We’ve not heard anything from Strathearn Distillery since their (not quite) inaugural release from last year. Finally, owners Douglas Laing have launched the Strathearn Single Malt ‘Batch 02’. It follows a similar recipe with one very important difference.
Last year, I was fortunate to attend the re-launch of Strathearn Distillery. While Douglas Laing bought the distillery in 2019, the independent bottler showed restraint and patience in the years after, not wanting to hastily put together a new brand identity. Only once they were confident with the direction of Strathearn did they step out into the limelight again.
Founded in 2013 by Tony Reeman-Clark, Strathearn is a small Perthshire producer. He infused Strathearn with an air of experimentation. While not as experimental anymore – which is probably a smart decision – Strathearn continues to embrace the craft approach instilled from the beginning.
Angela Brown, lead distiller of Strathearn, is a champion of Maris Otter, an older barley variety from the 1960s. “It’s the only kind of barley that we’ve used here”, she explained during my visit last year. “Maris Otter is predominantly used in the brewing industry. It doesn’t yield as much alcohol.
“Normally distilleries are all about the numbers. They want to get yield up as high as possible, and just get the whisky churning out. We’re quite lucky here, because we do take our time with things. […] We’ll prioritise flavour. Maris Otter gives us a really creamy spirit. And we’re sticking with it. We’ve used it for ten years.”
Douglas Laing’s priority in 2019 was to upgrade the distillery. Not to hugely expand capacity or to automate processes, just to improve certain aspects. For example, they installed a lift so personnel was no longer required to carry bags of barley (25 kilogram each) up the stairs. The mash tun was replaced too, from just a big ol’ tun that had to be stirred manually to a more modern one.
“Previously, we had an open-topped mash tun, very traditional. We would have two men with a paddle in, mixing it. But you lose a lot of heat out of that. It’s not very efficient, and yield wouldn’t have been as good because of that. When I started here, yield was closer to 240 litres of alcohol per tonne. I’ve got it up to 370 litres.”
That sounds like a huge increase in efficiency – and it is – but that number is still low compared to almost every other distillery in Scotland. The larger producers probably aim for an efficiency closer to 420 litres of alcohol per tonne. “Our numbers are scary numbers for the big distilleries in Scotland.”
A few years before Douglas Laing re-introduced Strathearn Single Malt to the world, they had already released small bottles of new make. Cara Laing, the company’s Managing Director, is a huge fan of Strathearn’s new make. She has previously worked for distillery’s like Bowmore, Glen Garioch and Dalmore, but “I think this is the best that I have ever tried.”
She’s quick to add that she’s biased, of course. Yet, “For me the quality of the ingredients that we put into making Strathearn is very evident in our new make. It’s got a wonderfully rich barley, creamy maltiness. Angela says she gets lots of fresh fruits and strawberries. For me it’s porridge, it’s cream, it’s grist and barley.”
Casks have been a big investment for Douglas Laing. Under previous ownership lots of whisky was filled into small firkin casks, which only hold 40 litres. Fine for a short maturation, but anything too long would result in oak juice. When assessing the stocks they came across some horror casks.
“We would pull a sample and it looked like Coca-Cola. Immediately, every consumer is going: ‘Wow!’ But then you try it and it’s like, and I probably shouldn’t say this, some of them were like a really poor rum or cognac and the wood had gone too far. You had lost the true essence of the whisky. […] Thankfully, because of the size and scale of the firkin casks we’re talking tiny amounts.”
Needlessly to say, these casks didn’t make the cut for any official Strathearn release. For example, the new Strathearn Single Malt ‘Batch 02’ is made from ex-bourbon, virgin oak, and ex-sherry oak casks. These are the same cask types as last year’s release, but with a deliberate reduction in virgin oak influence.
That can only be a good thing. If there was maybe one point of critique I (and others) had, it was the oak influence. I thought it was kept in check mostly, but there certainly was room for improvement.
Strathearn Single Malt ‘Batch 02’ (50%, OB, 2025)
Nose: An immediate creamy maltiness with some sprightly orchard fruits. Big on apples, certainly tinges of quince jelly, as well as notes of mead and some refreshing orange zest. There’s a nice of silage and other farmy elements, as well as some light char, but then a sliver of blackcurrant too.
Taste: Creamy and full-bodied. Arriving on notes of vanilla custard, but then some oak spices and more notes of blackcurrant, as well as bready notes, caramel and golden syrup. Also slivers of orris root and a whisper of mint, with finally some green tea.
Finish: Medium length. Hints of porridge, peanut skins and apples.
Sample provided by Strathearn Distillery
