Tag Archives: Morrison & MacKay

The Whisky Shop Dufftown Challenge for Independent Bottlers

This entry was posted in Whisky Tastings and Events News and tagged , , , , , , , on by .

This is the first of our articles following The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2017.

Once again this year we laid down the challenge to independent whisky merchants to find the best independent bottling in two categories: Speyside Whisky; and the Rest of Whisk(e)y.

We run our challenge throughout the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and it is judged by guests who come in to our shop in a blind tasting.  It was fun and relaxed and people really enjoyed the experience.  We had over 300 guests of the festival  sample the whiskies in the challenge and nearly 200 voted for their favourite.

Speyside

The Speyside Category was fiercely contested but we had a clear winner in Aultmore 2008 6 Years Old from Stilnovisti which gained a third of the votes.  Stilnovisti have recently set up an office in Dufftown and it was great of them to find some whisky for us.  Particularly as they stole the show with a young whisky which beat off some much older competition.  This proved yet again that it is the liquid that counts the most and not the age.  We consider this to be a win for the Dufftown whisky region!  Second place was taken by the Adelphi Breath of Speyside 2006 10 Years Old and third place by Old Particular Craigellachie 1995 21 Years Old.

Stillnovisti Aultmore 2008 6 Years Old

Rest of Whisk(e)y

We had a runaway winner in the Rest of Whisky category with 40% of the votes, Old Particular Strathclyde 2005 11 Years Old.  We are hoping to get more stocks in shortly.  The rogue entry from Gordon & MacPhail, The English Whisky Co English Peated Single Malt came second and Old Perth came third.

Old Particular Strathclyde 2005 11 Years Old

Note:  We define the rest of whisky to be any alcoholic beverage which is derived from any grain, distilled and then matured in oak casks. It can be a blend or blend of malts. It does not have to be distilled, matured or bottled in Scotland. However, it cannot be defined to be from Speyside. Should there ever be a grain distillery in Speyside then we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

A big thank you to Adelphi, Douglas Laing, Gordon & MacPhail, Morrison & MacKay, Stilnovisti and Wemyss Malts.

Best Tasting Notes

We also have a competition for the best tasting notes submitted by one of our guests.  This year the best tasting notes came from Will Burtt and he wins a bottle of the Stilnovisti Aultmore which he voted for as his favourite.

Here is a flavour of some of Will's comments:

  • "like a distant steam train"
  • "like the very first taste of fresh Cornish vanilla ice cream"
  • "who would you give your last Rolo too?"
  • "lying in a field of lavender with a big spoon of honey"

 

A big thank you to all the guests who took part.

See you all next year!

The Whisky Shop Dufftown's Next Exclusive Bottling with a Twist

This entry was posted in Blog, New Whisky Releases and Bottlings, Tasting Notes and tagged , , , on by .

Buried at the back of the Morrison & MacKay warehouse, uncovered as they prepared to leave for their new premises, was found a small quantity of an exceptional whisky.  To be bottled as a Celebration of the Cask this Strathmill 1990 was from an ex-Sherry Butt and originally put in to glass in 2015.  It is a stonkingly good dram and we at The Whisky Shop Dufftown have agreed its escape plan.

Interested?  Intrigued?  Here are our tasting notes:

Nose: Garibaldi biscuits.  Rich fruit cake.  Raisin toffee.  Dark treacle and dark cherries.  It's all there on the nose.

Taste: Chewy raisin flapjacks.  So moreish.  Rum & raisin fudge.  Malt loaf (not meat loaf of either variety).  Bonfire toffee.  The complete picture for a well balanced and complex sherry cask whisky.

Finish: Mint humbugs with warming spice.  Warm Cointreau and a touch of menthol.

What's the price for this 25 Years Old masterpiece? Just £105.  How do I get hold of one?  Well here comes the twist.  There will be only 60 of these Celebration of the Cask Strathmill's.  It will be launched at Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2017 but we want the guests that come along to Peter Mackay's tasting at 17:30 on Monday 1 May 2017 to be assured of getting a bottle so it will not go on sale until The Final Drop should there be any left after Peter's tasting.

What's more.  Here is the another twist.  If you go along to Peter's tasting you will get the whisky for £90 a bottle (£15 off).  Limited to one bottle each if needs be to slate demand on the night.

Want to be sure of getting a bottle?  Then click here to buy a ticket to Peter's tasting.  Next best thing is to come along to The Last Drop.  You may even get 10% off.  Still cheaper than at Peter's tasting.  Shame The Last Drop is sold out.  Finally it will be available for £105 from 10am BST on  Tuesday 2 May from the shop or from our website.

