North British 1989 Alambic Classique 32 Year Old

Prior to 1885, Scottish blenders were only able to acquire grain whisky from DCL. This changed when the firms of John Crabbie, Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John Watson collaborated to open the North British distillery in Edinburgh. Production began two years later on a single coffey still, and the distillery continued to grow, flourishing in the post-war period. In 1993 it was taken over by Lothian Distillers, a partnership between IDV and Robertson & Baxter, the modern iterations of which, Diageo and Edrington, retain a controlling stake in today. Occasional distillery bottlings have appeared over the years, but the majority of examples of its single grain come from independent labels like this.

This single grain whisky was distilled in 1989 and age in a single ex-Bourbon cask for 32 years. It was bottled at cask strength in 2021.

Alambic Classique are a German wholesaler and importer based in Bad Wörishofen, Germany. Established in 1981, the company deals in speciality spirts including whisky, rum, cognac, armagnac and more. The company started bottling its own brands in 2005. Single malts from Ben Nevis and Ledaig have always been firm favourites, and the portfolio also includes Single Cask, Small Batch, Double-Matured and Very Old vintage bottlings from many different distilleries. A lesser known bottler, Alambic Classique have targeted specialist retailers and small restaurants to represent their releases, which over the years has made them difficult to come by.

One of 194 bottles.