Weekly Whisky Auction Watch

Andy Simpson

30.04.2013

The recent McTears whisky auction in Glasgow brought with it some very interesting bottles and some equally interesting results.

Someone recently said that Ardbeg incites irrational behaviour when it comes to collecting. I have to agree; as a distillery, it can still do that to me on the odd occasion with the odd single cask or rare bottling. Ardbeg should change its name to ‘the Destroyer of Marriages and Wallets’ distillery. When my credit card bill comes in and Mrs Simpson inevitably sees the sizeable spend on whisky, she just seems to sense I’ve bought another Ardbeg single cask. It’s almost as though she has a sixth sense; the “you’ve just blown a load of cash on another bottle of Ardbeg” sense. Most of the time she’s right!

It was an auction of ups and downs (see… irrational behaviour!) for the Islay favourite when a bottle of the 1977 vintage release (bottled early 00’s at 46%) sold for £200. A great deal for the buyer as these typically achieve far higher results. At the other end of the scale a bottle of Scotch Malt Whisky Society 33.13, 1966 vintage, sold for £1,100 virtually exactly double its previous best of £545.

An all-time low saw a bottle of Abhainn Deargs first release of Scotch, 2011 bottles of three year old whisky, sell for £70. That represents a 53% loss when compared to its original release price of £150. Proof that not all ‘first releases’ will increase in value.

Among other records at McTears were –

A Macallan 25 year old Anniversary Malt, 1957 vintage, which sold for £1,500 on the nose.  This bottle has always been at the top end of Anniversary Malt performance, even so, just three years ago one could have been picked up for £600.

Another bottle from the Destroyer of Marriages and Wallets distillery hit a new record when a bottle of 1966 vintage Cadenheads 32 year old sold for double its previous best when it hit £1,000.

Still to experience the gains of other silent stills, a bottle of Banff 1974 Connoisseurs Choice sold for £150. Keep your eye on Banff; bottles are showing signs of increases to come.

The final bottle this week is from Balblair. The utterly superb 38 year old official release sold for £360. This has previously sold for £150 on the open market so it represents a significant new record for the Northern Highlander.

Plenty of auction based excitement to come over the next couple of weeks as we see some legendary old bottles go under the e-hammer at Scotch Whisky Auctions. As usual, we’ll have a full update and analysis here.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.

All you have to do to win a this delightful single cask bottling from Glenlivet is to visit The Whisky Shop Facebook page and enter the competition app on the top of the page. The lucky winner will then be announced at the end of the month.

Simply Click Here to visit our Facebook page.

Aged only in one cask there are only 250 bottles available worldwide. Nose: Soft, ripe red apples intertwined with baked almonds. Mellow floral notes crescendo into a zesty flourish. Taste: A soft, smooth, creaminess gradually develops until the whisky hints at chewy, sticky toffee. A delicate floral note creeps in, which lingers tantalisingly until a final burst of Seville orange rounds it off. Finish: Long, sweet and very slightly dry.

Each bottle of The Glenlivet Quercus is individually labelled with the cask number, cask name, age and bottling date; a record of the rarity of the whisky, which will never again be produced. Bottled at 52.1% volume.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the ingredients that make up whisky, and last week we looked at the importance of peat. Now we move on to the fifth and final component – wood.And in the first of three parts, Dominic looks at the importance of oak

It makes me laugh when I read the writings of the new wave of whisky writers who discovered whisky 10 minutes ago but now deem themselves to be experts.

I have never had a problem with newcomers learning about whisky and expressing their opinion. It’s those that think they’re so good at it they think they have the right to tell others what they should be tasting.

When I started writing about whisky I wouldn’t even join a group tasting or judging event. For three years I helped pour the whisky, clear the glasses, total the scores. It took me a further two years before I offered an opinion in isolation and then only because Dave Broom cajoled me in to it. I was terrified. Dave was the other taster so it was a bit like losing your virginity in public with Casanova in the next bed.

