Deanston 18 Year Cognac Finish
Deanston began it’s life as the Adelphi Cotton Mill in 1785 but after the mill had run its course along the River Teith, the site became a distillery in 1966. Though founded by Brodie Hepburn in the village of Deanston, the current team is made up of master blender Julieann Fernandez, Distillery Manager Murray Kerr and Visitor Center Manager Belen Catalan. This team has crafted a set of offerings ranging from No Age Statements to distillery exclusives. This Deanston 18 Year Cognac Finish takes the concept of finishing too added lengths. After maturing for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels, this whisky sat another 6 years in ex-cognac casks. Cognac, as a reminder, is named after a commune in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France.
Craigellachie 13 Year Bas-Armagnac
While Craigellachie exists in the Speyside region of Scotland, the distillery has long been proud of forging its own style that doesn’t always match up with its neighbors, whether that means using heritage equipment from a bygone era or adding a new twist to the production process. A new entrant into distillery’s core line of offerings, the Craigellachie Bas-Armagnac takes the distillery’s core 13 year single malt and finishes it for over a year in casks from Gascony that once held Bas-Armagnac. Translated as Lower Armagnac, it is a region in southwestern France along the border with Spain. Grapes grown in this region are blended into a specific style of brandy that uses column stills in the distillation rather than the pot stills often used in cognac production. The Bas-Armagnac region accounts for about 60% of all Armagnac production.
Lark Single Malt
The island of Tasmania has a history of whisky making yet there was a 150 year gap because of old 19th century laws that went unchallenged until Bill Lark founded Lark Distillery in 1992. Since then, Lark has been producing whisky and liqueurs. The distillery was the first in Australia to become carbon neutral in 2021 and while originally started in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, production has recently moved to a new distillery in nearby Pontville. Before their portfolio expanded, the American market would only receive limited single barrel expressions, such as this Lark Single Malt bottled at 86 proof. Other expressions are different individual barrels at slightly differing proofages but remain the same base spirit. This particular barrel was aged in a small cask that formerly held Australian port.