Blackadder RAW CASK is "Whisky as it was". Whisky as it has been. Every drop is "Whisky from the Old School". Blackadder does not believe in chill filtration or the addition of caramel. Instead, they believe that real is best. Blackadder RAW CASK is like any other whisky from Blackadder. But even more than that. They use a special bottling process that means that each bottle contains its own portion of the cask sediment and natural oils and fats to ensure that the greatest possible number of natural flavours are in each individual bottle.

Blackadder RAW CASK is a "Single Cask" whisky as it once was, when whisky was drunk directly from a cask behind the bar. As Blackadder RAW CASK is Cask Strength with a high alcohol content, we recommend that you mix it with almost an equal amount of water. However, as the amount of water added is highly personal, it is your choice how much water you want.

SAMAROLI APPRENTICE
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
BOTTLED IN SCOTLAND IN 2023

An unusual young man appeared at Verrocchio's workshop one day in 1469, expressing his desire to learn and assist. Teacher and student relationships have always influenced emotions, passion, literature, and more. Aristotle and Alexander serve as a sufficient example. To educate means to bring forth. In today's information-saturated world, amidst all the noise, such a connection becomes vital. We embark on a new journey as we focus on nurturing young emerging talents, whom we shall refer to as apprentices. After exploring various options, we finally settled on Speyside. The aim is to grasp, learn, comprehend, understand, and acquire the essence of what stimulates the human intellect. Every dedicated student cherishes their mentor, but it should be reciprocated. This young spirit exhibits vibrant and fresh notes, with a malty introduction accompanied by hints of green apple, honey, yellow stone fruit, and a touch of citrus. It possesses liveliness and unpredictability, requiring time to settle down and allow the olfactory impressions to solidify upon savoring. Returning to Verrocchio, after witnessing his apprentice Leonardo's paintings, he never touched a brush again.

A.W.B.

BLEND COMPOSITION:
3 casks of Fortrie 2017 (Teaspoon Macduff) - Hogsheads - Refill Bourbon
BOTTLES PRODUCED: 1494
ABV: 43%

SAMAROLI ARCHITECTUS
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
BOTTLED IN SCOTLAND IN 2023

Ten labels would not be sufficient. Protagoras, Socrates, Anaxagoras, and all the great figures of ancient Greece were orchestrated by Pericles, the city's architect par excellence. They created the perfect polis that inspired love from every corner of the known world, although it also provoked hate from some. May Zeus grant me the opportunity to take vengeance upon the Athenians! With these words, Darius ordered one of his servants to repeat the phrase "Master, remember Athens" three times during each banquet.

Here we present a blend of single malt and grain whiskies aged in sherry oak casks, originating from various city-states of Scotland and their distilleries. We have chosen the title "Architectus" to provoke those who dare to taste this blend, marked by impertinence and hubris. It is agile, simple, and clear, crafted by carefully selecting the finest elements. Upon nosing, it delivers a shocking aroma, fruity and delicate. On the palate, it offers a magnificent combination of flowers, sweet fruits, dried fruits, toasted nuts, cereals, and sweet spices. The fragrance of the Scottish fields gracefully merges with the mischievous sherry notes, creating a seamless and majestic experience that unfolds towards the southern horizon. Enhanced by a gentle summer glow, we find ourselves immersed in its captivating aroma as the sun slowly descends beyond the hills. Who knows how long it will take for such a remarkable alignment of eminent humans to occur again? It seems that even two thousand years have not been enough.

A.W.B.

BLEND COMPOSITION:
1 cask of Tomintoul 2017 - Hogshead - Refill - Bourbon;
1 cask of North British 2012 (Grain whisky) - Sherry Butt
BOTTLES PRODUCED: 1392
ABV: 45%

SAMAROLI BLEND
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
BOTTLED IN SCOTLAND IN 2023

That tune, that song... often the emotions that find us out are too strong, the nostalgia sneaks up on us too quickly. You used to listen to that song with your folks… and now you aren’t with them, or they are simply not around anymore. Your memory feeds back sensations and feelings that the encaged present cannot capture; it is incapable of rationalising. But they occur, and they are the ones who will take your place, and in your honour that same melody, that same music, becomes a masterpiece of man’s ingenuity, capable of transcending the future and moving closer to those indescribable moments of infinity and eternity.
In the same way this blend was born with the precise intent of enabling those who are getting to know us what past we have been capable of bringing about and at the same time to remind those who know us well who we are now and that this is what we wish to be. 

Listen: the backing track of an iconic Speyside distillery marries up perfectly with a great grain, arranging an aromatic bouquet worthy of a solo in the spotlight. A slow ouverture, but now bursts of ripe fruit, hay, lawn and petrichor. In the mouth majestic, warm and harmonious: we are back among the flavours of grandma’s kitchen: her sweet baking, her slightly, perfectly burnt mostaccioli biscuits.

