Checks & Primary Blending
Small scale blending checks take place using various cask samples from the considered liquid which is all aged over 8 years.
Once the ratios have been decided, diluted, rested, checked, tasted and turned into a Highball; we then begin the ‘bulk’ blending process.
We remove the calculated liquid from cask before vatting all the component malts together at their specific percentage. This is calculated in RLA.
Pre-Bottling
Prior to bottling, we remove no more than two-thirds of the spirit from Vat 5. The spirit is transferred into an intermediate vessel where it is slowly diluted to 48.5% ABV.
We then feed the next batch of blended malt into Vat 5 on top of the previous batch (our starter) and carry out the process all over again.
Bottling
Once diluted and rested at 48.5% ABV, we then bottle in batches no larger than 800 bottles. 800 bottles is roughly the volume of liquid we can remove from SRV5 (Station Road Vat 5) from our draw-off point. This leaves circa 450 litres of Blended Malt in Vat 5 which is then used as the ‘starter’ for the following batch.
SRV5
Our goal with SRV5 was to create a Blended Malt that although consistent would evolve over time due to the inclusion of the ‘starter’ from the previous batch in the following batch.
We wanted to create a style that we, as whisky geeks, would enjoy. We work with a selection of North Highland, Islay and Speyside Single Malts to create a vatted malt which is bright and fresh and has a great slightly waxy mouthfeel and gentle smokey balance.
We decided that the spirit showed best at 48.5% ABV, and of course, like the rest of our bottlings, the spirit is non-chill filtered and bottled without any colouring.
Awards
Our first batch of SRV5 was awarded a Silver Medal from the IWSC and another Silver Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Art