Anyway, I think today’s experts are missing out on my experience and education in two ways: firstly, they’re not getting the insight and knowledge that only many months and even years can bring; and two, they aren’t getting the chance to listen to  the judges at these events; distillers, blenders, experts such as Michael Jackson. I listened and learned, and listened and learned – and came away humbled and knowing that like age it doesn’t matter where I get to, these folk will always be ahead of me.

One memorable occasion I was pouring and clearing with a bunch of enthusiastic young Scots and we had a day long debate about which country has the right to describe itself as God-zone. New Zealanders have always made the claim and as an adopted New Zealander I wasn’t having anyone take the title. But the Scots won – partly because there were more of them than me but mainly because while lochs, mountains, glens, friendly folk, great open spaces and the like are common to both, the deciding factors are that New Zealand has the better rugby team, and Scotland has the better whisky.

Whisky won.

And it really is a God-sent product. Simple ingredients which by a fate of nature combine to make a most complex, exciting and vibrant spirit that no man-made product can match.

Each part of the process is special, but the game changer, the reason you know that a higher power has played a role, comes from the use of oak.

Oak is the most amazing wood. It takes 100 years to grow big enough to be used properly, and maybe another two years to season and dry. It has been the backbone of history, the wood used for battlements, battering rams and battle ships, and in peace time it has facilitated international trade across the world. It is strong but flexible,  so it can be bent in to shape but will be as solid as a prop row forward.

It is water proof and yet its properties include the ability to allow spirit vapour, water and air pass in to and out of it. And it has the amazing ability to absorb and reject liquid in to its  soul, adding flavour and colour to spirit, removing some of the negative flavours of whisky spirit, and reacting with the alcohol to create a myriad of flavours.

It can adopt the personality of whatever it has had in it, so malt spirit can benefit from whatever preceded it in the cask.

And perhaps weirdest of all, oak varies enormously across the world, so that while most traditional whisky makers are working with American white oak or European red oak, Sweden, Hungary Eastern Europe and even Scotland produce oaks that look little like each other and which offer a take on whisky very different to each other.

Gerry Tosh of Highland Park has a great take on why this is the case. In Scotland, where sunshine is not that common, a growing oak will twist and turn to maximise the light as it grows, making it a gnarled, cramped tree with tight grain. In Missouri, sharp cold winters are followed by intense sun, so the oak grows fast and straight upwards, resulting in a stretched grain oak that is more  absorbent.

That in itself isn’t enough – so next week we’ll look at what has to be done to any oak to make it suitable for maturing malt spirit.

What I liked last week

Tasting and writing about whisky is a hit and miss business – during some weeks nothing of interest turns up, and during others we’re spoiled with several crackers and have to make serious decisions as to which to taste next.

And after some take it or leave it weeks, last week turned out to be one of those ever so special ones, kickstarted by one of the best decisions I’ve made for a long time.

Let me explain…

It’s not often that I get to work in my office but I did exactly that last night and while trying to find space for a couple of recent whisky acquisitions on the shelves there I made the decision to open all the bottles of whisky on my shelves which i filled at a distillery myself – a total of three. And the first of those to be de-corked happened to be a single cask bottling from Aberlour Distillery in 2005.It is a first fill bourbon cask bottling and in keeping with my latest whisky favourites (BenRiach 17 year old whisky shop exclusive, a number of sweet Balvenies etc) it is rich in coconut, banana and toffee goodness.

Then on Thursday night I spoke to 80 members of the Irish Whiskey Society just to get my hands on a Society bottling of an Midleton 17 year old pot still whiskey which I’d tried a while ago and which I absolutely love.

And then on Friday I flew to Glasgow for an exciting meeting with The Whisky Shop where i was given a bottle of the new W Club exclusive bottling of  Glenlivet Quercus 17 year old (do you see a theme here? And I used to adore the original Bowmore 17 year old too). It’s a cask strength fruity beauty, and another that fills the dessert spot – with tropical fruit, banana, honey and vanilla. Truly fantastic and wonderful whisky. At £200 it’s not the cheapest, but if you’re looking for that extra special present for the dedicated single malt whisky fan, you could do a lot worse.

I wrote a week or so ago about the new Taliskers as my Golden Shots – and I wasn’t over-enamoured at the time by Talisker Port Ruighe, which is a port finished Talisker.

