Lemon

Tomatin Cù Bòcan

Tomatin Cù Bòcan

Tomatin currently offers a portfolio largely comprised of age statement whiskies, some of them cask finishes. Cù Bòcan is the name of a legendary hellhound said to roam the area around the village of Tomatin and is also the distillery’s equivalent of their Skunk Works (or, closer to whisky than aircraft, Midleton’s Method and Madness micro distillery). It’s a place where Tomatin can experiment and try things outside their normal wheelhouse. The brand’s tagline is “Unlock the Unusual” and seeks to explore the smokier side of the Highland profile. The distillery distills lightly peated barley in small batches every winter, then matures them in a variety of wine casks before the blending process. The Cù Bòcan represents a long return of sorts for the distillery, as they were one of the first distilleries to move away from using peat to smoke their barley after WWII. 

Eifel Single Malt

Eifel Single Malt

Eifel distillery is made by husband and wife Stephan and Carolin. Stephan handles the mashing and distilling and Carolin handles the labeling and bottling, hand labeling each bottle. Their whisky is first distilled in a column still and then the second distillation is done in a copper pot still. Their total output is so low, their whiskey is only typically found in the Eifel region of Germany. Thankfully they have an agreement with Anthem Imports, which brings their offerings to the US market in limited releases. The Eifel Single Malt German Whisky was distilled in 2012 and 2013, aged for 4 years in ex-Bordeaux American casks before aging for 4 more years in ex-cream sherry casks. Only 300 cases were made.

Clynelish Reserve: Game of Thrones Edition

Clynelish Reserve: Game of Thrones Edition

Founded in 1819, Clynelish has been operating nearly uninterrupted for over two hundred years, even when it was known for a time as Brora distillery. Though it produced single malts early on, almost all the distillery’s output has been a primary highland component to some of current owner Diageo’s Johnnie Walker series. Maybe because new single malts are rarely seen from this distillery, the Clynelish Reserve was seen as a standout when Diageo released a Game of Thrones set in early 2019 to celebrate the hit show’s final season. There is no age statement or anything to stand it apart like cask finishing.