THE REAL McCOY

THE REAL McCOY

The Cutty Sark is the world’s last remaining clipper ship. It was built on the Clyde, in Glasgow, in 1869 for the China tea trade, and was one of the fastest clippers ever built. 

I’ve been on it; it is narrow and, except for the top deck and the Captain’s cabin, there is no headroom. The average height of ceilings reduce progressively as you descend four decks, from 5 feet to 3’9”. 

Edrington PLC, a company whose head office was located ten miles from where the famous ship was built, used the name for a whisky it launched on March 23, 1923. Cutty Sark was the first light coloured, blended whisky. Launched at the height of the “cocktail culture”, it was designed to be mixed and was aimed squarely at the American market. It started as a 3 Year Old whisky during Prohibition in the US (1920-33); immediately after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the 5 YO hit the market. Current blends are 8 YO. 

During Prohibition, Cutty Sark gave rise to the term “the real McCoy.” The whisky was bootlegged by the legendary Bill McCoy, an American smuggler based in the Bahamas. McCoy, a nondrinker, guaranteed his contraband was uncut and unadulterated. The quality of his whisky gave rise to the expression, “the real McCoy”, an expression that remains a synonym for integrity and authenticity. During Prohibition, “ordering a real McCoy” became slang for ordering a Cutty Sark.

Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the impeccable reputation of the whisky led to a surge in sales and Cutty Sark became one of the best-selling Scotch whisky brands in the United States. It remains one of that country’s most popular blends. Bill McCoy died a multi-millionaire in 1948. 

In 2013, Edrington released Cutty Sark, Prohibition Edition, a 50% ABV blended Scotch, to commemorate Bill McCoy and the 90th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. A 12 Years Old version is also on the market, priced higher than JW Black Label.

CUTTY SARK Prohibition Edition 70/75/100 cl | 50 % ABV

CUTTY SARK Prohibition Edition is crafted as a salute to the famous Captain William "Bill" McCoy, who smuggled CUTTY SARK Blended Scotch Whisky into America during the Prohibition era in the 1920s. Captain McCoy's impeccable reputation for not dealing with the mob, and for providing the finest, unadulterated liquor gave rise CUTTY SARK being referred as "The Real McCoy".The second in the Cutty Sark Whisky family, Prohibition was released 80 years after the end of the era. As an original and inimitable whisky launched in memory of the Prohibition era, CUTTY SARK Prohibition was deliberately created to defy conventions. With its inimitable smooth and mellow taste profile and its unique maritime and historical heritage, the whisky is designed to take the lucky drinker on an adventure.

Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition is at least three years old, but as it has no age statement we don’t know if it’s any older. It is a blended Scotch whisky bottled at 50% ABV. The recipe is mostly a mystery but the whisky is said to contain a portion matured in American oak sherry casks.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: Opens on malt and a dessert tray of buttercream, toffee, and vanilla wafers. Behind the tray is some salted white bread dough being kneaded on slate. Fruit is here too: green apple and orange rind. Water amplifies the malt and vanilla wafers.

Palate: A sweet entry on sherried raisins and oranges. The mouthfeel is medium with some slight woody astringency. The mid-palate brings toffee and caramel, which are the dominant flavours here. The back palate gets just a touch of cinnamon and clove spicing. Throughout there is a pinch of salt. Water erases the dried fruits and adds some cream.

Finish: Medium to long on toffee and caramel with hints of cinnamon, salt and smoke. Water lengthens the finish, making it woodier and more drying.

Overall: Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition is one of the best value Scotch whisky blends available. It’s the sort of bottle that a drinker in the know adds to their basket to reach the magical threshold for free shipping. They might later find they reach for it more readily than the other, more expensive bottle they bought with it.

The malt, the casks, and the alcohol strength make this an enjoyable sipper from start to finish, avoiding the common pitfalls of widely available blends. There are no cardboardy offnotes and the finish stays around for a fair while. If there are any offnotes here they are from the young malts in the recipe – reminiscent of some immature indie Glenrotheses – but what you think of those is a matter of preference. Buy this whisky and you too can celebrate 100 years since prohibitionist referendums and reforms and alcohol-linked taxes.

CUTTY SARK 33 YO 70 cl | 41.7 % ABV

The oldest Blend ever released by CUTTY SARK, this bottling of 2014 celebrates this particular time when the brand found its way into America, flourished within the emerging cocktail culture and changed the face of Scotch Whisky forever. Exquisite and seductive, this highly collectable pack for connoisseurs and Whisky enthusiasts with only 3,456 bottles produced at an RRP of £650. Bohemian and symbolic, this limited edition bottling has been released to continue to explore the rich history, heritage and origins of CUTTY SARK blended Scotch Whisky, with a specific focus on the Art Deco period of the 1920s and early 1930s.

