A direct consequence of the Excise Act of 1823, several of Scotland’s 170-odd active distilleries are celebrating their bicentennial this year.
The law — a turning point in the history of whisky — established a legal framework for its production and distribution.
Cardhu, Fettercairn, Glenlivet, and Mortlach were founded in short order, followed by Ben Nevis, Edradour, and Pulteney. Farms that illegally distilled malt whisky, such as Balmenach, Miltonduff, and Macallan (known then as Elchies Distillery), were also granted official licences.
The whisky boom led to distilleries evolving in some notable ways. Whereas early facilities were but modest farm buildings with rudimentary artisanal equipment, the 19th century was the age of industrialisation. With their whitewashed facades, slate roofs, and brick chimneys, distilleries founded in the Victorian era (such as Benromach) stand as relics of this golden age.
It is during this period that architect Charles Doig (1855-1918), to whom the new Artist series are dedicated, designed the pagoda chimney as a means of improving air circulation during malting. The first distillery to integrate the design was Dailuaine in 1889, followed by Benriach, Caol Ila, Glenfarclas, Macallan, Pulteney, and even Bushmills over in Ireland. Although malting floors were mostly abandoned over the course of the 20th century, the pagodas themselves remain a symbolic feature of Scottish distilleries.
Over the past 15 years, more than 44 new distilleries have opened. These include Isle of Harris (built around an innovative social model), and Gordon & MacPhail’s futuristic 2022 project dubbed The Cairn. As the old guard continues to modernise, 30-odd distilleries are currently being built across the country. Islay is of particular note: after forty years without a stillhouse, the new incarnation of Port Ellen opened in March of 2024, while neighbouring Portintruan — founded by world-class whisky expert Sukhinder Singh — will begin production in the Spring of 2025 and welcome its first visitors during the annual festival of the Isle of Islay (Fèis Isle) the very same year. Whether old or contemporary, futuristic or functional, the multifaceted architecture of distilleries is a testament to the dynamic and evolving nature of the whisky industry.
Single Malt – IB
Artist #14 Rothes Glen
First launched in 2011, La Maison du Whisky’s Artist series is a collection of exceptional whiskies – single casks bottled at cask strength, most of them from Scotland. Each year, visual artists, painters, illustrators, and photographers are invited to produce new label illustrations. This year’s collection features the works of Victor Ekpuk, who melds visual art with writing.
It is made up of six single malts distilled between 1991 and 2013 by iconic Scottish distilleries: Aberlour, Glenburgie, Highland Park, Laphroaig, Longmorn and Macallan. Each of these distilleries has in some way benefited from the work of Charles Doig, a Scottish architect and engineer who left his mark on the whisky industry of the late 19th century. By modernising the infrastructure and architecture of some fifty distilleries, Charles Doig had a profound influence on their methods of production.
His invention of the pagoda chimney considerably improved the malting process, at a time when barley was still malted on-premises. The fourteenth edition of the Artist series is an opportunity to honour him.
Titled Rothes Glen, this edition is named after the only private residence ever constructed by Charles Doig: a Gothic Revival manor erected in 1893 near Elgin, in the Scottish Highlands. A superb example of Scottish baronial architecture, the building draws inspiration from mediaeval Scottish defensive architecture, featuring a keep, corbelled towers, and crow-stepped gables. Today, it is a favoured destination for whisky enthusiasts and those enamoured with genteel Scottish country life.
Copyright : Victor Ekpuk
Single Malt – IB
Signatory Vintage
Single Malt – IB
Artist Collective 7.0
The Artist Collective series reflects the richness and diversity of Scottish malt. Featuring a careful selection of small batches from various distilleries, the range encompasses a wide assortment of styles, ages, and production regions. This year’s edition — the seventh so far — features 6 single malts from Speyside, the Highlands, and Islay, all distilled between 2012 and 2017.
Like the Artist range (which is dedicated to cask-strength single-casks), each year’s Artist Collective series boasts a new visual identity. This edition’s labels feature the works of painter and visual artist Katrin Bremermann, whose highly poetic works leverage restricted colour palettes or monochrome to explore universal concepts of form, rhythm, and structure.
Approaching paint as a “sculptural” medium, Katrin Bremermann’s minimalist geometric abstractions -upon paper or plexiglass- feature compositions that appear simple, yet whose sheer precision reveal a profound quest for beauty. Her forms are original creations; they construct a unique vocabulary derived from the base geometric lines, from the corners and arcs. From fundamental elements she creates a new, entirely distinct language.
Copyright : Katrin Bremermann
Single Malt – IB
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Single Malt – IB
Elixir Distillers
Single Malt – IB
Gordon & Macphail
Single Malt – IB
Artist#14 Benromach
The Artist #14 Benromach series is a selection of five Benromach single malts distilled between 1998 and 2014, selected from this Speyside distillery, owned by the renowned independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail.
Offering a unique insight into the heart of Benromach, built in 1898 under the supervision of Charles Doig, the series is also an homage to the man himself, a brilliant architect and engineer who contributed to the design and improvement of fifty-odd Scottish distilleries during the 19th century. The labels of these whiskies have been illustrated by Logovarda, a prolific Swiss painter and sculptor.
Copyright : Logovarda
Single Malt – OB
Isle of Harris, Ben Nevis et Old Pulteney
Single Malt – OB
Kilchoman
Single Malt – OB
Balblair, Edradadour et Ballechin
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Limited & Rare
Last Limited Bottles
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