TASTING 19  28th March 2025

Young Distilleries Under 20 Years Old

For our 19th tasting, the theme was newer, younger distilleries with the rule that all bottles had to be under 20 years old. Having a theme always gives us focus, both in what we pour and in what knowledge we want to share. We’d recently held an Ardnamurchan night, so we deliberately left that one out, even though it’s a favourite. Instead, we lined up six other young distilleries for a mix of styles and stories.

In the run up, we stumbled across an article questioning the quality of younger distilleries, which gave us another angle to explore: who’s actually behind these projects? What became clear is that experience matters. Take Roseisle, which turned out to be the group’s favourite of the night (and also the priciest)  its strength showed not just in the whisky itself, but in the fact it was founded by people with serious industry experience. In contrast, some of the other distilleries, while interesting, had the feel of passion projects run by enthusiastic newcomers.

Another theme that emerged was peat. Many of the younger drams leaned heavily into peaty profiles, which we knew wouldn’t be a universal hit with our group. While a few enjoyed the smoky character, others found it less approachable. To balance that out, we added a little twist to the evening: with a moscow mule cocktail option, which gave everyone a chance to enjoy the drams in different ways.

Ballindoch 2016 (Highlands) – Fresh malt sweetness with orchard fruit and a soft cereal backbone, showing youthful vibrancy.

Man ‘O’ Sword 2017 (Lowlands) – Crisp and grassy with lemon zest, vanilla cream, and a touch of peppery spice.

Roseisle 12 Year Old (Speyside) – Rounded and elegant, offering honey, ripe pear, and gentle floral notes with balanced oak.

Kilkerran 12 Year Old (Campbeltown) – Oily and coastal with salted caramel, citrus peel, and a hint of mineral smoke.

Torabhaig Allt Gleann 2017 (Isle of Skye) – A lively young peat with maritime salt, smoked herbs, and a sweet malty core.

Kilchoman 12 Year Old (Islay) – Bold peat smoke wrapped around dark chocolate, citrus, and warming spice, with a long coastal finish.