William Grant & Sons has launched Ailsa Bay, a new single malt whisky from the Ailsa Bay Distillery.
Ailsa Bay is a state-of-the-art distillery created in 2007. It was initally built to combine the purpose of increasing capacity and supply of malt whisky for blending and growing demand, plus the capacity to develop a new style of peated whisky. With its unique advanced technologies and precise controls, the distillery allowed Master Blender Brian Kinsman and his team the ability to isolate and control more elements from the initial distillation, to the maturation process, which enabled optimal control over the type and quality of liquid produced. Rarely will a Master Blender be able to exercise more control of his craft and, at the same time, be given such space and encouragement to innovate.
Peter Gordon, Director of William Grant & Sons the visioner behind the project comments,“With Ailsa Bay, we wanted to create a very heavily peated whisky with all of the sweetness and smokiness we could muster, but also dial down on some of the medicinal notes that characterise some peated whiskies.”
He continues, “Ailsa Bay is a testament to our whisky-making expertise and the skills of our Master Blender Brian Kinsman. We invest heavily in keeping the innovation conveyor belt going. Hopefully, we can do this in a pioneering way that respects the traditions that our family has passed down through the generations.”
Master Blender Brian Kinsman comments, “Ailsa Bay Distillery has allowed us to do something extremely special. Using our precision distilling methods and a special process for cask maturation, I am able to carefully control the outcome of the whisky. With Ailsa Bay, I took exceptional peated malt and ex Baby Bourbon Hudson casks to create a whisky with a balance of smoke and sweetness, to occupy a new space on the flavour map.”
Ailsa Bay has an ABV of 48.9% per 70 cl bottle.