Edencroft New Whisky Arrivals!

Caol Ila / Distillers Edition

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 43%
Distilled/Bottled: 2001/2013
Each Distillers Edition expression undergoes a second (or ‘double’) maturation in casks that have previously held a fortified wine.
This extraordinarily stylish and complex expression of Caol Ila has been double-matured in carefully selected Moscatel casks. The wood is not over-evident and instead balances perfectly with this richly flavoured single malt.
Appearance: Clear gold.
Nose: Wonderfully concentrated pure, clean Caol Ila – peaty and medicinal, with rich fruit, spicy and fragrant. With water, the fragrant smokiness comes singing through.
Body: Medium.
Palate: Sweetness and maltiness strike first, then are quickly overwhelmed by peat smoke and intense, clean, crisp flavours. Caol Ila’s signature smoky bonfires are here, and build to quite a size. Overall, drying, in a beautifully balanced, complex, elegant development, complemented with cinnamon spice.
Finish: Long, rounded, robust and multi-layered.

Glenmorangie / 1978 Tain L'hermitage

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 43%.
Distilled: 1978.
Miscellaneous: Only 1 bottle left.
Glenmorangie – The Men of Tain: Meet the Men of Tain, the select craftsmen entrusted with the secrets of our distillery. Men whose dedication, skill and attention to detail proves that the Glenmorangie story is not just about whisky, it's also about people.
A Dram For A Difficult Job: There was a time when the Men of Tain would queue up for a daily dram of whisky with their lunch. Huddled together they would pass around a metal cup – blackened through constant use – and share a joke at the expense of one of the lads. This tradition, as well as the practice of handing out an extra dram for unpopular jobs like cleaning out the washback, is still fondly remembered by some of our more long serving men. Perhaps a little too fondly you might say.
No box available for this whisky.

Bruichladdich / Organic Edition Mv

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
ABV: 46%

Following on from our landmark Organic 2003 vintage, this release is a multi-vintage vatting in which Jim McEwan has brought together the finest organic barley from our farmers and partners, Sir William Roberts of Mains of Tullibardine, William Rose at Mid Coul and Neil Scobie at Coulmore.

This whisky was in 2011 awarded “Exceptional” status and three stars by the tasters of the prestigious Gault Millau and Michelin Superior Taste Awards – the only spirit to be so recognised. And these guys know their stuff!
Character: An elegant, composed and stylishly vibrant spirit that showcases the absolute finesse, purity, definition and elegance of organically grown barley.
Colour: Late summer barley.
Nose: Opens on a light almond note with a twist of candied lemon. Followed by the magical aromatics of toasted barley, floral and fruit notes with a hint of lemon honey intermingling beautifully. Toffee sweetness comes from American oak cask and as the spirit opens little drifts of succulent papaya, melon and kiwi can be found.
Palate: The texture is sensational, the spirit gliding over the palate like warm syrup. The taste buds love the purity and the sensational clarity of flavours being presented. A real sweetness on the front palate, barley sugar, honey almonds, green jelly beans, pear drops all splashed with fresh lemons and balanced by the crispness of malted barley.
Finish: An intensity and definition of flavour that is unparalleled. Incredibly fresh giving an unforgettable palate experience that leaves the taste buds tingling and overwhelmed.
Mood: Mischievous. Coy, flirtatious, Lolita. A breast-surging, bodice ripper: breathlessly virtuous.
 

Ardbeg / 21 Year Old Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask 15th Anniversary Edition

Summary: To conclude a very rewarding year for me, professionally and personally, Hunter Laing & Co Ltd. is releasing two special new lines. The first of these is an Anniversary series of six casks, bottled to celebrate fifteen years of our flagship Old Malt Cask brand. Together with my sons Scott and Andrew, as well as our Master Blender Tom Aitken, I have selected casks from our maturing stocks which each do justice to the label's fifteen year milestone. These cask-strength Anniversary bottlings are presented in green glass with wooden gift boxes, and are finished in the original-style labels to pay homage to the earliest Old Malt Cask releases. Choosing these casks allowed me to reflect with pride on my last fifteen years as a single cask bottler and, in reviewing our stocks, to look forward with relish to the next fifteen years of the Old Malt Cask.
Stuart Laing.
 

Bruichladdich / Cuvee 640: Eroica

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Islay.
ABV: 46%
Age: 21 Years Old.

