The new kids on the whisky block - Dram Good Whisky Festival

The Glasgow Distillery Co

In early August, during the Fringe Festival, Arbikie Distillery hosted the Dram Good Whisky Festival in the opulent surroundings of the Freemason’s Hall on George Street in Edinburgh.

We attended the final session – 5-9 pm on the Saturday evening. Unfortunately, more established distilleries like Ardbeg and Glenmorangie had already packed up for the day, but this was a blessing in disguise, as it forced us to find some new favourites.

There has been an explosion of creativity in the world of ‘Scotch’ in recent years. New distilleries like Harris, Holyrood and The Glasgow Distillery, are drawing on the whisky heritage of their regions, but using novel ideas to do something a little different. By experimenting with yeasts, malts, maturation approaches and cutting times, the new kids on the block are producing young but interesting spirits.

Huntress Orchard Cobbler tastes of cherry Bakewell, apricot marmalade and vanilla custard

An unfamiliar name, we were drawn over to NcNean by its beautifully intricate packaging design. The distillery was launched in 2017 in remote Morvern, with a focus on organic whisky and sustainable production. We got to try the distillery’s spring release ‘Huntress - Orchard Cobbler’, which really did live up to its tasting notes of Cherry Bakewell, apricot marmalade and vanilla custard, due to a production technique guaranteeing the fruitiest flavours come to the fore.

It was good to catch up with Port of Leith to find out what they’re up to since the opening of their fancy new visitor centre. While their single malts are still in development, the distillery, under the banner of Leith Export Company, is launching various creations, including Table whisky, a delicious and very easy-sipping single-grain whisky. Having recently discovered white port in Porto, it was also great to try their version – a combination of fresh stone fruits and floral undertones.

Aurora Spirit Distillery is located at Lyngen Resort, under the Lyngen Alps in Northern Norway

However, a real highlight of the evening was Norway’s Bivrost, the world’s most northernmost whisky distillery and the only non-Scottish distillery at the event. Not restrained by the rules applied to Scottish whisky regarding oak barrels, Bivrost can take their experimentation to another level. As an example of this, the distillery’s Vanaheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky, part of its Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology range, has been finished in teak casks, which results in a very pleasant spicy flavour with strong notes of apple strudel. It’s so good it is now sold out, and as it was a limited cask, sadly that is the last taste I will have of it. Still, Bivrost releases new editions every two years so there is always more to try, and their gin was very good too.

So next time you fancy a wee dram, maybe try something a little different – you might find a new favourite.