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%

Part of the Exceptional Cask Series, this Highland single malt Scotch whisky from Aberfeldy has been aged for 19 years. With an oloroso sherry finish, this small batch expression of 2,256 bottles was bottled at 43% and boasts plenty of nutty fruit character.

Family-run indie bottler Blackadder has played a significant role in championing cask-strength single malts to whisky lovers since 1995. This mature release from Tamdhu highlights the very best from the distillery. In the glass you'll find notes of marasca cherry, orange zest, honey-nut bar and baking spices.

Talisker, one of the most remote distilleries in the world, is situated on the storm lashed Isle of Skye and has a colourful history dating back to 1830. Denounced by the local clergy, praised by none other than Robert Louis Stevenson and even suffering a still-room fire in 1960, Talisker has survived and today produces some of the smoothest and characterful malts in Scotland. The 30 Year Old is sweet and mild to begin, with some acidity and saltiness. Extraordinary flavour development then envelopes the palate that becomes dry and minerally with a mild dusting of ground white pepper.

45.8% ABV

To craft The GlenAllachie Wine Cask Series, Master Blender Billy Walker first expertly matured our spirit in the finest American oak ex-Bourbon barrels, before transferring the whisky into hand-selected European wine barriques for secondary aging. Billy added a distinctive twist to this release by ultimately blending four exceptional wine cask finishes into one unique expression: The Cuvée Wine Cask Finish.

A French term, ‘Cuvée’ is used in the wine sector to reference a blend that typically comprises more than one variety of grape. Likewise, our 9-year-old Cuvée is a marriage of spirit from several fine wine casks sourced from the world-renowned regions of Bordeaux, Languedoc and Valpolicella.

The character development of each individual barrique was carefully monitored, before the whiskies were expertly blended together by Billy. The resulting golden liquid offers up elegant stone fruits, hints of toasted almonds and zesty orange peel on the palate.

This limited expression is bottled unchilfiltered for flavour with no added colouring at 48% ABV.

48% ABV

From the distillery...

The clue is in the name really. Cask Strength Release No. 2 is bottled straight from the cask, without adding water to reduce alcohol content, to deliver an extraordinary depth, complexity and balance of flavours.

Casks have a huge influence on the flavour, character and natural colour of our whisky as it matures, so our Cask Strength series presents our whisky in its purest form, giving you the freedom to enjoy our whisky, your way. Discover the taste and strength that suits your palate by experimenting with the amount of water you add to reach your optimum flavour.

For this second release in the Cask Strength series, Gordon Motion, our Master Whisky Maker, selected mainly sherry seasoned European and American oak casks, along with just a few ex-bourbon casks. You’ll find aromas of summer rose, ripe pear and fresh coconut gathering on a wave of aromatic peat smoke, followed by a wild harmony of sweet and spicy flavours - poached pear and rich almond cake, a drizzle of cloudy honey and a twist of salty liquorice. There’s the suggestion of toasted oak and intriguing notes of orchard fruits, black pepper and sweet aniseed linger, in a satisfyingly long finish. In a word (or three) we call it ‘smoky peppered praline’.

Welcome to a whole new taste adventure…why not find out more by checking out the tasting video below?

We’ve been crafting our award-winning whisky at the Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall, Orkney, since 1798. Age, experience and respect for tradition may define our whisky, but it’s Orkney that sets it apart. Something magic happens here and the result is the wild harmony of flavours found in our whisky.

ABV : 63.9%

This Tamnavulin from Cadenhead has spent 14 years maturing in a small selection of ex-bourbon barrels. Aromas of juicy stone fruits soaked in syrup, fresh pineapple, peaches and grapefruit kick off this summery feeling dram. Zesty lemons with banana cake covered in caramel buttercream arrive on the palate. Finally, warm fruits, flat cola and chocolate biscuits come through to finish.

This warm mahogany whisky has an aroma of a depth complex fragrances from apples, vanilla, and ripe fruit and a whiff of orange zest on the nose and the palate is creamy with caramel, fruit, citrus, and a touch of dark chocolate. The finish is satisfyingly long.