The bespoke bottle is decorated with sunburst and geometric designs in the style symbolic of the era. Presented in a piano black wooden box inlaid with mother of pearl, it also contains two decorated glasses and a 32-page book, which provides a brief insight into the Art Deco period.

An Edrington release says that following on from their multi-award winning Tam O’Shanter limited edition released in 2011, this is the oldest blended Scotch ever released by Cutty Sark, selected and crafted by Kirsteen Campbell, their master blender. The stylish liquid created by Kirsteen pushes the brand into exciting flavour developments, with the set the bar very high with the Tam O’Shanter 25 year old and has raised even further this time.

                               

First Posted on 23 Feb 2017

TRY BLENDED MALTS

 AN EXCELLENT CHANGE: BLENDED MALTS

Blended malts are, as the name suggests, a combination of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies – unlike blends, there’s no grain whisky here. Instead, you have some of the most innovative Scotch whiskies around, from Islay-influenced smoke and seaweed to the typical Speyside character of rich, spiced fruit.

These whiskies are big business in Taiwan, which remains by far the world’s biggest blended malt market. There’s no limit to the number of single malts you can use in a blended malt: while Monkey Shoulder combines only three, Wemyss The Hive comprises no fewer than 16, many of them from Speyside. You might think you’re firmly rooted in Islay when tasting Peat Monster from Compass Box – but peated Speysider Ardmore is a crucial part of the mix. A very large percentage of these expressions are NAS.

Here is my order of priority. A bottle every now and then from the list below would be fine if you could lay your hands on them, but then, many bottles listed are rather difficult to get, unless there is a well-stocked bar close by. Good luck.

• Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza NAS
• Compass Box The Peat Monster NAS 46% ABV
• Monkey Shoulder NAS with SMs from Kininvie, Glenfiddich and Balvenie of various ages
• Monkey Shoulder Smokey Monkey NAS, with one peated whisky
• Poit Dhubh 12 YO Uisge Beatha Albannach. An 8 YO is also available
• Chivas Regal Ultis NAS, with SMs from Allt a'Bhainne, Braeval, Longmorn, Strathisla and Tormore
• Johnnie Walker Island Green Label NAS
• Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 YO
• Big Peat 54.6% ABV NAS, an all Islay BM with whiskies from Ardbeg,  Bowmore, Caol Ila and Port Ellen
• Copper Dog, NAS 40%, a combination of eight Speyside single malts
• Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin, 12 YO, 42% ABV
• Naked Malt matured in first fill Sherry casks
• Highland Journey NAS from Hunter Laing 46.2% ABV Highland Malts
• J & B Exception 12 YO using Speyside Malts
• Shackleton's Discovery NAS 47.3% ABV
• Berry Bros & Rudd's Blue Hanger 11th Release NAS 45.6%
• Smokey Joe Islay Blended Malt Whisky NAS 46% ABV
• Sheep Dip 8 YO with 16 SMs from Whyte & Mackay
• Bowmore 12 YO Blended Malt Whisky
• Wemyss Peat Chimney 46% ABV with Islay Malts

CHIVAS REGAL 18 YO

 THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHIVAS REGAL 18 YEARS OLD
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY

Two things set Chivas Regal apart from the rest of the Blended Scotch sector: their illustrious history and their line, which consists entirely of middle-aged and old whisky. The brand traces its roots, like so many Blended Scotch brands, to a grocery store blender. Chivas Regal’s grocery blend is somewhat older than the norm, however, and features a tag on the carton and the neck on all bottles blended up to 2017 boasting ‘From 1801’, changed to 'Founded 1801' thereafter. The statements on both the carton and bottle are, however, without foundation. The Chivas brothers in question, James and John, from Strathythan farm at Overtown of Dudwick in Ellon Parish, 20 miles north of Aberdeen, weren’t even born then (1810/1814 respectively.) It is quite probably a legal loophole that is being exploited.

James Chivas’ first sniff of whisky came when he was 28 years old, in 1838, when he joined William Edward, fine grocer and wine-seller in Aberdeen, in his first job as a full-time hired employee. This fine grocery business, which was destined for fame under another name, had been founded in 1801 by John Forrest at 47 Castle Street, Aberdeen. Forrest died in 1828 and Edward, his manager, bought the company from the bereaved family and registered himself as a grocer, wine, and spirits purveyor and provision merchant, one of 209 others in Aberdeen, besides 193 vintners.

James Chivas, hired by Edward in 1838, rose to minor partner that very year, with almost total control over the wines and spirits department, as Edward was struck with a 'palsy' and died overseas just three years later in Madeira in March '41. As Edward had died intestate, his legacy went under judicial probate. In this indistinct period for business out of those premises, James left and joined a similar victuals provender, Charles Stewart as junior partner, registering themselves as Stewart and Chivas, 39 Woolmanhill Street. They returned to buy the vacant 13, King Street property available post-probate later that year and relocated there as a “One-stop-shop.”

