Ailsa Bay Whisky

• 

  Ailsa Bay 1.2 Sweet Smoke 22 ppm Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 48,9%

  Item no.: 22227865405-8311

  Most distilleries talk about smoke and leave sweetness as a feeling. Ailsa Bay measures both. Twenty-two ppm of phenol, nineteen ppm of sweetness, and they print the figures on the bottle as though it were a lab report. Nerdy? Yes. It also makes sense in the glass.

  The Expert's Description

  Ailsa Bay 1.2 Sweet Smoke is a Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured first in small Hudson Baby bourbon casks and then in American white oak, bottled at 48.9%. It is the distillery’s second release and sits at 22 ppm of phenol and 19 SPPM of sweetness, where the first release measured 21 ppm and 11 SPPM.

  Micro-maturation is the heart of it. The spirit goes first into casks of between 25 and 100 litres, Hudson Baby bourbon casks from the United States, where the small volume gives an extreme amount of wood contact per litre. It is then moved into standard American oak casks for the longer maturation. No other Scottish malt distillery uses the method.

  One detail is worth holding on to: the 22 ppm is measured in the distillate rather than in the malt, which is the usual practice. The figure therefore cannot be compared directly with the ppm numbers on an Islay bottle. Ailsa Bay was built in 2007 by William Grant & Sons on the site of the Girvan distillery in South Ayrshire.

  Tasting Notes

  Nose

  Sweet smoke first, closer to burnt sugar than a bonfire. Behind it come vanilla, fudge and a note of toasted malt. There is salt and a little tar in the background too, a reminder of the coast where the whisky is made.

  Palate

  The sweetness arrives before the smoke. Caramel, honey and custard open, and only then does the peat report in as a dry, almost mineral floor. The 48.9% gives good body, and the texture is thicker than you would expect from a whisky this young. That is the small casks showing themselves.

  Finish

  Medium length. Smoke and sweetness let go at roughly the same time, with a dry ash note and a last touch of salt.

  Specifications

  Name: Ailsa Bay 1.2 Sweet Smoke 22 ppm Single Malt Scotch Whisky 48.9%
  Distillery: Ailsa Bay
  Bottler: William Grant & Sons
  Region/Country: Lowland, Scotland
  Type: Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 48.9%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Micro-maturation in small Hudson Baby bourbon casks, then American white oak
  Edition: Release 1.2 Sweet Smoke
  EAN no.: 5010327655697

  Flavour Profile

  Smoky · Sweet · Vanilla · Maritime · Caramel · Spiced

  Did You Know?

  SPPM stands for sweetness parts per million, and Ailsa Bay invented the term. No other whisky producer measures sweetness that way. Whether it is science or marketing is open to argument, but it is at least the first time anyone has tried to put a number on that half of the balance.

  See our full range of Ailsa Bay

  • 1pcs.
    80,25EUR
• 

  Ailsa Bay 21 ppm Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 48,9%

  Item no.: 22227865405-500

  When a new Scottish malt distillery sends its very first whisky out into the world, it usually goes to Britain or the United States. Ailsa Bay chose Denmark. It is a detail that tends to please Danish whisky people rather more than it probably should.

  The Expert's Description

  Ailsa Bay 21 ppm is a Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured first in small Hudson Baby bourbon casks and then in American white oak, bottled at 48.9%. It is the distillery's very first release, and it had its world premiere on the Danish market.

  The phenol content sits at 21 ppm measured in the distillate, giving a clear but restrained smoke, roughly on a level with a Bowmore if you compare the experience rather than the figures. Sweetness was measured at 11 SPPM, the distillery’s own sweetness scale, and that is markedly lower than in the later Sweet Smoke release. This is therefore the drier and more smoke-driven of the two.

  The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured. Ailsa Bay was built in 2007 by William Grant & Sons at Girvan in South Ayrshire, where eight stills can run several different spirit styles side by side.

  Tasting Notes

  Nose

  Smoky and slightly medicinal on first impression, like a muted Islay. Then honey, liquorice and a floral sweetness take the edge off. Dry cereal and a trace of seawater sit at the back.

  Palate

  Spicy and smoky from the start, with honey and liquorice underneath. Floral notes come mid-palate along with a drier mineral streak that keeps the sweetness at arm’s length. The 48.9% is well integrated: there is strength, but it does not push.

  Finish

  Short to medium with a firm bite at the close. Smoke and sweetness leave together, and a dry ash note lingers.

  Specifications

  Name: Ailsa Bay 21 ppm Single Malt Scotch Whisky 48.9%
  Distillery: Ailsa Bay
  Bottler: William Grant & Sons
  Region/Country: Lowland, Scotland
  Type: Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 48.9%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Micro-maturation in small Hudson Baby bourbon casks, then American white oak
  Non-chill filtered: Yes
  Natural colour: Yes
  Edition: First Release
  EAN no.: 5010327405629

  Flavour Profile

  Smoky · Spiced · Honeyed · Liquorice · Dry · Mineral

  Investment Potential

  Medium. This is the first whisky ever released from the distillery, and this expression is no longer in production. First releases from new distilleries often become sought after once the distillery finds its feet, and the Danish world premiere gives the bottle an extra twist on that market.

  Did You Know?

  Ailsa Bay has eight stills, and they were deliberately built in different shapes and sizes. That makes it possible to produce several different spirit styles at one distillery, something most Scottish malt distilleries cannot do. Ailsa Bay was originally built to supply William Grant blends with malt in many different characters.

  See our full range of Ailsa Bay

  • 1pcs.
    92,25EUR