A CASK IS LIKE A CHARACTER IN A NOVEL ― THE BEST ONES TUG AT YOUR HEART AND DON'T LET GO.
Chapter 7 Whisky
A measure of whisky is a story. It speaks of the distillery that produced it, the cask that matured it and the experience of the people who selected it.
A whisky can have the youthful exuberance of a Jane Austin character, the absolute power of an Alfred Tennyson poem and the surprise finish of an Agatha Christy novel. We’re using whisky to write an anthology, and every edition is a new chapter.
Chapter 7 is an Independent Bottler. We don’t make whisky, we discover it. We find exceptional casks that mature extraordinary whiskies.
A cask of whisky is a living, breathing, thing. Air moves in and out of the cask. The whisky’s flavour evolves and changes as it matures in the oak. Ageing builds character. And we find the best characters to bottle.
Monologue Series
Every monologue, sooner or later becomes a discussion. ― Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter
No two casks are the same. Even whiskies distilled from the same distillery on the same day, are unique. They have their own stories to tell.
In our Monologue Series, a single cask takes the stage. A Monologue whisky is a unique expression. It tells the story of the distillery that produced the whisky and the cask where it matured. There will never be a repeat performance; when all the bottles are sold there will never be any more. We usually bottle our Monologue whiskies at cask strength. But sometimes we’ll discover a younger malt that reveals itself at a lower strength.
Anecdote Series
A life saved is a statistic; a person hurt is an anecdote. Statistics are invisible, anecdotes are salient. ―Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Holmes & Watson; Frodo & Sam; Harry, Ron & Hermione. Some characters complement each other. Bringing casks together sometimes creates something grander than the sum of their parts.
Our Anecdote Series is on ensemble performance. An Anecdote whisky is a personal experience. We make them by bringing unusual whiskies together or with rare small batches. We curate these whiskies with casks that have something worth saying and bottle an Anecdote when we know it will tell an intriguing story.
Chronicle Series
A chronicle is very different from history. ― Howard Nemerov, The Journal of Philosophy
A cask of whisky is a living, breathing, thing. Like a whispered secret, the air's movement interacts with the wood and matures in flavour.
Our Chronicle series shows how time changes the flavour of maturing whisky. A Chronicle whisky is a small batch we repeat over time; drawing the whisky from our ageing cask reserves. Each Chronicle is part of an evolving sequence. The whiskies have nuances, eccentricities and charm from ageing and sensational wood fusions. Like siblings, each Chronicle whisky is different; but they have a shared foundation.
Prologue
Hamlet: Is this a Prologue or posy of a ring? / Ophelia: Tis brief, my Lord / Hamlet: As a woman's love. William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Prologue is like a foreword to the world of whisky. In our Whisky Anthology, it isn't as brief as what Hamlet thinks of a woman's love! It complements our range as Chapter 7's "big"est batch bottled from an outturn of usually around 15 casks. It's a tribute to "Dramming, a semi-legal practice of doling out drams to distillery workers during their shifts before the mid 1970s.
We curate Prologue from vibrant Speyside and Highland single malts aged in bourbon wood. Prologue is enjoyed straight as a daily dram and a perfect mixer in cocktails.