James Chivas remained the sole common partner/owner till his death. The company, when known as Edward and Chivas (1838-41) and later Stewart and Chivas (1841-57), had furthered the ex-Forrest company's reputation for excellence from the extravagant shop at 13 King Street and obtained a Royal Warrant to supply luxury goods to Queen Victoria in 1843, the second of thirteen. Between 1843-51, they expanded further and added 9,11 and 23 King Street. The company was dissolved in 1857 when Stewart left and renamed Chivas Brothers with the advent of John Chivas as Partner.

The home base of Chivas Regal is Strathisla distillery, earlier known as Milltown or Milton distillery, which predates the founding of the brand, dating to 1786 and standing as the oldest of the Highland region’s distilleries and the prettiest. It is known to be a tricky customer by blenders as it needs time to hit maturity when its full range of complexities is revealed. This single malt is not seen in any bottling below 10 years. It becomes easy to understand why Chivas Regal has that unique and singular flavour not noted in the thousands of blended brands that are present in or have come and gone over the past 150 years.

The Chivas Regal 18 Year Old is made from 20 different grain and malt whiskies, all 18 years old or older. It comes in the signature Chivas package: a squat, clear glass bottle with the crossed swords label. The bottle does a fine job of showing off one of Chivas Regal’s few consistently good qualities, namely it’s colour. The scotch is bottled at 40% ABV.

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Gold Signature was first launched in 1997 when Chivas Brothers was still under ownership of Seagram’s, as Pernod Ricard didn’t gain ownership until after the turn of the 21st century. It is a uniquely rich and multi-layered blend that includes over twenty of Scotland’s rarest single malt Scotch whiskies. It claims to have 85 flavour notes packed into every drop as the epitome of complexity. Chivas claims its two most prominent brands here are Strathisla single malt and Strathclyde single grain. Chivas 18 Blue – 2023 Wine gift box is a special version bottled in 2023 specifically for Vietnam.

The most difficult in producing branded whisky is consistency. On the one hand, being able to offer the customer a product that is consistent in quality and flavour profile makes perfect sense when trying to build a brand aiming to establish brand loyalty. On the other hand, dealing with a product where batch production, and therefore, batch variation, is an inescapable element of the whole process, makes for a host of variables like environment, infrastructure, cask management, transportation, wear and tear effects, warehousing conditions, the odd changes in ownership, etc. The ‘copy-paste’ practice simply won’t work, compounded with the fact that one specific brand is sometimes not available, or is available in limited quantity.

Producing blends is less onerous than single malts where grain whisky from the column stills is more reliable, especially so for the brands that go by age. The availability factor will crop up with time as products from a bygone era distillery must dry up (Longmorn and Caperdonich being great examples of what used to be mandatory for the creation of Chivas.) Even so, the task of coming up with a consistent product every single time is challenging. For the Chivas brand alone, master blender Colin Scott works with some 200 different whiskies for the creation of the 12 year old, identifies those that would go into the 15 year old, others that are best left for the 18 year old and so on. Interestingly, with the idea of recreating the 1909 grand 25 year old on his mind, Sandy Hyslop found suitable aged whiskies while ferreting around for the 18 year old and the 25 year old was created in 2007.

In October 2024, Chivas Regal unveiled a bold sleek new look for its five time award-winning Chivas Regal 18. Featuring a 25 percent glass weight reduction on its flagship 70cl bottle and fully recyclable outer packaging, the elevated, redesigned bottle – housing the same award-winning Scotch – reaffirms not only Chivas Regal’s dedication to luxury, but also its wider commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The packaging is designed by Nude Brand Creation.

Whisky enthusiasts around the world will experience Chivas Regal’s award-winning blend in its elevated new look. The updated bottle features a taller, prouder silhouette with rounded shoulders, and a jewel-like, layered, and multi-faceted label. The iconic Luckenbooth, a traditional Scottish symbol that embodies Chivas Regal’s heritage and values, is now positioned at the heart of the label, and embossed into the glass base. The classic Chivas Regal shield and crossed spears – now embossed into the glass for a more refined and luxurious look – signify protection and loyalty, reflecting the brotherhood of James and John Chivas whose descendants' entrepreneurial spirit set the groundwork for the world’s first luxury whisky that made its debut in New York in 1909. The dateline ‘Since 1801’ has been removed.

In addition to the lighter bottle, the updated carton features opulent gold detailing and a gold-coloured tin lid, finished with Chivas Regal Master Blender Sandy Hyslop’s signature in gold lettering. The flagship 70cl bottle’s reduction in glass weight will result in significant environmental benefits, estimated to save over 500 tonnes of glass annually based on FY24 volume sales. The new design brings Chivas Regal 18 in line with Chivas Regal 12, which unveiled a contemporary new look in 2021, and follows the transformations of Chivas Regal Extra and Chivas Regal XV.