This is what i said about it:

“The good news is that its peat and spiciness keep it in the Talisker camp. But there’s rose hip, some blackcurrant juice and a velvety undertow that is all this whisky’s own. There’s nothing wrong here but be warned: it’s a bit like seeing Paul Rodgers singing with Queen – fine but it won’t work for everybody. Try before you buy. But do try.

Well it’s growing on me – and maybe my advice is still valid, but I suggest you try it a couple of times before coming to a conclusion. It’s Talisker in drag but hey, I’m a metrosexual guy – what’s wrong with a butch malt dressing up in a tutu if it wants to?

Weekly Whisky Auction Watch

Andy Simpson

23.04.2013

Part 2

The second part of the recent Scotch Whisky Auctions update sees a veritable tour de force from many silent distilleries. Bottles from some of these long lost legends are yet to experience the increases in value of other closed icons, however, we’re now starting to see upwards momentum as the horns of the bull push prices higher in the current market.

Glenugie has previously been overlooked in favour of other silent stills. It’s now pleasing to see some bottles of this very rare liquid start to increase in value. A bottle of Hart Brothers bottled 1965 vintage sold for £360; a significant new record for this bottle.

Glenlochy saw another new record when a bottle of 1977 vintage Connoisseurs Choice sold for £165. The previous best for this bottle was just £75.

On to a pair of the more iconic closed distilleries:

Cult Ellen sold their 2008 Feis Ile single cask bottle for just £200 when it was released to instant sell-out crowds on Islay. Todays market demands £2,500 if you want to get hold of one of the most prized bottles in Port Ellens portfolio.

The combination of an iconic distillery coupled with the desirable Rare Malts Selection bottles yielded an exceptional result when a bottle of Rosebank 1979 20 year old sold for an amazing £660.

The final bottle from a forlorn silent still is a Signatory 1967 vintage from Inverleven (used to be part of the Dumbarton grain distillery). Just two years ago these were selling for £130 on the open market, almost 1/3 of the amount one sold for recently at a heady £370.

Back to operational distilleries, again, Glenmorangie performed well. The 12 year old Millennium bottle sold for a new record of £115, A 1975/2001 duty free bottle hit £200 for the first time and a 1979/1995 bottle sold for a new record of £185.

Recent interest and subsequent prices for older Lagavulin Distillers Edition bottles has almost exploded. An older 1989 vintage DE bottle sold for £185. Going back as recently as 2010, these we selling on the open market for just £40.

Bruichladdich have released so many special/limited releases over the years, picking bottles which may increase in value has become an art in itself. Certain bottles are heavily sought after with Octomore 01.1 being one of them. With an original retail cost of £80, a new record of £420 was set yielding a 425% increase in value.

And then Macallan marched along! Sweeping all in its path aside with records tumbling left, right and indeed centre. The Queens Diamond jubilee bottle achieved £920, a 1975 vintage Anniversary Malt achieved £720 and a Royal Marriage (Kate & Wills) sold for £960. All new records from what is undeniably the most sought after of all distilleries at the moment.

But not everything produced new record highs, there were still some good deals to be had from a buyers perspective.

The first Glenlivet Guardians release (an 18 year old single cask) sold for just £90, crystallising a loss of 40% from its retail price of £150.

A bottle of Jura 10 year old sold for just £15.

Laphroaig saw their Feis Ile 2004 bottle of 17 year old whisky sell for £720. I have to say, I don’t think that’s a bad result when looked at in isolation. When you compare it to the £2,150 record for this bottle, things look a little less attractive.

The final bottle this week is from Longrow. A 1974 vintage 16 year old sold for £520. That takes it right back to 2009 values. More recent prices have been around the £700 – £750 mark.

Overall, a pleasing set of results with little evidence the market for rare Scotch is cooling.

Until next week.

Slainte,

Andy.

This is the W Club’s introduction to collecting whisky for those who may be new to whisky, and forms part of our Beginners’ Guide series.

