Annandale Distillery, located near the Scottish-English border in Dumfries and Galloway, is marking a historic milestone with the release of two 10-year-old age statement whiskies on March 27.
These limited-edition expressions—one unpeated and one peated—are crafted in fresh ex-bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace Distillery and bottled at cask strength with no chill filtration.
Revived in 2014 by Professor David Thomson and Teresa Church, Annandale Distillery was meticulously restored after decades of silence. With the design expertise of the late Dr. Jim Swan and the use of twin copper spirit stills, the distillery’s production setup maximizes copper contact to enhance the spirit’s fruity characteristics.
The new releases in this historic revival include:
- Annandale Man O’Words 10 Year Old Fresh Ex-Bourbon Cask #125 (unpeated), bottled at 58.8% ABV with 234 bottles available. This expression offers notes of stewed apple, pears, apricot, coconut, creamy vanilla, and toffee.
- Annandale Man O’Sword 10 Year Old Fresh Ex-Bourbon Cask #69 (peated), bottled at 57.9% ABV with 224 bottles available. The peated expression delivers a subtle touch of woodsmoke followed by flavors of Granny Smith apple, vanilla, cream soda, wood spice, and toffee.
The distinctive names of these whiskies pay homage to two regional icons. Man O’Sword honors King Robert the Bruce, the 7th Lord of Annandale—symbolized by his celebrated statue in Annan—while Man O’Words (a clever anagram of Man O’Sword) celebrates Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, who lived in nearby Dumfries and frequented The Globe Inn, fondly known as his “favourite howff.”
Adhering to a single cask philosophy, each barrel is individually evaluated by hand before release, ensuring that every expression captures the unique character of its maturation process.
Both whiskies will be available for purchase at a recommended retail price of £110 per bottle.
Visit Annandale Distillery website for more details on this landmark release and other updates.