ADDENDA

Collaboration with Sports

Announced ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix of 24 Nov 2024 , luxury Scotch whisky Chivas Regal revealed that it will be the ‘Official Team Partner’ of the Scuderia Ferrari HP Formula 1 team in a new global multi-year partnership that unites two iconic heritage brands with a shared legacy in craft, innovation and luxury.

The collaboration sees Chivas Regal – the original luxury blended Scotch whisky – and Scuderia Ferrari HP – the world’s most successful Formula 1 team – come together to celebrate their commitment to collective success, which forms the foundation of the new partnership, focussing on telling the untold stories of teamwork that are critical to success. The partnership with Scuderia Ferrari HP is the latest move for Chivas Regal in its long-standing association with global sports culture, having enjoyed partnerships with Premier League football clubs for many years.

Sustainability

The River Within: The River Within is a new long-term programme between Chivas Brothers and The Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust, Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust, and the Spey Catchment Initiative to help protect and restore some of Scotland’s iconic waterways.

Just as the art of whisky is a delicate balance, so too is the Scottish landscape. Created over millennia, the landscapes and ecosystems called home form a deep, interconnected network of plants and vegetation, animals on land and below the water. Each plays its essential role, nurturing and sustaining the waterways on which all depend.

Just as people rely on the rivers, the rivers rely on them. Today climate change is disrupting the delicate balance of the terroir— changing when and where it rains and even the temperature of the waterways themselves. These changes threaten the rich diversity of life in and around the waters and burns of Scotland. They threaten the very future of whisky – from how much can be made to the flavour profile and how it could taste.

Whisky is legacy, to be crafted thinking about those who will enjoy it 10, 12, even 25 years from now. This is why Chivas Brothers is acting today to safeguard, protect and preserve the waters, banks and burns that give their whisky life.

Anyone who has enjoyed a dram of Scotch has the waters of Scotland within them. Raise a glass to the waters of Scotland, protecting whisky today and for generations to come.

Collaboration Ahead of Competition: Chivas Brothers have deployed highly efficient heat recovery technologies within the whisky distillation process, halving carbon emissions at Glentauchers distillery. their design process and implementation insights have been made ‘open source’, with the intention of putting collaboration ahead of competition on the road to net zero.

The heat recovery technologies, including Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) and Thermo Vapour Recompression (TVR), are designed to capture and recycle heat generated in the distillation process that would otherwise go to waste. To date, these have reduced total energy consumption almost by half (48%) at Glentauchers distillery, near Keith in Speyside, Scotland, reducing the site’s total carbon emissions by 53% as a result.

 

THE INTERNATIONAL WHISKY COMPETITION 2024

 AULTMORE BAGS GOLDEN BARREL TROPHY FOR 2024

The International Whisky Competition® is amongst the world’s most-followed whisky competition and reaches out to the whisky community on various social media channels. Unique medals are designed to promote each of the winning whiskies. Launched in 2010 for whisky consumers, distillers, and people behind the scenes making whiskies, the mission was to create a true competition by offering only 3 medals per category.  

Their goal is to bring the best whiskies from around the world to be tasted and rated by their professional tasting panel. Unlike other competitions, since 2015, their judges are presented with one whisky at a time, to ensure each whisky gets the proper attention. In-depth notes are taken at every step for review ultimately to be compiled by the tasting panel committee.

WHISKY OF THE YEAR

Aultmore Oloroso Sherry Cask GTR 25 Years Old – 46% ABV

 The Golden Barrel Trophy

Aultmore Distillery will be the custodian of the Golden Barrel Trophy
for winning Whisky of the Year 2024

Designed in Switzerland and unveiled at Diageo Archive, the Golden Barrel Trophy represents the pinnacle of excellence in whisky making, showcasing two lions holding a whisky barrel. It is casted in bronze with 24K golden leaves on each side of the barrel. The Golden Barrel will be kept by the winner of the Whisky of the Year until next year’s competition and the name of each winner will be engraved in its marble base to commemorate the history of each annual Whisky of the Year.

