Phil gave me this month’s grain to review – what is the world coming to? Up to Glasgow for a 16 year old Strathclyde that was initially matured for 11 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before an additional 5 years in a 2nd fill toasted Fresh oak barrique. Colour me intrigued.
Single grain time with a 29 year old Strathclyde drawn from a 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel. Old & Dignified profile.
Very well-aged grain whisky from Strathclyde that was distilled way back in 1977 and matured in a 2nd fill ex-Bourbon barrel for 39 years. One of only 67 bottles. Old & Dignified profile.
If you travelled back a few hundred years, you’d find that many Scottish distillers (particularly those outside of the Highlands) would make whisky from whatever grains they had to hand. It wasn’t all malted barley all of the time – wheat, rye, oats – sometimes raw, sometimes malted – would all be processed and turned into booze. Much of the choice of grains was down to their costs – both the location of grown crops and the taxman’s take made ingredients more expensive depending on where a distillery was located – E.G. malted barley would be more expensive than the unmalted grain available to Lowlands distilleries.