2006 William Hepburn 11 Year Old K&L Exclusive "Sovereign" Single Barrel Cask Strength Blended Malt Whisky (750ml)

In order to understand the secret contained inside this very special Sovereign bottle, you have to understand a bit about how the Scotch industry works and what teaspooning means. There’s a long history of barrel trading and brokering between blenders and distilleries in Scotland, and some producers are very protective of their name brand. As you’ve likely noticed, we’ve been able to secure single cask selections from top names like Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Highland Park over the years, and those distilleries allow us to use the name, but others take more drastic measures. By adding a teaspoon of a second single malt whisky into the barrel, the whisky instantly becomes a blended malt rather than a single malt, rendering the labeling of that whisky as a single distillery illegal. This 11 year old William Hepburn comes from a distillery in the Speyside known for its sherry matured 12 year and 18 year old editions, as well as its Fine Oak collection. While recently offering up a Classic Cut higher proof edition, rarely do we see non-sherried editions of this whisky at full proof. Despite the 56.9% ABV, the renowned elegance of this distillery shines through here with soft stone fruits (pears and nectarines), supple vanilla, and creamy malt flavor highlighted with oak spices on the finish. Highland whisky fans will be thrilled with the bolder, more concentrated edition of a classic profile. Fans of the big Mac will rejoice, snagging a serious discount with this teaspooned edition.