This special Gathering bottling (exclusive to the Australian branch) is still on the water on its way to Australia from Scotland. It was due to land in late October, but has unfortunately been delayed until late November so orders will start shipping from that time. Secure your bottle now, and we’ll send it out as soon as it arrives. We reckon it’s worth the wait!
Our very own Branch Director, Matt Bailey, personally selected this cask as it was a standout offering from the tasting panel and, from Distillery 59. This is a workhorse distillery that is unique in its production methods and ability to create a rich, spicy, and distinctive spirit profile. This distillery, along with this cask, is utterly unique in its production values and setup through its use of a hammer and mash filter, which is one of a kind in Scotland, and quite large stills that produce an oily and charismatic malt quality that is hugely desirable to blenders and bottlers alike. Spirit from Distillery 59 is rarely seen as a single malt, and even rarer seen regularly independently bottled, so we’re all in for a treat this month.
Wholly matured in a 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead for 13 years, this cask found the perfect mix of being both fun and approachable in profile (and price) but also carries this lovely old-school charisma and complexity that oozes out of the spirit. It drinks like a mid-century single malt with dark chocolate coconut bars, sugared almonds, and digestive biscuits that’s then been extra-filtered through a beehive, and then bottled at natural cask strength of that lovely mid-50’s realm of 55.7% ABV.
The initial nose was dominated by bakery notes, from well-fired rolls and treacle scones to sugar buns. We also got heather honey, peach melba and new cask staves. The attractive and inviting palate had us smacking our lips to the sweet flavours of dark chocolate coconut bars, digestive biscuits, rice pudding and chocolate-coated brazils; the finish was a warming flourish of black pepper, chilli and cardamom. The reduced nose encountered iced caramels, marshmallows and sugared almonds, perfumed candles and pine sawdust. The palate now combined waxy honeycomb and iced gingerbread with liquorice, linseed oil, paprika and oak.