I share the view of many that buying whisky to collect and store away in a cupboard is akin to buying a stunning painting and putting a blanket over it. A tree grew for 100 years and was then killed, a skilled worker turned it in to a barrel, a whisky maker made fine malt using a method perfected over generations and filled the barrel with it, it sat in a warehouse for a quarter of a century and then some whisky collector sticks it in a cupboard. Sacrilege bordering on criminality!
There are plenty of good reasons to collect whisky as an investment, however, and even a relatively new aficionado of the whisky world will learn how to spot potential whisky cash cows.

Old whisky
Old whisky refers to different things: whisky from many years ago, and whisky that might have gone in to the bottle relatively recently but was in the cask for a long time.
In the first case old whisky will have a value because as time goes by whiskies get rarer as people drink them. Hence their value to collectors.
In the second case, the older a whisky gets in the cask the less there is of it, because some will have evaporated. The older the whisky is, then, the rare it is. It will have been looked after for longer.

Limited bottlings
From time to time distilleries bottle the product of just one or two casks, limiting it to a small number of bottles. A very old whisky cask might only produce 120 bottles and of course, that makes it rare and sought after. Bottlings for special occasions such as to mark a special anniversary or national event will also have a collectible value.

Big name distilleries
Some distilleries have a loyal and passionate following, and special or rare bottlings from them have extra value to the collector because they are more greatly sought after. Islay and iconic island malts fall in to this bracket, as do some of the best known Speyside ones,

Closed distilleries
Once a distillery is closed down it can no longer make whisky, and therefore as stocks are depleted or run out, existing bottles become collectors’ items. Some distilleries have taken almost mythical status since they shut. A bottle of Rosebank or Port Ellen, for instance, would always be a good investment.

Golden Shots

If you’re a fan of whisky you’ll know that there are all sorts of writers and bloggers getting excited about new, rare and incredibly expensive releases, most of which we can’t afford and will never taste. It’s one of whiskies greatest ironies that a product which takes so long to make and which should be savoured slowly has become such a  disposable commodity for whisky writers and bloggers.

So Golden Shots is all about going back to some of the whiskies which first got us excited about whisky, and which we may have forgotten about. Whiskies which warrant rediscovery and don’t require a mortgage to buy. This week we head out to the islands for two misfit whiskies linked by the same whisky theme – Isle of Arran Port Cask and Talisker Port Ruighe.

A couple of years ago I wrote a feature about how Scotch whisky makers had traditionally used port casks to add nuance and subtlety and a sprinkling of delicate fruitiness, new world whisky makers were using it as a battering ram. Cask strength whiskies from Wales, Australia, India and New Zealand were offering drinkers the opportunity to try whiskies that did for subtle single malts what the Beastie Boys did for mainstream pop music.

Now, it seems, the gloves are off to some extent. Scottish single malt is never going to sacrifice sophistication and complexity entirely to get in to a Bugner-style slugfest with a bunch of upstart Aussies, but these are island malts and they have something to say, particularly the Talisker. I imagine telling a Talisker that it’s going to be outgunned by a Tasmanian whisky would be a bit like telling Gavin Hastings that he’s no match for Michael Lynagh. That’s fighting talk, that is.

So here we have a port finished Talisker – and the good news is that it’s peat and spiciness keep it in the Tasliker camp. But there’s rose hip, some blackcurrant juice and a velvety undertow that is all this whisky’s own. There’s nothing wrong here but be warned: it’s a bit like seeing Paul Rodgers singing with Queen – fine but it won’t work for everybody. Try before you buy. But do try.

Unsurprisingly Isle of Arran Port is less spicy and gritty than the Talisker, and the winey and fruity notes sit more comfortably than the Skye version. It doesn’t take risks particularly but it is a very enjoyable and satisfying whisky.

Neither of these are heavyweights – but they’re nimble on their feet, quick and with plenty to dance across  the taste buds.

And they still have a thing or two to teach our Antipodean friends.

A Speyside saunter to Strathisla

by Inverness Whisky Shop

With a rare day off together, and Anna looking for an opportunity to try out her new camera, we though what better way to spend a fine spring day then take a wee road trip!

