Glen Scotia 10 Year Peated
Campbeltown may be the smallest whisky-producing region in Scotland now but in the Victorian era, it was the whisky capital of Scotland, with over 30 distilleries in 1835. One of them was Glen Scotia. We certainly appreciate the regions’ rich heritage and tasty drams that give you a hint of the sea. Glen Scotia 10 Peated was released in 2018. The distillery offers a range of peated offerings (unpeated to heavily peated), with this offering seeming to be relatively standard edition. Enjoy this wee dram crafted and overseen by Campbeltown native and former engineer, Iain McAlister. Sláinte!
Ardbeg Blaaack
2020 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee, a fan club of Ardbeg enthusiasts and a way for the distillery to stay in touch with fans of the brand. Every year in the spring, the distillery will release a special Committee Release. While available to non-Committee buyers, members hear about the upcoming whisky first and sometimes have a chance to buy it before retail. The 2020 Committee Release is the Ardbeg Blaaack. The name references a black sheep, depicted on the cover amidst a sea of white sheep. The sheep are there because the whisky was matured in ex-pinot noir casks from New Zealand, another island nation known for having an extremely high number of sheep.
Laphroaig 10 Year
The Laphroaig distillery was founded in 1815 by Donald and Alexander Johnston and has a richly storied history on Islay. Though the distillery has changed ownership after passing out of the Johnston family’s hands in the mid-1950s, production has continued unabated. The current portfolio is large and made up of several age-statement offerings, some cycling in and out of availability, along with a few non-age statement whiskies. Few scotches are more common in liquor stores, restaurants and bars (and home bars), even those not specializing in whiskies, than the Laphroaig 10 Year. Because of its wide availability, it is often the first Islay or first scotch in general that some people experience. Another iconic feature of the brand is the Friends of Laphroaig, a brand loyalty program established in 1994 that purports to give the purchaser of every bottle of the brand a lifetime lease of a square foot of Islay, though the program was revamped in 2020. A popular feature of visiting the distillery is being shown one’s personal square foot while enjoying a dram.