|
|
Release Notes
Miltonduff was all over our trip this year, whether in its normal single malt form or under the name Mosstowie, referring to a separate whisky made on site using a Lomand still. While we skipped the Mosstowie (those Lomond stills are hard to work with no doubt) we could not pass up the opportunity to buy delicious, cask strength, 18-year-old whisky for this price. Miltonduff might be familiar to some as it is the key ingredient in the famous Ballantine's blend. It is this particular whisky that makes me believe the Ballantine's 17-year could actually be rated as Jim Murray believes it should be. Altogether more typically a Highlander than Speyside (if these regional descriptions mean anything to anybody any longer), it's a powerhouse.
An intense, powerful and unusual whisky that makes you pause for a moment before filling your glass again. And you will fill it again.
An intense, powerful and unusual whisky that makes you pause for a moment before filling your glass again. And you will fill it again.
David Othenin-Girard, K&L
One of 184 bottles filled for K&L from K&L selected bourbon barrel #4115. Distilled on 23rd of February of 1995, bottled on 9th of July, 2013.
Yours Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Phenolic and earthy, there's this sort of flinty aroma, it's not sulfur, but more struck flint on iron. Sparks! There's some herbal extract (Indian ginseng), floral remedies (crushed flowers) and an oily texture. If someone were using heavy machinery (like a license plate printing press) nearby while you were nosing this whisky you probably wouldn't notice. An intense, powerful and unusual whisky that makes you pause for a moment before filling your glass again. And you will fill it again.
David Othenin-Girard, K&L
The Bottler: Signatory Vintage
| Established: 1988 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Edradour Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire & Kinross, PH16 5JP, Scotland |
Signatory owns the smallest distillery from Scotland, Edradour since 22 july 2002
In April 1992, as the company began to grow, they moved to much larger premises. Here, they were granted a licence to bottle their own products on site. They set-up a small line bottling system, primarily geared towards the bottling of single casks. Although the actual bottling of whisky is semi-automated, the emphasis is very much a hands-on operation, with hand labeling and packing of products. To add to the exclusivity of their bottlings, they often declare the cask number, date of distillation,and date of bottling on our labels. In addition,each bottle is individually hand numbered.
It is their aim, as an independent bottler to offer a range of whiskies, some of which are not bottled by the proprietor of a particular distillery, and some at different ages/strengths to those offered as distillery bottlings. The majority of their bottlings are the product of single casks, with the malt whisky enthusiast being given the opportunity to sample the subtle differences which occur with each different cask.
The name of Signatory derived from the fact that their initial intention was to find someone famous to sign the labels for bottles produced from one single cask. The first cask we purchased was a cask of 1968 Glenlivet, which was sold long before we could find a famous person.
Until April 1992, when they moved to their current premises in Newhaven (Edinburgh), they operated from a bonded warehouse in Leith. Leith was once a well known port for importing wine from France. As this industry declined, many of the whisky companies began to occupy the old warehouses for cask storage purposes. In recent years, this has also declined, with the larger companies moving to the west of Edinburgh, where transport links are better.
The company was founded in 1988. It is a family owned and managed company, being one of only three true independent bottlers. They always like to draw a distinction between the independent companies who bottle their own products, and the independent companies whose products are bottled under contract. The other fully independent bottlers are: Gordon & MacPhail and Wm. Cadenhead.
from Whisky-Distilleries.info
The Distillery: Miltonduff
| Established: 1824 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Elgin, Morayshire IV30 8TQ, UK |
Miltonduff Distillery is said to be located on the site of the meal mill of Pluscarden Abbey, six miles Southwest of the town of Elgin and two miles from the abbey itself. The abbey was founded in 1236 by Benedictine monks, destroyed but revived again in the year 1948. A stone from the original Abbey is retained by the distillery.
Hiram Walker was looking for a type of still that would enable them to produce a wider variety of malt whiskies to use in their blends. The new type of still seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Nevertheless, the Lomond era lasted for just two decades; the stills were removed again from all distilleries in the 1980"s.
