Occasionally in the world of Scotch, something comes along which is new. They tend to be innovations using younger liquid or unusual barrel finishes, or out-of-the-norm production methods. All are within the rules. However, this year something new arrived that opposed all the above. Old, sorry, very old Scotch whiskies in traditional casks, that were made many, many years ago, using traditional methods.
What types of whisky does House of Hazelwood produce?
House of Hazelwood for the last few years has been producing blends with some age to them. Starting at 18 and rising to 25, they were premium blends. However, the brand has now been re-invented and reimagined. They have taken this initial idea and gone way beyond creating premium blends.
House of Hazelwood has been re-born. As part of the William Grant and Sons portfolio, they have access to some of the rarest Scotch whisky casks in Scotland laid down by the Gordon family over a period of nearly 100 years. However, although they are a part of the William Grant and Sons portfolio, they are a separate entity and do not answer to the whisky team there. In being “independent” they can be creative and they can also be nimble as a new, smaller business. And oh my what they are creating is magnificent.
Which Whisky is Used in the House of Hazelwood Blends?
They are still blending, but with a difference. The youngest blend created to date is 33 years old, with many over 40 and 50 years old. The whiskies by nature of their age are very rare, and the blends created from these old and rare casks are one-off blends, never to be repeated. Two of my favourites were a blend from 1963, called ‘A Singular Blend’ created from both grain and malt whisky distilled in the same year and at the same highland distillery in 1963. The other is a blend from 1965 called ‘Blended at Birth’. Now forbidden by the SWA, this whisky was created by blending different new make spirits straight off the stills that were then placed in casks together to age. There is precious little liquid left in some of the casks leading to very small numbers of bottles being created for each blend. For example, ‘A Singular Blend’ had only 74 bottles in existence. Of which there must be less now as one was opened for us at Hazelwood House when we visited the Gordon family home after which the brand is named. Even though the whiskies are of such age and rarity, they surprisingly don’t cost the earth. Unlike many other whiskies, House of Hazelwood has whiskies from a little under £1000 and even the rarest of them all is under £5000. Although a lot of money for a bottle of whisky, these are no mere bottles of whisky.
The brand itself talks about these whiskies being a family of individuals, each whisky being unique within the overall collection. It seems very apt with the idea coming from the Gordon family. With such individuality in the whiskies, there is no precedent for them to release whiskies at a particular age or adhere to a particular formular. They can bottle the spirit when they feel it is ready, not feeling forced to push whiskies to an age beyond their natural conclusion. And once drunk, these one-of-a-kind snapshots of whisky history are truly gone forever. You can see more about this beautiful whisky here.
If you’ve enjoyed this feature, why not have a read of what Master Blender Billy Walker shared when we caught up with him to talk all about the GlenAllachie range?
Words by Colin Hampden-White