Scottish vs. Irish? What’s Bourbon? Chapter 3 is here to help you distinguish between whiskies from different countries.
The man behind this creation is one of the ‘big 4’ as referred to in the whisky industry – James Buchanan. There is a lovely short video on the story of Black & White whisky that we will find and post shortly but for now a short snippet.
James moved at the age of 30 in the year 1879 from Leith to London. He worked as an agent for Charles Mackinlay (The folks who bottled whisky for the Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition). His formative years in Scotland presented him the knowledge and friends in the industry early on, hence when working as an agent, James learnt that the English folk did not appreciate the robustness of the whiskies (most whiskies at the time were pure malt or contained very little grain).
Being a shrewd businessman and with his knowledge of the blenders in Scotland he started his own enterprise by sourcing a whisky from Glasgow blenders W. P. Lowrie & Co. It was named the “Buchanan’s blend”. Dalwhinnie, Clynelish and Glendullan were the distilleries from which the whisky was sourced. This was around the year 1884 and this blended whisky was supplied in a distinct black bottle with a white label. Within a year of this whisky being marketed it became extremely popular and made its way to the members bar at the House of Commons in London.
This whisky was renamed by James as “House of Commons Finest Old Highland whisky”; but the story goes that the public did not care much for its name but rather referred to it as ” That Black & White Whisky” owing to the bottle and label colours. This name was adopted by James Buchanan and thus Black & White brand name was created around the year 1902.
The terriers on the label came much later between 1930 -1940, when James visited an animal show and incorporated a picture of them in the label. This remains to be one of the best and early trademarks of the industry. This brand now forms a formidable part of the blended scotch whiskies portfolio at Diageo.
In this post bottle 1(without the royal warrant) estimated from around the 50’s and the subsequent one is from the 70’s nstrating the label evolution.
Hot malt! This was one of the bottles that one had to chase in the USA
Deep sherry influence and a phenomenal cask strength whisky.
Name: Amrut Aatma (USA Exclusive)
Series: Single cask, Single Collector’s Series
Cask Type: Port Pipe
Cask # 4670
Unpeated Barley
Distilled: April 2013
Bottles: December 2020
One of 360 bottles
Confused about what makes a blended whisky? Curious to know where your whisky is from? Ever secretly wondered what ‘single malt’ even means? Then Chapter 2 is for you!
‘A bottle with a soul’ words used by Ashok C (a famous master distiller) describing an old bottle of Antiquary Blended Whisky. Shared by a generous gentleman called Krishna Nukala that some of you folks may recognise.
Back in time Amrut/ Jagdale were the distributors of Tomatin which is the malt used in this blend. The brand was established in 1888 by J & W Hardie and was named after a novel by Sir Walter Scott.
History and the story is something that has drew me towards Whisky and Scotch in particular. The Waverley Novels are a series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). They were widely read novels in Europe and Antiquary was the third of the series. Said to be the favourite of the author this novel centres on the character of an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity.
This was bottled in the 1960s and has a delightfully illustrated label. Observe the words on the label ‘At last I have found it!’ The package and the label epitomizes elegance and class. What a find and what a story. Privileged to hold such a bottle and taste it.
Name : The Antiquary – Deluxe Old Scotch whisky
Period – 1960’s
Abv 43%
Italian Import
The Tomatin distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in the village of Tomatin. Its whisky is classified as being from the Highland region, as it is 25 minutes south of Inverness. Around eighty percent of Tomatin’s whisky goes into blended whisky, including its own brands of Antiquary and Talisman. Now I’ll stop before I bore you with my fascination of the story almost overtaking the whisky itself
Nose: Perfumy, fragrant and light. Medows of flowers and vegetation, there is a slight hint of earthiness, and slightly metholated syrup. Can just nose this for an hour.
Mouth: Oh what joy! Starts off with just a hint of bitterness before blossoming into wet wood and super enjoyable bitters. Very light on the palate but the 43% in this Whisky is perfect, making its presence
On this edition of #FunFacts…Learn more about the smallest of the whisky cask sizes!
And the results are in…Congratulations to Tobias Carvalho, the lucky winner of our highly sought-after Amrut Amaze III bottle! Thank you for helping us grow our community of whisky enthusiasts.Stay tuned for more exciting contests and exclusive giveaways.
ABV- 46%
Colour: Between burnished & chestnut oloroso sherry
Now this is very interesting and a bold move by the torch bearers of single malt whisky in the modern age for India- Amrut. So lets get some of the facts straight before we dive into the notes about the whisky.
It is a single malt whisky which has been ‘matured & bottled’ in Amrut Distilleries Bangalore. If you notice the ‘Distilled’ word is missing from the usual label details. The name also is suggestive with “Single Malts of India” being called out. So, this whisky has been distilled elsewhere but is being bottled by Amrut. Progressive is what comes to mind.
