Balvenie 12 year Doublewood would be. The actual tail of the harpy in question is told on the box and involves some highjinks around the distillery, even if it involves a creature out of Greek and Roman legends rather than Scottish, it is a creature still said to control storms, something the Scots on Islay would be long familiar with.