Pour & Sip September 2024 Box

So it's September, and the weather is turning... Perhaps time for a big warming cask strength Speysider fully matured in Rioja casks? We thought so too. Classic stuff from Balvenie too, alongside Indian single malt, and exciting new releases from a pair of up and coming Lowland distilleries.

The Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask: Balvenie is a famous and much loved distillery, founded in 1892, and one of only a few that still runs its own traditional floor maltings (providing up to 15% of their malt requirements). This 14 Year Old was matured in American oak casks before being finished in Caribbean rum casks (as opposed to sherry casks like the DoubleWood) and has been part of the range since 2010.

Ballindalloch 2015 Vintage Release 8 Year Old: One of Scotland’s newest whisky-releasing distilleries, Ballindalloch Distillery was founded in 2014 to make Scotland’s first ‘single estate whisky’ i.e. all the barley is grown on the Ballindalloch Estate itself. They have a traditional ‘hands-on’ approach and use worm tub condensers. This is aged in a combination of 80% bourbon barrels and 20% sherry butts.

Paul John Brilliance: Alongside Amrut especially, Paul John has helped to firmly establish India on the malt whisky map, picking up many awards. Brilliance is unpeated (although they do also produce peated whiskies), made with Indian 6-row barley from the Himalayan foothills, and matured in bourbon barrels for 3-5 years in Goa’s tropical climate, driving more intense interaction between spirit and wood within a shorter time.

Glen Moray 8 Year Old 2015 Rioja Matured - Warehouse 1: Glen Moray, founded in 1897, is well respected and appreciated by whisky fans for their affordable and more than solid core ranges. The Warehouse 1 collection meanwhile is home to Glen Moray’s cask explorations and more limited releases, presented at natural cask strength and natural colour, without chill-filtration. This whisky spent its entire maturation in Rioja red wine casks for a deep, full-bodied sipper.

Kingsbarns Coaltown: Kingsbarns distillery was founded by the Wemyss family in late 2014, producing an unpeated, light, floral and fruity spirit with slow fermentation and distillation, and an early cut point. Normally filled into first-fill bourbon barrels as well as some STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, Coaltown is instead matured entirely in casks that previously held peated whisky!