 TOP AWARDS

Whisky of the Year

Aultmore Oloroso Sherry Cask GTR 25 Years Old –  46% ABV – (98.31 Pts)

Master Blender of the Year

Stephanie Macleod, Bacardi

Distiller of the Year

Bacardi (Scotland) – 91.50 Avg/Pts (Scotland)

SCOTLAND

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

1st Place: Aultmore Oloroso Sherry Cask GTR 25 Years Old - 98.31 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 96.73 Pts

3rd Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 95.52 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH NAS (No Age Statement)

1st Place: Aberlour A'bunadh Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 94.32 Pts

2nd Place: Aberlour A’bunadh Alba Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 93.37 Pts

3rd Place: The Glenlivet Fusion Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 93.1 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 10 Year Old and Under

1st Place: Ardbeg Wee Beastie - 92.9 Pts

2nd Place: Benromach Vintage 2013 - Cask Strength - 87.82 Pts

3rd Place: Ardbeg Ten Years Old - 86.81 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 12 Year Old

1st Place: Aberfeldy Madeira Cask 12 Years Old - 93.28 Pts

2nd Place: Colonial Spirits: Benrinnes - 93.14 Pts

3rd Place: Aultmore 12 Years Old - 91.36 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 13-14 Year Old

1st Place: Glenmorangie 14 - Quinta Ruban - 91.25 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 90.61 Pts

3rd Place: Glenmorangie 14 - The Elementa - 87.64 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 15 Year Old

1st Place: Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate Batch 4- 93.48 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 86.52 Pts

3rd Place: Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old - 85.30 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 16-17 Year Old

1st Place: Glenmorangie 16 - Nectar d'Or - 91.27 Pts

2nd Place: Aberfeldy 16 Years Old - 90.34 Pts

3rd Place: Glenmorangie 16 - The Tribute - 89.34 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 18 Year Old

1st Place: Aultmore Madeira Cask GTR 18 Years Old - 90.59 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 90.11 Pts

3rd Place: Aultmore 18 Years Old - 89.33 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 19-24 Year Old

1st Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 95.46 Pts

2nd Place: Glenmorangie 19 - 89.13 Pts

3rd Place: Craigellachie - 19 Years Old - 87.84 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 25 Year Old

1st Place: Aultmore Oloroso Sherry Cask GTR 25 Years Old - 98.31 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 96.73 Pts

3rd Place: Royal Brackla Pedro Ximenez 25 Years Old - 94.3 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH > 25 Year Old

1st Place: Craigellachie Small Batch 37 Years Old - 93.76 Pts

BEST PEATED SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

1st Place: Ardbeg Wee Beastie - 92.9 Pts

2nd Place: Ardbeg 25 - 91.49 Pts

3rd Place: "The Hearach" - Isle of Harris Single Malt Whisky - 91.46 Pts

BEST ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

1st Place: Ardbeg Wee Beastie - 92.9 Pts

2nd Place: Ardbeg 25 - 91.49 Pts

3rd Place: Ardbeg Corryvreckan - 90.43 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH HIGHLANDS

1st Place: Royal Brackla Pedro Ximenez 25 Years Old - 94.3 Pts

2nd Place: Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate Batch 4- 93.48 Pts

3rd Place: Royal Brackla  OLOROSO - PALO CORTADO & PERDO XIMENEZ 21 Years Old - 93.04 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH SPEYSIDE

1st Place: Aultmore Oloroso Sherry Cask GTR 25 Years Old - 98.31 Pts

2nd Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 96.73 Pts

3rd Place: The Glenlivet Sample Room Collection 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 95.52 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH ISLANDS

1st Place: "The Hearach" - Isle of Harris Single Malt Whisky - 91.46 Pts

2nd Place: Torabhaig - Allt Glean - 90.24 Pts

3rd Place: Raasay Slainte Club Exclusive 2024 - 89.1 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH CASK STRENGTH

1st Place: Aberlour A'bunadh Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 94.32 Pts

2nd Place: Aberlour A’bunadh Alba Single Malt Scotch Whisky - 93.37 Pts

3rd Place: Benromach - Single Cask 34 - 90.46 Pts

BEST INDEPENDENT BOTTLER

1st Place: Colonial Spirits: Benrinnes - 93.14 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH

1st Place: Dewar's Double Double 37 Years Old - 96.37 Pts

2nd Place: Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Old - 95.46 Pts

3rd Place: Dewar's Double Double 32 Years Old - 95.36 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH 12 Year Old

1st Place: Dewar's 12 Years Old - 89.06 Pts

2nd Place: Chivas Regal 12 Year Old - 87.21 Pts

3rd Place: Imperial 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whiskey - 85.1 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH 13-19 Year Old

1st Place: Dewar's 16 Years Old - 88.9 Pts

2nd Place: Dewar's 18 Years Old - 86.76 Pts

3rd Place: Chivas Regal XV - Blended Scotch Whisky - 86.07 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH 20-24 Year Old

1st Place: Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Old - 95.46 Pts

2nd Place: Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Old Magma Toast level 1 finished in French oak casks - 95.22 Pts

3rd Place: Dewar's Double Double 21 Years Old Magma Toast level 1 finished in American Oak - 94.86 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH 25-30 Year Old

