Today I will be reviewing four bottles from Murray McDavid, an independent bottler. Single malts from Inchgower, Benrinnes, Tullibardine and Juniper Hill. We will be talking about this last one a bit more, because I found some more information of this one than the bottle and the label would suggest.

Independent bottlers - who are they?

Independent whisky bottlers buy casks of whisky from distilleries and bottle them under their own label. While they don't distil the whisky, they do develop the flavour of the whisky. They do this by choosing how long to mature it for. And sometimes they use cask finishes to add additional layers of flavour.  Independent whisky bottlers look for whiskies that either showcase the very best of a particular distillery or that are unique examples of bold, different flavours. They carefully taste a range of single cask whiskies, before choosing only those that meet their high standards. They can then choose to either bottle their chosen casks straightaway under their own independent labels. Or, they can choose to further enhance the flavour of the whisky by ageing it in their warehouses for longer. They can also move the whisky to another cask (known as re-racking) to add an additional layer of flavour, for example sherry casks or port casks. Indy bottlers often, but not always, bottle at higher alcohol strength, including natural cask strength. Generally speaking, they do not use chill filtration, or add caramel colouring, choosing instead to keep their whiskies natural. There are a lot of idependent bottlers out there.

Murray McDavid - The Art of Maturation

Established early in 1994, Murray McDavid has quickly become a leading Scotch whisky bottler. One of the first to start using a variety of interesting casks in the Art of Maturation to produce Inspired Scotch Whisky.  Murray McDavid was established by London wine merchants Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and Springbank Distillery's Gordon Wright. They quickly gained a reputation for maturing whisky in interesting casks, especially in fine wine casks. In 2000, the Murray McDavid team set about reopening the closed Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay, engaging the services of Jim McEwan, Islay's most celebrated Master Distiller. In 2012, spirits giant Remy Cointreau purchased Bruichladdich Distillery and Murray McDavid. Later, Murray McDavid was sold to its current owners, leading Scotch whisky broker, Aceo Ltd. Today, the home of Murray McDavid is Coleburn Distillery in Speyside, where we continue the tradition of bottling artfully-matured Scotch whisky.

Juniper Hill Aged 6 Years 1st fill Barolo Wine cask finish - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 46%

It is a "MYSTERY MALT: Specially selected single malts to puzzle and entertain the curious whisky buff." as stated by the propriator. What it truly means, is that they don't disclose what distillery they got the whisky from. But they give you a hint with the made up name that they give the bottle, in this case "Juniper Hill" and they also tell you a bit about the distillery. "From a distillery set in the hills of the Highlands, close to the River Findhorn, this spirit is made at an antique distillery, whose brands are known throughout the globe. Taking its name from the juniper bush, this highly respected single malt gave entrée to the world of Scotch whisky to the wider world. The Whisky Creations Team acquired new make spirit directly from the mystery distillery and filled the clear un-aged liquid into 1st Fill Barolo Italian wine casks and allowed this famous wine to work its magic for seven years on the young spirit. The result is bellissimo!"

After a bit of investigation, this is what I came across. "The distillery at the 'Hill of the Juniper' – Tomatin – is neither among the prettiest distilleries in Scotland, nor is it breaking any records. But its location just south of Inverness makes it a popular destination for the many tourists who travel up into the Scottish Highlands from Edinburgh and Glasgow." And so this is a whisky from Tomatin! This makes total sense! The distillery is right next to River Findhorn.

Once upon a time, during it's boom years, the Tomatin Distillery was the largest malt whisky distillery in Scotland. Nowadays, operations are somewhat scaled down, some of the stills were removed, others are not operated at present. Because the old mashtun was to large for the reduced production volume a new one was installed and the old one was cut open and is now accessible for visitors. 

I actually like this new design. At least this red. The rest is kinda meh, but I am ok with it. But let's see what this 6 year old Tomatin that was matured in ex-bourbon and then finished in 1st fill Barolo cask has to offer to us.

Barolo is a red denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the nebbiolo grape and is often described as one of Italy's greatest wines.

Nose: The nose opens with a young liveliness, sweet & sour notes. The wine's influence is very big, with fresh oak providing a subtle balance between sweetness and sharpness. Pepper gives way to spicyness, strong aromas and great complexity. Lots of red apples, fruitcake, strong notes of malted barley and honey.

Taste: Red fruits such as red apples, red currants and raspberry. Dry oak and a nice oakiness. Sweet and bitter notes create a balanced taste experience, where the wine influences can be felt hugely and it adds a a second layer to the already great experience.

Finish: Long, very dry and spicy at first but then fruitiness joins the "party" along with dark honey and sweet barley sugar notes. Great!

Overall I think that this six year old, yes six which is quite amazing... is very good. This is how you create an enjoyable, strong, lively and loud bottle of scotch. 87 / 100

Tullibardine Sherry Finish NAS (Non Age Stated) - Natural Color, 44.5%

I have written an article about a few other Tullibardine bottlings where you can read about the distillery itself, you can read that post again by clicking here.

"This opulent style of whisky maturation has resulted a dram full of indulgence and luxury. The Spanish Sherry casks have produced a symphony of fruity flavours with a luscious finish of praline and moreish sweet spice." 

