Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie
Built by three brothers on the shore of Loch Indaal in the village of Bruichladdich in 1881, the distillery has traveled a bumpy road on occasion, including being mothballed several times. The current iteration has been open since the turn of the century, sprearheaded by the legendary Jim McEwan as master distiller until his retirement in 2015. Purchased by Rémy Cointreau in 2012, Bruichladdich continues to expand whisky horizons with one eye on the storied scotch legacy of yore. Serving as their signature bottling, the Scottish Barley noted prominently on the bottle points to everything about the whisky being sourced, made and aged in Scotland.
Auchentoshan American Oak
The Lowland region of Scotland makes the Campbeltown region look crowded with distilleries. While encompassing a large area on the map, this region is only home to a few operating distilleries. This may be due to a large portion of the population being located in the south and thus not suitable for distilleries, as they need rather pure ingredients. That being said, the few distilleries that are there are doing well and making an effort in the market. Auchentoshan in particular has garnered positive reviews and offers a respectable stable of offerings, both in their regular and special editions. Their main range has a respectable 12, 18 and 21 year old, plus a triple wood and this American Oak, aged in first-fill American bourbon oak casks. We reviewed the Auchentoshan Classic but felt this distillery deserved more attention.
Amrut Fusion
Amrut has a special place in our collective memory. The first time we tasted the standard offering before we’d even begun our collective exploration, the results were…memorable. And horrific. Fast forward two years of developing our palates and, while perhaps still not our first choice at the bar, we can better appreciate what the distillery is trying to do. The history of whisky in India is a proud and interesting one. Amrut started over 65 years ago; a large company, only a small percentage of its revenue is from whisky. While most Indian distilleries serve their domestic tastes, Amrut is focused primarily on foreign markets. Their single malt line has only been available for the past decade or so, and this heralded Fusion combines barley from India with barley from Scotland, which has been peat smoked.