William Grant debuts Wildmoor whisky

Glenfiddich owner William Grant & Sons has created blended Scotch brand Wildmoor – a seven-strong range of whiskies aged between 21 and 40 years.

The Scottish spirits firm called Wildmoor a ‘new-to-world’ whisky brand that pays ‘tribute to the country’s wild elements’. The collection comprises seven blended whiskies, each with an ‘intense flavour profile’.

The family behind William Grant & Sons have acquired and curated a huge reserve of rare, high-aged malt and grain whiskies from across Scotland over the past six decades.

The new brand was created to provide a ‘flavour map of Scotland in a glass’ by featuring liquids that are not limited to one distillery or house style, while the range’s design captures the Scottish landscape.

“We had a vision for Wildmoor: to create a whisky that embodied the raw majesty of Scotland’s wildest places, the awe-inspiring landscapes,” said master blender Brian Kinsman, who oversees Wildmoor and Glenfiddich.

“With access to the family’s private vaults of prized liquids, I was able to explore intense flavours. I delved deeper into my personal memories of these wild places, and what was initially a single whisky has become a series of extremely old and prestigious blended malts and blended whiskies, each one a multi-sensory tribute to Scotland’s vast terrain.”

The range includes Dark Moorland 23 Year Old, a blend of Highland and Speyside malts combined with Lowland grain whisky. The liquid has been matured in a combination of American and European oak, and finished in oloroso Sherry casks.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Rugged Coast expression was finished in oloroso Sherry casks and takes inspiration from Scotland’s western coastline. It carries notes of peat and stone fruit.

The oldest expression in the collection, Black Mountain 40 Year Old, is based on the dark mountains of northern Scotland. It is made with an ‘intense’ blend of rare grain and Highland malts, and enhanced by stock from distilleries that have ceased production. The liquid was then finished in a PX Sherry cask.

Kinsman recommends adding lavender and thyme as a garnish to enhance the 23-year-old whisky, wood chips to the 30-year-old liquid, and sugared orange for the 40-year-old.

In the UK, Wildmoor Dark Moorland 23 Year Old can be purchased for £185 (US$233), Rugged Coast 30 Year Old can be bought for £550 (US$694), and Black Mountain 40 Year Old is priced at £960 (US$1,212).

These expressions can be purchased from UK retailers Selfridges and The Whisky Shop online, as well as from wildmoorwhisky.com.

GTR-exclusive whiskies

The Wildmoor collection also includes two global travel retail-exclusive whiskies and several expressions limited to China and Taiwan.

Among them is the Taiwan-exclusive Heather Valley blended Scotch, a 21-year-old blend of Highland and Speyside malts combined with Lowland grain whisky. The expression, said to evoke the moorlands of Scotland, was matured in American and European oak, and finished in oloroso Sherry casks.

Exclusively available in China and Taiwan, Ancient Moorland 23 Year Old is a blend of Highland and Speyside malts that have been matured in American and European oak casks.

Finished in oloroso Sherry casks, the resulting liquid offers a ‘rich oak taste complimented by the signature deep vanilla, mellow Sherry spice and sweetness’.

Travel retail-exclusive Waking Forest 23 Year Old is inspired by the forest of Scotland, carrying ‘smooth vanilla flavours’ and a ‘rich sweetness’. It was matured in virgin oak and Sherry oak.

Completing the collection is Tropical Coast 30 Year Old, said to encapsulate the northwestern coastline of Scotland during the summer.

Only available in travel retail, the blended whisky was finished in Caribbean rum casks, offering a ‘smooth, fruity and sweet’ liquid.

William Grant’s whisky portfolio includes blended Scotch brands Grant’s and Monkey Shoulder, and single malt brands Glenfiddich and The Balvenie.

The company also owns Sailor Jerry rum, Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, and gin brands Hendrick’s and Silent Pool.