HighGlen 3 yo Batch 1 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

Volume: 0.5 litres | Alcohol content: 46.4% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

For its Norwest-Euro Express series, That Boutique-y Whisky Company selected a three-year-old single malt from HighGlen Distillery. It matured in one of the distillery’s characteristic small 100-litre casks. The cask combined staves from former bourbon casks with heads from former sherry casks, bringing both previous contents’ influences together within a single cask rather than through a subsequent finish.

Batch 1 comprises 131 individually numbered bottles, each containing 0.5 litres at 46.4% alcohol. The whisky is neither chill-filtered nor coloured and comes with gift packaging. The illustrated label depicts Lord Gunter Sommer using a large magnifying glass to discover a tiny whisky bar inside a cask. The examination lamp hanging above him alludes to his former profession.

Alongside chocolate and dark fruit, the whisky reveals a grainy, grassy side with a fruit note reminiscent of mirabelle plums. Robust, spicy honey, oak, grilled pineapple, toffee and banana broaden its flavour spectrum.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, the whisky recalls chocolate with fruit and nuts. Darker fruit notes emerge over time, particularly plums and black cherries.
• Palate: On the palate, pronounced chocolate notes meet dried citrus peel, spices and caramel. A light, herbal wood note accompanies them.
• Finish: Tobacco notes and a little coconut linger on the finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

HighGlen is a Swiss family business founded by Lord Gunter Sommer, producing single malt in the Scottish tradition using pot stills. The distillery in Santa Maria in Val Müstair was integrated into his home. Sommer designed and built the equipment himself, with the exception of the still; rooftop solar panels supplied electricity.

One of HighGlen’s distinctive practices is its use of specially assembled casks. Together with Gary Taylor and Darren Morrison of Speyside Cooperage, the distillery developed the DoubleWoodSingleCask concept: wooden components from casks with different previous contents are assembled into a single cask in which the spirit can spend its entire maturation.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler that selects whiskies from distilleries around the world and also creates its own blends. Its selection approach encompasses lesser-known distilleries as well as whiskies that depart from their distillery’s usual style. The hand-drawn labels tell stories about the respective distillery or bottling. The Norwest-Euro Express series brings together nine whiskies from Scandinavia and north-western Europe.

Facts: