The climax of all whiskey tours in Scotland is a visit to the oldest distillery of Strathail, named so because of the terrain: Strath is a mountain valley, Isla is a river. A small river really flows through the enterprise, which turns the water wheel of an old mill and is used as a cooler for the resulting spirits. It produces single malt, which is part of Chivas Regal. The company has opened a Visitor center and on excursions tourists are offered to taste single malt Strathisla, as well as twelve and eighteen year old blended Chivas Regal.
Historical reference. In a cozy corner of Northern Scotland, where the distillery is located today, there was a monastery in the XNUMXth century. It was famous for its rich heather ale, which was made by Dominican monks, and the holy spring with crystal clear water gushing from the ground. The source was called Naomh, which means “holy” in Gaelic. The water from this spring is still pure today, it is used in the production of whiskey.
The distillery originated in 1786, when farmers George Taylor and Alexander Milln decided to start a new business as a partner. The distillery built on the leased lands of the count received the name Milltown (Milltown) consonant with the names of the founders. Milln soon went out of business, and the business became the Taylor family property. The spirits produced were in demand among the population of the entire district, and Taylor even had to install a second still to increase production. But he did it illegally, and the English tax authorities made him pay – they fined him 500 pounds for fraud.
Taylor did not have a managerial grip, whiskey would have remained small-town if, after the death of the founder of the distillery in 1820, his heirs had not sold the company to William Longmore. CEO of William Longmore Ltd. began to develop a distillery: doubled the number of distillation cubes and staff. The company was engaged in sales of strong alcoholic beverages and beer, and Milltown spirits were actively used in blends. After a big fire at the end of the XNUMXth century, the distillery had to be completely reconstructed.
It was possible to restore production only in the 20s of the last century. On the eve of World War II, the company was bought by Jay Pomeroy, a native of Russia. He renamed the distillery Strathisla after the name of the area, and began selling whiskey on the black market under various brands. The fraud did not last long: in 1949, Pomeroy was convicted, accused of tax evasion and recovered almost 112 thousand pounds.
In 1951, the almost bankrupt enterprise was bought by James Barclay, owner of Chivas Brothers. Under him, Strataille whiskey became an independent drink, and not just the basis for blends. The distillery and the Strathisla brand are still owned by the company today, when Chivas Brothers became part of the alcohol giant Pernod Ricard.
Interesting facts about Strathisla
- According to legend, spirits guarded Naomi’s spring: on a dark night, horses ran in a circle, like in a circus arena, one after another. Residents heard their snorting and stomping. With the dawn, they seemed to dissolve, leaving behind a circle trampled by hooves with a radius of 50 meters. Even today this place looks like after a magic ritual: absolutely round, as if drawn with a compass, a clearing with barely breaking grass is densely surrounded by trees.
- In 1993, the stock of Stratile legends was replenished with a funny story of a cat named Dizzy. In mid-July, several containers of oak bourbon barrels arrived at the distillery from Louisville. When one of them was opened, a cat exhausted from the journey and drunk from the fumes came out. They left her, gave her a “dizzying” name – Dizzy (in translation – “head is spinning”) and instructed to protect the cellars of the distillery from rodents, which she did until her death. Dizzy died of old age in 2006.
- In tourist brochures and guidebooks, Strataille is illustrated by the image of an ancient mill and vessel-shaped bottle kilns (bottle kiln) – tall structures with ovens in which grain was dried for the production of adhesive tape until 1960. Both objects are no longer functioning, but serve only to attract tourists and create a beautiful picture.
- Despite the difficult path of development, fires, wars and bankruptcy of the owners, the distillery has never stopped working. Stocks of spirits with different intensity, but invariably replenished.
- Chivas Regal produces only one type of tape – Strathisla 12 years old. And independent bottlers (companies involved in bottling drinks) offer Stratile with different aging periods. Adding its name to the Strathisla brand, the whiskey is now bottled and sold by Douglas Laing, Hart Brothers and Gordon & MacPhail.
- A characteristic feature of the production is a 12-year-old whiskey aging in oak barrels from Kentucky bourbon.
- The distillery has 4 distillation cubes of the original form – with a beveled “neck”. Experts believe that it is this design that provides the heaviest and most oily alcohols in all of Speyside.
Types of whiskey Stratilla
Chivas Regal Strathisla 12 years old (40%). A 12-year-old amber-gold single malt scotch with a mild, slightly buttery flavor with hints of dried fruit and heather, and a smoky aroma. Short bitter aftertaste.
Hart Brothers Strathisla 14 Years Old 1997 (46%). Scotch deep honey color, with a pleasant vanilla aroma and mild taste with hints of apricots and honey. Long warm aftertaste with notes of rose petal jam.
Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 1954 (40%). Whiskey golden color with an exposure period of 52 years. The drink has a sweetish aroma with notes of freshly cut meadow grasses and a mild taste with hints of honey and smoke. Long fruity-smoky aftertaste.
Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 1957 (43%). A rich amber-colored Scotch aged for 54 years in oak barrels from Kentucky bourbon. A pleasant fruity aroma with notes of prunes, tea rose and citrus fruits is due to an additional two years of aging in Spanish sherry casks. Multifaceted taste with hints of dried fruit, honey, nutmeg and cinnamon. Long warm aftertaste.
Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 1949 (40%). The 57-year-old amber scotch was first poured into sherry casks and only 2 years later it was bottled – in 2006. Whiskey has a complex aroma with notes of fruit, spices and honey-nut taste. Long smoky aftertaste.
Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 2005(43%). Golden single malt whiskey ten years old spent 2 years in sherry casks and was bottled in 2005. It smells pleasantly of meadow flowers, has a mild fruit and berry taste. The aftertaste is short with notes of smoke and heather.
Douglas Laing Strathisla 21 Years Old 1991(50%). The spirit was distilled in 1991 and aged for 21 years in a hogshead (large oak barrel). The limited release consists of only 156 bottles and was bottled in February 2013. The aroma of the drink is spicy, the taste is sweet, with hints of honey and raisins. Smooth aftertaste with notes of ginger and smoke.
Gordon & Macphail Private Collection Ultra Strathisla 1957 (51,6%). Stratile’s strongest tape was created by Gordon & MacPhail CEO Michael Urthart for the company’s private collection. The series consists of 61 crystal decanters, closed with a silver-plated cork. The blend is made up of spirits aged from 57 to 63 years and placed in a sherry barrel for a year and a half. The drink smells pleasantly of prunes and dried cherries, bright shades of multifaceted taste – chocolate, raisins, dried apricots. Slightly smoky and warm aftertaste.
All types of Strathisla are recommended by alcohol experts and bartenders to drink neat, as a digestif.