Thomas Ewer’s passion for single malt Scotch whisky, his personal contacts at the distilleries and the joy of discovering new whiskies were the driving forces behind the creation of Malts of Scotland. After years of searching for the best and rarest casks to select and buy, it was decided in 2009 to bottle the first release of 11 special single cask Scotch whiskies under the name of Malts of Scotland. The motto of Malts of Scotland is special bottlings for special moments. All the details are significant: from the careful selection of the casks to the design and appearance of the packaging and the company. In the warehouses of Malts of Scotland there are about 400 barrels of whisky aging from more than 60 Scottish distilleries. This wide range ensures that we will certainly be spoiled with more special bottlings in the future. The whiskies of Malts of Scotland are not colored, are un-chillfiltered and most are bottled at cask strength. What you get is the purest taste of uisge beatha.
Mackinlay & McPherson Ltd, part of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, founded the Glenallachie distillery in 1967 at the foot of the Ben Rinnes mountain. She was built to produce whisky for the Mackinlay blends. William Delmé Evans (who also designed Jura and Tullibardine distilleries) was the architect. In 1985 the distillery was acquired by Invergordon, who closed it two years later. In 1989 she was reopened by Campbell Distillers (part of Pernod-Ricard since 1975). Each year, about 2.8 million litres of spirit are produced by two wash and two spirit stills. The distillery also has a semi-lauter mash tun and 6 stainless steel washbacks. The distillery does not have a visitor center and does not offer tours. Almost all of the production goes into blends such as Clan Campbell, House of Lords, 100 Pipers, Passport and Chivas Brothers and hardly any official single malts have been released.
Glenallachie 1973/2011 (44.0%, Malts of Scotland, Bourbon Hogshead #MoS11018, 125 Bts.)