Malt Of The Month April 2023 - Lum Reek Cask Strength
Our Malt of the Month is the Lum Reek Cask Strength by MacNair's Boutique House Of Spirits
Image courtesy @Kirsch_Whisky
MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits, a brand curated by acclaimed blender Billy Walker, has launched the next iteration of its decade-old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky: Lum Reek 10-year-old Cask Strength Batch 2.
The brand gets its name from the old Scottish toast to a long and healthy life, ‘lang may yer lum reek’, literally meaning ‘long may your chimney smoke’. The second instalment combines single malt whiskies from two of the most sought-after regions in Scotland: Speyside and Islay.
With peated and unpeated spirit contained in the blend, the flavour profile is said to entail “gentle smoke and sweet spice in perfect harmony”. Each aged single malt component was carefully selected by Walker to deliver specific desired sensory characteristics to the final blend, which includes GlenAllachie Speyside Scotch whisky.
Once skilfully blended, the spirit was filled to a mix of Sherry, red wine and virgin oak casks for an additional aging period; picking up further character from the wood and allowing the whiskies time to marry. Batch 2 was subsequently bottled at its natural cask strength of 55.8% ABV, without chill filtering or adding artificial colouring.
Walker, whose 50-year-long career in Scotch whisky spans many household name brands, has earnt widespread recognition for his superlative blending skills and unwavering dedication to cask quality. Owned by independent spirits firm The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, MacNair’s underwent a packaging refresh and brand repositioning in July 2021, becoming a Boutique House of Spirits.
Lum Reek 10 Year Old Cask Strength Batch 2
Colour: Rich Mahogany
Nose: Waves of grilled honeycomb, ginger and vanilla, with cinnamon, campfire smoke and treacle
Taste: Bursting with dark chocolate, burnt orange peel and honeycomb, followed by smoked spices, butterscotch and roasted coffee beans, with notes of ginger on the finish
MORE INFORMATION AND PURCHASE HERE
In the April edition of the Distillery Tours podcast we spoke to one of the most well-known figures in Scotch whisky - Billy Walker of Speyside's GlenAllachie Distillery. Billy told us about his 50 years working in Scotch whisky, explaining what drew him to buy GlenAllachie in 2017 and how he has sought to fulfil the potential he saw in the distillery’s spirit. But it’s not all about single malt, Billy also discussed blending, an unlikely sideline into rum and how Scotch whisky has changed over the past five decades.