A.W.B.
BLEND COMPOSITION:

1 cask of Glenburgie 1995 - Hogshead - Refill Bourbon
1 cask of North British 1992 (Grain whisky) - Barrel - Refill Bourbon
BOTTLES PRODUCED: 236
ABV: 48%

SAMAROLI SPEY
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
BOTTLED IN SCOTLAND IN 2023

Our iteration of this year's Speyside. An elegant and sensual colt within our 2023 stables. A princely efflorescent malt carrying our nose to a whole host of places: the scent is Moorish, Latin perhaps, or rather Byzantine… smacking of the stone walls of Otranto, that bridgehead from Italy and what was left of the Western Empire, to the dazzling Constantinople. And immediately our mind is jolted back to the monasteries of Asia

Minor where myth, faith and search for self began in the mists of time.Then a great vegetable garden lush with plants all destined for the kitchen: aubergine, sweet pepper and mint; now lavender, an unknown number of flowers in full summer, powder and peach. All a prelude to an abundant satiating and fulfilling palate. A rich and dense spirit whose specific gravity is noteworthy. Leaving grooves on our tongue which, as second follows second, are filled with piquant and surprising meaning. We remain seated in a corner of the ballroom as we look on at the glitter of the gowns and envisage nights of passion between whiskies. Thoughts and fears entwine and perhaps darken us a little. Salento is a large herbarium made up of villages at the centre. Around them, the sea.

A.W.B

.
BLEND COMPOSITION:
1 cask of Linkwood 2012 - Hogshead - Refill Bourbon
1 cask of The Speyside SM 2013 - Barrel - Refill Bourbon
1 cask of The Speyside SM 2014 - Barrel - Refill Bourbon

BOTTLES PRODUCED: 810
ABV: 45%

Mackinlay's - Shackleton ordered 25 cases of Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky to take on his expedition of 1907.  In 2007, eleven intact bottles containing this perfectly preserved whisky were recovered from under the ice beneath Shackleton's base camp.

This has inspired our Master Blender, Richard Paterson, to create this Shackleton whisky as a personal and deeply felt project.  He has combined the best Highland malt whiskies, allowing them to marry over a long period to create an enigmatic blended malt with a dash of body and a whisper of smoke.  It has complex notes of vanilla, honey and orchard fruits with real warmth and depth at it's heart, like Shackleton himself.

A bold, creamy 15-year-old whisky from Speyside's Speyburn distillery, matured in both American and Spanish oak casks.

46% ABV l 700mL

Full-bodied indulgence with a charming, long finish.

Beautifully matured in American oak and Spanish oak casks for 18 years, this outstanding Single Malt not only brings to life the natural vibrancy of Speyside but embodies a distillery?s devotion to its craft.

A brand new release from North Star's mysterious Tarot series of blends, this time using a combination of 32% single malt and 68% grain whiskies from Scotland, all at a minimum of 17 years of age. On the nose, honey covered hazelnuts baked with sea salt, moving to a buttery biscuit base on the palate. North Star themselves identify this as having malts sourced from Edrington, which could include Macallan, Highland Park or Glenrothes.

From the Whisky Cellar

Another whisky from our exploration of Single Grains, this Strathclyde was aged for 22 years – distilled in October 1998 and bottled in August 2021, having been finished in a first-fill Oloroso Sherry Hogshead.

Colour: Deep Amber.
Nose: Polished oak, caramel shortbread and ripe red forest fruits.
Palate: Redcurrant jam, spearmint toffees, lychee and salted caramel.
Finish: A touch of spice on a long lingering finish with the red fruits adding a delicious tang.
Bottles: 253.

DISTILLATION PARTNERS “There’s some peated Glenturret in there, a bit of Caol Ila, Glenrothes, Ben Nevis and some “Dalrymple” (a tea-spooned malt from the Ailsa Bay Distillery).” 

MATURATION Oloroso Sherry Cask

SENSORY Deep mahogany with a rich Oloroso Sherry seasoned oak nose. Hints of cigar box, dried raisins, dark plums and festive spice. Palate shows charred Christmas cake ends, cigar box, gingerbread, burnt orange peel, smoked bacon. The finish is long, warming and lingering, balancing barbeque smoked meats with brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon.

CIGAR PAIRING Maduro’ (meaning ‘mature’ in Spanish) cigars are made from extra fermented and slow aged tobacco leaves and tend to be sweeter and darker than others. The Whisky Cellar’s Keith Bonnington suggests: 

1. Padron 1926 Series No. 35 Maduro (notes of coffee, pepper, cedar wood, leather and caramel) 

2. Cohiba Black Robusto Crystal (notes of cocoa and coffee) 

3. Camacho Triple Maduro (notes of earth and spice). Equally good with a cup of freshly brewed Arabica coffee, a densely sweet after-dinner dessert or a piece of dark chocolate (the minimum 70% cocoa fat version).