Stateways

proof blend of old heavily peated malts fin- ished in Oloroso sherry butts and bottled unfiltered in its natural state. When it comes to adventurous malts, the Scottish island of Islay reigns supreme. The isle’s oldest distillery is BOWMORE, which still crafts whiskies its own floor-dried malted bar- ley peat-enriched water from the River Laggan. Their range here in the U.S. includes Bowmore 18 Years Old Islay Single Malt and the cask strength Bowmore 15 Years Old Darkest Sherry Malt bottled at. New to the portfolio is the Bowmore Vintage 1999, which is a 16 years old malt finished in wine barrels and bottled at cask strength. The LAPHROAIG experience is most compa- rable to bungee jumping. It intimidates many, but those brave souls willing to take the plunge are rewarded with the ride of their life. Such is the excur- sion waiting for those fortunate enough to sample Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Islay Malt It is first matured in ex-bourbon barrels and then transferred to quarter casks for finishing. This double maturation in a smaller barrel allows for greater contact with the wood. The famed Laphroaig portfolio also includes a 10 Years Old Cask Strength, 15 Years Old and 30 Years Old. Each is an intriguing spirit deeply imbued with the fla- vor of the sea. The ARDBEG DISTILLERY is one of the old- est and smallest distilleries in Scotland. Aged for 10 years in seasoned American oak casks and bottled at 92 proof, Ardbeg Single Islay has the distinction of being the most heavily peat- ed single malt. New to the Ardbeg portfolio are the 10th Anniversary edition of Rollercoaster, which is bottled at cask strength (57.3% alcohol), the 2nd edition of Supernova 2010 (60.1% alcohol) and non-chill filtered Airigh Nam Beist Vintage 1990. New Malts from Campbeltown and the Lowlands L 46 ocated on a peninsula near the island of Islay, Campbeltown was once considered Scotland’s whisky capital. Where once more than 30 distilleries flourished, Springbank and Glen Scotia are the last remaining entities. SPRINGBANK is the oldest, family-owned distillery in Scotland. The principals are fiercely independent, insisting on making their whisky in the same manner as they have for a 150 years. The family is involved in every stage of production—from the cutting of peat to final bottling. The distillery’s range of handcrafted triple-dis- tilled, lightly peated malts is awash with choices. Its core releases are 46% alcohol and include bottlings at 10 years old, 15 years old and 18 year old. Among the distillery’s creative range of single malts are recent arrivals Springbank 11 Years Old Madeira Wood Finish Cask Strength (110.2% alcohol), Springbank 12 Years Old Cream Sherry Wood Finish Cask Strength (112.2% alcohol), Springbank 12 Years Old Fino Sherry Wood Finish Cask Strength (112.6% alcohol) and Springbank 12 Years Old Amontillado Sherry Wood Finish Cask Strength (110.2% alcohol). The Springbank distillery also produces the heavily peated, double- distilled LONGROW malts, a range that includes Longrow 7 Years Old Gaja Barolo Wood Finish, which is bottled at cask strength (55.8% alcohol) and the Longrow 10 Years Old (50% alcohol). First introduced in 2005, HAZELBURN SINGLE MALTS are the newest releases from the Springbank Distillery. The unpeated whiskies are triple-distilled, matured in Sherry oak and bottled at 46% alcohol. Hazelburn malts bottled in limited quantities in two expressions—at 8 years old and the recently released 12 Years Old. Malts made in the Lowlands of Scotland are often overshadowed by those produced in the Highlands. It’s an unfortunate oversight as Lowland malts are soft, light and fruity, largely due to the region’s propensity for triple distilling. The best-known distiller of the Lowland malts is AUCHENTOSHAN, whose range includes a 10-year-old (40% alcohol) and 21- year-old (86 proof). The most prestigious of the region’s whiskies is Auchentoshan Three Wood Lowland Single Malt, a distinctive triple-distilled malt finished in 3 different types of oak casks—used bourbon barrels, oloroso sherry butts and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The distillery has also released two expressions matured for 18 years. One is aged solely in American oak barrels (43% alcohol), while the second is matured in Oloroso Sherry casks and bottled at cask proof (55.8% alcohol). StateWays  www.stateways.com  March/April 2011

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Editor's Note
• Dateline
• Spotlight on Minnesota
• Growth Brands
• Logging On
• Scotch
• Mixing It Up
• Ad Index