Here’s an interesting take on bottling different vintages of whisky. I got this press release yesterday. I’m still not sure whether I like (or don’t like) the 20cl size. I guess it would make it easier to finish the bottle quickly and then go on to the next release. Your thoughts?
A vintage for every occasion!
Today sees the launch of The CÀRN MÒR Vintage Collection, a collection of 24 different Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, from 24 different distilleries, from 24 individual casks, from 24 different vintages.
The 20cl limited edition collection starts with a unique 2006 vintage Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Glentauchers Distillery from a bourbon barrel . A different distillery expression has been bottled for each subsequent year through to a 25 years old 1983 Caol Ila Hogshead.
The label gives detailed information on the vintage, the distillery, year of bottling, cask type, cask number and limited edition volume.
A novel introduction is the inclusion of a small ‘Note’ panel, allowing consumers the opportunity to record a message, personal tasting notes or even their own marks out of 10.Kenny Mackay, Managing Director of the Scottish Liqueur Centre, who are producing The CÀRN MÒR Vintage Collection, commented “It appeals to consumers on so many levels; as a gift to celebrate a special occasion or birthday. For the collector, it offers an inexpensive route into 24 limited edition bottlings; and for the whisky enthusiast it offers the opportunity to collect your very own Single Malt Whisky anthology.”
The CÀRN MÒR Vintage Collection will be available from Specialist Whisky retailers across the globe. Bottled at 46% alc and with no colouring or chill filtering each expression has the natural colour obtained from the cask. The 20cl bottles start with a RRP of £8.95 through to £19.95 for the 25 years old Caol Ila. A different Limited edition cask will be bottled to replace each vintage as they are depleted.
“It is our intention to offer stockists of the complete collection of 24 bottles their own bespoke display plinth and we have already had consumers in the UK and Japan showing interest in the full set. It’s the ultimate gift for any whisky enthusiast.” said Kenny.
For Further Information contact:
• Glen Moore
The Cairn Consultancy
E-mail: glen@cairnconsultancy.com
• Kenny MacKay
The Scottish Liqueur Centre
E-mail: kam@scottish-liqueur-centre.co.uk
I just received two bottles of their MacDuff 2005 4 year old. It was a nice inexpensive way to try something this young without needing a big bottle of it. Also nice was the fact the spirit is not coloured. as mine was still white. Great chance to drink from my favourite distillery a young almost new-make whiskey. I emailed them and even got tasting notes.
Rick, that sounds great. Anyone else try these yet?
(in 70cl bottles) i’ve ordered 2 of their
recent releases= a Linlithgow <(=cask)#2220,
25/82-08, 61.8% @GBP 68.08, ex.vat & a Glen
Keith <#13676, 19/90- , 52.3% @56.48, from
different UK retailers. when those arrive
& i try ‘em, i’d like to report, BUT, as we
have previously discussed, the blog doesn’t
have a practical way to do that. the same
problem will occur when the new Benriachs & Glendronachs come, are tasted & celebrated=
the existing blog posts will by then be so
out of date, only the curious wanderer thru would find anything later deposited there.
an archival solution is possible= But it’d
take up valuable space on the right & be a
right fair piece of work to set up.
i’ve yet to see a retail offering of the 20
cls, but WELCOME any format that allows me to try something for less than it’ll cost if
& when i later take the plunge. the 4 times
a regular miniature size seems to me to be just about right= enough for a small tasting
with the possibility of returning for a 2nd
refresher dip^ i only wish they’d make a
few of ‘em cask strength. many retailers
might think this will be a royal pain, BUT,
in this economy they should be happy for any
idea that has a chance to sell.
beyond that, after the novelty wears off, the 4 to 25 year old thing is probably going
to seem redundant/less attractive. why not just offer a few of the smaller size items alongside as many of the regular bottles as
might be thought a good sell? on occasion,
RMW has brought out a 10cl to go with it’s
70 &, when the bigger bottle sells out before the smaller, you’d think it’s been a
good thing. then again, a complete set of
anything whisky is probably as good a gift
for the collector as the enthusiast. i’d
suggest doing both the set & the big/small, but maybe that should wait ’till they see
how this works out.
BTW, these people appear to have put a lot
of thought into their fairly new opperation.
their bottles/packaging are well designed &
far more attractive than some other recent
efforts. i just hope the contents of the
bottles measure up to the PR shenanigans^
I’m a big fan of the 200ml bottle if it’s priced right.
Two of my favorite buys were the 2006 and 2007 “Classic Islay Collection” gift packs from Diageo. I got both packs for half the price of a single Port Ellen Annual Release bottle, and scored 400ml each of Laga 12 & 16 and Caol Ila 12 & 18, plus 200ml each of PE 6th and 7th Annual releases. I probably never would have tried the PE otherwise, which would have been a shame.
With all of these single cask and batch releases lately, I’d love to have access to smaller bottles of those, too. It would be fun to compare multiple batches without the commitment to full cost and full storage.
Depending on the price points, this is brilliant. I was just talking with a friend today about how there are not enough miniatures and small (20 cL) bottles sold in the US. It would greatly expand my ability to try new whiskies if distilleries (or distributors) would release more of these types of products.
One of my favorite purchases in the last few months has been the Islay Gift Pack from Whisky Exchange – 5 20cL bottles of Port Ellen 7th Release, Lagavulin 12 and 16, and Caol Ila 12 and 18.
I want much more whisky in these sizes at my local stores (I’m in NYC, so that fact that I can’t find them here means they’re pretty scarce).
I feel like Whisky Party and I just showed up at a party wearing the same shirt. Kind of embarrassing, but it IS a nice shirt.
So, it looks like they have a good thing going here, if they can keep the quality of the product high, and the price reasonable.
And yes Jeff, it IS a nice shirt. I have to get me one of those…
[...] Hansell blurbs the release of CÀRN MÒR vintage collection, a release of 20cL bottles from 24 different vintages from 24 different casks, from 24 different [...]
Harvey, please do report your thoughts. Don’t worry, many of my blog followers only check in weekly, and then they go through all the postings.
FYI.. my cost on the 4yo MacDuff was 8.99 UK Pounds per bottle (plus shipping of course.) Seemed a reasonable price.
I would be interested in purchasing such a variety of whiskies. Kind of like a whisky buffet. A little bit of everything.
I love the smaller bottles and sampler sets. I wish more were offered, especially from distilleries like Bruichladdich that seem to release a gazillion different whiskies every year.
Of course the price per volume of whisky will be higher for smaller bottles, but I am certainly willing to pay a (reasonable) premium in order to try more whiskies.
Jon W, good point. And yes, it would be nice if Bruichladdich offered sampler packs, given the number and diversity of their releases.