This American-oak-aged Bruichladdich has been further matured in Limousin oak casks from Acquitaine that for many years contained one of the great Eaux de Vie. These casks' tannins have added new layers of rich complexity to our own elegant, floral Bruichladdich whisky. This is a spirit to give pause, to reflect on. A spirit as much for the mind as for the palate.
Character: Curvaceous, buxom, captivating yet elegant with a silky texture that is divine.
Colour: Mahogany/ bronze.
Nose: The opening notes are of marinated pears, apricot, mango, spicy apple; then drifts of dark chocolate orange and espresso coffee can be detected together with vanilla-rich toffee. The seductive notes of old style malt whisky rise serenely; warm, reassuring and deceptively potent. The aromatics flirt shamelessly with the senses and then you realise that this is no ordinary spirit – it’s just so wonderfully fragrant. Gentle spices, citrus, dried fruit & herbs pop up like champagne bubbles keeping the mood one of celebration and joy.
Palate: Fantastique! The taste is rich and mellow. Many flavours continue to evolve – rich ripe apple, Turkish delight, soft strawberries, candied almonds and above all others that beguiling maltiness that is the mark of all Bruichladdich spirits. This, plus the coastal marine freshness adds life and vitality arousing the senses to an even higher level. You just know that this is authentic Islay heaven, simultaneously delicate and potent. The amorous embrace of France has not turned the islander's head. He remains mature and mellow while thoroughly enjoying the smouldering warmth of the femme fatale.
Finish: Ultra sexy, a rare and wonderful experience – if this was a movie it would have to be “Casablanca”. One to be enjoyed at the close of the day with others who share the same passion for the rare things in life.
Mood: A spirit as much for the mind as for the palate.

Glendullan / 14 Year Old Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask

Summary: Old Malt Cask is unashamedly for connoisseurs of the finest expressions of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. As one of the most established brands in the single cask market, Old Malt Cask is trusted by thousands of Malt Whisky consumers all around the world as the selection which bottles some of the most noteworthy Scotches in the market. Each month, the Hunter Laing tasting panel reviews the company stocks and, after careful consideration, selects only the casks which are of the highest quality. Whether the whisky was distilled in Speyside or Islay, the Lowlands or the Islands, they all have one thing in common – they have been bottled at exactly the right time to capture the unique characteristics of the cask.
Invariably bottled at 50% strength to maintain drinkability, each new expression is non-chillfiltered to ensure that the personality of each cask remains. Our expert blender also writes notes to guide the consumer through the tasting experience. We don't have to do much with the whisky – we let it speak for itself.
Old Malt Cask has spent fifteen years as one of the market leaders in the single cask category. As the reputation of Hunter Laing rests on the quality of each release, they aim to ensure that each new bottling delights the consumer as much as the last one.
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
Age: 14 Year Old.
Cask: Refill Hogshead DL No: 10124.
Bottles from Cask: 336.
Distilled/Bottled: October 1999/October 2013.
Nose: what a beautiful mix between clean, alluring barley and citrus, mainly clementine’s; a little lavender freshens it up even further;
Taste: just about a perfect impact on delivery; the malts are salivating, the sugars are crisp and clean, the vanilla un-embittered…wow!!!
Finish: here’s the dull bit Glendullan…the oak injects a little natural caramel but a few spices compensate;
Balance: at last! A Glendullan how I normally see it in the blending lab, rather than when tasting bottling’s for the bible. Of late they have been pretty ordinary and hardly representative. This one is much truer to its known quality among pros, mainly due to this crisp malt being presented in decent oak for a change.
93 Points / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.
Tasting Notes / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible ©.

