Archives for June 7, 2011

Lagavulin, Talisker And The Singleton Of Glen Ord Win Awards

June 7, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

Talisker 57° North Won A Master award

Diageo’s Single Malt Scotch Whiskies Lagavulin, Talisker and The Singleton of Glen Ord have added further polish to their global prestige and long record of success with major wins in the prestigious Scotch Whisky Masters competition held in London with the results being announced yesterday.

The Scotch Whisky Masters awards are decided by expert judging panels after an extensive and rigorous blind tasting process.

The panels, all independent of the whisky industry, included mixologists, managers of luxury hotels, bars and restaurants, global retailers, and leading whisky commentators including two former editors of Whisky Magazine, chaired by the widely-respected drinks journalist Patience Gould.

They awarded six ‘Master’ accolades – the highest award in the competition – to Diageo brands: Lagavulin 16 year old (adding to its already substantial collection of awards), The Singleton of Glen Ord 12 year old, now a major success in Asian markets, Talisker 57° North, The Distillers Editions of Cragganmore and Dalwhinnie – and a newcomer: Caol Ila Moch, a recently launched expression of the highly successful Islay malt without an age statement, destined initially for the exclusive enjoyment of the Friends of the Classic Malts.

Talisker confirmed its status as a regular winner by picking up three top medals: a Master for Talisker 57° North, and Gold medals for Talisker 10 year old and Talisker Distillers Edition.

Other Gold medal winners were: Caol Ila 12 year old, Cardhu 12 year old, Cragganmore, 12 year old, Dalwhinnie 15 year old, Glenkinchie 12 year old, Glenkinchie Distillers Edition, Lagavulin Distillers Edition and The Singleton of Glendullan 12 year old.

Nick Morgan, Diageo Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Director, said: “These are outstanding results. And we value this increasingly-influential competition. It stands out by the independence of its judging panels, with members drawn from a wide cross-section of drinks professionals and commentators, many of whom are close to the tastes of our target consumers.”

Oldest Lagavulin Comes Home

June 7, 2011 by Gary Leave a Comment

The 1911 Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky

One of the world’s rarest bottles of Single Malt Scotch Whisky returned home to Lagavulin Distillery at the beginning of this month.

The exceptional 130-year old unopened bottle of “Lagavulin Liqueur” contains single malt whisky that was distilled at Lagavulin Distillery on Islay on 2 June 1881. After an extraordinary 30 years in cask, the single malt was bottled on 2 June 1911 by Mackie & Co of Glasgow, then owners of Lagavulin Distillery and a firm with a long tradition of supplying Islay malts.

Georgie Crawford securing the 1911 bottle

It was rare for 19th century whiskies to be offered as single malts – most found their way into blended whisky – but according to Alfred Barnard, celebrated author of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom (published 1887), “there are only a few of the Scotch distillers that turn out spirit for use as single whiskies, and that made at Lagavulin can claim to be one of the most prominent“.

This precious bottle was acquired at auction by Diageo and forms part of the comprehensive Diageo spirits industry Archive. It was recently exhibited at the Visitors Centre at Royal Lochnagar distillery on Deeside.

But on 2 June, Donald Renwick, the distillery manager at Royal Lochnagar and former distillery manager at Lagavulin, travelled to Islay to carry the bottle back home, where it has been deposited in an ultra-secure display case in the Visitors Centre.

The handover at Lagavulin Distillery took place on the 100th anniversary of the bottling, and the 130th anniversary of its distilling, to the exact day. Donald Renwick was accompanied on his journey to Islay by two other former Lagavulin distillery managers, Peter Campbell and John Thomson, who joined him in handing the bottle into the safe-keeping of the distillery’s present manager, Georgie Crawford.

Lagavulin can be bought from The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt

Four Lagavulin managers keep an eye on that 1911 bottle

About Lagavulin Distillery

Although Lagavulin Bay may have already been a centre of whisky production in the early 17th century, it was in 1816 that John Johnston founded the first legal distillery at Lagavulin, where it remains, dominated by the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, a 13th century base of The Lords of the Isles.
As with most Scottish distilleries, it passed through the hands of different owners, including the celebrated Sir Peter Mackie, whose company became White Horse Distillers, forever associated with Lagavulin.
White Horse joined The Distillers Company Ltd. (eventually Diageo) in 1927. In 1989, Lagavulin, now bottled at 16 years rather than the original 12, became one of the six Classic Malts of Scotland; but a limited-edition of 12 year old expression is regularly issued in the annual Special Releases series.