The light music of Whisky falling into a glass

Published 15 Jun 2011 09:30 0 Comments

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Twenty year-old Bladnoch Single Malt Whisky 50.8% is available at Demijohn shops in Edinburgh, Glasgow, York and online at www.demijohn.co.uk

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- an agreeable interlude

ANGUS Ferguson is a man of 'persistent and relentless determination' - a character trait which has stood him in good stead when sourcing specialities for his hugely successful niche business, the liquid deli, Demijohn.

He and his wife Frances founded Demijohn in Edinburgh in 2004 and now have branches in Glasgow and York and it is their combined passion for excellent food and drink which has led to Demijohn's exciting and award winning array of products from Gooseberry Gin to Bramble Vinegar.

But they are still ever watchful, always on the look out for something new and different, the more quirky and obscure the better, and the bigger the challenge in finally getting the liquid quarry into Demijohn's shops the more pleasure Angus seems to get from the chase.

And so it was at the original cask of Bladnoch single malt which has recently made its appearance at Demijohn, the delicate golden goal of a very special quest.

Angus says: "My passion for Bladnoch Whisky started in 1993, when as a student on my first job I regularly passed the distillery's dormant walls on my way to work at the Steam Packet Inn in the Isle of Whithorn, about 10 miles to its West.

"At that time I knew little about scotch whisky other than that it was strong in taste and that the effects of consuming too much made for a very sore head in the morning!

"I did understand, however, that other Galloway locals were immensely passionate about their distillery and that there was a common sadness that United Distillers, had finally ceased its production in June 1993."

Angus and Frances have been sourcing increasingly complex single cask, single malts for Demijohn ever since they opened, a direct response to the surge in demand from their product savvy customers.

Single malts such as Linkwood from Speyside and Caol Ila from Islay have been regularly on the menu, but never a Lowland single malt and the hunt for a suitable Lowland malt was inevitably going to lead Angus to Bladnoch and new owner Raymond Armstrong's door... and so it did in June 2007.

The meeting should have taken an hour but when two like minds meet the craic is good and the inevitable electricity between the two led to a meeting which was FOUR hours long and a new friendship.

Raymond initially bought the disused distillery to redevelop it for holiday cottages in 1994 but by 1998 he had been seduced by the magic of uisque beatha and had decided that production at the distillery should be restarted. After long and protracted negotiations he was finally awarded a licence to distil up to 100,000 litres per year, a very small amount for any modern commercial distillery and, on December 18, 2000, distilling finally recommenced.

Needless to say a deal was struck to buy a cask for Demijohn but what Angus dreamed of was an original cask! However, like all things in whisky, good things comes to those that wait. Three and half years on, and after many more stories have been shared and samples drunk, Demijohn finally has cask No. 132, first filled in 1990, on tap to sell at its original cask strength of 50.8 % - the only complete cask of original Bladnoch Raymond has agreed to sell since his purchase of the distillery in 1994.

"It may have taken an incredible amount of time to procure this excellent 20 year Bladnoch Single Malt Whisky, but with overtones of honeyed apples and traces of citrus, there is no time like the present to try this rare single malt. This is just the start of a wonderful story.

This article appeared in Eastwood Mercury 15 Jun 11