The whisky year that was: young whisky is setting new standards

2023 has been another year where we could welcome a whole lot of releases from new, 21st-century distilleries. It’s becoming quite hard to keep up, but from the top of my head we’ve had Holyrood’s ‘Arrival’, Isle of Harris’ ‘The Hearach’, Ballindalloch’s ‘Inaugural release’, while also welcoming the Wolfburn 10 year old as well as Lagg’s first core range expressions ‘Kilmorie’ and ‘Corrievracie’ following their inaugural releases from 2022. These alongside more established distilleries coming up with brand new products too, like Glenallachie’s peated Meikle Tòr range, Loch Lomond’s Steam & Fire or Glen Scotia’s Icons of Campbeltown series. You can bet on it that I’m missing a few left, right and centre, and the ones I’ve summed up here are just a handful of the frankly staggering amount of new releases we’ve witnessed in the past 5 or so years. Nc’Nean, Lindores, Kingsbarns, Ardnamurchan, Lochlea, Glasgow, Raasay, Dornoch, … all of these distilleries have quickly claimed their place within the endlessly growing whisky landscape. And dozens more are on the way.

It is inevitable that these young whiskies are having an effect on both the industry as well as on the whisky community. Pessimists will state that the current whisky boom, combined with external factors, is putting a strain on stability and continuity, as resources are becoming scarce and hugely expensive, while the market is steadily nearing the point of saturation. Likely they are not wrong.

Optimists will state that the new wave of distilleries are challenging the status quo, bringing a much needed breath of fresh air to the industry. Very often we, as a community, find ourselves connected to many of these new players, because they tend to be approachable, and are fully aware of the possibilities modern communication technology offers them to build a relationship with a customer base. Also, they tend to be focussing on quality and integrity more than anything, which translates into them stepping away from age old marketing clichés, and putting the focus of attention towards factual information when it comes to branding and marketing their product. These optimists too, are not wrong.

Whatever way you look at things, there’s no denying the fact that whisky is at an all-time high. And this despite a series of calamities and obstacles in recent years. Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, a renewed determination from many Governments to tax the shit out of spirits, alongside an all but slumbering climate crisis: it reads as setback after setback after setback, and still it seems there’s no stopping the global success of whisky.

A consequence of all of the above, is that we’re also paying premium prices for often quite young whisky. And when you think about it, it’s downright odd, the way our minds work (present company included, by the way). One example? Last year, Billy Walker released a 4 year old peated Glenallachie – very likely one of the first ever Glenallachie whiskies that wasn’t just recasked and bottled, but also distilled with Billy Walker at the helm. Price tag: €80, or there about. My immediate reaction was ‘no way I’m paying that amount of money for a 4 year old whisky’. Yet here I am, a year later, about to review a NAS bottling from a distillery that was founded in 2019, for which I paid an almost equally respectable €70.

So, and this is the pessimist in me speaking: I am concerned that, as an (unwanted) side effect of the success of the young distilleries, prices of whisky will increase even further in the near future. While we understand why it’s impossible for a lot of these 21st century distilleries to release their product somewhere around the €35-€40 mark, and we’re willing to cut them a bit of slack when it comes to the RRP of their whisky, it’s not unthinkable that it will lead to price increases across the board. It makes for an interesting paradox to see that despite the unprecedented supply, matched by an equally unprecedented demand, prices show no sign of slowing down. And of course I’m not pointing the finger here towards these new distilleries as it’s far more likely a treacle down effect of the deliberate premiumisation strategy initiated mostly by Edrington with Macallan and Highland Park, (eagerly adopted by the likes of Diageo and Moët Hennesy), but you can bet on it that when some companies take one closer look at the retail price of a bottle of 5 year old-ish Lochlea or Lindores, they’ll use it as a welcome excuse to justify charging a premium for their own products.

So to summarize: yes, young distilleries are paving the way and setting the bar in terms of quality and integrity presentation, both when it comes to what’s inside the bottle as what’s on the label, but inevitably, we’re paying, and sometimes overpaying, for it as well.

We can only hope that they will maintain the price ranges that are being set today for those releases yet to come in the future, meaning that part of the unwritten contract implies that we can accept paying €65 or €70 for 3, 4 or 5 year old whisky in 2023, assuming we’ll be still paying those prices when these distilleries are releasing 8, 9 or 10 year old whisky 5 years from now. Because €70 for a 4 year old whisky is asking a lot. Both from the whisky itself, but also from us customers. I feels as if today’s whisky is proof of that.

Lagg Corriecravie Edition. Sherry Cask finish. 2023 release, 55% ABV, NC, UCF, paid €70

Nose

Earthy, wet forest soil and wet wood, treacle, thick and dense pear or prunes syrup going into stewed fruit. Burnt butter, with a dark, deep yet almost understated peat note underneath. At the same time it’s youthful, with notes of cola cubes and an almost fizzy sensation to it. Add a drop of water and the peat becomes more vibrant and prominent.

Palate

A rich, full-on arrival of wood, treacle and dark demerara sugar, all sitting on a thick layer of earthy peat, making for a medium full, slightly viscous mouthfeel. Despite the clear peat notes here, I ‘m picking up very little smoke, none at all in fact. And while this is being released at 55% ABV, it’s very drinkable neat. With some water in the glass, everything gets cranked up a notch, all the notes becoming more noticeable and alive, but it also made it more peppery – hot.

Finish

Long, woody, with clear echoes of treacle and peat.

Final thoughts

There is no doubt in my mind that Lagg will become excellent whisky, but in my opinion it’s not quite there yet. It took me some time to get along with this bottle, and as I’m now roughly halfway through it, I can say that it’s growing on me. A very busy malt – demanding your attention as there’s a lot going on. But, and here’s the thing: I’m not convinced all of the notes, all those buzzing little bees, are integrated all that well. You can tell there were some very active casks involved in the maturation process, but I can’t but feel that they’re humming a different tune than the spirit. While I can see the appeal to rush out and embrace everything Lagg is doing (being the sister distillery of Arran, they can pretty much bank on it that people will), the current price tag isn’t fair on this whisky. Nor is it on the customer. Unless you’re located in the Netherlands or Germany where you can pick this up for around €55-€60, I won’t be in a hurry to replace this bottle just yet. A case of curiosity killing the whisky filled kitten, as I too was eager to try this. And while I don’t regret spending my money on this one and I am enjoying my time with it, it will need to progress and evolve to warrant the asking price. And I’m confident that it will. As for now: 82/100