Marvelous New Malts To Try This Autumn

By Richard Thomas

Single malt whiskies, with their distinct and individual identities and rich-yet-sophisticated characters, have always been a drink withdrawn from my shelf from late Spring to early Autumn. Between living in sweltering DC, steamy Asia, sunny Portugal and now also-sweltering Kentucky, my adult years have been marked by summer climates that were too hot to enjoy most malts properly. Everyone has their own individual tastes, but I have met a lot of people who look at summertime as the season for chilled cocktails and pours over plenty of rocks, and not neat sipping from a Glencairn glass.

Yet it is 55F outside as I type this, and I brought some malts out to put on my shelf again. This year, however, things have changed for this annual ritual. Previously it would have been Scotch-centric, with maybe a bottle of Irish or Japanese. But now there are a host of worthy American malts and world whiskies to choose from as well, and taken as a whole there are plenty of new malts to try out this Fall.

Bruichladdich Octomore 12th Edition ($199 to $260): Good news for lovers of peaty smokebombs! The ultra-peated Bruichladdich expression is available for regular distribution in the US for the first time. Heretofore, Octomore has been available only as a Travel Retail item in the US, if even that, so if you could get one it was as a specially imported item. Octomore has become famous for delivering the peat, a reputation that can be proven in numbers. The phenols that produce peaty flavor can be measured in ppm, with the typical Islay whisky measuring around 40 or 45 ppm; Octomore is always at least 80 and routinely goes over 100. There are three versions of Octomore this year, labeled as 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3.

Dalmore 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Select ($80): For Scotch-lovers who prefer Sherried to peaty whisky, this Dalmore came across the Atlantic earlier this year, so now it is available to malt-fans everywhere.

Dingle Irish Single Malt ($60): The little distillery on the west coast of Ireland has been releasing single malts for some years now, but always in discrete, one-shot batches. Now they have built up to the point to put a single malt out in regular release, and in so doing gone a long way to making their whiskey more accessible. Currently available in the EU and UK, it is still only a special-import item in the US, but it is here and distribution will only improve with time.

Laws Whiskey House Henry Road Bottled in Bond Single Malt ($75): Colorado’s Laws Whiskey House has increasingly built up its portfolio of bonded craft whiskeys, so much so that some expressions have now seen several installments and have six year old versions out. Their foray into American Malts is more recent, but even so this year saw the release of a second batch of bonded malt whiskey from the distillery, aged in #3 char, 53-gallon new American oak barrels.

Starward Unexpeated Australian Single Malt ($110): Peated Australian malt, you say? Not quite. What Starward has done with this latest expression is take their signature malt, aged in Australian red wine casks, and given it a finish in casks from Islay used to age “heavily peated” whisky. The result is said to be not a smoke bomb, but a more modest and subtle accent of peat. This whisky has been reported for sale in Australia and France thus far, so everywhere else it is a special import item. That said, it is around now, and Starward is making a big international marketing push. So, expect to see more of these green-labeled bottles from them in the near future.

Virginia Distilling Company Courage & Conviction ($85): The Virginia Distilling Company got its start with skillfully made hybrids of imported Scotch malts and their own in-house spirit, but in their Courage & Conviction line they have moved on to totally in-house American Malts. The line has three cask types to choose from: bourbon, sherry, and cuvée.

Yamazaki Limited Edition Japanese Single Malt 2021 ($1,000): After a four year, shortage-driven hiatus, Yamazaki is back with a new Limited Edition Single Malt. This whisky was created by drawing on stocks of new cask, Mizunara-aged whisky, all 12 years or older. The result is a river of tropical fruits and spices, showcasing what a middle-aged whisky drawn from uniquely Japanese Mizunara casks can be. Initially released in May and only in Japan, the initial consignment sold out almost immediately. Subsequent consignments are now on the market, available here and there around the world, but mark-ups vary dramatically. You may very well find it cheaper to buy it in Japan and have it shipped to you than to pick it up from, say, California or Holland.