Malt Of The Month April 2024 - Arbikie Highland Rye Batch 22
Our Malt Of The Month is Arbikie Highland Rye Batch 22
Arbikie Distillery. From field to bottle since 1794.
Arbikie was first discovered as a farm distillery in 1794. Centuries past, distilling was a local craft with a truly local flavour. In these distant times, all ingredients for the pot still would be taken from the farm and immediate surroundings. Our 1794 Highland Rye Single Grain Scotch Whisky is a celebration of this field to bottle tradition-reviving a genuinely authentic way of distilling and producing a spirit with a sense of place, and a taste of the land and sea that surrounds us.
Highland Rye 1794 follows hot on the heels of the success of our initial limited-edition Highland Rye Single Grain Scotch Whisky. For this, we used rye grain in our distilling to create the first Scottish Rye in more than 100 years. And according to the reviews it was a risk well worth taking. After the incredible response to our first release, we are already on the third limited release of Highland Rye with the fourth well on its way.
Traditionally Untraditional
As with our limited-editions, we combined our unique use of rye with new charred American oak. But for the 1794 edition, we did not finish the spirit in a further cask, instead leaving the lively new oak to do its magic. And it did not disappoint. It is the first time in Scotland this combination has been created, and the result is a highly original whisky that fires the imagination and the senses with exciting flavours and aromas. For any whisky, barrel type has a major influence on taste, and new charred American oak complements the flavours of the rye, wheat and malted barley grains-imparting rich colour and deep flavour.
Tasting Notes:
- Appearance: honey amber colour with full body
- Nose: caraway seeds, blackberries, citrus, cocoa and vanilla pods
- Taste: cloves, forest berries, orange zest, black tea and caramel wafer
- Finish: ripe stone fruit, dark chocolate and black tea
- Influence: salty coastal air, rich loam soil, Arbikie well water