1st Place: Dewar's Double Double 26 Years Old - 94.95 Pts

2nd Place: Dewar's Double Double 30 Years Old - 94.34 Pts

3rd Place: Dewar's Double Double 27 Years Old - 93.54 Pts

BEST BLENDED SCOTCH > 30 Year Old

1st Place: Dewar's Double Double 37 Years Old - 96.37 Pts

2nd Place: Dewar's Double Double 32 Years Old - 95.36 Pts

3rd Place: Dewar's Double Double 36 Years Old - 94.01 Pts

IRELAND

BEST IRISH WHISKEY

1st Place: Bushmills 25 - 92.4 Pts

2nd Place: Redbreast 21 Year Old - 91.74 Pts

3rd Place: Redbreast 27 Year Old - 91.3 Pts

BEST SINGLE MALT IRISH WHISKEY

1st Place: Bushmills 25 - 92.4 Pts

2nd Place: Bushmills 21 - 89.28 Pts

3rd Place: Bushmills 30 - 88.26 Pts

BEST POT STILL IRISH WHISKEY

1st Place: Redbreast 21 Year Old - 91.74 Pts

2nd Place: Redbreast 27 Year Old - 91.3 Pts

3rd Place: Red Spot Aged 15 Years - 90.19 Pts

BEST BLENDED IRISH WHISKEY

1st Place: Paddy’s Irish Whiskey - 85.76 Pts

2nd Place: Place: Roe & Co - Blended - 85.18 Pts

JAPAN

BEST JAPANESE WHISKY

1st Place: KANOSUKE DOUBLE DISTILLERY - 90.51 Pts

2nd Place: KANOSUKE HIOKI POT STILL - 89.19 Pts

3rd Place: Hatozaki Small Batch Whisky - 89.16 Pts

BEST PURE MALT JAPANESE WHISKY

1st Place: Hatozaki Small Batch Whisky - 89.16 Pts

2nd Place: Tenjaku Pure Malt Whisky - 87.9 Pts

BEST BLENDED JAPANESE WHISKY

1st Place: Tenjaku Blended Whisky – 89.08 Pts

2nd Place: Hibiki Japanese Harmony – 87.4 Pts

3rd Place: Hatozaki Finest Whisky – 85.04 Pts

 INDIA

BEST INDIAN SINGLE MALT WHISKY

1st Place: Indri Founder's Reserve 11 YO Wine Cask - 95.09 Pts

2nd Place: Indri Diwali Collector's Edition 2024 - 93.74 Pts

3rd Place: Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky Oloroso Select Cask - 93.8 Pts

BEST INDIAN BLENDED WHISKY

1st Place: X&O Premium Whisky - 90.46 Pts

2nd Place: Sterling Reserve B7 - 88.67 Pts

3rd Place: ICONiQ White Whisky - 88.16 Pts

                 

         

         

                    

        

        

THE JOHN WALKER STORY

THE EARLY DAYS OF JOHNNIE WALKER WHISKY

John Walker (1805-1857) was a semi-educated village lad thrust into maturity too early in life. His father died when he was just 14 and the family relocated from their village to the township of Kilmarnock in the Scottish Lowlands, investing the proceeds of the sale of their farm in a grocery cum winery. As the new Head of the family, he had to ensure their investment would succeed.

Parsimonious by nature-a common Scottish villager's trait-he worked 16-hour days, six days a week. Of those 16 hours, two were spent learning how to manage ledgers and balance books. He had no foresight-his only focus was to establish and then grow his business, having started from scratch. He was scrupulously honest, an endearing quality, which helped him with his plans. He was fortunate to have the services of an ex-East India Company retired tea blender from Ceylon and Assam as an employee and his initial gains were in the lucrative blended tea business. He had to wait till the company was well settled before he wed, in 1833. His intense lifestyle caught up with him and he died early, in 1857. His children were town-bred and better educated and it was his ambitious son Alexander ‘Alec’ Walker and grandsons who actually created the Johnnie Walker legend. 

Although a teetotaller, he shifted his focus specifically onto the Whisky business after his wedding, content till then to peddle spirits, including Rum, Brandy, Gin, and Whisky manufactured by others. These included whiskies from Campbeltown, Islay with its pungent smoky flavour; Glenlivet, Cardhu and other Highland whiskies. Once the Coffey Still became legal apparatus circa 1830, Grain whiskies became very easy to distill in rather short timeframes. He used these whiskies, but as an entirely separate category as demanded by law. As spirit, these were undrinkable and had to be blended with softening syrups, juices, honey and botanicals and also watered down to ~50% ABV. He, however, guaranteed quality, retaining and expanding his customer base. Of the spirits he dealt with, malt whisky was the most popular, sold at a staggering 65-68% ABV, to be cut half and half with Scheppes soda or water. By then, he had picked up the nuances of blending and started selling blended malts-but only made to order. His whiskies were much smoother than the ‘fiery’ Lowland, Islay and other whiskies also in the market.