Just over an hour’s journey from Inverness, in the picturesque town of Keith, is Strathisla distillery.  Reputedly the oldest operating distillery in Scotland, Strathisla has stood on the bonny banks of the River Isla since 1786. It is one of the most photographed distilleries for good reason – with its’ twin pagodas, old stone buildings and immaculately kept site, it is a picture-perfect working distillery.  The visitor centre was awarded 5-star status by Visit Scotland recently.

Having said this, we arrived on a day when production was briefly suspended, but this gave an added interest.  From the road outside, we saw an enormous crane holding a very large cylindrical piece of copper – this was a condenser, from wash still No.2, being replaced.  The pagodas actually detach, to give access to the pot stills from the outside!

Strathisla produces a 12 year old, and 15 year old cask strength single malt, but is also at the heart of the famous blend Chivas Regal, and the distillery is the spiritual home of Chivas Brothers, who began trading in Aberdeen in 1801.  Upon entering the distillery, we see a lovely old painted sign bearing the legend ‘It does your heart good to drink Strathisla’!.

We also catch a rare glimpse of the most expensive and exclusive whisky we are ever likely to see – The Royal Salute Tribute to Honour – 45 years in the making, and even if you have the £200,000 asking price in your pocket, that does not guarantee you a bottle.  You’d have to submit an application to parent company Pernod Ricard, or, as they would prefer, travel to Strathisla for an interview with the man who made it – Strathisla’s master blender Colin Scott – more on this man’s legend later.  This blend includes Scott’s selections from the Chivas Brothers high aged whiskies at Strathisla – each of which is at least 45 years old.  The bottle itself is designed by London based jeweller to royalty, Garrard, using black porcelain set with 413 diamonds.

Back to the distillery tour we see the washbacks – made mainly from Oregon pine, but also some local pine from Strathdon.  In the sweet smelling tun room, every 6 hours one batch is ready for distillation.  There is one new steel washback, and this sparked the debate on pine versus steel – after many years of maturation in wood, could anyone really tell by taste if the washback had been made of pine or steel?

We then see the two squat and short necked Strathisla stills.  Both the copper and the shape of the stills are important to the flavour of the whisky produced, in this case producing the full flavoured spirit of Strathisla.  These stills are in operation for 48 or 49 weeks each year, and the spirit produced is in the cask within 24 hours of being made.

We view the mysteries of the spirit safe, and although there are computers now to help, this is still very much the distillers art – when to make the cut of the ‘heart’ of the spirit, between the ‘heads and tails’, as it travels through the safe. Sometimes tiny turquoise crystals can be seen in the spirit safe, a result of copper in the system.  The copper also acts as a catalyst to remove impurities.  Normally tourists are not allowed to take ‘photos of the spirit safe, due to risk of explosion from flash photography, but this is where we were lucky, as production had briefly been stopped for the condenser replacement, and just to be sure we had a co2/ethanol meter reading done before gettng these photos for you!

After travelling through the spirit safe, from this point on the liquid is subject to taxation, and as 1000 casks a day are being filled here, you can imagine the importance of the industrly to the country’s wealth, Strathisla being one of over 100 operating distilleries in Scotland.  So this naturally brings us on to the storage of these wonderful casks, kept strictly under lock, key, and supervision by customs and excise, at all times.  Strathisla’s large traditional dunnage (earthen floor, stone walls) warehouse is a fascinating sight to see.  There are hundreds of casks, of three different sizes – Bourbon barrels from America, the larger hogshead cask, and the very large Sherry butts, each one being used no more than 3 times, or up to a maximum of 60 years.  There are between 6 and 7 million casks of whisky maturing at any one time in Scotland, and with the entire population being around 5 million, that’s enough for one each and plenty to go round!

At one end of the warehouse, we get to see the famous Royal Salute Vault, with it’s leather armchair, writing desk, and precious stores of Royal Salute.  The name comes from an old Naval tradition, of firing a cannon shot into the water as ships from another country approached, indicating parley.  The Queen confers a Royal Salute from the Tower of London when a head of state visits.  There are the emerald, sapphire and ruby flagons of the Chivas Royal Salute, the rarer 100 cask selection, the fabulous Tribute to Honour, and even a small quantity of Royal Salute from the Queen’s coronation in 1953 – which we hear may be presented to a certain young couple on the birth of their new baby!

