A 4 year old Secret Orkney from the Exploration Series of Claxton's. The whisky, bottled at 50% ABV, has been matured in Bourbon casks. This Island whisky has just like the other Exploration Series releases a coin under the crown. Collect 5 of these and receive a nice discount on a special Coin Collector bottling.
With this whiskey, we are not allowed to disclose the distillery. This makes it something of a puzzle. What do you taste? Do you recognize the flavors? Very often from the flavor notes and the name given to the whisky in question, a lot can be deduced! Have fun with this tasty puzzle.
If we go back in history to the Hart family, we find that they had a licence to sell liquor as early as the late 19th century. The family then owned an inn in Paisley. Brothers Iain and Donald Hart turned the business around in 1964 and concentrated on selling wine and spirits and blending Scotch whisky.
They are experts in finding and bottling the best Scotch whisky, maturing it in the highest quality oak casks and choosing the perfect time to bottle it. No colouring is used, no cold filtration is used and the bottlings are at cask strength or 46%. For the 46% bottlings, only the purest Scottish spring water is used to bring the whisky to strength. Everything is pure and focused on the best taste and quality.
Alistair Hart began his career in the whisky industry in 1962 as a novice whisky blender with Whyte & Mackay Limited. He was supervised by Major Hartley Whyte and in 1972 was promoted to Director and held the position of Chief Blender. In 1975, Alistair left Whyte & Mackay to join his brothers at Hart Brothers, building the global reputation the company now enjoys. He took with him good contacts in the whisky industry, which still results in exceptional bottlings that you rarely see in the competition, such as Talisker, Glendronach, Dalmore and Littlemill.
In doing so, they adhere to Hart Brothers' motto: The Spirit of Excellence.
Started in 1994 by Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and Gordon Wright and since 2000 also owners of Bruichladdich, which was sold in 2012. Aceo ltd. bought Murray McDavid in 2013 and a year later, the home on the site of the former Coleburn distillery in the heart of Speyside. One of the first companies to use a variety of interesting casks to complete the maturation process to perfection. Coleburn's traditional Victorian dunnage warehouses hold thousands of casks of whisky from over ninety different distilleries. They bottle only the best in six different categories:
All whiskies are carefully selected to emphasise the art of maturation and blending.
Claxton's, situated on the Dalswinston private estate just north of Dumfries, spans several traditional dunnage warehouses both for its own storage and for third parties, as well as a bottling line. Illustrious visitors to the estate include Robert the Bruce and Robert Burns and it is now a holiday accommodation where you can enjoy hunting, fishing and of course Scotch whisky.
The family business has a clear vision in which the balance between the influence of the cask and the quality of the spirit is always paramount. Claxton's elevates value, quality and flavour above all else and the family has been passionate about independently bottled single malt whisky for decades before finally fulfilling their dream in 2015 with the release of their own casks. Released in two ranges to delight enthusiasts: Claxton's Single Caskbottled at cask strength in the beautiful decanters, and Claxton's Exploration Series bottled at 50% with the unique coinage system.
Valinch & Mallet is a young Italian independent bottler of single cask and single malts at cask strength, non chill filtered and without added colourings.
Two friends with different backgrounds, united by the common passion for whisky and the desire to make it a profession and share the fruits of it with everyone. That is how Valinch & Mallet came to be.
When you add to this mix the Italian innate love of art and craft, and the heritage left behind by the extraordinary selectors who have forever linked Italy to Scotland and Scotch Whisky, a clearer picture begins to emerge.
Aceo Spirits was founded in 1999 and owns several brands such as The Smoky Scot, The Glenlee as well as bottler Murray McDavid.
