O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road, / An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and me true love will never meet again / On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.
Thursday, August 2 - The Spirits Project at Catherine Lombardi will feature
Inverleven 25-Year 1979 Lowland Malt Scotch Whisky (bottled 1994)
Suggested Retail Price is $199 We will pour one ounce for $6.50
For 43 years, Inverleven was produced in The Scottish Lowlands. But that was long ago. The still that once begat Inverleven fell silent in 1991. It's a ghost distillery now, only surviving in its spirits. Come be haunted by one of them tonight. Hard by the Loch Lomond in, The Dumbarton Distillery produces prodigious amounts of grain whisky from an industrial column still. Next to the industrial still that still stands today and produces all that grain whisky, there was once a traditional pot still. That pot still was the source of Inverleven. It was mothballed in 1992, and more recently, sold to the boys at Bruichladdich, where I'm sure it's contributing admirable service to their revolutionary efforts. But there is no more Inverleven, drawn from the waters of the famous Loch. A whisky is not a product of just the still, but of the water at it's source and the air and the specific climate of it's aging chamber. Come tonight and taste a piece of history, a ghost spirit.
This cask was selected and bottled by master distiller Robert Scott. It's a merchant whisky and bottled at cask strength. At 58% alcohol, it's not for the faint of heart. But then again, it needs to carry the spirit of a distillery long gone. These Lowland malts are an under-appreciated and unjustifiably un-sung category of whisky. Come tonight and find a reason to sing (but then, please don't)!
There was a third kind of still in use at Dumbarton. It was called the Lomond Still. Its relevance was short-lived and it was not used in the production of this whisky.
On Thursday, at precisely 6:30, we will open just one bottle. When it's gone, it's gone. I do hope you can join us.
*And just because I can't resist, here's a GREAT rendition of Loch Lomond from The Corries, circa 1975. If you thought it couldn't be done without being hopelessly corny, click here.
**And because I really, really can't resist, here is a GREAT piece from the very contemporary band, Loch Lomond, out of Portland. Click here.
Next Week in The Spirits Project
Samaroli Tomintoul Single Highland Malt 1967