Wemyss Malts The Independent Side
Most people come into whisky through distilleries. You learn the names, get a sense of what comes from where, start to expect a certain profile when you see a label. Over time you realise it doesn’t always land the same way, even from the same place.
Distilleries make the spirit and fill the casks, but not all of those casks stay with them as some get sold privately or snapped up by Independent bottlers. Years later they may show up under a different label and often handled a different way. With no pressure to match a house style or keep things consistent. If a cask goes in its own direction, it still gets bottled and appreciated.
Wemyss Malts is a Glengarry regular and their blends are solid, we’ve covered that in the previous article: (see here). This is the other side of what they do. Extremely rare runs of individual casks. In whisky terms, these types of releases go by IB, short for independent bottlings.
The Wemyss family have built this off long-standing relationships across Scotland over generations. It gives them access to casks from all over, and the freedom to bottle them as they find them.
They name each whisky after what it tastes like rather than leading with the distillery. It sounds simple, but it works. You get a read before you even pour it, which we like a bit of whimsy to the experience.
Halcyon Rays, the 15 year old Fettercairn, is on the lighter side. Honey, citrus, a bit of cream, with that soft waxy note underneath. It comes and goes pretty quickly, which suits it.
Gilded Haze from Royal Brackla has more weight through it. Baked fruit, malt, a bit of oak starting to show. Texture, texture!
Of Time and Tide, the 16 year old Caol Ila, dials the smoke back. Salt, lemon, a touch of ash. The smoke is clean and makes you feel as you're standing on the shoreline. A staff favourite!
Life’s a Peach from Dufftown is exactly that. Stone fruit up front, then honey and a bit of spice. Straightforward in a good way, yum!
A Walk in the Orchard, the 15 year old Macduff. Apple, pear, a bit of floral lift, good spirit backbone to support the fruit.
Good casks, bottled when they were ready. Once they sell through that’s it, so we say, enjoy them while you can.