Nose: Sweet malt, vanilla and lots of toffee. A cavalcade of dried fruits such as figs, dates and sultanas. Dark chocolate. Sounds quite mature for it's age which is probably very low.

Taste: A young metallic note, with a bit of astringency starts it off, which is not too pleasant. After that though it becomes very nice. Dried fruits, red apples, sweet malt, dark chocolate and syrupy sweetness. The young notes disappear after the 2nd dram that you pour.

Finish: Medium, dark chocolate, and dried fruits.

Overall I think that for the price we get an awesome whisky. Let's not forget that this whisky is about 30 euros and we get a named distillery, a cask in this case double cask finish, natural color and 44.5%. This is a great offering. 84 / 100

Benrinnes Tawny Port Finish NAS - Natural Color, 44.5%

Benrinnes distillery is a malt whisky distillery in Aberlour producing an eponymous whisky. It was founded in 1826, and is still active. The distillery employed a unique partial triple distillation process until 2007. Benrinnes employed some unusual production techniques. Between 1974 and 2007 the distillery used a unique partial triple distillation process. In this process the feints from the wash still, the weaker parts of feints of the spirit still, and the feints from the low wine still itself are distilled in a low wines still, while the spirit still is fed by the foreshots and the heart of the wash and low wine still, and its own foreshots and strong feints. The necks of the stills are cooled by worm tubs, a technique that is no longer very common. The triple distillation process was abandoned in 2007, when it switched to a more common configuration of two wash stills and four spirit stills. Benrinnes can produce around 2.5 million litres per annum. Most of that spirit is used in blended Scotch brands like Johnnie Walker and J&B. The only official single malt bottling is a 15-year-old that forms part of Diageo's Flora & Fauna range.

"The bold nature of the Benrinnes is perfect suited for richly seasoned oak casks. The fruitful Tawny port casks tame the spirit to create a delicious dram full of fruity chocolate, floral malt and a long, creamy finish."

Tawny ports are wines usually made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result of this oxidation, they mellow to a golden-brown color. The exposure to oxygen imparts "nutty" flavours to the wine, which is blended to match the house style. They are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine, but can also pair with a main course.

Nose: After initially opening the bottle and pouring the first dram, I was a bit afraid. It smelled a bit astringent and alcoholic. I gave it 10 minutes, kept the bottle open aswell for some oxidation and OH MY OH. It transformed. The astringency and ethanol notes are gone. Rich malt greets you with freshly baked french buttered croissants. Orchard fruits such as green apples, pear and apricots. Red berries from grandma's garden and fresh forest fruits. Light toasted oak spice and milk chocolate. Wonderful.

Taste: Nice and complex. Quite oily and thick. 44.5% is perfect for such kind of whiskies. Very malty and sweet. Here the port dominates a bit more. Grandma's fruitjam and freshly picked raspberries from the forest. Orchard fruits, a hint of cinnamon, oak spice and chocolate. Quite well balanced and very drinkable. Lovely every day dram perhaps?

Finish: Medium. It's not too long. Sweet and malty. Berries and orchard fruits mostly with a hint of oak.

Overall I think that this is a very good whisky and this is crazy good value, get it, get it, get it. 86 / 100

Inchgower Madeira Finish NAS - Natural Color, 44.5%

Inchgower distillery is a whisky distillery producing a single malt of the same name located on the outskirts of Buckie, Moray, Scotland. Inchgower is a key component in the popular Bell's blended Scotch and is also used within the Johnnie Walker range and numerous other Diageo blends.

"The exotic wine casks have elegantly mellowed this rich Inchgower spirit, resulting in alluring aromas of orchard fruits, honied cereal and chocolate malt, leaving a long warming finish with flavours of sweet oak spice." 

Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet wines usually consumed with dessert. Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves oxidizing the wine through heat and ageing. The younger blends (three and five years old) are produced with artificial methods that heat and accelerate the aging process and the older blends, colheitas and frasqueiras are produced by the canteiro method. Because of these methods of producing these wines are very long-lived and those produced by the canteiro method will survive for decades and even centuries, even after being opened. Wines that have been in barrels for many decades are often removed and stored in demijohns where they may remain unharmed indefinitely.

Nose: Wow, the wine is there right away! Grapes and wine gum. Orange, lemon, yeast and grassy herbal notes. Green apples and pears. Definitely young, but great. A slight metallic note due to it's low age.

Taste: Lemon, orange cake. Lots of pepper, creating a spicy taste. Yeast, dough, malty notes. A slight bitterness. Not too round yet, it's too young to be that. It's great but not terrible. With time it develops a bit more and sweet notes come out, such as juicy apricots, barley sugar and sweet wine.

Finish: Medium, spicy and oaky. A bit loud, the sharpness went away that we had in the taste from the pepper. At the very end some sweetness creeps up, that is there to stay.

Overall this is the least liked of the quartet, I would recommend that you try it somewhere, you don't necessarily need a full bottle of this one. 81 / 100 

There is definitely a lot more that this brand can offer you. These were a few cheap offerings I picked up out of curiosity. Let me be crystal clear, I didn't regret buying any one of them. I would gladly buy all four again, well perhaps not the Inchgower.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.