16 and 8 oz Bottles

He did not use high-volume glass bottles for his whisky; they were far too expensive. His regulars used their own glass bottles, then available in 8oz (230ml) and 16 oz (460ml) on an as-required basis. The largest size in the days when glass-blowers created bottles was 28oz (800ml) but these were extremely flimsy and fragile. He used ceramic containers instead for his well to do patrons, with volumes in gallons and quarts thereof (1.12L). He also used small casks known as ankers (~8 gallons) to transport whisky to and from local dealers and traders, but not to mature or even store it. The arrival of the railway in 1843 would help him in the years ahead to expand, while the proximity of the sea and seaports would help his future generations to attain yet unforeseeable global popularity and leadership.

The railway connected him with Glasgow, London, and beyond, taking his whisky to the many that developed a taste for it, but, equally importantly, bringing in oak casks of all pedigrees he so desperately required to increase transaction volumes and consequent additional storage, apart from routine victuals.

When he became wealthy and could afford glass bottles, he decided to blend his own whisky, circa 1850, with a rather plebian name-Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky. By then, his name had spread to nearby cities and he started to sell his brand of whisky on a reducing reciprocal basis with other prominent grocers in those cities. He also became a member of an informal Grocer’s association in Scotland. They felt lucky to be associated with an Edinburgh Blender and Wine Merchant, Andrew Usher, the principal sales agent of George Smith’s Glenlivet whisky, who would soon become a distiller of grain whisky and a blender. Usher had an outreach into the corridors of power through George Smith’s landowner and financer, the Duke of Gordon. 

An Old Kilmarnock Bottle 1867

  

In 1853, he received exciting news through the grapevine about happenings in London. An Act named the Forbes-Mackenzie Act had been passed easing blending, but in bond. Though the Hansard (the official record of Parliamentary debates) was introduced in 1803, it remained a selective record of debates until it became the Official Report in 1909 and was often misquoted or misunderstood. All grocers were disappointed when actual details came across months later in print.

The Forbes-Mackenzie Act 1853, as The Licensing (Scotland) Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.67) came to be known, when read with An Act to Impose Additional Duties on Spirits in Scotland and Ireland…(16 & 17 Vict. c. 37) of 1853, imposed regulatory timings on licenced liquor sales premises and defined the taxes to be paid on the full quantity of spirits contained in any one or more casks in any warehouse, while allowing the distiller or proprietor of such spirits… ‘ from time to time to rack or draw off such spirits into any other cask or casks, provided that no less a quantity than ten gallons shall be racked into any one of the last-mentioned casks…’ But only distilleries and breweries could take advantage of this Act.

Thus, in 1853 vatting under bond was legally permitted for the first time, and Andrew Usher’s firm launched Usher’s Old Vatted Glenlivet (OVG)– the first ever commercial vatting to be marketed, a mix of several malt and grain whiskies, none of which had an age statement. It was possible to vat in order to obtain consistency between casks, but whiskies of different ages could also be vatted, raising interesting possibilities for altering whisky profiles (Gavin Smith, Whisky Magazine 16 Nov 2002.) After 1823, Bond houses could be located within the distillery/ brewery, provided the premises were no further than a quarter of a mile from the town perimeter.

In 1957, Usher informed them that a Spirits Act had been approved in principle by then Prime Minister H Temple and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gladstone was under pressure to allow blending of Grain whiskies with Malt whiskies in Bond. What he didn’t tell them was that there was severe counter-pressure from the five-times larger Irish whisky industry not to pass the Act. Some grocers, but not John Walker, started blending their malt and grain whiskies in their stores then. John Walker died in 1857 and Alec (1837-89) assumed charge. The Spirits Act permitting blending of grain and malt whiskies in bond was passed in 1860 with Irish disapproval, but limited such vatting to distillers and brewers only.

Alexander had formally studied the blending of tea as an apprentice with a tea merchant in Glasgow, developing a complete sense of blending and extended it to the spirit industry. He was keen on moving on from a grocery to a wholesale whisky dealer. Now that he was no longer restrained by his less ambitious father, he started blending whisky in storage in 1860, as he was still registered as a grocer. Grocers were finally permitted in 1863 to blend whiskies in bond under an extension to the Chevalier-Cobden Act of 1860. Alec moved out of the grocery trade and began his shift to whisky, gradually exiting other spirits.

Alexander Walker pulled off a marketing coup when he was able to convince Captains of sea-going vessels to sell his Old Kilmarnock whisky in their bars, for a commission. The increased movement of his dumpy 28oz bottles by rail and by sea revealed a major failing-his bottles were proving short-lived and breaking enroute, causing considerable loss. His first attempt to make their bases square with each side equal to the diameter of his rounded bottles made the already dumpy and shabby bottles look squat and positively ugly in dim lighting in bars. This led to his first masterstroke as designer. He slimmed the bottles down to stand elegantly tall. They could be tightly packed in less space, reducing the threat of breakages by over 75% and also the storage space per carton of twelve bottles, equating to more bottles per cargo. As the art of manufacturing bottles improved with time, he found he could both increase volume to quart bottles (1.12L) and thicken each side by a minuscule amount to strengthen them further, reducing breakages to near zero. These were extremely cost-effective improvements.

