As the name implies, Single Malt Whisky is whisky which was produced at a single distillery and carries with it the depth of flavour generated by the water, barley, malt drying process and design of the still of a particular distillery. This differs from the popular blended Scotch whiskies (Dewars, Johnny Walker, J&B etc) which are a blend of 40 to 60% single malts from several distilleries, with the balance being neutral grain spirits. Because of various factors unique to each distillery, each single malt has distinctive flavour and is different from any other. There are over 100 distilleries in Scotland, so the possibilities are vast.

In addition to the unique components and equipment used by each distillery, the type of barrel used for aging the whisky, and the length of aging in the barrel create further distinctions; even from whiskies produced by the same distillery. The possibilities become almost endless!

There are general groups of single malts defined by geographic areas in Scotland-notably three: the Highlands, the Islands and the Lowlands and, historically, a fourth: Campbeltown. The 1811 House list which follows will use the geographic groups; and we will briefly describe them so you can get some idea of the various differences before you try them.

Each of the single malts offered is distinctive. To assist our guests in selecting a "wee dram" to try, we have added notes from Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch for each offering covered by his book.

HIGHLANDS
This area consists of mainland Scotland above a traditional line stretching from just north of Glasgow to Perth and Dundee. The vast majority of the single malt distilleries are located in this region and, as you would expect there is a wide range of flavours and styles among them. Many of the most well known malts come from an area called "Speyside" which is near Inverness and the Spey and Livet rivers. Both Glenlivet and Glenfiddich (the two largest selling single malts.. over 80% of the U.S. Market) are made in this district.

Abelour    10 year old   80 proof
"... long lasting flavour development. Dry, biscuity notes; malty sweet-ness; peppermint; spice; and berry fruit.”

Abelour    16 year old   86 proof

Double matured in oak and sherry barrels.  Spicy nuttiness in the nose.  It is smooth with a soft plum fruitiness and a long warm, spicy finish.

Abelour A’bunadh “a-boon-ah”    (Cask strength)    120 proof
Sherry casked, sherry & mint in the nose, rich luxurious and creamy with a hint of mint and cherries.

Aberfeldy  12 year old   80 proof

Heather, honey nose, with a full body taste and rounded finish, that is dry with a hint of spicy orange.

The Balvenie Port Wood    21 year old   80 proof

The nose is soft, round, quite full-bodied and sweet with rich toffee and vanilla oak.  Good body and richness and quite delicately peated with a long finish.

Benriach     10 year old    80 proof
Pale straw color, fresh. light malty-peaty, medium sweet nose with touches of coffee and spice in the flavor and finish

Cardhu     12 year old    86 proof
"light to medium in flavour...emphasis on malty sweetness"

Cragganmore 12 year old 80 proof
"most complex aroma of any malt...delicate,clean.. with a huge range of herbal flowery notes"

Dalmore     12 year old   86 proof
Full, medium sweet, spicy flavour with a slight smokiness. The finish is long, smooth and slightly orangy

Dalmore     21 year old    86 proof  Nose is perfumy sherry, apricots. Medium bodied with a soft rich feel, dark chocolate with fruits and nuts. The finish is satisfying with a lingering smokiness.

Dalwhinnie    15 year old    86 proof
"very aromatic,lightly peaty...smooth, long lasting flavour development...heather honey notes give way to cut grass, malty sweetness, which intensifies until a sudden burst of peat."

The Edradour   10 year old   86 proof
"more sherry character..more nutty maltiness, astonishingly creamy"

Glendronach "Traditional"   12 year old     86 proof
Not rated by Jackson.   Has approximately 80% sherry casking and balance in old barrels, pleasant sherry flavour without overpowering the malt and fruit flavours.  No longer bottled.

Glenfarclas    12 year old   86 proof
"Plenty of flavour, with notes of peat-smoke. long finish with oaky notes"

Glenfarclas    17 year old    86 proof
Deep golden amber hue; Impressive fruity orange, dried fruit, smoke scented aromas; rich, intense, and full-bodied; with a viscous mouthfeel and flavors."

Glenfarclas     21 year old    86 proof
"More sherry and a greater smokiness, as well as a dash of oak, immense flavour development with a remarkably long finish. Becoming sweetish and perfumy."

