Murray McDavid Auchroisk Port Cask Finished Single Malt Whiskey 700ml
Murray McDavid is an independent Scotch whisky bottler founded in 1996 by Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin, and Gordon Wright, the latter a former director at Springbank Distillery. The company gained early recognition for finishing whisky in unusual, high-quality wine casks, and in 2000 it took on the ambitious project of reviving the shuttered Bruichladdich distillery on Islay. After Bruichladdich was sold to Rémy Cointreau in 2012, the rest of the Murray McDavid business passed to its current owners, who kept the founders' original principles intact, bottling whisky without chill filtration or added color. The company now operates out of Coleburn Distillery in Speyside.
This release starts with new-make spirit from Auchroisk, a Speyside distillery known for producing sweet, citrus-driven malt with a nutty character. After its primary maturation, the whisky undergoes what Murray McDavid calls Additional Cask Enhancement, a finishing period in Tawny Port barriques that layers in fruit and richness on top of the distillery's underlying profile.
The result is a robust single malt with notes of fruity chocolate and nutty pastry, closing on a long, sweet, and gently spiced finish, with ripe berries and rich toffee rounding out the glass.