Aberlour 12 Year Double Cask
Nestled in the heart of the Speyside region a few miles north of Ben Rinnes along the River Spey, Aberlour has a proud history of distilling that covers centuries and intertwines a sense of heritage with exploration. While an increasing number of distilleries are replacing their aged offerings with No Age Statements (NAS), the Aberlour range has two 12’s, a 16 and an 18. The Aberlour 12 claims to be double matured, as it is aged in oak casks with buttes from ex-sherry casks.
Cragganmore Distillers Edition
Cragganmore is a 2-still distillery currently owned by Diageo and sits next to the Craggan burn. The stills are small and, being only two of them, the production of the distillery is limited. That being said, it is known for being one of the most complex Speyside whiskies. One contributor to the unique taste is that the wash ferments for a long time in wash backs* made of European Larch, one of the few distilleries to still use wooden wash backs. Before launching the single malt offerings, most of the output was used in blends like James Watson Number 10, and is still used today in Old Parr and White Horse.
Knappogue Castle 17 Year Twin Wood
While the trend in cask finishes is not as prominent in Irish whiskies as they are in scotch, you can still find them. Knaggogue Castle put out a limited release, distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2011, featuring a spirit finished in sherry casks. The Knappogue Castle 16 spent a few short months being finished in ex-sherry casks, and this release extends that sherry maturation. The Knappogue Castle 17 Year is somewhat limited (our bottle proclaims it as number 104 out of 4500), it doesn’t carry the rarity or price of the truly limited releases from the distillery and finding a bottle isn’t terribly difficult. So far, at least!