Glenfarclas    25 year old    86 proof
"Flavours tightly interlocked at first, very slow, insistent flavour development-long, oaky, sappy finish.

Glenfarclas “105” (Cask strength)   120 proof
This is one the strongest malt whisky’s offered by any distillary. An austere, spirity, malty dram with a long dry finish

Glenfiddich Special Reserve    12 year    86 proof
"Light, lean, dryish, pear-like, more fruitiness as flavour develops"

Glenfiddich Solera Reserve   15 year old    86 proof

Full and fragrant aroma, very smooth, great depth of flavor, long finish.

Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve   18 year old    86 proof
A mellow malt with a delicate sweetish flavor, smooth, and full bodied, a blend of oak and sherry.

Glenfiddich Rare Aged    30 year old   86 proof

Sweeter, more honeyed than most, with a simple and clean finish.  Vanilla at first and then bourbon-style oak notes.

Glen Garioch   8 year old    86 proof
"smokiness,then some raisiny sweetness, developing into a tasty, malty character”

Glen Garioch  15 year old   86 proof

Very floral smells, rather sweet taste of malt and oak.  A pleasant finish, slightly smoked.

Glengoyne     10 year old    86 proof
“ golden, unpeated malt, light and wonderfully smooth with a fruity finish.

Glengoyne     17 year old   86 proof
Soft mellow oak and apple fruitiness in the nose. Rich, full of oak & fruit on palate very long and rich finish. The barley is air dried for a smoother taste.

Glenhaven     17 year old (Cask Strength)    62.3% alcohol
Special individual bottling form the Benromach distillery. Peaches and apricots in the nose, creamy and spicy on the palate with a soft floral note finish.

Glen Keith    10 year old    86 proof

“medium sweet, soft oak, rich, creamy flavor, a slight toffee touch, a rich finish.”

Glenlivet   12 year old   86 proof

"light to medium body...flowery, peachy, notes of vanilla, delicate balance between sweetness and malty character."

Glenlivet     18 year old    86 proof 

Not reviewed by Jackson.  Fuller and oakier than the 12 year old with a slight hint of sherry, mellow and warming.

Glenlivet Archive   21 year old    86 proof
Special limited release, deep multi-layered nose, rich, creamy, smooth texture, lots of sherry in the long lingering finish.

Glenmorangie “Glen MORangie”    10 year old     86 proof
"light to medium body,...spicy, flowery, and malty sweet tones that are almost buttery."

Glenmorangie Madeira Wood Finish    12 year old    86 proof

On the tongue the spirit is smooth but spicy, sweet at first then becoming drier, warming to cherry and vanilla, rum, butter, horehound and licorice.

Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish    12 year old    86 proof
Aged 12 years in oak barrels then two years in port (wine barrels other than sherry are rarely used for whisky aging) The bouquet changes rapidly as water is added. Chocolate, butterscotch, fruit and nut flavours emerge with a smooth, sweet finish with a hint of port wine and walnuts at the end.

Glenmorangie     18 year old    86 proof
“smooth, medium dry, quite full bodied, with a spicy, long almost creamy finish.”

Longmorn     15 year old    86 proof
“big, barly malt nose with flowery nose..clean, malty but dry finish, nutty, hint of sherry,appetizing, very long.”

Macallan Fine Oak    10 year old   80 proof

Complex nose, with hints of fruit and heather honey.  Soft palate with a maltiness, balanced with oak and fruit.  Lingering finish with hints ofoak and fruit.

Macallan     12 year old (sherry cask)    86 proof
"Sherry, honey nose with flowery notes... sherryish, with first hints of flowering currant.”

Macallan     18 year old (sherry cask)    86 proof
"...assertive sherry character...complex and full flavour, with flowering currant and calvados-like notes... Slow finish, then oaky, sappy andpowerful.

Macallan Cask Strength   No stated age(sherry cask)    116 proof

Rich dried fruit, chocolate, orange, with wood spices in the nose, tastes of full, rich wood spices (ginger), fruits coming through afterwards.

Macallan Gran Reserva    20 year old (sherry cask)     80 proof

Slightly orange citrus, waxy/oily with robust clove spice and wood.  Full, resinous and spicey, suffused with delicious orange and dried fruitflavours.  Rich wood finish with hints of cloves.