We are reminded by our guide that the whisky here is evaporating at a rate of 2% per year, known as ‘the angels share’.  Over 12 years that means one quarter of the liquid in the cask is gone, so the distillery has to distill double what it expects to sell.  If you are ever lucky enough to visit such a warehouse, take a deep breath in of this quite magical air, remember the lovely aroma, then, if you ever get to heaven, you can close your eyes and imagine you’re back in Speyside!

From here we go to the tasting room, to sample some delights laid out for us by Colin Scott, master blender.  This is strictly for work and research purposes, remember!  We tasted first the Strathisla single malt, then a grain whisky used in the blending, next we tried the Chivas Regal 12 year old, then the 21 year old Royal Salute, and our final tasting treat was the Chivas Regal 25 year old – which Jim Murray describes in the Whisky Bible as ‘beautiful… unbelievably juicy and mouthwatering…unadulterated class… leaves you demanding another glass.. brilliant’.  He was clearly as taken with it as we were, so much so that when it was launched in 2010 it won the Scotch blend of the year (18 years and over).  We did try to ask how much Strathisla goes into the Chivas blend – Colin’s answer to this was ‘enough’ -  other such percentage related questions were met with the same answer!  The man is clearly a master of his art, and the tasting session was a very enjoyable part of the day, although, as already stated, all in the line of duty for The Whisky Shop!

We had a fantastic day at Strathisla, and would thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone who can take the opportunity to do the same.

Slainte,

Lorna & Anna

In 2010 Belgium will get serious about whisky. Dominic Roskrow travelled to Liege to meet one of the country’s distilling pioneers

Great beer. Chocolate. Inspector Clouseau. Moules et frites. Eurocrats. The European President. Sprouts…Belgium is famous for several things, but whisky isn’t among them.

Even by the relatively modest European whisky achievements Belgium has slipped under the radar. Although it produces the world’s finest beers, its grain-produced alcohols have tended to be distilled in to genever rather than whisky. What whisky there is is produced by four and possibly five distilleries, all of them with roots in genever or other fruit liqueurs.

The results are patchy. At least one produces a spirit that is to our common understanding of what whisky should taste like what Kaliber Low Alcohol beer is to a fully fermented Belgian Trappist ale. Another is producing a three grain whisky that it didn’t even realise was whisky until it was pointed out by a visiting journalist.

Belgium, it is fair to say, is been very much on the fruity whisky fringes.

All that, though, might be set to change. Indeed, we may look back in a few years time on the year 2010 as the year Belgium stepped up to the whisky plate.
Ted Bruning’s excellent article on the Ankar Distillery at Mechelen near Brussels revealed that some time in the coming months the distillery will start producing malt spirit in Scottish copper stills.

And if all goes to plan The Owl Distillery, the country’s oldest single malt whisky producer, will also step up its operation, invest in Scottish stills, and start seeking new markets for its already high quality whisky.

Let’s clear up the name first and foremost. The Owl Distillery was established some five years ago by distiller Etienne Bouillon, farmer Pierre Roberti and the man with the cash, Luc Foubert. Bouillon owns a fruit liqueur company called Lambicool, which is why in some older books you will find Bouillon’s whisky referred to as such. Initially he called the whisky business PUR-E and the original underage malt spirit was called Pure Malt, but alerted to the possibility that the word ‘pure’ was likely to be cast adrift (and indeed now has been) the Belgians decided to call the new enterprise Owl and to name the whisky Belgian Owl.
He may have his roots in fruit distillation but Bouillon is certainly no slouch when it comes to whisky making. He has worked hard to learn the complexities of distilling and to find a way to create a distinctive but high quality Belgian malt. And when he needed to unlock the specific secrets of distilling malted barley he turned to no less a mentor than Jim McEwan to help him out. He attended McEwan’s whisky school at Bruichladdich, and has remained in touch with ever since, seeking out advice and help. McEwan has even travelled over to the distillery to see the operation for himself.

