We're adding age statements to our whiskies!

Within the constraints of detail allowed by EU law (fume), we're going to be adding age statements to all of our future releases.

A pretty huge u-turn, no? Well. yes, but the time has come. It's actually something we've been planning for a while, but the latest gong-banging in the name of transparency was the final motivation we needed to get our fingers out.

When we started on our noble mission, we often had releases which had a huge range of aged liquid in them - often varying by up to 30 years within a single batch. The only constraint we had was that the liquid had to be excellent, and justify its place in the line up. At the time, and especially given the nonsensical legislation that dictates the ages that are allowed to be shown on a bottle*, that would have meant having to quote an age which would have totally belied the quality of the liquid and would have been a distraction. So, we decided to sack off the whole age statement business altogether. This is much less the case now, and our releases tend to have more consistency in the ages, and so the minimum age is much more representative of the batch.

We don't regret the previous policy, because we think that the whiskies have been able to speak for themselves. The reception they've received and awards they've won have all been incredible. This didn't come without cost though, and there has always been a low level rumble of disapproval, on the basis that if we’re not putting age statements on, then we must have something to hide.

That has now become somewhat of a distraction in its own right now, so the time is right to lift our skirts up and show you what we're working with.

So here we go (note that the first three are brand new distilleries) - take this:

• Girvan 52 yo - POW!
• Islay Blended Malt #2 27yo - WHACK!
• The English Whisky Company 5yo - SPLATT!
• Macallan 25yo - BLAM!
• Ardbeg 12yo - BIFF!
• Blended Whisky #1 35yo - POW!
• Invergordon 43yo  - SOCK!
• Port Charlotte 13yo - ZAMM!
• Ben Nevis 19yo - RAKK!
• Aberlour 23yo - OOOF!
• Paul John 6yo - KLUNK!
• Glentauchers 17yo - THUNK!
• Mortlach 27yo - URKKK!
• Lagavulin 10yo - ZLOTT!
• Glenrothes 10yo - THWAPP!

And yes, there's some young stuff in there too. Our same filter applies - these are in the line up because they are EXCELLENT (in fact, some of the relative youngsters are the most exciting of this release), and for no other reason. That's integrity right there - ZGRUPPP!

P.S. thank goodness for this.

*legally only the youngest whisky in each bottle can be declared - we’re not allowed to tell you any of the older ones in any context for any reason, lest it be construed as ‘marketing’.

We'd like to be associated with the comments of the previous speaker...

...The last speaker being Compass Box, with their campaign for Scotch whisky transparency.

Actually - shit - they're not the last speaker any more. Bruichladdich have very bravely come out in support of the campaign. This is a bandwagon we need to jump on quick-smart, or else no one will use any of our quotes...

Being serious for a minute (and not a second longer - promise), it's about bloody time somebody said what everybody was thinking, and huge kudos goes to Compass Box for crossing the Rubicon. 

It has been an enormous source of frustration to us that it's not been possible to focus on making the blend we want to make - putting the quality of the liquid before the marketability of the headline age statement - without some nonsense rule forcing us to either conceal the age of the whisky altogether, or stick an age statement on the label which totally belies the quality of the blend (in the minds of those that equate age directly with quality, at least). It makes us downright grumpy, and we're normally fairly upbeat sorts.

If you're similarly minded, then please share the gospel and register your support here.

I make that one minute exactly...

Now, for those interested, we've knocked up some quotes that are yours to use as you please.

"We wholeheartedly support the objective of the campaign, and the mechanism proposed."

"Lack of transparency in whisky labelling is straight up whack, yo."

"We would strip to the waist (bottom half) and conga through a field full of predatory divorcees for the opportunity to label our whiskies transparently."

"Compass Box and the growing list of those that are coming out in support of this campaign have gained our utmost respect for having made the move."

"Has anyone seen my bicycle? I'm sure I left it chained to that 2CV somewhere around here."

"Our blood is up, and we're committing resource to helping to fight this great big nonsense."

Look, we've got a website!

We've been run off our feet since 2012 - coming up with ever more inventive ways to lure away guard dogs, creating the most realistic false noses we can from plasticine, laying low, greasing ourselves up so we can fit through tight spaces and scarpering - to name but a few of the things we've filled our time doing - but we've finally gotten around to building a website.

I'm not going to say it's not a vanity project - it certainly is nice to see all of the labels in one place like this - but it's more than just that. Having this website allows us to have more fun; and we're all about the fun.

There's going to be all sorts going on here: teasers for upcoming releases, competitions, information about our artist, updates on availability (including international) - all that good stuff.

So, keep an eye on this blog plus our Twitter and Facebook for the fr-fr-freshest news from That Boutique-y Whisky Company.