American independent bottler Single Cask Nation have revealed a new collection of single-cask bottlings, which will be released to US whisky shops in 23 states. The bottler's Scotch collection includes eight expressions from Scotch's Speyside, Highland, and Islay regions.
Single Cask Nation was launched in 2011 by friends and co-founders Jason Johnstone-Yellin and Joshua Hatton. In 2024, it was announced that the bottler had been acquired by the Artisanal Spirits Company, which also has the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and JG Thomson & Co in its portfolio.
Reflecting on the new whisky collection, Hatton commented: “Independent bottling is a longtime tradition in Scotland — one that gave rise to the global fascination and reputation of single malt whisky itself many now take for granted.”
“As independent bottlers we don’t have a specific flavour profile we can hang our hats on. In fact, as bottlers of single casks our aim is to always ensure that there is no consistency in flavour profile from cask to cask/barrel to barrel, only consistency in quality. These eight bottlings highlight distilleries many people are not familiar with, but should be. Add to this, some of the cask maturation we’ve focused on with these releases helps to broaden the array of flavours in remarkable ways. There’s a flavour ride here for any and all interested whisky lovers.”
The new single-cask line-up includes:
- Macduff 16 Years Old (57.5% ABV, SRP US$150) — A Speyside single malt matured in ex-bourbon casks for 12 years, followed by four years in an American oak oloroso cask.
- Ruadh Mhor 14 Years Old (53.6% ABV, SRP $150) — Matured in a refill ex-bourbon cask, the Highland's "Ruadh Mhor is wild and wacky" says Single Cask Nation.
- Knockdhu 14 Years Old (58.4% ABV, SRP US$120) — Another Speyside single malt, matured for 11 years in an ex-bourbon cask before three years in a Spanish oak oloroso cask.
- Inchmurrin 14 Years Old (54.3% ABV, SRP US$145) — This whisky from the Loch Lomond distillery was matured in ex-bourbon casks for 11 years before three years in a new toasted oak cask.
- Bunnahabhain Staoisha (58.9% ABV, SRP US$110) — Matured for six years in an ex-bourbon cask then four years in an American oak Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry cask, Single Cask Nation says: "This one is a bit of a conundrum. Staoisha is Bunnahabhain's heavily peated spirit but the PX cask maturation rounds out the high levels of peat with big, rich fruits..."
- Pluscarden Abbey 16 Years Old (60.9% ABV, SRP $170) — An expression from an unnamed Speyside distillery, this whisky was matured for 13 years in ex-bourbon casks before a three-year finish in a refill PX cask.
- Auchroisk 13 Years Old (59.5% ABV, SRP US$140) — The Speyside distillery is an "in-house favourite" according to Single Cask Nation. This expression has been matured for eight years in an ex-bourbon cask then finished for five years in an ex-Jamaican rum cask.
- Glen Moray 12 Years Old (59.7% ABV, SRP US$135) — For this expression, the single malt spent all the 12 years of its maturation in an ex-bourbon cask to highlight the "classic Glen Moray" profile.
For more information on Single Cask Nation and its distribution, visit singlecasknation.com.
