TO reopen a long-closed distillery barely six years after one of the world's worst financial recessions was always going to be an act of either genius, madness, or both, but Liam, Mike and Ian of the Glasgow Distillery made it work.
Now in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, they’ve gone and done it all again with the launch of a jaw dropping malt, the Glasgow 1770 Peated Rich and Smoky. If anything is going to make you feel good about staying at home by the fire, it's this one.
I'm always sceptical about the release of a new malt as so many of them don't live up to the hype but this one definitely does. Ironically, I'd just ordered some myself when I got the email from the editor asking me to take a look at it. Great minds think alike.
To be fair, anyone who wades through the rubbish I write each week knows I have an affinity to wood that's only matched by squirrels, so it was inevitable that I'd fall for the 1770. Let's face it, the first casks are virgin oak which almost leaks vanilla by the bucketload but then they finish it off in PX Sherry casks, the richest of all. It’s economic madness and I love it.
The barley is smoked with Highland peat before the liquid is distilled in traditional copper pot stills which keeps the batches low and the quality exceptionally high. To be honest, I think we need to add another adjective to the range of options to describe the thoughts of the founders of the Distillery: Love!
Lets face it, if the intention was just money, there were so many corners that could have been cut in the process, but the fact that they didn't, says it all.
Liam, Mike and Ian... I salute you and Glasgow should do the same.
Glasgow 1770 Peated Rich & Smoky
It's a bit like that advert for Ronseal to be honest, as it says what it does on the label but there's so much more to this than rich, smoky and peated. The colour is amazing for a start and there's hints of caramelised sugar and spice which I love. Seriously folks, snap it up at this price.
Glasgow Distillery, £49
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