It’s the 4th of July today, Happy Independence day to all our American readers! and now for some news…
HIGHLAND PARK DELVES INTO ITS DARK ORIGINS FOR MAJOR NEW RELEASE
Establishing a secret bunker in the hills of High Park in Orkney, Magnus ‘Mansie’ Eunson became a famed dark distiller back in the late 1700s, creating whisky for the people of Orkney to offer relief from the villainy of the tax collector. By day he worked tirelessly in his church providing spiritual guidance to the people of Orkney, but in the dead of night, he hand crafted what was to ultimately become the best spirit in the world, warming hearts and uniting all who tasted it.
Dark Origins, a stunning, non-chill filtered single malt with an ABV of 46.8%, will start to appear on shelves in July and roll out internationally throughout autumn 2014.
It uses twice as many first fill sherry casks than in the classic Highland Park 12 year old resulting in a naturally darker, richer flavour with sherried spice, a chocolate twist and the signature sweet smoke fans of the Orcadian elixir have come to know and love.
Highland Park is one of the few distilleries not using distiller’s caramel and so Dark Origins takes its natural colour from the interaction between spirit and cask which Highland Park believes consistently rate amongst the best casks in whisky.
Gerry Tosh, Global Marketing Manager, said: “Cask management is so very crucial to our work at Highland Park. We have strived to raise the bar, working tirelessly in sourcing the right wood and then working and finessing the balances to ensure we create single malt that is rich, warm and enticing in flavour. Dark Origins sits in the heart of our core range complimenting them perfectly – distinct in itself, but always and forever a classic Highland Park.”
The tasting notes:
Colour: Rich mahogany
Nose: Sherried spice and ripe bananas combine with toasted hazelnuts and baked apple
Palate: Well-balanced, dry peat at first mellowing out to maraschino cherries, warm dark chocolate entices the palate
Finish: Enduring sweet smoke
Dark Origins will be exclusively available from Harrods from 1 July – 14 July at an RRP of £64.95. It will be available from specialist independent whisky retailers, at the Highland Park distillery and www.highlandpark.co.uk thereafter.
Lakes Distillery – One Step Closer to English Whisky Production
England’s newest and largest whisky, gin and vodka distillery, The Lakes Distillery, is one step closer to production following delivery of its stills at the site in Cumbria.
The distillery took receipt of its three handmade copper stills – wash, spirit and gin – earlier this week which were lifted into place through the roof of the building. The stills, made near Edinburgh by specialist manufacturer McMillan, have a capacity of 5,500 litres and will enable the £5m distillery to produce 1million bottles of English single malt per year, in addition to gin and vodka.
The distillery, based on the banks of Bassenthwaite Lake, sources its water directly from the nearby River Derwent and is the only distillery in Cumbria to both produce and distill its spirits on site. Last month the distillery sent a sample of the water for comprehensive analysis by the leading analytical chemist to the whisky industry in Scotland. The resulting report shows that the water is of an ideal PH level, is very soft and has a turbidity of 0.6 which is exceptional.
Paul Currie, The Lakes Distillery’s founder and managing director, said: “We will now start commissioning the stills and from September 2014 will begin production of The Lakes Single Malt, our lightly peated liquid gold which we expect to be more akin to highland whiskies.
“We have paid great attention to the plant installed in the distillery to ensure the very highest quality of our spirits. We have also introduced a number of innovations to the process which are at the cutting edge of distilling and will be the first distillery to use both copper and stainless steel in our distilling process which we believe will develop a malt with a greater character.
A select number of whisky enthusiasts around the world are invited to become part of the early stages of The Lakes Distillery story. The company has launched a Connoisseurs’ Club, where just 60 members will own their own cask of The Lakes Single Mal. They’ll to the distillery to make their own whisky, fill their own rare sherry cask, and then come to annual tasting ceremonies when they can taste their maturing whisky.
In addition, the Lakes Distillery will set aside the first 100 casks of its single malt whisky produced exclusively for members of its Founders’ Club. Each year for ten years, members will then receive one 70cl bottle and two tasting bottles, making up a collectible set of the distillery’s first ever production.