Stateways

SINGLE MALTS New Highland Releases ocated in the northern part of Scotland, the Highlands is the largest Scotch-producing region and the home to a majority of the country’s distilleries. The region’s peat-laced waters and cool, moisture-laded air is perfectly suited for making classic malts. The heartland of the region is the Speyside. Its malts are known for their sophistication, elegance and complexity, the most famous of which are The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich. THE GLENLIVET is the bestselling range of single malt Scotch in the U.S. and it may well remain that way with the 2010 expansion of their Speyside distillery. Issued to commemorate the reopening of the facility, The Glenlivet Founders Reserve was created using the same techniques that would have been employed when the distillery first opened in 1824. The limited release, 21 year old malt is non-chill fil- tered and bottled at cask strength. Also new to the range is The Glenlivet Nàdurra, a single malt aged for 16 years in ex-bourbon American oak casks and bottled at cask strength (57.2% alcohol). The Glenlivet range also includes category leader The Glenlivet 12 Years Old, 18 Years Old, Archive (21 years old), and Cellar Collection vintages 1983, 1959 and 1967. GLENFIDDICH remains the bestselling single malt Scotch whisky in the world. Its esteemed range took another giant leap forward with the release of Glenfiddich 40 Years Old Single Malt and Solera Reserve Single Malt, which is aged by a system modeled after Spanish Soleras. Three different types of wood are used in pro- duction—used bourbon barrels, sherry butts and new oak casks. The whiskies are then aged in Solera vats with the core age being a minimum of 15 years. The Glenfiddich portfolio includes the 12 Years Old; Ancient Reserve 18 Years Old and Glenfiddich 30 years old. L The Speyside district of the Highlands is also the home of the BALVENIE DISTILLERY. The Balvenie range is a compilation of five artisan expressions. Their flag- ship is the Balvenie PortWood 21 Years Old Single Malt; a whisky double barreled, first in traditional oak and then 30 years old, oak port pipes. The wine influences every aspect of the whisky. 44 The Balvenie distillery has released a series of cask strength marvels of late that includes The Balvenie Caribbean Cask, a 14 years old malt finished in Caribbean rums barrels, The Balvenie Madeira Cask, a 17 years old malt finished in Madeira barrels, The Balvenie Sherry Cask, a 17 years old malt finished exclusively in Oloroso Sherry oak barrels and The Balvenie Vintage 1975 Cask. After 180 years in the business, THE MACALLAN well deserves its lofty reputation among aficionados. The distillery has the deepest whisky reserves in all of Scotland and a colossal range that includes 33 distinctive bottlings and vintages. Their famed sherry oak single malts are bottled at 10 years, 10 years at cask strength, 12 years, 18 years and 25 years, while the ultra-popular The Macallan Fine Oak series features bottlings at 10 years, 12 years, 15 years, 17 years and 18 years. The innovative Fine Oak whiskies are a decided- ly lighter blend of malts, a result of introducing American oak whiskies to the mix. A fixture in the Highlands since 1843, the GLENMORANGIE DISTILLERY has always pro- duced nothing but single malt whisky. The dis- tillery markets bottlings of 10 years, 18 years and 25 years. Of equal stature is the distillery’s incomparable stable of extra matured malts. The most recently introduced of these 12 years old malts are Lasanta Extra Matured Sherry Cask, Nectar d’Or Extra Matured Sauternes Cask; and the Sonnalta PX, which spends 10 years in bourbon and 2 in Pedro Ximenez casks. The brand’s latest expression is Glenmorangie Finealta Private Edition, a recreation of a Glenmorangie recipe dating back to 1903.. Tucked away by the banks of the River Alness in the Northern Highlands, THE DALMORE is one of the region’s best-kept secrets. The Dalmore 12 Years Old Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, a malt comprised of whiskies aged in American white oak and Oloroso sherry casks. The award-winning Dalmore Gran Reserva Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky is aged 10 to 15 years in first-fill Oloroso sher- ry casks and American White Oak. The Dalmore 15 Years Old Single Highland Malt Scotch 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