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Release Notes
The final cask from our most recent shipment of Old Particular single casks is this lovely little number from Cambus, one of Diageo's top grain distilleries until it was closed forever in 1993. That means every bottle of Cambus that gets consumed from this point out moves the whisky a step closer to total extinction! This 25 year old single cask, originally distilled in September of 1991, is a glorious example of both Cambus and grain whisky at its most splendid. The nose is a hedonistic wave of butterscotch and vanilla, followed by tropical notes on the palate with plenty of oak spice and syrup. Those who love the banana element that can be found in Bourbon should go gaga for this. It's difficult to believe the whisky is bottled at 62% ABV, mainly because of how rich and wonderful it is. While offering spice and plenty of heft, the power is still masked by the symphony of vanilla and syrup on the finish. For collectors who enjoy drinking whisky made at now-defunct facilities, a bottle of 25 year old Cambus represents quite an affordable luxury at $79.99. For fans of Scotch or even American whiskies who enjoy drinking delicious, cask strength, single barrel expressions, this is a must have.
K&L
One of 246 bottles charged from refill hogshead DL11528 in November of 2016. Distilled in September of 1991.
From The Bottle
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Nose: Rich butterscotch and vanilla cream with further notes of home baking and stewed apple.
Palate: A burst of tropical fruits (pineapple) developing to pastries and caramelized banana.
Finish: Delicious and creamy with gentle spice, golden syrup and a banana milkshake character.
Palate: A burst of tropical fruits (pineapple) developing to pastries and caramelized banana.
Finish: Delicious and creamy with gentle spice, golden syrup and a banana milkshake character.
From the Bottle
The Bottler: Douglas Laing & Co
| Established: 1948 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Douglas House, 18 Lynedoch Crescent, Glasgow, G3 6EQ, Scotland |
| → website |
They are proud Scots - and the Scottish attitudes of honesty, courtesy and friendliness is amply demonstrated as they go about their business at home and abroad boosting their business and customer satisfaction.
This guarded and cherished stock - sold by allocation - and was previously reserved for their blended whiskies - like the King of Scots, seen here.
But the brothers, once they"ve stopped looking longingly at their pride and joy, will cheerfully dig out a bottle from the corner of a warehouse and happily sell it to discerning customers with accompanying explanatory booklets and carefully-worded tasting notes penned by self-styled, in-house wordsmith, Fred with Stewart checking his spelling.
A key feature is their vast stock of different Malts built up over the last 50 years and it"s been a pleasing perk, benefit and privilege for the current directors to nose and taste some of the finest quality samples.
Fred and Stewart, astute as their father was ground-breaking, got their heads together at one tasting session and boldly declared: "Some of these malts are too good to blend." And so it was in 1998, before they headed off to celebrate the new Millennium, that their much sought-after OLD MALT CASK selection was rolled out.
And, in truth, they"ve not let their Dad down over the past 25 years in charge. Indeed, they"ve grafted to uphold the traditions of the family - apart from the sheep stealing and cattle rustling.
They have successfully expanded their markets so that their highly-rated ranges now regularly features blends up to 25 years old, using the original blend specifications handed down to them - and written out so they wouldn"t forget them.
Glasgow-based Douglas Laing & Co are independent bottlers and blenders headed by brothers, Fred and Stewart Laing, who proved the value of nepotism when they succeeded their father, Fred Douglas who founded the company in 1948.
Today the company has contented clients in the Far East, Europe, the USA, Russia, South Africa and Australasia and, increasingly, in the UK where London giants, Harrod"s, Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges as well as premium independent Whisky specialists like The Whisky Shop Group and Vintage House are on the customer manifest.
The brothers" passports are rarely in their desk drawers as they carry out extensive tastings throughout the year all over the world, always dressed appropriately in the kilt, not the same one, of course.
from DouglasLaingWhisky.com
The Distillery: Cambus
| Established: 1836 |
| Silent since: 1993 |
| Address: Cambus |
A distillery that dates back to the times when bulk commercial distilling was in its infancy, Cambus enjoyed a long and distinguished history and was among the first distilleries in Scotland to convert to grain whisky production.
,br> In 1806, one John Mowbray or Moubray converted a derelict mill on the River Devon, just before it joined the Forth, to a pot-still malt distillery. He was a go-ahead man. He formally registered the business in 1813, gained title to the ground in 1823 and commenced grain distilling the same year, possibly with an early Coffey still or similar apparatus.
The business then passed to his ambitious son, James, who expanded grain output, built up a herd of 450 cattle on the draff and other residue, then overreached himself and was sequestrated in 1843.