McClellands “Highland”    5 year old    80 proof

It is actually Glen Garioch from the Bowmore distillery. Citrus, spicy nose, well balanced sweet and malty, with a sweetish finish.

McClellands “Highland”     16 year old     80 proof

It is actually Glen Garioch from the Bowmore distillery. Citrus, spicy nose, well balanced sweet and malty, with a sweetish finish.

Oban     14 year old    86 proof
" dry, smoky, with malty and fruity undertones.”

Royal Lochnagar    12 year old    80 proof\

"light smokiness, restrained fruitiness and malty sweetness"

Royal Lochnagar Selected Reserve    86 proof
No age statement but claimed to be over 22 year average. Big, smooth, with nutty, vanilla creamy palate and lots of sherry; with a smoky finish.

Sheep Dip    8 year old   80 proof

Whisky is the traditional drink of British farmers, and in certain parts of the coutnry is affectionately known as "sheep dip".  The taste is lightly heathered, warm and grassy.

Singleton     10 year old   86 proof

"Extraordinarily smooth, but almost chewy; sherryish and fruity, with a hint of smoke"

Speyburn   10 year old   86 proof

"Pale straw color, a rich lemony fruity nose, a fresh clean and rich medium sweet, full bodied flavor, a long sweet finish"

Speyside  12 year old  86 proof

Golden brown color.  Clean, balanced nose with toasted barley aroma.  Smooth satisfying taste with ripples of hazelnut, hints of vanilla and toffee in the finish.

Strathisla     12 year old    86 proof
“ dry, sherryish, complex nose, very well balanced sherry at first developing to a dryish malty character. Very smooth, long, soothing.”

Tamdhu    10 year old   80 proof

"The color is deep gold.  The nose is full and refined, slightly smoked.  The palate recalls cereals with an evolution on the fruits.  The finish reveals malted barley and citrus fruits."

Tamnavulin     12 year old    86 proof
“Quite different from the 10 year old, full nutty flavors, yet smooth, with a long and dry finish.”

Tamnavulin     22 year old    90 proof

Not rated by Jackson.  A very smooth and complex version of the younger malt offered above.

Tomatin    12 year old    86 proof

Complex bouquet contains rich, malty and fruity aromas with just a hint of peatiness.  The flavor is apples, pears and maltiness enhanced by a gentle hint of nuttiness with a long and satisfying finish.

ISLANDS
While there are dozens of islands which are part of Scotland, only six distill single malts: Islay, Jura, Mull, Aran, Orkneys and Skye. There is generally a distinctive difference between the Island malts and all others. This is an assertive smoky-peaty flavour and generally heavier taste. The 1811 House offers several Island malts including Laphroaig and Lagavulin from Islay, which are considered to be the most smoky and peaty of them all.

Ardbeg     10 year old    92 proof
“Exceptional balance and depth...the aroma is a beguiling mix of toffee and chocolate sweetness, cinnamon spice and medicinal phenols...smoky sweetness is left on the palate.

Bowmore   10 year old   80 proof

"lightly sweet, then spicy and leathery.  HInt of smoke, late lngering saltiness."  This is a full flavoured peaty malt.

Bowmore     17 year old    86 proof

Complex aroma, with plenty of peat, spice and heather flavours. “Round, quite full bodied, smoky, and rich.”

Bowmore     21 year old    86 proof
" hugely aromatic, sherry, oak, smoke, heather,and especially seaweed nose. Astonishingly flavours of sherry, marzipan, nuts, oiliness, seaweed, salt. Heathery, aromatic,long and warming finish."

Bowmore Mariner    15 year old    86 proof

"more sherry character, heathery, seaweedy, lots of flowering currant in the nose"

Bowmore Darkest    No age stated    86 proof
Huge heavy peaty bouquet, strong flavors of peat and sherry oak... a lingering oak finish with a bit of a bite.

Bowmore Legend    No age stated    80 proof

Light to medium body, balanced sweetness with peaty overtones. Fresh and light finish.

Bruichladdich  "Brook-laddie"  10 year old   86 proof

Fresh, clean, flowery nose.  On the palate it is lightly creamy, peaches, summer fruits, zesty, almost effervescent.  The flavors meld, ont he finish with a touch of sharpness.

