In the past we have already published several articles about Claxton’s bottlings. Sometimes about bottles we have had in our collections, sometimes about samples we received from Adrian Hoose and we even had two whisky’s bottled for SMWG on Facebook. Recently I added a new bottle to my collection. New for me but is it that new?
By asking the question you might say I’m giving away the answer. Indeed, this is not a new release by Claxton’s. In fact it’s a bottling that dates from 2015 as part of their very first release. The first cask was a 20yo Tobermory and a 21yo Tomatin and this 18yo Glentauchers soon followed. The start of a successful journey.
The first three bottlings were bottled at an ABV of 48%. From the next release on they chose to bottle their casks at cask strength in this The Single Cask range.
The spirit for this whisky was distilled in december 1996 and was filled into a Bourbon barrel with cask number 1502-7884. It was bottled in 2015 at an 18yo age. No artificial coloring or chillfiltration was used. The barrel produced 247 bottles and few of them are still around in shops. How is that even possible? I found mine (at a lovely discount) in The Old Pipe, one of my favorite shops.
- Nose: Some grassy notes. Citrus and sweet honey. Later on a hint of apples and maybe even grapes come up.
- Taste: Sweet and quite smooth. Some more tropical fruits like peach and apricot join the apple and grapes.
- Finish: Not very long but it’s nice and smooth with sweet citrus and a hint of apple.
Interested? Check The Old Pipe to see if they still have a few… You might even be able to still get a complete set from the first Claxton’s release.
