Three from The Cairn Distillery
From The Cairn website
Cairn Distillery is owned by Gordon & MacPhail, a fourth-generation family business. Starting back in the 19th century as shop owners, we have grown to be wholesalers, whisky bottlers and distillery owners. But throughout this growth, we have always kept true to our origins and remain an independent family business firmly rooted in the local community.
With our long experience of maturing and bottling Scotch whisky, it was no surprise that we wanted to have a distillery of our own. Taking over Benromach Distillery in 1993 let us fulfil a long-standing ambition. The result? An award-winning Speyside single malt with a subtly smoky character and handmade using just four ingredients; barley, water, yeast and a human touch.
The latest chapter in our story is The Cairn Distillery. The Cairn has its own identity, true to the heritage it comes from but proudly modern and forward-thinking. It's the natural next step in the journey for a family of explorers, adventurers and legacy builders.
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Tasting notes
Nose: Soft, sweet and malty, tropical fruit and heather honey
Palate: Creamy, with a touch of oiliness. Fresh orchard and tropical fruit, malted milk
Finish: Sweet malted milk and a hint of peppery warmth
Overall: This is a really interesting new make, sweet and fruity with a comforting blanket of creamy malt. It will be interesting to see how this evolves in the cask.
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Cairn CRN57°
CRN57° is a range of blended malt Scotch whiskies created by our master blenders giving you a chance to discover notes, flavours and aromas you’ll eventually experience in the first expressions produced at The Cairn.
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CRN57° 12YO - 43%
This whisky provides a glimpse to taste the future – a chance to sample the aromas and flavours that may define the 12-year-old single malt yet to emerge from The Cairn.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Burnished gold, forms a thin line which beads before slowly falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Orchard fruit, toasted hazelnuts, cinnamon and a touch of clove oil
Palate: Poached orchard fruit, raspberry mousse, chocolate enrobed orange peel and soft, peppery warmth
Finish: Mildly astringent, nutty oak, cinnamon and slowly developing peppery spice
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CRN57° 18 YO - 43%
While we wait for our whiskies distilled at The Cairn to mature, you can skip ahead and sample what may be the future flavours now, with our CRN57° 18-year-old.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Copper colour, forms a thin line which beads before slowly falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Baked apples stuffed with dried fruit and dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar, hazelnut purée, candied peel and vanilla custard
Palate: Rich dried fruit, toasted hazelnuts, red berries, vanilla ice cream, candied orange peel, cinnamon and ginger spice
Finish: Mild astringency, nutty oak and wood spice
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Overall: Both are really enjoyable blends, hardly surprising given quality of the stock Gordon & MacPhail have at their fingertips. The 12 year old is full of fruit with a very pleasant chocolate note adding to the complexity, whilst the 18 year old adds depth, retaining those lovely red berry and orange citrus notes whilst bringing more dried fruit, vanillin and nutty oak spice.
These blends were developed to give an idea of the flavour profile they’re aiming for with this new distillery, and if these are anything to go by then it will be worth the wait for the whisky to mature. Cairn have just released a 3 year old ‘First Peek’ bottling which should provide more insight on the progress being made.
Cairn is a very modern distillery, completely different in design to the traditional layout. More information on the distillery and their whiskies can be found via the link
