Somewhat hard to find

Recommended

For the details…

Annandale is part of a renaissance of whisky-making in the Scottish Lowlands. The complex regulatory history of Scotch whisky meant that the Lowlands ended up being the forgotten whisky-making region. Malt whisky was made in the Lowlands, but the region was better known for industrial grain distilling while the Highlands conjured romantic visions of rugged and individual malts. Things reached a nadir in the 1990s, with the seemingly permanent closure of Rosebank and the mothballing of Bladnoch. Only Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan were left. 

No longer. Bladnoch has since revived, and there are more than a dozen other malt distilleries across the Lowlands. Even Rosebank will soon return from its long slumber. 

Annandale is a central part of the Lowland revival. An older distillery was built on the site in 1830, later becoming part of the famous blending house, John Walker & Sons. The earlier facility was closed and dismantled in 1921. Fast forward to 2007, when the husband and wife team of David Thomson and Theresa Church purchased the site and began a painstaking reconstruction. The new distillery began producing in 2014, and contra Lowland tradition–although the practice is becoming more common–uses  both peated and unpeated barley malt in its production.

Annandale has been a bit shy of distributing their whisky, perhaps in part due to the distillery’s relatively low capacity. I got this, for a fairly reasonable price, at auction. This expression,  cask strength at a strapping 61.5% abv is part of the distillery’s peated range, which goes by the name Man o’Sword, in honor of Robert the Bruce. The unpeated range, called Man o’Words honors Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns. Although this Man o’Sword is extremely smoky, it’s a richer, more woody smoke than what you sometimes get from coastal distilleries, and it’s balanced by a nice berry sweetness and a cedary tang that I often pick up from whiskies, that like this one, have had maturation in STR (shaved, toasted, re-charred) casks. Although there is no clear specification on the bottle, Annandale’s website explains that all of their products are un-chillfiltered. 

Annandale Man o’Sword – Founders’ Selection 61.5%abv

Nose: A well-charred cedar plank and dark fruit sweetness. Ripe plum. Clover honey. Smoky, but in a gentle, rich, aromatic way. Sweetness and mesquite smoke. Just a touch of vanilla.

Body: Medium to full, mouthcoating.

Palate: Ripe strawberries. Lots of honeyed sweetness. Raspberry syrup. Tons of gentle, woody smoke. Also gently meaty and savory. Maple syrup. Smoke and char.

Finish: Still some maple syrup and char. Becoming a bit salty. Medium.

Score: 91/100

Who should buy it?: Anyone who enjoys a dram that mixes rich peat smoke with fruitiness. Anyone who wants to support Scotland’s newest distillers.

Overall thoughts: A vigorous young cask strength whisky whose youth and strength are nicely mellowed by rich, woody smoke and lots of juicy berry notes.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Annandale Man o’Sword Founders’ Selection 61.5% abv

Bottler: Proprietor

Range: Man o’Sword

Bottle Code: n/a

Presentation: Unchillfiltered

Details: Distilled 2017, Cask #357, Bottle #101, Shaved Toasted Re-charred (STR) ex-red wine; cask strength

Price: $95

Availability: Obviously a very limited release, since this is a single cask. You might be able to find it at auction such as Whisky Auctioneer or Scotch Whisky Auctions, and you will be able to find similar releases at UK- or possibly EU-based specialty retailers such as Hard to find Whisky.

Distillery Information:

Region: Lowlands

Location: Northfield, Annan, Southern Lowlands

Geography: Inland

Date Founded: 2014

Owner: Annandale Distillery Company

Website: https://annandaledistillery.com/

Capacity: 250,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Semi-Lauter; WASHBACKS: 6 Douglas fir; STILLS: 1 wash, 2 spirit; HEAT SOURCE: Steam; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube

Total expressions sampled: 1Overall distillery score: n/a