Even so, there was an unforeseen consequence to their standing tall. They obscured the bottles in the row behind them, so they were moved to the rearmost row of shelves in bars where their names could not be seen. This led to the birth of the second label on his bottles, albeit small. It carried only the name but was pasted on the neck of the bottle and was prominently visible. The first ever label was white in colour, a harbinger of things to come. In five years, the Old Kilmarnock crossed the 100,000 gallon per year sales mark, a testament to Alec’s business acumen and creativity.

Alexander Walker was finally able to blend his stocks of grain and malt whiskies and, starting 1865, bottle them for sale as a five year old blended whisky, now named Walker’s Old Highland Whisky, copyrighted as such in 1867. The introduction of grain whisky into the blend of malts reduced the fierce strength of the whisky and was accepted as a welcome feature. His whiskies were bottled at proof, equivalent to 57.1% ABV.

The five-year waiting period was to prove a blessing in disguise. He was able to convince captains of naval vessels to use his stocks in transit overseas to new markets as ballast and serve them as good quality whisky in their bars, for a commission. Once his whisky gained popularity, some bottles were brought back to the front shelf in bars everywhere.

Competition was fierce and Alec once again used his imagination to bring his bottles into the public eye. He invested in visual promotion by increasing the size of his main label to accommodate much larger bright golden colour lettering encased in an equally prominent golden border. Since it no longer fitted one face of his square bottle, he had no option but to tilt the label to fit it on one face stylishly without appearing to do so and display its contents on one face of the bottle and found 24° exactly right and aesthetically pleasing. This tilt was upwards, signalling strength, stamina and determination. He trademarked this design in 1877. What is important to note is that the significance of the oak used in the creating of casks was still unknown.

Alec wanted to create even older whiskies and started experimenting on a primary scale, maturing his Old Highland Whisky for more than five years. Unfortunately, the quality was found inferior to the 5-YO. They would peak at best at 6 years of age, no further. Specific-to-task cask management was in its infancy. Two unrelated factors were to help the industry. Firstly, fresh oak barrels were lying abandoned in France between 1860-1900 because of the Phylloxera devastation and could be used freely in the industry, particularly for grain whisky. Secondly, the Scots, Irish and other settlers in America, including English, Welsh, German and Frenchmen, began to distill their own whisky, using corn as the basic grain. The best of these whiskies came from the distillers using water from the Ohio River. The principal port on the Ohio River was Maysville, in present day Kentucky, from where whisky and other products were shipped within America and overseas.

Fortunately for Alec, that export overseas was in the same ships that Walker had used for his exports. He and his team located barrels of whisky that had come from America and bought them off once their contents had been bottled or sold. They were told that the coopers in America would deep-char and toast the casks before using them, a factor that would influence decisions in the next generation of Walkers. Alec found that the freshly imported barrels were a good choice to age his 5-YO whisky further and he was able to experiment with creating a whisky of premium quality. He died in 1889, leaving his sons Alexander II and George in charge. By now, distillers and whisky blenders were beginning to understand the difference between the types of casks used and the importance of the cooper.

The acquisition of Cardhu distillery in 1893 changed the Johnnie Walker trajectory to the best possible. When added to the blends in use, it changed the overall profile markedly. The Special Old Highland, featuring a red label was born in 1896. An exceptionally smooth and mellow whisky, it allowed Alex to reduce the strength to 25 under proof, equivalent to 42.8% ABV. The whisky could now be drunk neat, with a few drops of water or soda or with a cube or two of ice. The aroma of the 9 YO was overpowering, able to fill a room with its enticing qualities. It could not, however, be aged further.

It was only after the introduction of freshly charred second-fill European Oak barrels that the 9YO whisky could be aged further, by one full year. But Alex went a step further. Instead of European Oak, he used American Oak barrels and was able to age the blend to all of 12 years. By 1906, the company could boast three main brands: Old Highland White Label 5 YO; Special Old Highland Red Label 9 YO; Extra Special Old Highland Black Label 12 YO. In 1909, the company carried out its final rebranding, bringing out the Johnnie Walker 6 YO White Label, 10 YO Red Label and 12 YO Black Label.

We have a conundrum here. The Johnnie Walker Special Old Highland bottle and carton: The term 'Red Label' is visible on the neck mini-label, but missing from the main label, even though it is coloured Red. There is no age statement visible anywhere. The Striding Man, sketched in 1909, is more than visible. The 1937 bottle of Red Label carried an age statement of 8 years. Well, well...