For all the sherry fans out there we have this 1988 Vintage Auchentoshan. We all know that Auchentoshan are masters at fully triple distilling their whisky but they also mastered the art of sherry maturation here with this expression.

This limited edition Auchentoshan was distilled in 1988 and matured in Spanish oak casks and finished in PX sherry casks.

It was bottled some 29 years later in 2019 at 49.7%.
The resulting whisky has picked up the characteristics so well from the casks used and it is full of rich, sweet butterscotch and caramel flavours.

49.7% ABV

The Silvano’s Collection label is produced by Masam, an independent bottling company run by Maryse Accorsi Samaroli, the wife of the legendary Silvano Samaroli. The Samaroli firm has been run by Antonio Bleve since 2008, however casks from Silvano's private collection have also been bottled under the Singles of Silvano Samaroli banner. These were initially supervised by the man himself, but since his death in 2017, the tradition has been lovingly continued by his wife.

This whisky was distilled in 1967 and aged in single casks #4688 and #5425. It was bottled in 2018 to celebrate Samaroli's 50th anniversary in the whisky industry.

Tomintoul distillery was built in Speyside in 1965 by two whisky brokering companies. It was later acquired by the parent firm of Whyte & Mackay, and folded into their portfolio in 1973. While its main function was the provision of its blends, as with all of its distilleries, Whyte & Mackay also had faith in its appeal as a single malt. It was introduced in the iconic "perfume bottles" at the end of the 1970s. The single malt brand was given more of a focus when the distillery was bought by Angus Dundee in 2000, who also introduced a peated variant called Old Ballantruan in 2005. Bottles from independent labels have also been common over the years.

One of 180 bottles.

The third release in The Balvenie Stories range is a particularly rich and exciting 26 year old expression, title A Day of Dark Barley. It sounds quite ominous, doesn't it? Don't worry, here's a spoiler to the end of the story - it results in excellent whisky!

This expression harks back to a day in 1992, when Balvenie mashman Brian Webster and maltman Robbie Gormley took in a delivery of dark barley, kicking of a long experiment. Dark barley isn't a common sight in the whisky world - you're more likely to see it put to use in beer brewing, particularly those yummy stouts we hear people talking about. Turns out, it also makes yummy single malt. Ideal.

Nose: Big malty notes, soft brown sugar, vanilla toffee, blossom honey and a mild oaky spiciness.

Palate: Syrupy with a toffee sweetness, some citrusy notes of tangy orange peel, followed by oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon and ginger spices at the end.

Finish: Enduring gentle waves of vanilla and oak spices.

Laphroaig single malt from Islay aged for three decades! Twice matured in bourbon casks, expect this peated whisky to be complex, rounded and absolutely full of flavour.

Nose: Mandarin and mango rise to the fore tempered by toasted almond and coconut. Aromatic peat oils are interwoven, appearing as cedar, wintergreen and smoked sage.

Palate: A superbly oily mouthfeel with orange peel, vanilla, and coriander leaf, in a cedar cigar box alongside wild root ginseng.

Finish: Long and complex with lingering pulpy stone fruit and chewy green hand-rolled tobacco.

53.5% ABV

Wolfburn Distillery's fourth small-batch release, named Batch 155. Consisting of just 5300 bottles in total, it is the first whisky from Wolfburn to have been matured in one type of cask (first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for close to five years) then finished in another (six months in port hogsheads). 

The results are superb: a smooth, rich, easy drinking whisky, rich in colour and with a depth of sweet flavours from the port influence. Like previous Wolfburn small-batch releases, Batch 155 was named after the warehouse in which the casks were matured (Warehouse 1), and the specific row in which the casks were located (row 55).

This is the second batch of Auchentoshan's Virgin Oak. Aged in new North American oak casks, this triple-distilled Lowland whisky is rich, spicy and complex.

This new offering from Auchentoshan is one of their best of recent times. It mixes a lovely series of delicate, floral and fruity notes with a powerful kick of woody, oaky spice from the virgin oak casks, and does it very well

46% ABV