Keepers 2016 Bottling

Strathisla Distillery

Introducing the first in our series of exquisite single cask bottlings.

SOLD OUT

An Exquisite Bottling

No 1: Strathisla Distillery

The Management Committee are delighted to announce the release of our first private single cask bottling. The Member Companies will rotate the privilege of selecting a single cask from their portfolio ahead of each Banquet to build a prestigious collection exclusively for Keepers of the Quaich.BThe number of bottles available will depend on the type of cask expertly selected and will reflect the highest calibre that the Scotch Whisky industry can offer. This first release is cask 99642 of 1998 from Strathisla distillery in Speyside.

Get to know this release

Strathisla 1998

The Society has asked five of its respected Masters, Charlie MacLean, Susan Morrison, Dave Broom, Martine Nouet and Marcin Miller to sample the whisky in advance.

Charlie MacLean (bottle note)

Strathisla, 1998, Cask No. 99642 59.4% Non chill filtered
Colour: Rose gold with amber lights.
Nose: Sweet and fruity with notes of ripe peach, toffee apple and golden maple syrup.
Taste: A lush mouthfeel with wonderful rich flavour and syrupy texture. Delicious runny honey, homemade sweet orange marmalade all intermingled with a touch of cinnamon and toasted almonds.
Finish: Long, sweet and warming. Incredibly smooth.

Colour: Autumn yellow
Nose: This is a dram to take slowly and as it’s cask strength the slow addition of water. It starts with a quite intriguing mix of drying grass, cereal and sultana that brings to mind posh muesli from a health food store but there’s a sweetness and extra lick of heavy cream.
There is an ever shifting balance between dry and sweet, rich and fragrant. In time there’s some buttery millionaire shortbread and a hint of citrus. It develops into a considerably calmer, richer, and sweeter dram. Water teases out slight dryness followed by sweet nuts and blue berries.
Palate: As per the nose, although now the richer elements come through. There’s Crunchie bars (a Friday dram?) and the nut shell which is typical of the distillery. In time the mature liveliness of sherry adds layers of sweetness and power. The addition of water makes it more coherent, with lovely sweet elements. The mid-palate crunch is there, but has morphed into nougat, praline, and dried lemon and ginger.
Finish: Light marzipan initially, but when neat there’s a lovely and long-lasting clover honey hit that soothes the throat with ginger sizzling in the finale.

Colour: Bright gold with delicate lemony hues.
Nose: Intense and deep. An inviting close pas de deux between oak and fruit. Chocolate coated apricot and mango melting with polished antique furniture. Enhanced by a cedar touch and a hint of moss. With time, a sweet toffee apple note brings it back on the dessert table.
Palate: Smooth satin-like texture, almost velvety. Sweet at the start with oak melting, fruit, marzipan and toffee. Apricot again, stewed apples in honey. Then a drier sensation on the tongue reveals spicy cinnamon and crystallised ginger. Alcohol is perfectly mastered, maintaining a tantalising balance between sweetness and sharpness. Lusciously rich and elegant.
Finish: Lingering and drying with soft spices and a gently soothing finish of licorice and marzipan. The perfect companion of a Bakewell tart or calissons d’Aix, with marzipan and candied melon. A drop of water will bring out more oaky notes. Definitely Mozartian.

Colour: Brightly golden with amber highlights.
Nose: Rich and beguiling with notes of nectarine, apricot, chocolate-covered orange peel and tobacco. To begin there is a harmonious balance of fruit and oak before attractive hints of toffee apple emerge.
Palate: Opulent mouthfeel with the texture of velvet; delicious honey, orange marmalade and dried apricots are followed by toasted almond, pistachio, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. A Moroccan feast of spicy tagine and sticky baklava…
Finish: The long finish begins with hot pepper and ginger spice but fades over time to apricot frangipane. Delightful complexity with textbook balance retained throughout.

This first Keepers’ dram is bright and clear in colour reminiscent of a pale apple blossom honey. Its initial nose is fresh, clean and crisp giving way to creamy toffee apples, sugared almonds and Portuguese custard tarts. Hints of almond biscuits and toasted nuts eventually reveal more exotic fruity notes with a touch of pineapple, lychee and citrus. A deeper oaky note and gently spiciness allude to its lengthy 18 years in a second fill sherry butt and give the perfect balance to this soft yet complex dram. A sip of this whisky displays a beautiful soft, silky mouthfeel with an explosion of gentle sweet, nutty and vanilla-like flavours before the onset of a deep, dry warming finish.

Strathisla Distillery

No 1: Strathisla Distillery

Strathisla 1998

A lovely and long-lasting clover honey hit

Lusciously rich and elegant

Delightful complexity with textbook balance retained throughout

A soft yet complex dram

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