Half n'Half fun in Dufftown

We are looking forward to our joint tasting with Old Worthy Brewing Co. for the Whisky Shop Dufftown Autumn Festival on Friday the 25th of September. Join us and try The De'ils Awa Red India Pale Ale designed to pair with Angels' Nectar, Wild Bill's Aces & Eights to pair with Edradour, and A Midnight Caper for Tomatin.
To book here follow this link: http://www.whiskyshopdufftown.com/…/25-september-2015-1330…/

Angels’ Nectar toasts shortlist success

Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky has been shortlisted in two categories in the Highland and Islands Food and Drink Awards, for the New Product Award and Best Drink Award.

Highfern’s entry was among a record-breaking 100 entries to this year’s awards.  The Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards are now in their 11^th year and include 13 categories ranging from the Young Shining Star and Restaurant of the Year to Export and Healthier Food & Drink. Speaking as he received the good news about their shortlist success, Highfern founder Robert Ransom said:

“We launched Angels’ Nectar just seven months ago, so to be shortlisted for two awards at this stage is fantastic news, and comes in the same week as we dispatched our first order to Belgium”.

Inspired by the Angels' share, the traditional name given to the evaporation during the maturation of Scotch Whisky, the First Edition of Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky has been created from a selection of Speyside and Highland malt whiskies, and is smooth and sweet with hints of heather honey and lemon on the taste.

Judging for the awards took place last week at The Storehouse of Foulis with a panel of thirteen judges examining the entries and tasting produce from across the Highlands and Islands and Cairngorms National Park.

With 2015 marked across Scotland as the Year of Food and Drink, this year’s awards look set to be higher profile than ever before.  The winners will be announced on Friday 23^rd October at a glittering awards ceremony at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness.   The host for the night is comedian and broadcaster, Fred MacAulay who is returning for a third year by popular demand.

For full details of the Highland and Islands Food and Drink Awards, please see www.hifoodanddrinkawards.com

Strane "Uncut" is the strongest Gin*

We have recently launched Strane "Uncut" in the UK. At 75.3% vol., Strane "Uncut" is the strongest commercially available gin.

How do we know Strane "Uncut" is the strongest gin? Well first of all we are not aware of another gin which is stronger.

Secondly, David T Smith of Summer Fruit Cup, who has reviewed over 300 gins, is also not aware of a stronger commercially available gin. Interestingly David notes in his review of Strane "Uncut" that the previous holders of the title would be Blackwoods and Finsbury, both at 60% Vol. for unaged gin, and for aged gin, an Alambic bottling.  

Thirdly, Strane "Uncut" is the strongest gin available at The Feathers Hotel, a hotel which offers a choice of 264 different gins.  

Fourthly we have enjoyed some coverage of Strane "Uncut" in the drinks press over the last couple of days, and so far no one has come forward to say another brand is stronger!

So Strane "Uncut" would appear to be the strongest available gin in the UK, if not the world. I doubt we will hold the title for long. Someone somewhere is probably working on something as I type. It has not been our intention to start a ‘strength race’, "Uncut"’s release has led from the unusual way Strane gin is created; three differently balanced base gins; junipery, citrusy and herbal, are distilled and then blended to create different expressions in bottle; Merchant Strength 47.4% vol., Navy Strength 57.1% vol. and now “Uncut”. With the blending taking place before the addition of water, the distiller Pär Caldenby, regularly samples and noses Strane gin at receiver strength.  Pär simply felt Strane in its uncut form was ‘too good to hold back’. With an increasingly crowded gin shelf we need to shout about what is different, and with Strane "Uncut", it is the strength.

Strane Uncut will only be produced in limited quantities. Intriguingly as it is over 70% alcohol, our order was shipped from Sweden as Dangerous Goods, or to be more precise as ‘UN3065 / Alcoholic Beverage / Class 3/ PG (packaging group) II in limited quantities'. This, as you probably guessed, costs extra.

Whilst exceptionally strong, Pär suggests trying Strane “Uncut” neat, ice cold, in very small sips, with a glass of water on the side. At first it will be (relatively) discreet due to the ice, then progressively increase in strength of character and power, until it simply goes into gin overdrive. With “Uncut” there is a mighty surge of power and strength of character, and it is rich in juniper, lemon peel, sage and mint. Strane “Uncut” is not an everyday gin, but a remarkable experience for gin lovers. Of course you are also welcome to experiment with Strane "Uncut" in your favourite cocktail.

Strane “Uncut” is now available to try at The Feathers Hotel in Oxford, the first bar outside Sweden to offer this extraordinary gin. A limited number of bottles are also available to purchase from Drinkfinder (Constantine Stores), Gauntleys of Nottingham and Master of Malt.

*possibly

Strane at The Feathers

Angels' Nectar - Blended by Angels, Shared by Friends

Angels’ Nectar, our new Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, inspired by the Angels’ Share, is now ready.