And it’s some operation. Certainly like nothing else in the world of whisky.

Why? Well for a starter, the whisky making process operates on three sites – the distillery in the Liege suburb of Grace Hollogne, the nearby farm belonging to Roberti, and a modern garishly lit warehouse storage unit on an industrial estate under the main motorway link between Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg. City, town and countryside all in one production process. The amount of moving liquid and casks between the sites means a huge investment in time and effort. Efficient it isn’t.

But there’s no compromise on quality. The region, bordered by three rivers, is ideal for growing barley and the fields around Roberti’s farm produce a rich strain known as Sebastian. This is malted elsewhere in Belgium before a being mashed at the farm. Then a tank full of wort is transported on the back of a truck back to the distillery.

Which brings us to the stills. There are two principle stills but they look like a pair of steam engines and trace their roots back to the late 19th century, dinky kettles comprised of black metal and copper mounted on wheels.

“They were probably used by French vineyards in the 19th century,” explains Bouillon. “They formed co-operatives and the stills would travel round distilling the wine from vineyard to vineyard. Each of them can take 500 litres and they are attached to a fermentation tank which can take 20,000 litres of wort. It takes about two weeks to distil all the wash.”

The new spirit is put in to casks and transported to an industrial warehouse. The dry conditions of the modern concrete structure has resulted in a whisky leaving the cask at 74% ABV – more than two degrees higher than when it was put in as spirit.

Finally the whisky is bottled on a small bottling unit back at the distillery and labels applied by hand.

It’s a clumsy, inefficient way of operating and one that has developed with its own momentum. But to take the next step up Bouillon and his partners realise it must change. And if it all goes to plan, that will happen this year.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us but we are hoping to move the whole operation to the farm,” says Bouillon. “We know what we must do and how we will do it but there remain one or to obstacles in the way.”

If it does happen The Owl Distillery will be a total delight. Surrounded by fields of barley deep in the countryside, production and storage will take place in one self-contained courtyard. It’s an ideal spot, and there’s even a little pagoda built above the main gateway.

“It was put there before there was any distilling and no one knows why,” says Bouillon. “It was if it was always meant to be that whisky was made here.”
A fitting place for whisky, then, especially one as good as this one – and it is good. Even at three or four years it’s a masterclass of fine whisky making – ample evidence that Bouillon was paying attention when Jim McEwan was doling out the advice.

Later, after a tour and vertical tasting from fledgling new make Belgian Owl though the early months and to the bold cask strength malt bottled just days before, we travel in to Liege for dinner. It’s an amazing place, vibrant and dynamic, even mid week in winter.

Once a neutral principality which became a rest and recuperation centre for soldiers from the countless wars that were once fought across central Europe, the city has a reputation for fun, and for outstanding food and drink. As we drive to dinner we pass a fun fair that occupies a site more than a kilometre long.
“There is always something happening here at all times of the year,” smile Etienne. “The people of Liege know how to have fun.”
A city of fun hosting an exciting new whisky? It works for me.

Yes, undoubtedly Belgium’s on the whisky scoreboard at last. And who knows, perhaps one day, as much a Belgian icon as Inspector Clouseau and moules et frites.

Two great distilleries, two great new releases now available to purchase only via the Whisky Shop. Some lucky W Club members will soon be receiving a sample of the lovely Talikser through the post with some more lucky members receiving the Tempest next week.

The Talisker Port Ruighe

A combination of Talisker’s powerful maritime character with succulent sweet notes of rich berry fruit for a superb contrasting taste experience. Bottled at a cask strength of 45.8% volume.

Bowmore Tempest 4

It has the DNA of all the other Tempest’s in terms of the Bowmore smokiness and sea salt tang and of course is matured only in ex-Bourbon casks at cask strength. But it is the beauty of small batch production and 100% first fill casks that enables us to produce the very different flavours apparent in this exceptional whisky which differentiates it slightly from the other award winning Tempest releases that have gone before.

Remember all W Club members receive 10% off each product simply click here to buy