Peat

Deanston Virgin Oak

Deanston is relatively new for a distillery in Scotland, being converted from the a cotton mill that was almost two centuries old when converted to a distillery in 1966. Since that time, Deanston has created a number of blended and single malt whiskies, albeit with occasional bouts of stoppage due to diminished demand or other factors. There are 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills, which produce a total of 3 million liters per year, offerings ranging from a core line of aged and unaged whiskies. It is also the only distillery currently in Scotland to be self-sustaining from an electrical standpoint, powered by a hydro-electric facility on site. The Deanston Virgin Oak is part of their core line up. Matured at first in ex-bourbon barrels like a majority of scotches, it is then finished for 9-12 months in fresh virgin casks from Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky, a family operation that got their start by the River Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland. While using virgin oak is normal for bourbon in the United States, it is very rare to see in scotch production.

By Adam | July 20, 2024 | Highland | No Comments |

Springbank was founded in 1828 and for nearly 200 years has been producing whisky with involvement from the Mitchell family over five generations. In that time, and to the current day, Springbank is one of the few scotch distilleries producing 100% of the process on site, of a sorts. Springbank is one of the only survivors from when Campbeltown was a roaring center of whisky production to the lean times when there were almost none to leading the charge at the dawn of the 21st century to get Campbeltown recognized as a distinct scotch region. In the past couple of decades, Campbeltown has seen a resurgence of interest and popularity and the Springbank releases in particular have become sought after much in the same fashion as some American bourbons like Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and others. The Springbank 15 has been aged in ex-sherry casks, purportedly from Miguel Martin in Jerez, Spain.

By Adam | June 5, 2024 | Campbeltown | No Comments |

Glengyle distillery was founded by William Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Springbank, in 1872 and closed in 1925. After many attempts to restart throughout the 20th Century, the distillery finally began production again in 2004 with new stills and other equipment under the same ownership group as Springbank. The distillery sells their offerings under the brand name Kilkerran because the name Glengyle is owned by Loch Lomond and used for their blended malt. The Kilkerran Heavily Peated is a single malt that, as the name implies, is made using heavily peated barley. This is the 8th Edition and was released in May 2023. Though past bottles have listed ppm levels (phenolic parts per million), this edition does not.

By Adam | May 5, 2024 | Campbeltown | No Comments |