Glenrothes / 16 Year Old Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask

Summary: Old Malt Cask is unashamedly for connoisseurs of the finest expressions of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. As one of the most established brands in the single cask market, Old Malt Cask is trusted by thousands of Malt Whisky consumers all around the world as the selection which bottles some of the most noteworthy Scotches in the market. Each month, the Hunter Laing tasting panel reviews the company stocks and, after careful consideration, selects only the casks which are of the highest quality. Whether the whisky was distilled in Speyside or Islay, the Lowlands or the Islands, they all have one thing in common – they have been bottled at exactly the right time to capture the unique characteristics of the cask.
Invariably bottled at 50% strength to maintain drinkability, each new expression is non-chillfiltered to ensure that the personality of each cask remains. Our expert blender also writes notes to guide the consumer through the tasting experience. We don't have to do much with the whisky – we let it speak for itself.
Old Malt Cask has spent fifteen years as one of the market leaders in the single cask category. As the reputation of Hunter Laing rests on the quality of each release, they aim to ensure that each new bottling delights the consumer as much as the last one.
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
Age: 16 Year Old.
Cask: Refill Hogshead DL No: 10435.
Bottles from Cask: 361.
Distilled/Bottled: December 1997/October 2013.
Nose: clean with a proud butterscotch tart theme. The barley is still fresh and at times concentrated;
Taste: I defy you to count how many different style of natural toffee you can find on this…; a thin layering of ulmo honey sits well with the maple syrup and persistent malt;
Finish: a little spiced cocoa on the fading barley sugar;
Balance: given the right cask, shows what a lovely malt this distillery is capable of producing. Engaging and irresistible.
92.5 Points / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.
Tasting Notes / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible ©.

Glenfarclas / 10 Year Old Single Speyside Malt

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 40%.
Colour: Vibrant straw-gold.
Nose: Tempting sherry-sweet malty tones combine with delicate smokiness, releasing subtle spices. Warming the glass reveals honey, vanilla and pear drops.
Flavour: Delicately light, with a mouth-watering combination of maltiness, smokiness and sherry sweetness. Hints of dried fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves tempt the taste buds further.
Finish: Long, smooth and spicy, with a delicious, yet delicate, lingering smokiness.

Glenfarclas / 17 Year Old Single Speyside Malt

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 43%

Colour: Rich amber.
Nose: Complex, with distinctive butterscotch, sherried fruit and peat smoke aromas.
Flavour: Big, full-flavoured, with excellent balance, develops slowly, full of sherry sweet malty tones, and a touch peat smoke.
Finish: Long lasting and smooth, with a hint of spice and sherry sweetness.
Comment: Hints of oak, complexity but finely balanced. Combines the smoothness of our younger whiskies with the greater depth of our older expressions.
Bottled in limited quantities primarily for the North American, Japanese and Travel Retail markets.

Macallan / 20 Year Old Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
Distilled/Bottled: June 1993/February 2014.
Cask #: 10290
Bottles from cask: 263
Nose: apples and pearsfreshly diced, topped with a aqueeze of lemon. The tannins look seemingly bemused and powerless…;
Taste: though they don't hang around on delivery. Red liqourice to the fore, though soon swamped by salivating barley and muscovado suagr. A little orange hangs about;
Finish: long, softy oiled and not a degree of light molassess and toffee as the tannins begin to make their mark;
Balance ironically, a Macallan not from a wine cask, yet turns out to be as fruity as you'll find. A real treat.
Ratings: 93 Points / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.
©Tasting Notes from Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.

Strathmill / 21 Year Old Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask

Summary: Old Malt Cask is unashamedly for connoisseurs of the finest expressions of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. As one of the most established brands in the single cask market, Old Malt Cask is trusted by thousands of Malt Whisky consumers all around the world as the selection which bottles some of the most noteworthy Scotches in the market. Each month, the Hunter Laing tasting panel reviews the company stocks and, after careful consideration, selects only the casks which are of the highest quality. Whether the whisky was distilled in Speyside or Islay, the Lowlands or the Islands, they all have one thing in common – they have been bottled at exactly the right time to capture the unique characteristics of the cask.
Invariably bottled at 50% strength to maintain drinkability, each new expression is non-chillfiltered to ensure that the personality of each cask remains. Our expert blender also writes notes to guide the consumer through the tasting experience. We don't have to do much with the whisky – we let it speak for itself.
Old Malt Cask has spent fifteen years as one of the market leaders in the single cask category. As the reputation of Hunter Laing rests on the quality of each release, they aim to ensure that each new bottling delights the consumer as much as the last one.
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
Age: 21 Year Old.
Cask: Refill Hogshead DL No: 10122.
Bottles from Cask: 294.
Distilled/Bottled: December 1991/October 2013.
Nose: plenty of Kentucky at work here with the liquorice and hickory giving depth to the vanilla. The barley is not outdone, though…;
Taste: the oak yoke is discarded on delivery and the barley is at full blast;
Finish: just adore those gristy sugars which have somehow survived all these years; some lemon to the late vanilla;
Balance: simple, but so elegant with it!
91 Points / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.
Tasting Notes / Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible ©.