In 1981 the Lomond stills of Mosstowie were replaced with regular pot stills to increase production of the Miltonduff malt whisky; there simply wasn"t a lot of demand for the Mosstowie "Lomond" whisky. In 1986 the majority of the Hiram Walker stocks were acquired by Allied and one year later they obtained the rest. They introduced the 12yo official bottling with the green label depicted at the left. It has since been replaced with a 10yo OB from Gordon & MacPhail. Allied Domecq was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005.
Hiram Walker (Canada"s largest distiller) had obtained George Ballantine & Son a year earlier - possibly thanks to enormous profits made during the prohibition in the USA. They were interested in acquiring production capacity in Scotland because their main competitor in the American markets (Seagram"s) demanded that DCL (a predecessor of Diageo) would not supply their competitors with malt whisky. To make sure they would have enough malt whisky for their Ballantine"s blends they secured capacity by the purchase of distilleries like Glenburgie and Miltonduff.
In 1964 two so-called Lomond stills were added to the Miltonduff equipment for the production of the "Mosstowie" malt whisky. George Ballantine & Son was the company that was resposible for the development of the Lomond still design. The last innovation in the area of stills was Coffey still (a continuous still used for the production of grain whisky) that had been invented a century ago. When Alistair Cunningham and Arthur Warren of Hiram Walker came up with the plan for the Lomond still in 1955 their employers were happy - it was just what they needed.
The distillery"s water source is the Black Burn which flows from springs near the aforementioned Abbey. Thanks to the excellent supplies of water and barley in the "Pluscarden" area of Speyside (where more than 50 illicit stills operated during the 19th century) a lot of distilleries chose this location after the distillation of whisky was legalised in Scotland in the year 1823 through the Excise Act. Miltonduff distillery profile
Miltonduff distillery was established in 1824 by Robert Bain and Andrew Peary - shortly after the legalisation of whisky production. Rumour has it that it has previously operated as an illegal distillery under the name "Milton". The "duff" addition probably comes from the family Duff that owned the lands surrounding the distillery. In 1866 William Stuart bought Miltonduff distillery. He remained the sole owner for three decades until Thomas Yool & Co. acquired part of the distillery in 1895. At that point they also expanded the distillery - probably due to the "whisky boom" that hit Scotland at the end of the 19th century. Later Thomas Yool & Co. would gain control and ownership of the entire distillery. In 1936 Miltonduff was acquired by Hiram Walker - Gooderham & Worts Ltd.
In the New Millenium
2005 - Pernod Ricard (Chivas Brothers) become the new owners of the Miltonduff distillery.
Trivia:
- Miltonduff was Allied"s largest distillery - closely followed by Glentauchers. Even after the take-over by Pernod Ricard the capacity of the distillery is one of the largest in the group; only Glenlivet has a larger capacity.
- Even before Word War II the first "premium" blend was designed by George Robertson, master blender at Ballantine"s. Apart from Miltonduff and Glenburgie (who both belonged to the George Ballantine & Son group) the blend contained Ardbeg, Balblair, Glencadam, Pulteney and Scapa.
- Allied Domecq used Miltonduff to house their "Malt Distilleries Technical Centre". It houses the warehouse management for all their distilleries, an engineering department and a laboratory. After the take-over by Pernod Ricard the complex also houses the group"s dark grains plant.
- In the past, Miltonduff malt whisky used to be triple-distilled.
- The Miltonduff distillery has 16 stainless steel washbacks.
- The Catholic Church briefly owned part of Miltonduff; the parish of Elgin was bequeathed a share of the ownership of the distillery in 1900. However, the stocks were sold on soon afterwards.
- The Miltonduff distillery should not be confused with the Milton distillery - an old name for Strathisla distillery.
- Miltonduff is a core ingredient of the Ballantine"s blended whisky.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Chivas Brothers
| Established: 1801 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Strathisla Distillery, Seafield Avenue, Keith, Banffshire, AB55 5BS, United Kingdom |
| → website |
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand"s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland. It is the market leading Scotch whisky aged 12 years and above in Europe and Asia Pacific. Chivas Regal sales have grown by 61% between 2002 and 2008.
