99 Not Out!

99 Not Out!

We've got two new releases to shout about today including our 99th first batch, and hence a new label, from New York Distilling Company.

Our first ever batch from the New York Distilling Company is a two year old Rye and we've filled 600 bottles at 53% abv. The NYDC use 72% rye in their mashbill, all grown 'locally' within New York State. Although local, the farm is still a good five hour drive from Brooklyn! This first batch has been finished in Applejack casks.

We've also got a new batch from Islay's BruichladdichBatch 7 is a 15 Year Old, with just 420 bottles at 52.2% abv and has those classic laddie notes; beautifully balanced, with a creamy sweetness of honey and custard cream biscuits, while notes of heather bring a herbal element.

This brace of small batch whiskies are available from fine retailers now at the following recommended retail prices:

  • New York Distillery Company Batch 1, 2 Year Old - £37.95
  • Bruichladdich Batch 2, 15 Year Old - £69.95

Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor, Maverick Drinks.

A closer look at... The Zuidam Distillery

A closer look at... The Zuidam Distillery

The Zuidam family founded their Dutch distillery in 1975 and have amassed more than 50 years of distilling experience between them. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that they started making whisky and their Millstone label was born. Thank heavens they did! Our 6 Year Old Single Malt from them is a belter!

Zuidam Distillers was founded by Fred van Zuidam back in 1975, starting with just one small copper pot still and a passion to produce exceptional quality liqueurs, gin, and vodka. It took a good ten years to gain a solid reputation within the Netherlands, but business took a major step forward when Fred’s wife Hélène joined the company and redesigned the product packaging. It’s still very much a family business, their two sons now running the distillery, albeit under the ever watchful eyes of their parents.

About the distillery
From its humble beginning the distillery has continued to invest and is now state of the art. Recent expansion has added 1,000 square metres to their current site and there are plans underway for a second distillery.

When the business started there was just one small copper pot still in a 300 square metre distillery. They now operate six stills; two 8,500 ltr, one 2,000 ltr, two 1,500 ltr and one 850 ltr.

Full scale whisky production started in 1998, but trials started as early as 1994 with a few casks produced each year. The Millstone brand was born in 2007 with the first release of a whisky from the distillery, bottled as a five year old.

The distillery is equipped with two mash tuns now, one for malt and one for rye and genever. There are also ten washbacks.

They’ve experimented over the recent years with different grains, and have been looking at some of the older varieties of barley, the train of thought being that if older varieties of vines with lower yields have greater flavour, would the same apply to barley? They currently use seven types of yeast which are giving different flavour profiles.

Fermentation is carried out at low temperatures and in small batches. They also have a much longer fermentation time, around five days.

Whisky is double distilled in handcrafted copper pot stills. The combination of the long fermentation and their small stills produce a very delicate and fruity new-make spirit. While the stills may be small, there is a very high surface area in comparison to the amount of low wines being distilled, The increased copper contact during distillation stimulates the formation of complex and fruity esters.

Maturation is generally carried out in small barrels. They use new American white oak barrels, as well as first fill ex-bourbon and Oloroso Sherry casks. The warmer, drier climate of the Netherlands speeds up maturation however the Angels Share is a little higher at 4-5% per year, more than twice that of Scotland’s rate.

Did you know?
Up until recently all of the malted barley was milled by traditional Dutch windmills. The increased demand, and hence production means that the seven windmills can no longer keep up with all of their requirements, but it is still an important part of their process. This traditional way of milling causes almost no increase in the temperature of the grain and thus helps preserve the wonderful aromas.

The distillery started growing their own barley last year and looking to expand with other grains this year. They are hoping to be self sufficient within 5 years.

While they are still well known for their Genever and other spirits, Whisky now takes up 50% of their production capacity.

About our bottling
Our first batch from Zuidam Distillers is a six year old, bottled at 48.7% abv. It recently won a Silver medal at the recent International Spirits Challenge 2017The label features Master Distiller and Managing Director Patrick van Zuidam alongside one of their malt milling windmills. There are just 637 bottles available.

Tasting notes:
Nose: Toffee apples, Big Red, Caramac bars, red rope liquorice and hints of bay leaf.
Palate: Sweet creamy and fruity Campino sweets, sticky liquorice, caramel, green anise and clove studded oranges.
Finish: Long with menthol notes and golden syrup.

This delectable Dutch single malt is available from fine retailers now. Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor, Maverick Drinks.

Four new releases! It's easy as 1 2 3 & 5

Four new releases! It's easy as 1 2 3 & 5

For those of you keeping count, these four new batches bring our 2017 release tally up to 36! If you're not, you can always count on us to continue bringing you interesting whiskies.

We've got four more whiskies to announce today, including our first ever bottling from Switzerland. There's also two single malts and a single grain from Scotland.

The Langatun Distillery was founded in 2007 by Hans Baumberger. The distillery is named after the old name for the village of Langenthal where his great grandfather's brewery and distillery was built. This first batch is a triple distilled single malt, it has matured for five years in a well travelled cask, and there are just 314 bottles. With notes of nutty malt complete with a layer of melted chocolate and fruit, and just a hint of earthy peat.

Hot on the heels of Dr Patrick Barrie's 8th Tiddlywinks World Singles title, we've released a second Batch of Single Grain from the Cameronbridge distillery in 'celebration' of his fantastic achievement. It's another 24 Year Old, and a release of just 171 bottles. Another sweet grain with butterscotch and chocolate mints, while five-spice and cinnamon add depth to the sweetness.

We've also got a new batch from Islay's Oldest Distillery, Bowmore. This third batch is the first with an age statement, 24 Years Old. There's just 90 bottles of this release. Expect glorious coastal notes alongside a vibrant fruitiness.

Our final release in this announcement is a 25 Year Old from SpringbankBatch 5 is a release of just 146 bottle. From its colour, you can tell it has been been matured in ex-cola cans (this is a blatant lie!). With a struck match smokiness, there's hints of ham, and juicy notes of blackberries from this oily, mouthcoating Campbeltown malt.

These small batch whiskies are available from fine retailers now at the following recommended retail prices:

  • Langatun Batch 1, 5 Year Old - £78.95
  • Cameronbridge Batch 2, 24 Year Old - £72.95
  • Bowmore Batch 3, 21 Year Old - £123.95
  • Springbank Batch 5, 25 Year Old - £274.95

Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor, Maverick Drinks.