At any one time, there are an estimated twenty million casks maturing across Scotland, all exposed to what is affectionately called ‘the Angels’ Share’, the evaporation from casks during maturation.  The Angels take their pick; enjoying some casks more than others, whilst hard working distillers watch their efforts disappear. The Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is our re-creation of the Angels’ Share, bottled for you to savour.  Carefully created from a selection of Speyside and Highland malt whiskies, Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is unusually bottled at natural colour, has a sweet nose of apple and fruit syrup, a taste of heather honey and lemon, and a hint of spice on the finish. The Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is vibrant and fresh, just the way the Angels’ like their dram.

The label for this new whisky brand features a striking fractal design, with an Angel shaped ethereal mist, within which, a series of Angels can be seen enjoying their share.  

The Angels’ Nectar is now available from whisky specialists in the UK. We will be sampling Angels’ Nectar (along with Strane London Dry Gin) at Robertsons of Pitlochry on Saturday the 13^th of December (1pm to 3pm), and at the Green Welly Stop on Saturday the 20^th of December (11am to 2pm), so do come and try Angels’ Nectar. 

Hammerfall Single Malt Scotch Whisky

For friends in Sweden, Hammerfall Single Malt Scotch Whisky, one of the bottlings we have been working on has now gone on sale in Systembolaget. See http://www.systembolaget.se/85600 

Hammerfall selected this Single Malt for their bottling based on taste alone. It is heavily peated and the use of both former bourbon and former sherry casks in the maturation adds body and complexity. It is a limited edition of 5000 bottles, and is only available from Sweden's Systembolaget.

Smögen Svensk Single Malt Whisky and Strane London Dry Gin arrive in the UK

Smögen Primör, the first chance to taste single malt whisky from Sweden’s Smögen distillery, and Strane London Dry Gin, also produced at the Smögen distillery, are now available in the UK.

The Smögen distillery was designed and built in 2010 by pioneering distiller Pär Caldenby, on the west coast of Sweden, north of Gothenburg. With a production capacity of just 35000 litres, the comparatively small size of the distillery allows for an attention to detail not seen elsewhere. Until now every drop of Smögen Whisky has been distilled and blended by Pär Caldenby personally.

Smögen Primör is produced from optic barley of 45ppm and distilled by hand in small batches in a 600 litre spirit pot still. The spirit has then been matured in a combination of new European oak casks and former Bordeaux casks. Smögen Primör is heavily peated, powerful and rich for its age, and is bottled at natural colour and cask strength of 63.7% vol.. Primör is the first chance to taste Smögen, and indicates that the distillery has a exciting future. In Pär’s words ‘When I set out to build a distillery I was aiming to take inspiration from the best that Scotland, France and Japan could offer and make a very distinctive malt whisky, in fully traditional pot stills. The decidedly coastal location and use of heavily peated malt alongside virgin or first fill casks means a fast maturing whisky. Our first bottling, Primör, shows part of our progress to date and I am quite delighted with the result’.

Released alongside Primör is Strane London Dry Gin, Smögen’s handcrafted small batch gin. Twelve botanicals are used to produce three base gin styles; juniper, citrus and herbal, in batches of 45 litres. The base gins are then blended to produce the three expressions; Merchant, Navy and Uncut. Strane Merchant, the core expression is bottled at 47.4% Vol., and is blended to emphasize the smoothness that the high copper contact in the tiny whisky pot still gives to the spirit, while also providing depth and strength of character. Strane Merchant’s flavour is led by juniper, coriander and mint. Strane Navy is bottled at 57.1% Vol., or “100 proof”, is powerful and blended to highlight citrusy notes. Strane Uncut, at 75.3% is one of the strongest gins on the market, and will only be available in very limited quantities. Explaining his approach to Gin creation, Pär said ‘As a whisky man, it struck me that the art of blending should work very well with gin, as a good gin is about character and also – most importantly – about balance. To create the massive depth of character while retaining balance, the tiny pot still with its worm tub is important, but the blending makes it whole. Eminently sippable and makes for an enticing G&T’.

Smögen Primör is available from The Green Welly Stop, Single Malts Direct and The Whisky Exchange, whilst Strane is available at The Good Spirits Co., The Green Welly Stop, and The Whisky Exchange.

Strane & Tonic with Brambles

Welcome to the Highfern Blog

This is our story of the launch of a new drinks company and a new whisky brand. You will notice things look quite sparse around here. Apologies for that, but it is very early days, and brand design is one part of the process which is still very much under development. Without some nice fancy graphics, perhaps it is a bit early to start telling the story, but hey, here we go.

So where are we? To sum up as I type we have sampled and selected some very nice whisky, and after a less than smooth journey, we now have a trademark, but more of that later... We have a team of talented designers beavering away to create the label. We have a WOWGR, a what I hear you ask, well dear reader, it is the mysterious number issued by customs which allows us to trade in alcohol under bond. 

We are also working to introduce a selection of fine craft spirits from overseas to British drinkers. The first two are lined up; Smögen Whisky and Strane Gin, from Sweden. We will be bringing them to the UK soon (there is some bureaucracy to deal with, the details of which I won’t bore you with), but in the meantime, please follow @SmogenWhiskyUK and @StraneGinUK on twitter.

Cheers,

Robert Ransom