IAN Macleod Distillers, the company behind the Glengoyne and Tamdhu single malts, had an eye on the future of the whisky industry when it collaborated with students from Heriot-Watt University for a special limited-edition bottling.
The company’s Blending Room team, which creates blended whiskies including Isle of Skye and The Six Isles, worked with students from the university’s International Centre for Brewing and Distilling to create a special 250-bottle release.
The project allowed the students to experiment with various aspects of whisky blending, including fill strength, blend formulation, time in cask and toast/char level.
The finished spirit, a blend of liquid from the Speyside, Highland and lowland regions, was matured in first-fill bourbon and refill casks before being finished for three months in virgin American oak casks.
It was bottled at 44.4% ABV and released as Blending Room 01: Heriot Watt.
The whisky is described as having notes of smooth toffee and coconut on the nose with flavours of sweet coffee and chocolate.
The collaboration will continue each year, with Ian Macleod releasing the finished blend through its website.
Emma Newton, blender at Ian Macleod Distillers, said: “Ian Macleod Distillers has a storied history in distilling and long-earned expertise in blending, so I think it’s fitting that we’ve had the chance to share this experience with the distillers and blenders of tomorrow from the Brewing and Distilling MSc at Heriot-Watt University.
“As a graduate of this programme, it has been a brilliant collaboration and the students should be proud as they’ve created a delightful dram!”
Professor Annie Hill of Heriot-Watt University said the students were ‘given an experience that will help elevate their career in the whisky world’.
“We have blended something really special and that myself and Ian Macleod’s Blending Room are really proud of,” said Hill.
Heriot-Watt students Euan Martin, Matt Priaulx, Kellan Cowan, and Jake Adcook all participated in the blending project.
Priaulx said: “A massive thankyou to Ian Macleod’s Blending Room for the opportunity to learn and gain the expertise from the best in the business.
“To be part of such a special bottling has been such an enriching experience. I look forward to sharing a dram with my fellow course members and our supervisor, Prof Annie Hill, who has been on the journey with us.”