In the early 1900s, Chivas Brothers decided to create their most aged blended Scotch whisky to export to the U.S, where the booming economy after the turn of the century was fueling demand for luxury goods. The whisky was named Chivas Regal.
Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was launched in 1909 as the original luxury Scotch, and became a leading brand in the U.S. Chivas Regal continued its success until prohibition in the 1920s.
In 1843, Chivas Brothers were granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. Chivas Brothers was described in 1890 as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland" by "Scotland of Today" magazine.
During the 1850s, James Chivas decided to respond to his affluent customers" demands for a smoother whisky, by beginning to blend whiskies to create a proprietary blend to Chivas Brothers. Their first blended Scotch whisky named "Royal Glen Dee" was launched, followed in the 1860s by their second blended Scotch whisky, "Royal Strathythan".
The House of Schivas, a large mansion, was built at Schivas in Aberdeenshire in 1640. The name is derived from the Gaelic "seamhas", meaning narrow place.
Chivas Brothers traces its roots to the opening of a grocery store at 13 King St, Aberdeen in 1801. The store sold luxury foodstuffs such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to a wealthy clientele. In 1842, Chivas Brothers were retained to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria"s first visit to Scotland.
Chivas Regal was purchased by Seagrams in 1949, which provided a much wider distribution and marketing system.
Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 year old in the US following the disruption of both Prohibition and World War II. Chivas became a fashionable brand of the era, and became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Chivas Regal was the Scotch whisky requested by Sinatra, along with other spirits brands backstage at performances, and Chivas sponsored Frank Sinatra"s Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.
The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Chivas Regal blend.
Strathisla Single Malts have a natural sweetness and help to define the taste of Chivas Regal.
In 1950, the company Chivas Brothers was able to buy the Strathisla Distillery which produces the Strathisla Single Malt, which is used within the Chivas Regal blend.
The Chivas Regal range was expanded with the launch of higher aged whiskies, in 1997 with the launch of Chivas Regal 18 year old, and in 2007 with the launch of Chivas Regal 25.
Chivas Regal was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2000 upon the break up of Seagrams Group.
The home of Chivas Regal and location of its visitor centre is located at the Strathisla distillery. The distillery was founded in 1786, and is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland - Strathisla Distillery, located in Speyside.
from Wikipedia
The Owner: Pernod Ricard
| Established: 1975 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 12, place des Etats-Unis, 75783 Paris Cedex-16, France |
| → website |
HELLO WORLD!!! Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of brands including: Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Seagram"s, Pernod absinthe, Absolut, Ricard pastis, Martell cognac, Jaconb"s Creek wine, pernod anise, Havana Club rum, Ballantine"s scotch, Kahlue, Malibu rum, Beefeater gun, Stolichnaya vodka, Mumm champagne and more.
Pernod Ricard came into existence when old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A.. Ricard was founded 1932 in Marseille by Paul Ricard. Pernod started with Henri-Louis Pernod who opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland in 1797, followed by Maison Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. In 1926 these distilleries merged with Distillerie Hernard in Paris to form Les Etablissements Pernod.
After the 1975 merger that formed the current company a series of buy-ins and takeovers began that continues until this day. In 1988 PR acquired Irish Distillers which includes Jameson Irish Whiskeys, in 1989 PR acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob"s Creek wine), in 2001 PR purchased 38% of Seagram"s Wines and Spirits, in 2005 PR purchased Allied Domecq and in 2008 PR bought V&S Group which includes the Absolut Vodka brand.
Reborn from the Pernod Fils company as a producer of anise liqueur following the ban on absinthe, it is now a worldwide conglomerate. It owns the alcoholic beverage division of the former Seagram corporation, among many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired British-based international competitor Allied Domecq plc.
In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced the acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group including Absolut Vodka.
Pernod Ricard (Euronext: RI) is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company"s most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.
from Wikipedia