Royal Mile Whiskies and Nauticus launch Tuscan wine cask Arran

Royal Mile Whiskies and Nauticus launch Tuscan wine cask Arran

Edinburgh-based spirits specialist Royal Mile Whiskies have teamed up with the newly opened Nauticus bar in Leith to launch a small batch Isle of Arran single malt matured in Tuscan wine casks.
Christopher Coates

02 November 2018

Produced by vatting spirit from just three French oak casks that previously held Sassicaia red wine, only 900 bottles (70cl) of this small-batch offering are available. Distilled in 2008, the spirit was matured for the entirety of its 10 years of ageing in these casks and is thus packed with both rich wine and European oak-derived character, which has been preserved by bottling at natural strength of 58.6% and without chill filtration or artificial colouring.

The nose has been described as ‘profound and fruity with black forest gateau, cherry, dark chocolate and sticky dates’ and tasting notes include ‘red berry and hedgerow fruit cut through with clove and cracked black pepper’.

The casks for this small batch release were chosen collaboratively by Arthur Motley, of Royal Mile Whiskies, and Iain McPherson and Kyle Jamieson, the entrepreneurs behind the new Nauticus bar in Leith and the capital’s themed cocktail bars Panda & Sons and Hoot The Redeemer. For their latest venture, Iain and Kyle drew inspiration from Leith’s history as an important trading port and centuries-old associations with the wine and spirits industries.

“When talking about the project with the team at Nauticus, we began by looking for a high-quality whisky matured exclusively in wine casks, as we knew this is exactly what Leith merchants would have done centuries ago,” explains Arthur Motley.

“We are all big fans of The Arran Single Malt so it was great news to find they had some very special stock available.”

The exclusive collaboration bottling will be available to purchase through Royal Mile Whiskies and sister-store Drinkmonger, retailing at £64.95 in their Edinburgh and London shops and via their online stores.

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