His son Robert took over, installed a bigger grain still ‘similar to Coffey’s’ in 1851 and eventually made Cambus one of the largest grain plants in Scotland. Under Robert, Cambus became a founder member of DCL in 1877.
In 1882 it bought Cambus Old Brewery to enlarge the distillery’s malting capacity. Barnard visited in 1886 and extolled the distillery’s bustling eight-acre site where ‘rail sidings ran to all the principal warehouses’.
Grain came in by rail and from a nearby wharf on the Forth. Four steam engines and a vast water wheel powered by the River Devon drove all the plant machinery. There were two huge Coffey stills and a third stillhouse for yet another was under construction. All process water then came from the River Devon, but in later years it was sourced from Lossburn Reservoir in the Ochils while reducing water came from Loch Turret. In 1886, annual output was nigh on a million gallons and the distillery’s six vast warehouses held, at the time Barnard called, more than 17,000 casks containing 1.4 million gallons. The total warehouse capacity was 25,000 casks and more than two million gallons. Cambus was in the big league.
Interestingly, among the excisemen at Cambus around the time of Barnard’s visit was a young man called Philip Snowden, who had just joined the customs service and years later was to become Chancellor of the Exchecquer in the first Labour Government. Cambus, thanks to its strong position in DCL, weathered most of the storms that beset the industry between 1900 and 1914 until, in that year, disaster struck. On the gale-blasted night of 24 September, fire broke out in the maltings and grain stores and eventually engulfed most of the distillery. Only the bonded warehouses and their precious contents were spared. As a result the distillery closed and did not reopen until 1938.
Cambus, seen from across the River Devon, 1997 Cambus Distillery, c1930 In the intervening years, it did not lie totally idle. It was used as bonded warehousing and extra maltings for Carsebridge. Then, amid the heady late-1930s upsurge in demand, DCL decided to demolish the fire-gutted shell of Old Cambus and build anew at a cost of £275,000. Production started in December 1937 and the distillery was formally reopened in January 1938. A host of projects – including Saladin maltings and a rectification plant – were planned for Cambus, but the outbreak of war put them on ice.
In the post-war years, Cambus saw the installation of the rectifier around 1952, a carbon dioxide processing plant in 1953, 18 warehouses between 1955 and 1957, a cattle feed drying plant in 1964 and a dark 14 September 1993 – almost eight decades after its fire-enforced closure of 1914 – and grain production concentrated at Cameron Bridge, 30 miles away in Fife and at Port Dundas in Glasgow. Cambus still stands and is being used as a cask-filling centre and for bonded warehousing. However, it looks as if its distilling days are gone for good.
,br> In 1806, one John Mowbray or Moubray converted a derelict mill on the River Devon, just before it joined the Forth, to a pot-still malt distillery. He was a go-ahead man. He formally registered the business in 1813, gained title to the ground in 1823 and commenced grain distilling the same year, possibly with an early Coffey still or similar apparatus.
The business then passed to his ambitious son, James, who expanded grain output, built up a herd of 450 cattle on the draff and other residue, then overreached himself and was sequestrated in 1843.
His son Robert took over, installed a bigger grain still ‘similar to Coffey’s’ in 1851 and eventually made Cambus one of the largest grain plants in Scotland. Under Robert, Cambus became a founder member of DCL in 1877.
In 1882 it bought Cambus Old Brewery to enlarge the distillery’s malting capacity. Barnard visited in 1886 and extolled the distillery’s bustling eight-acre site where ‘rail sidings ran to all the principal warehouses’.
Grain came in by rail and from a nearby wharf on the Forth. Four steam engines and a vast water wheel powered by the River Devon drove all the plant machinery. There were two huge Coffey stills and a third stillhouse for yet another was under construction. All process water then came from the River Devon, but in later years it was sourced from Lossburn Reservoir in the Ochils while reducing water came from Loch Turret. In 1886, annual output was nigh on a million gallons and the distillery’s six vast warehouses held, at the time Barnard called, more than 17,000 casks containing 1.4 million gallons. The total warehouse capacity was 25,000 casks and more than two million gallons. Cambus was in the big league.
Interestingly, among the excisemen at Cambus around the time of Barnard’s visit was a young man called Philip Snowden, who had just joined the customs service and years later was to become Chancellor of the Exchecquer in the first Labour Government. Cambus, thanks to its strong position in DCL, weathered most of the storms that beset the industry between 1900 and 1914 until, in that year, disaster struck. On the gale-blasted night of 24 September, fire broke out in the maltings and grain stores and eventually engulfed most of the distillery. Only the bonded warehouses and their precious contents were spared. As a result the distillery closed and did not reopen until 1938.
