The second whisky in Edinburgh-based, Cask 88’s award-winning Scottish Folklore Series of single cask bottlings is a 22-year-old distilled at the Arran distillery which is now on sale to the general public.
Only 183 bottles will be available and the whisky has a recommended retail price of £200.
The distinctive branding features the capricious selkie, long-feared by fishermen and island dwellers.
Selkies shed their skin to change from seal to human form and will seek human lovers to drag to the ocean’s depths, according to legend.
The luxurious nose has delectable notes of sweet demerara sugar, Coca Cola and classic sherry cask dried fruit.
These give way to warming Autumnal aromas ranging from sweet roasted chestnuts to dried tobacco leaves and hints of tree bark with some malted cereal notes still preserved.
The first in the series was a 45-year-old Ben Nevis 1972 Single Malt (70cl; 43.2% ABV; £650 RRP), Cù-Sìth.
It won gold medals at the 2018 International Wine and Spirits Competition in the Highland Single Malt 30-45 Year Old category.
It also won gold in the Design & Media Awards category and a gold medal at the 2018 Independent Bottlers Challenge.
The Highland single malt features a design inspired by the Cù-Sìth, a large hound, with a murderous bark, said to stalk the Highlands of Scotland.
The Cask 88 Scottish Folklore series will consist of six unique, single cask expressions, each featuring a mythical beast who has roamed the highlands, stalked the lowlands or inhibited the islands.
Director Patrick Costello told guests at the launch at Borthwick Castle, Midlothian, that he had never seen an Arran whisky so dark and he added: “It displays fantastic maturity and colour for a whisky of its age.”
The Scottish Folklore Series is available for worldwide and for more information visit: https://cask88.com
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