Good value priced single cask, cask-strength bottlings are hard to find, but some new offerings from

Master of Malt, an online drinks retailer in Kent, UK are here to tempt you to try some new offerings from two old favorite distilleries and two you’ve probably never tasted.

These bottlings offer you a 20-year old Cragganmore, a 14-year old Dalmore, a 27-year old Dailuaine and a single cask, cask strength single grain whisky, 20-year old North British.

This does not look or taste like the typical Dalmore profile which is heavily influenced by sherry cask aging. This bottling is pale gold with scents of pear, raisins, vanilla, caramel and orange rind on the nose. The flavor starts out with pear eau de vie, then dark dried fruits, dark chocolate, and toasted sesame seed following. It is rich, slightly oily and slightly black-peppery with a lingering finish.  It is surprising how readily it can be identified as a Dalmore without the heavy sherry influence.

Rating: 80-85   Pricing: £44.95 or about $74

With a pale gold color, the nose starts off as lightly floral, with a gentle whiff of violets and lavender, then caramel and vanilla and finally spice cake. This medium bodied dram is mellow and nutty with an apple/caramel character. It is mouth-coating and very balanced with a lingering fruity finish. A very well-mannered aperitif or mid-day whisky.

Not typical of Cragganmore distillery bottlings, but very nice.

Rating: 85-90   Pricing: £49.95 or about $82

Rating: 80-85   Price: £64.95 or about $106

Most of the output of the Dailuaine Distillery goes into Johnnie Walker and distillery bottlings are rare.

Brief History: North British Distillers was founded in 1885, with 1888 as their first year of production. It was founded by Andrew Usher and others, who was one of the first blenders of whisky, incorporating grain whisky from the then new invention, the

column still.

Today, at full production North British produces the equivalent of 10 bottles of whisky per second. Whew! (No distillery bottlings actually take place.)  All their output is for blending by Diageo and Edrington Group blends such as: Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark, Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell’s, Black & White, Vat 69, Haig and

White Horse.

Their whisky is distilled mainly from maize (corn) from South West France although there is also some malted and unmalted barley. They ran their own huge maltings operation until 2002 but now outsource their malt needs.

The distillery has the capacity to ferment 12 million liters of whisky wash at any one time. The NB’s three Coffey (column) stills are identical, and each is fed continuously with between 35,000 - 40,000 liters of wash per hour, producing spirit at strength of 94.5% alcohol.

The spirit is trucked from the distillery in Edinburgh to Muirhall in a road tanker at a strength of 94.5%. 

It is pumped into reducing vats, where de-mineralized water is added to reduce the strength down to 68.6% before it is filled into ex-bourbon casks.

Impressions: Light gold in color. Very fruity and floral, delightful golden banana scent.

Wow, what a flavor. Sweet corn in a bottle, slight maltiness and buttery texture, very full flavor, a bit oily. Mellow yet spicy finish. Reminds me a bit of Hedonism from Compass Box, a blended grain whisky the goes for about £51.

Rating: 85-90   Price: £44.95 or about $74

For me the most unusual and outstanding, both for value and flavor is the North British. A great thing about this source is that many of their drams, including the North British are available as samples, so that you can try them before committing to a full bottle purchase.  That’s awesome. Cheers!

Other media on Grain Whisky Production: http://www.maltmadness.com/whisky/grain-whisky.html