Mind the Gap!

I recently traveled to the United Kingdom and spent a number of days in London. For anyone who has traveled on the Tube (subway) they will be all too familiar with the phrase ‘mind the gap’. You should of course take heed of that phrase; otherwise you may find yourself in a very sticky situation, between the platform and the train!

One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the famous Berry Bos. & Rudd, the oldest wine and spirit merchant in the UK. The business has been trading in the same location in St. James since 1698 and boasts an impressive wine selection. But, for me of course, their spirits collection was the icing on the cake.

You won’t find strawberry flavored vodka or mango infused rum here; but you will find verticals from some of the great Armagnac producers along with rare Cognacs and a fine selection of rums. However, Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR) is primarily known for their whisky. In fact Cutty Sark is Berry’s own brand and has been blended by the company since 1923.

BBR also hand picks casks for bottling under their own label – Berrys Own Selection. I was fortunate to be able to taste through a selection of bottlings until I settled on a 30-year cask strength Caol Ila, a magnificent whisky.

So, why 'mind the gap?' Take for example Caol Ila from Islay. Currently, in the US, there are only four distillery releases Caol Ila’s (12yr, 18yr, Distillers Edition and the 25yr). So if you have tasted through all four distillery expressions and wanted something more from this distillery, what are you to do? You must seek out bottlings from specialist retailers like BBR and Vine & Table (coming soon) and independent bottlers such as Gordon & McPhail and Signatory. The independents bottle whisky from casks of various ages. Therefore, if it weren’t for the independents, then the chance of sampling a 30-year-old cask strength Caol Ila would be few and far between.

So remember, the independents fill in the gaps that the distillery cannot fill. In order to maintain a broad and diverse selection of products, we the consumer need to both mind and support both the distillers and independent bottlers.

Slainte,

Denis