Review 251. Ready for the OSWA’s, part 4: Indie Galore.

Two household names releasing ‘under our radar’ whiskies.

(Aka a bang for buck release from Cadenhead’s and a Ralfy botling by Signatory…)

I only recently did a post about independent bottlers when I was covering Scandinavian whiskies, and already I’m back on this topic? Yep, because we can’t highlight their importance and significance enough, in my opinion.

 Just  imagine, for a second, the whisky realm if we were to take away the whole concept of independent bottlers. We would be deprived of a lot of so much good whisky. And while the entire whisky landscape wouldn’t exactly be barren, we’d still be missing out on virtually all and everything  from the likes of Miltonduff, Gen Keith, Linkwood, Teaninich, Benrinnes, Dailuaine, Glenburgie, Glentauchers, Glenlossie,  etc… Not to mention the fact we’d likely be completely unfamiliar with well- aged single grains. More than that, some distilleries ‘excel’ at giving us  medicore or even downright disappointing official core ranges, and if I we weren’t shown what they are capable of by some  indie stunners,  we’d likely put them down as bland and uninteresting (looking at you here, Glenrothes, Auchentoshan and Ardmore). And on top of that, we might never even get to celebrate the wonderful stuff coming out of the likes of  Benromach or Springbank, as these were essentially saved/revived by indie bottlers (or the company owning them). Releases from closed distilleries would also  be few and far between. There would also be no Ardnamurchan, no Ardnahoe, no Torabhaig, no Strathearn, no The Cairn, no Kingsbarns, No Clydeside, no Aberargie – all distilleries founded by indie bottlers. In short: without indie bottlers, we’d be missing out. Big time!

So fair to say that indie bottlers have broadened our horizons, not just by releasing stuff from distilleries that otherwise wouldn’t see much in terms of official releases, but often also by outperforming many an official (core range) release in terms of quality and presentation. The samples I picked today may come from two of the ‘usual suspects’ / household names amongst indie bottlers (and in that regard it is quite remarkable to see how Cadenhead’s didn’t make it to the list of six nominations for the very first OSWA’s back in 2021), but this review very much is meant as a bit of an homage to all of them (again) as they have enriched the lives of so many enthusiasts.

Speaking of the OSWA’s – as that is the reason/excuse behind these reviews – the fact that Signatory bagged a trifecta last year and is now again a contender in the ‘best independent bottler’ category, probably makes more sense now than ever. What with their recent streak of great bang for your buck ‘100 proof series’, they ‘ve managed to combine (all but) cask strength bottlings  which are not just  widely available but with a RRP that will surely make them hard to ignore. And yet, my vote went to one of the smaller players in the game. Now that the polss are closed, I can easily admit to giving my vote to Watt Whisky, run by Mark and Kate Watt. For no other reason that I’ve quite enjoyed what I tried from them so far (at reasonable prices at that), and therefore deserve a bit of extra attention. The same applies for Dràm Mòr, who I reckon at least deserve a nomination. I know it’s harder for these smaller companies to get that ‘buzz’ going, especially seeing how they tend to  focus on single cask, cask strength releases, meaning each and everything they do will have a rather limited outturn of a few hundred bottles at best. Nonetheless, they deserve our attention and recognition, as they are probably some of the hardest working people in the industry, with a hands-on, DIY attitude written in their DNA.

What does surprise me (while it shouldn’t surprise me) when talking about independent bottlers and the OSWA’s, is how we tend to see the same 4 or 5 companies returning each year, leaving an empty spot for the proverbial ‘surprise’.  Signatory, Cadenhead’s and  Gordon & MacPhail are almost a given, and seeing how these are probably ‘the big three’ that totally makes sense. All the more reason why I find it strange not to see more from either Hunter Laing and Douglas Laing, as both are  not exactly at craft level either. Yet it seems they have to make way for the likes of noticeably smaller companies like North Star and Thompon Brothers, and in the past often to  Adelphi and the SMWS (both absent this year) as well. Obviously I feel everyone who makes it on the list of six merits it, and while  I get how  ‘choosing means losing’, I am a bit surprised when I see how a few other, often well-established bottlers have never even bagged a nomination. Elixir Distillers seems like another good example. They  have strong, reliable, affordable and recognizable subbrands with Port Askaig, Single Malts of Scotland and their Elements of Islay bottlings, yet never made it to the list of six. And what about James Eadie (great bang for buck) or Alistair Walker’s Infrequent Flyers (affordable and interesting, cask strength releases), not to mention Berry Brothers & Rudd?

