Black Tartan (40% ABV) is a blended malt Scotch whisky, comprised of single malts from four undisclosed Highland distillery’s.
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| Black Tartan Blended Malt Scotch whisky |
Black Tartan, which takes its name from the “black” of the highly charred casks the spirits are matured in and “tartan” to represent the blend of whiskies, has been launched by Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs, Andrew Skene, Tom Melville and Alexander Harrison.
This new perception challenging blended malt Scotch whisky, is described by its founders, to have a slightly sweeter taste than is usually associated with Highland whiskies, due to its maturation in highly charred barrels. Black Tartan creators say this process releases a distinctive, sophisticated bourbon-like flavour which allows it to be at once robust enough for mixers, and smooth enough to be enjoyed neat or over ice.
Blended malt whisky, is a relatively untapped part of the market and Black Tartan believes it has great potential to grow by offering consumers something new and different. Official HMRC figures reveal that in 2017, blended malt Scotch whisky exports were only worth 1.8 per cent of total Scotch exports which reached £4.4 billion.
Commenting on the launch, Andrew Skene, said: “Black Tartan is a new, fun brand of blended malt Scotch whisky. It’s an authentically Scottish but modern, hand-crafted whisky. It’s designed, distilled, blended, bottled and owned in Scotland, by Scots. We find the traditionally held view that Scotch should never be mixed and should be tasted in a certain way, elitist, snobbish and cliched. It represents a barrier to some people to even trying whisky because they are put off by the ‘rules’ around it.”
He went onto say: “We’re trying to do our bit to change that misconception and reach out to new generations of whisky drinkers. We want to keep it real and let people drink Scotch any way they want to. It’s totally up to the individual drinker and that’s the point – if you only like it neat or with water then go for it, because that’s a great way to enjoy it. But it’s not the only way. It’s something we feel passionately about and it’s the reason we created Black Tartan.”
Black Tartan, will be available later this month from specialist retailers, for a RRP of £28.00.
Posted by Steve Rush