Cambus, seen from across the River Devon, 1997 Cambus Distillery, c1930 In the intervening years, it did not lie totally idle. It was used as bonded warehousing and extra maltings for Carsebridge. Then, amid the heady late-1930s upsurge in demand, DCL decided to demolish the fire-gutted shell of Old Cambus and build anew at a cost of £275,000. Production started in December 1937 and the distillery was formally reopened in January 1938. A host of projects – including Saladin maltings and a rectification plant – were planned for Cambus, but the outbreak of war put them on ice.
In the post-war years, Cambus saw the installation of the rectifier around 1952, a carbon dioxide processing plant in 1953, 18 warehouses between 1955 and 1957, a cattle feed drying plant in 1964 and a dark 14 September 1993 – almost eight decades after its fire-enforced closure of 1914 – and grain production concentrated at Cameron Bridge, 30 miles away in Fife and at Port Dundas in Glasgow. Cambus still stands and is being used as a cask-filling centre and for bonded warehousing. However, it looks as if its distilling days are gone for good.
from Scotch Missed
The Owner: Diageo
| Established: 1997 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 8 Henrietta Place, London, W1G ONB, UK |
| → website |
Diageo also distributes Unicum, its lighter-bodied variant Zwack and Jose Cuervo tequila products in North America. However, Cuervo operates as a separate company in Mexico and is not owned by Diageo. Similarly Grand Marnier is distributed by Diageo in many markets, including exclusively in Canada, and a deal was reached in 2009 to significantly expand this partnership in Europe.
Furthermore, Diageo owns the Gleneagles Hotel.
Diageo was formed in 1997 from the merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc. The creation was driven by the two executives Anthony Greener and Philip Yea at Guinness plus George Bull and John McGrath of Grand Metropolitan. The product portfolios of Guinness and Grand Met were largely complementary with little overlap.
Diageo is the world"s biggest whisky producer with 28 malt distilleries and two grain distilleries.The company operates the Scotch whisky distilleries of Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Blair Athol (situated at Pitlochry), Caol Ila, Cardhu, Knockando, Glen Elgin, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Glen Ord, Lagavulin, Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Strathmill, Talisker, Teaninich, Mannochmore, Mortlach and Glenlossie, which are sold not only under their own name but used to make the various blended scotch whiskies sold by the company, and owns the stock of many closed distilleries such as Port Ellen, Rosebank, Brora, Convalmore, Glen Albyn, North Brechin, Banff, and Linlithgow. The company have opened a new malt distillery adjacent to their maltings at Roseisle (1st new make spirit produced Spring 2009). This will be one of the largest malt distilleries in Scotland. The new building contains 14 traditional copper pot stills. An expansion programme is also underway at its Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife that will make it the largest grain distillery in Scotland. Diageo also owns the Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow, and jointly operates the North British Grain Distillery in Gorgie, Edinburgh, with The Edrington Group.
Diageo plc (LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO) is the largest multinational beer, wine and spirits company in the world. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has American Depositary Receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The word Diageo was formed from the Latin dia (day) and the Greek geo (World), symbolising the use of the company"s brands every day, everywhere. Its head office is located in the City of Westminster in London. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Trivia:
- In December 2003, Diageo provoked controversy over its decision to change its Cardhu brand Scotch whisky from a single malt to a vatted malt (also known as a pure malt) whilst retaining the original name and bottle style. Diageo took this action because it did not have sufficient reserves to meet demand in the Spanish market, where Cardhu had been successful. After a meeting of producers, Diageo agreed to make changes.
- In 2006, the Cardhu brand quietly changed back to being a single malt.
- In July 2009, Diageo announced that, after nearly 200 years of association with the town of Kilmarnock, they would be closing the Johnnie Walker blending and bottling plant as part of restructuring to the business. This would make 700 workers unemployed and caused outrage from press, local people and politicians. A campaign against this decision was launched by the local SNP MSP Willie Coffey and Labour MP Des Browne. A petition was drawn up against the Diageo plans, which also involves the closure of the historic Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow.
- In February 2009 it was reported in the Guardian that the company had restructured itself so as to avoid paying tax in the U.K., despite much of its profits being generated in the U.K.
- Diageo is engaged in a tax scheme in the United States of America, commonly referred to as the "Rum Bailout", which will guarantee it USD$3 billion in revenues and profits.
- The National Puerto Rican Coalitionplans to run a series of ads in New York City and Puerto Rico urging a boycott of Diageo-owned alcoholic drinks to protest the giant British-owned corporation"s controversial production move of its Captain Morgan rum from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
from Wikipedia