Allt-a-Bhainne 23 Years Old 1997 (Watt Whisky)

Distilled in 1997 and bottled by The Campbeltown Whisky Company in 2020 under the Watt Whisky imprint, this is a 23 Years Old Allt-a-Bhainne at 51.3% ABV from ex Bourbon maturation. The release is one of 241 bottles. Watt Whisky is the bottling brand of Mark and Kate Watt, with Mark a former Cadenhead's brand ambassador, operating out of Campbeltown under the Campbeltown Whisky Company legal entity.

Allt-a-Bhainne ferments malted barley for 48 to 50 hours on Mauri liquid yeast in closed stainless steel washbacks, then double distills through two copper wash stills and two copper spirit stills with steam heating and shell and tube condensers. The short Speyside ferment produces a clean malt forward spirit built as a blend filler for Chivas Regal, Passport and 100 Pipers. New make is reduced with Rowantree Burn water and tankered to Keith for cask filling and maturation, since the distillery holds no warehousing on site.

Ex Bourbon American oak frames cask contribution on vanillin and oak lactones from the toasted and charred staves, with Maillard chemistry from hemicellulose oak sugars driving honey and vanilla. The clean American oak palette suits Allt-a-Bhainne's lighter blend filler spirit. Twenty three years of cask interaction develops the ex Bourbon profile into deep maturity, with the lighter spirit character now fully integrated with the developed vanillin, oak lactone and Maillard product foundation.