If a manufacturer like Amrut has picked a whisky distilled elsewhere and has decided to bottle this as a one-off bottling; it must be interesting to say the least, and of course it had the word ‘peated’ added to it, does it need a further invitation? I guess not.
Neidhal – A word picked from the south Indian language of Tamil stands for a place close to the seaside (now I know what you may be thinking, hold your horses) Must commend on the very elegant packaging and a change in the bottle shape by Amrut.
Nose: This is lovely costal peat. Oh boy this one is a bloomer keep it aside in a copita for around 5 minutes before nosing and you will see what I mean. It’s not a peat slap from Islay but way more refined. Fenny? Or is my mind playing games? One can feel the brine on the nose. Underground cellar and earthiness, very beautiful indeed. There is some citrus and orange peel in the distant backdrop. The typical sweetness of Amrut distillate is missing and there is more dryness out here. This nose by itself is on a 90+ score. Very enjoyable. Its like the Laphroaig 18 year old but there are more layers to this, in terms of dimensions of fruit, sea salt, peat. It does have a bit of smoked bacon note too.
Mouthfeel: Keep this in your mouth and wait for the drink to evolve from a cool inert sensation it moves to spiced bitterness wafts of smoke and touching on that brine. That bitterness is a very enjoyable one, like bitter chocolate dipped in peated whisky. This is a lovely mouthfeel. It’s got that very luxurious and buttery texture to it and almost devoid of any edges, very balanced and rounded. Some green vegetation and flora in the mix.
Finish: Medium finish and has a lingering note of dry upper peat in your mouth. This is not very long but has the remnants of flavours tingling for a while. The bitter note persists for a bit.
If dry bittersweet peat whisky is your thing this is a bottle you would not want to miss. Very well done indeed. Get a bottle and start guessing where this has been distilled!
Member Since: 2019
Occupation: Product Manager at an international bank
Location: Hong Kong
Favourite Whiskies: Port Ellen, Rosebank, St. Magdalene & Brora
Damodharan, popularly referred to as ‘Damoo’, loves photography and enjoys shooting whenever time permits. Flower photography and landscapes are his prominent subjects. Western classical music and badminton are his other areas of interest. In Hong Kong, Damoo runs a private group called DesiDram HK, where he hosts private whisky tastings for whisky aficionados. He also runs a social media page called The Whisky Journey. When not indulging in whisky, he enjoys wine and tea. An avid traveller, Damoo has been restricted due to COVID.
About Whiskies:
He can spend hours nosing old school whiskies. Damoo prefers vintage ex-bourbon cask whiskies;fruity, delicate Islays (not heavily peated whiskies) & old styled ex-sherry cask whiskies appeal to him the most.
Recent Partaking Experience:
“A very memorable tasting event comparing Port Ellen vs Brora was quite exhilarating and an amazing experience! The complexities of the whiskies cannot be told. Quite layered and a multitude of flavours could be experienced.
Do you know other whisky enthusiasts?
Here’s a chance to win our highly sought-after Amrut Amaze III bottle that you can enjoy with friends or family:
Step 1: Encourage your single malt whisky enthusiast to sign up for our FREE membership.
Step 2: Once they have registered, head to https://bit.ly/3BYBnKi and share both your membership IDs.
That’s it! Simple and easy.
CONTEST DURATION: 9th-16th September.
This is one contest you don’t want to miss.
*T&Cs apply. The contest is open for participants aged 25 years and above, across the globe. Winner will receive a voucher for the Amrut Amaze III bottle, to be redeemed at Anurag Wines (Bangalore, KA).
We are thrilled to announce our association with Dewars Wine Stores, Bangalore’s oldest and most well-known liquor store. This family business has been associated with spirits since 1903. And, in 1946, its iconic store was set up on St. Marks Road. Dewars has always been known as a specialty store in its own way, as it brings together old-world charm (in terms of its location and feel) mixed with modern-day appeal (because of its portfolio of spirits). Started by his great grandfather, today, it is run by Vikram, who is the 4th generation owner.
Vikram enjoys conversing with customers, sharing knowledge of various spirits, and learning first-hand information about new products. A whisky man himself, Vikram enjoys single malts with a larger percentage of Sherry in them. His favourites are Macallan Double Cask, Aberlour, Aultmore, and Glengoyne.
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements and exclusive launches through this partnership, in the next few weeks!
At the onset of the pandemic, we were faced with the challenge of trying to replicate the feel of social gatherings in a virtual setting. From online tasting sessions and debates to in-depth conversations with master distillers, we have been exploring unique ways to engage with you, our valued members.
Thank you New Indian Express for the feature. We hope to meet with our community of whisky lovers soon!
Head to https://bit.ly/38zeBMv to read the full story.
Check out our YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/2YtpFt3 to learn more about the virtual experiences we curated during the pandemic.