With all these thoughts in mind, I did specifically pick out two samples from the various boxes filled with samples I have lying around. Both companies are nominated for this year, and both are available to many of us.

Cadenhead Enigma 2, blended Lowland malt 10 yo. 2024 release, 54.9% ABV, NC, UCF, app. €60-€70

Nose

Forget the cliché about the delicate Lowland ladies. This is a barrage of fruit and spices. Rich and bold on baking spices (cardamom and nutmeg) berries and rhubarb, marmalade, treacle, coffee and dark honey. With time it settles a bit and the fruit becomes the predominant factor (or my nose has become oversaturated, I’m definitely not ruling that out).

Palate

Slightly fizzy, a lot of fruity sweetness, spices and cereals. Coffee and treacle. Overall quite rich yet also well behaved, sitting on a medium full texture.

Finish

Spicy and peppery with a fair dose of salinity as well. Lingers on for a while.

Final thoughts

A flavor bomb, and a very good one at that. My one and only criticism, if you can even call it that, is that I feel the casks are doing a lot of the heavy lifting with his one. Rumoured to be tea spooned Aisla Bay, I would have loved it if a bit more of the spirit character shone through, because let’s be honest: how often do we get to taste anything from Ailsa Bay? Nonetheless: very tasty stuff and very well made, indeed. If these sherry cask driven releases are up your alley, I think you’d be hard stretched to find anything for this price bringing you this experience. A banger. Thank you very much, Sabrina!

Glenlivet 16 yo Signatory Vintage (2007 – 2023), Ralfy 1000 reviews release. First fill oloroso hogshead, 65.7% ABV (!!!), 288 bottles. About €130 on release, now likely auction fodder.

Nose

Dried red fruit (prune, raisins, figs), leather, wax/polish, toffee… the works! Underneath there’s this ‘lighter’ eucalyptus/menthol note that brings a freshness to things, countering all those heavy hitting darker notes. The overall result is absolutely stunning. Despite the very high ABV everything is accessible and civil and above all, super inviting.

Palate

On the arrival too, the ABV remains well behaved. I was bracing myself for a full on assault and a kick in the teeth, and while obviously the ABV is (very) noticeable, it’s never aggressive or overly hot or feisty  in any way. Again those polish and leather notes lead the way, with notes of toffee and dried red fruit in their aftermath. That freshness I got on the nose is nowhere to be found now, but what I’m finding is a pleasant touch of salted caramel. Let’s add some water… basically those red fruit notes alongside the leather and polish notes get cranked up even further with a lovely note of dark, bitter chocolate (I’m talking +75% cacao chocolate here) as well.

Finish

Dark treacle and chocolate, wood and spices.

Final thoughts

Wow! This is what you’d call a showstopper! Over the years  I’ve become somewhat cautious when dealing with 1^st fill oloroso casks, as I do think they can be a bit overpowering, if not erasing than certainly hiding a lot of the initial spirit characteristics. This, however, is an absolute joy to nose and sip. A powerhouse, but in the best of ways. It’s so well balanced, so layered, so complex and so full of flavour…a ‘thank you and good night, enjoy the fireworks’ kind of dram. Ralfy sure knows how to pick’m! Top notch stuff! (And muchos kudos to Nic for the sample!)

In the greater scheme of things, I do wonder if we’ll see new, exciting indie bottlers entering the scene soon. Much like we’ve seen a sort of stop of new distilleries in recent years, easily explained because of the shifting momentum, I feel the same may well apply to indie bottlers. Possibly if we wait a while we’ll see new indie bottlers popping  up. There are a lot of signs indicating how the market is sort of rebalancing itself after the boom and the frantic and overheated markets of recent years. Undoubtedly there will be a lot of excess /surplus booze lying about. Even with distilleries slowing down production once it became clear the sky wasn’t the limit after all, prices, if not of bottles, then probably of resources like grain and casks, are likely to witness a bit of a reset to ‘normality’ in times to come as demand (both from consumers as from producers) slows down again. So careful optimism is due that in a few years’ time, it may well be that it becomes interesting for new endeavors to see the light of day. As it stands, we are very lucky  to have tons of excellent indie bottlers out there so ‘count your blessings’ seems like an appropriate way to end this series. And on that note, it’s time for a wee Autumn break. See you all soon and as always thanks for reading and/or commenting. It’s all very much appreciated!