Single malt scotch has been the darling of the whisky world for many years. And rightfully so – trendy whisky-making methodologies have given technique to some spectacular whiskies which are at this time celebrated worldwide. However, with such a deal with single malt, are we depriving ourselves of the glory of grain whisky? Uncommon and aged whisky producers, Home of Hazelwood, actually imagine so. As custodians of all classes of scotch whisky for nearly seventy years, there are few comparable authorities that may testify to the range that an ideal grain can carry.
What’s so nice about grain? Nicely, with out grain, the fashionable scotch whisky business wouldn’t exist at this time. It is so simple as that. So, on this article I’ll discover the significance of grain whisky within the scotch business, and the way Home of Hazelwood is championing this underrated fashion.
Grain Whisky & The Scotch Whisky Business
Grain has fashioned the spine of Scotland’s largest whisky export, blended scotch whisky, since its inception. As we speak, regardless of the rise in recognition of the one malt, grain whisky continues to be the staple that helps the business by quantity.
“Luxurious”, “uncommon” and “aged” are unlikely phrases to be related to grain although – many of the whisky produced utilizing grain as a uncooked materials is destined for mainstream manufacturing – so, it’s straightforward to see the way it may very well be neglected in favor of its single malt sibling.
However the scope of an ideal grain whisky is a lot greater than only a mixing spirit. With blends chalking up over half a century in maturation inside the stock, the range of grain is one thing that the Home of Hazelwood can quantify.
Extra Than Mainstream
The Gordon household, which sits on the helm of the Home of Hazelwood, can attest to the ability of grain. In spite of everything, it was Charles Gordon himself who shirked business norms within the Nineteen Sixties by deciding to construct a grain distillery.
The pressures of a competitor and their majority management over grain whisky manufacturing in Scotland on the time meant that with out taking issues into his personal fingers, Charles’ imaginative and prescient and entrepreneurial spirit would have by no means reached its full potential. Dwelling as much as his nickname “The Accelerator”, Charles Gordon operated at tempo – and as soon as he determined he was going to construct a grain distillery, he did so in file time, and from the purpose the spade hit the bottom, it took not than 9 months for Girvan Distillery to grow to be operational.
This self-made entry to the services to make grain whisky would additional gasoline a voracious urge for food to supply – an perspective that constructed Girvan as it’s at this time: Scotland’s largest whisky producer of grain whisky by quantity.
The Gordons constructed their success on the creation of Girvan Distillery (amongst their different distillery ventures), so it ought to come as no shock that they noticed match to put down and put money into many casks of grain whisky for their very own non-public assortment – from inside and out of doors the household portfolio. These casks, destined to put for many years at a time, and supposed for private consumption would ultimately type an essential a part of the Home of Hazelwood assortment as it’s at this time.
The Glory of Aged Grain Whisky
Past the nostalgic enchantment of grain whisky, there may be the attract of what a lot time in a cask can do to such a whisky.
If we take a look at Girvan Distillery, two distinct expressions from Home of Hazelwood showcase the deserves of Single Grain in fully other ways. The Cask Trials, a 1968 Classic, is a uncommon instance of what singular maturation in a sherry cask can do to the character of grain. 53 years of maturation disclose to an extremely darkish liquid, coloration imparted from time spent slumbering in European Oak. The ensuing liquid has an nearly resinous high quality – and presents all of the deeply decant flavors you’ll come to anticipate from a really mature whisky: roasted espresso, Muscovado toffee, dand ried fruits.
In distinction, The Outdated Methods, a 1972 Classic from the identical distillery showcases how grain whisky can tackle a completely totally different character regardless of the same size of maturation because of its maturation in American Oak. Very a lot a tribute to the signature fashion of Girvan grain, this launch celebrates a interval the place the bodily methods used to make whisky then differ from at this time’s trendy automation.
Fashioned from a extra fragrant new make spirit from that which Girvan produces within the current, this expression provides itself in a brand new gentle. There aren’t any typical notes of clotted cream and apple pie to be discovered – however as a substitute, tenting range burners and wax jackets, topped by Muscovado sugar – a working instance of how two parcels of comparable new make could be expressed as stark opposites of one another.
A Liquid Retelling
With this affinity for grain whisky, it ought to come as no shock that the Gordon household noticed match to gather and lay down casks of this class from all corners of Scotland. Very similar to an artist would purchase his toolset – paints of gauche, watercolor, and acrylic – combined to type a masterpiece, the Gordons started to marry collectively these contrasting parcels to supply grain whiskies that informed their very own tales, free from the signature types of their respective distilleries.
Take The Transatlantic, a 33 12 months Outdated Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, for example. This whisky performs into its uncooked materials roots, and after over three a long time in cask, unveiled itself to be a real contender to a well-aged American bourbon. Buttery popcorn, golden syrup, wooden shavings and inexperienced olive vines – an expression removed from the tropes of a typical grain.
Breaking the foundations of conference was not unusual for the Gordon household – and this may be noticed in The Misplaced Property, a 43 12 months Outdated Blended Grain Scotch Whisky. This revival of two nice, late grain distilleries is uncommon – not simply in its provenance, however the determination to mix two uncommon elements. This unconventional spirit provides all of the creamy indulgence of nice grain character however is underpinned with ester-like notes atypical of the fashion.
Certainly, this pursuit of the finer flavors could be discovered all through your complete stock – with the tasting expertise favored over all else – from A Breath of Recent Air, a 37 12 months Outdated Blended Grain Whisky a manifestation of mint in whisky, by to The Silk Traveller, a 44 12 months Outdated Single Grain Whisky, demonstrating the wide-ranging potential of grain with flavors of japanese fragrant spices and licorice.
The Unsung Hero of Taste
For these fortunate sufficient to spend a day in individual perusing the Gordon household’s non-public assortment in Speyside, the love for grain is abundantly clear – one thing which at this time is mirrored in Home of Hazelwood’s expansive stock.
The subsequent time you start to ponder your subsequent addition to your whisky assortment, let this love letter to the glory of grain function inspiration – for it really is the unsung hero of scotch whisky, and for a fortunate few who handle to get pleasure from a bottle earlier than they disappear without end, a possibility to savor historical past, bottled.