Here's a little teaser.

WSD Strathmill Teaser 2

For those interested the background is an Ordanance Survey  Explorer Select 1 : 25000 scale centred on The Dufftown Whisky Region.

 

 

 

Whisky Tasting: Morrison & MacKay - 1 May @ 17:30 (£20)

This entry was posted in Blog, Whisky Tastings and Events News and tagged , , on by .

The Whisky Shop Dufftown is hosting a tasting with Morrison MacKay on 1 May @ 17:30 as part of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2016.

Morrison and MacKay is a family business based in Bankfoot run by whisky industry stalwart, Kenneth MacKay. Morrison and MacKay is an independent bottler responsible for bottling the exceptional Carn Mor Whisky range. All of these whiskies are hand picked by Kenneth who relies on 39 years of experience in the whisky industry to source and select the finest casks available. Today, Carn Mor has an ever growing following and reputation for very high quality whiskies. Morrison and MacKay are also responsible for reviving the Old Perth brand which is now available all over the world in 3 different expressions. Old Perth was one of the original brands founded in the home of blended whiskies along with Famous Grouse, Bells and Dewars.

Kenneth's son, Peter MacKay, joined the family business in 2010 after leaving college and today is heavily involved with the sales and promotion of Morrison and MacKay's brands all across Europe and Canada. Peter is a regular fixture at the Spirit of Speyside festival and thoroughly enjoys meeting whisky enthusiasts who travel to Speyside from all over the world for the festival. Although he is involved with the sales and promotion side of the business, Peter is qualified in distilling with the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and will be very open to answering any in depth questions the attendees of the tasting may have. During the tasting, Peter will give an honest and in depth insight into how an independent bottler operates and how these great whiskies make it from distillery to bottle. In April 2015, Peter was awarded the honour of being made a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers in London and is one of the youngest men to be inducted.

WSD Image Peter 03

Peter will introduce an incredible variety of rare single cask whiskies from the Carn Mor range and also the new sherry cask and peaty editions of the Old Perth blended malts so this tasting should not be missed!

To book tickets click here.

Peter MacKay

The Whisky Shop Dufftown's Challenge for Independent Bottlers

This entry was posted in Blog, Whisky Tastings and Events News and tagged , , , on by .

At each Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival we run a competition for Independent Bottlers to find the best expression they have released during the first half of the year.  This complements the festival's own competition to find the best Speyside whiskies.  We go one step further.  We of course have an award for the best Speyside Whisky but we like to acknowledge that other whiskies are available so we also have a category for The Rest of Whisky.

Voting is carried out by guests of the festival who visit The Whisky Shop Dufftown and take part in an informal do-it-yourself tasting.  All we ask is that people enjoy the drams and if possible vote for their favourite.  We also give a prize for the best tasting note written by one of the guests who take part in the judging.

We had a great competition this year and over 150 people took part.

The full list of whiskies entered are at the bottom of this post but lets get straight in to the winners:-

Speyside

1st Place - Adelphi Glenrothes 2007 (This sold out so quickly we were not able to get a photo.  Hopefully we will get some more stock in soon).

2nd Place - Provenance Miltonduff 2005 8 Years Old

Provenance Miltonduff 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these whiskies were exceptional sherry cask whiskies and great examples of how young whisky can also be exceptional.

Rest of Whisky

1st Place - Clan Denny Strathclyde 2005 9 Years Old

Clan Denny Strathclyde 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Place -  Carn Mor Strictly Limited Fettercairn 2000 14 Years Old

Strictly Limited Fettercairn 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great win for a grain whisky.  A grain has won this category many times before but this is by far the youngest.

Congratulations to the winners.  A particular well done goes to the Douglas Laing stable of companies for a 1st and 2nd and also to Morrison & MacKay for a second and third with 2 of the most affordable entries.

Speyside
BBR Caperdonich 1995
G&M Connoisseurs Choice Inchgower 2000
G&M Connoisseurs Choice Glen Elgin 1998
Morrison & MacKay Strictly Limited Benrinnes 1996 17 Years Old
Hunter Laing Speyside's Finest 1986 28 Years Old
Douglas Laing Provenance Miltonduff 2005 8 Years Old
Adelphi Glenrothes 2007

 

Rest of Whisky
Tweeddale Lowland 14 Years Old
Morrison & MacKay Strictly Limited Fettercairn 2000
BB&R Blue Hangar 11th Release
Douglas Laing Clan Denny Strathclyde 2005 9 Years Old
Wemyss Peat Chimney