Bunnahabhain "Boo- nah- hob-in" (Islay)   12 year old     86 proof
"lightest of the Islay malts-remarkably fresh "sea air" aroma-light to medium body-gentle, clean, nutty-malty sweetness "

Coal Ila  18 year old  86 proof

The nose is complex and marked by peat, iodine, spices and citrus fruits.  The palate is elegant, and reveals hints of candy, sweet almond and dry peat.  The finish is long, smooth and firm, and develops on smoky malted barley sweetness.

Highland Park (Orkney)    18 year old     86 proof
Rich full flavor with honey and peat, soft round with a long finish. “A wonderfully unique and complex malt.”

Highland Park (Orkney) Cask Strengh     25 year old      106 proof
Full, rich, burst of flavor, including soft honey and nutty toffee. “Long rich finish which is surprisingly sweet for its age.”

Isle of Jura (Jura)     10 year old      86 proof
"Light and dry, slowly developing a faint hint of island dryness and saltiness"

Isle of Jura Superstition   No age stated   90 proof

A union of two Jura malt whisky styles - one bold, strong and peated, the other warm and delicate.  This innovative Scotch whisky is created from the marriage of traditional Islay style peated barley and a selection of aged malts.  The result is a first in malt whisky.

Lagavulin (Islay)     16 year old     86 proof
"sherry, full, salty notes emerge. Huge, powerful, peaty, salty, embracing finish”

Laphroaig (Islay)    10 year old     90 proof
"medium. medicinal, phenolic, seaweedy nose with a hint of sherry. Seaweedy, salty, oily"

Laphroaig (Islay)     15 year old     90 proof
"medium to full. Powerful, sweet at first, then salty and dry.

McClellands “Islay”     5 year old      80 proof
A private bottling from the Bowmore distillery. It is actually Bowmore scotch aged just 5 years.

Talisker (Skye)     10 year old     91.6 proof
"Full, smoky, malty-sweet, with sourness and a very big pepperiness developing, with a huge, long finish."

LOWLANDS
The Lowlands area extends from Glasgow - Edinburgh south to the English border, but many of the distilleries are near Glasgow where the major blending houses are also located. While the vast majority of all Scotch whisky is produced in the Lowlands, only a few single malt distilleries are located there. The malts are generally characterised by being fairly light in flavour and soft on the palate.

Auchentoshen “Owk’n tosh’n”     10 year old     80 proof
“Clean, fresh, gentle nose with delicate flowery note. Lemon grass palate, with a gingery and crisp finish”

Auchentoshen Select “Owk’n tosh’n”     No age stated     80 proof
“bright gold color, lemon grass notes, maltiness- definite but light. Light crips finish wth a hint of spiciness.

Glenkinchie      10 year old     86 proof
"Light to medium. A very clean, grassy sweetness, smooth, well defined, with lots of flavour development."

McClellands Lowlands    5 year old     80 proof
It is actually Auchentoshen bottled by the Bowmore distillery. “Fresh citrus nose, hints of lemon grass and vanilla. Light and beautifully balanced, a soft satisfying finish."

CAMPBELTOWN
Campbeltown is a city at the southern tip of the Kintyre Peninsula located west and south of Glasgow and quite close to Ireland. At one time there were over 30 distilleries near Campbeltown but now there are only two, and one of those is not in production. Campeltown malts are hard to find, however, Springbank and Longrow are personal favorites and we have recently been able to acquire a few bottles of these fine malts and are pleased to be able to offer them. The malts of Campeltown are known for their great complexity and depth of flavour.

Springbank     10 year old    92 proof
Sweet, fruity and salty, a very fresh nose. Intense clean sweetness, cocunut & mint. Extraordinarily long finish.

Longrow    10 year old    92 proof

"The nose is piney and peaty.  It has stunningly fresh peat flavors, with a sweet, salt and peppery, astonishingly long finish.  A beautifully composed whisky with classic Scottish flavors."

Longrow      18 year old     92 proof   QUANTITIES LIMITED
Not rated by Jackson.  It is slightly sweet at first taste, but develops a very long, complex flavour full of peat and some sherry. Much like a full Islay malt.  This malt is no longer being distilled.

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