DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 17 August 2026

Jackton Distillery Unveils RAER — A Lowland First Malt Six Years in the Making

Jackton Distillery has opened public pre-sale of its first single malt: RAER Single Malt Scotch Whisky, The Inaugural Release. Priced at £68 with shipping from 4 September 2026, it is limited to 6,000 individually hand-numbered bottles.

The family-run Lowland distillery sits just outside Glasgow. Managing Director Jaynie Kean — one of Scotland's youngest female distillery founders — laid down the first casks in February 2020. The whisky is distilled, matured, and bottled on site, matured across bourbon, Pedro Ximénez, Amontillado, and Oloroso casks. Bottled at 48.7% ABV, natural colour, non-chill filtered.

The nose offers fruitcake, fig, and sultana. The palate brings dark fruits, treacle, and roasted nuts, finishing on toffee and sweet spice. During development, the distillery shared early samples with visitors and trade contacts — their names are printed on the box.

Kean said: "This release means so much because it carries the story of everyone who's been part of Jackton so far. It's our first chapter in Single Malt, and we wanted it to feel open, human and true to the way we do things here."

Murray's take: Six years from first cask to first bottle at £68. The four-cask maturation suite — bourbon, PX, Amontillado, Oloroso — gives the spirit range without muddying it. The tasting notes read coherent: dried fruit, treacle, roasted nuts, toffee spice. Printing contributor names on the box is a genuine touch, not marketing gloss. For a Lowland distillery led by a young female founder, the first release matters — this one sets the bar high enough to take seriously.

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Jack Daniel's Distillery Series #17 — 138 Proof From the Top Floor

Jack Daniel's has released Distillery Series Selection #17, a batch-proof High Angel's Share Straight Tennessee Whiskey. Bottled at 138.4 proof (69.2% ABV) in 375ml bottles, it carries an SRP of $44.75 and is available exclusively in Tennessee and at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop at the Jack Daniel Distillery.

The whiskey was laid down in 2016 as traditional Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, then rested on the top floor of Barrelhouse 1-13 atop Coy Hill — the highest, hottest position in the barrelhouse complex. The intense heat drove a high angel's share evaporation, concentrating the remaining spirit. Master Distiller Chris Fletcher called it "a perfect example of what happens when we let nature take the lead." Whiskey Taster Dale McGee selected the expression.

The official palate describes brown sugar, banana nut bread, and a hint of maple syrup, leading into a long finish with oak and rich warm flavour.

Murray's take: 138 proof in a 375ml bottle at under $45 is concentrated value. The angel's share story is real — top-floor barrels in Lynchburg's summer heat lose significantly more spirit than ground-floor stock, and what's left is denser and more intense. The Distillery Series is Jack Daniel's experimental line, and #17 is a textbook case of warehouse positioning as a flavour tool. Tennessee-only availability means you'll need a friend in-state or a trip to Lynchburg. The brown sugar and banana bread profile reads like a cold-weather pour.

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Glasgow 1770 9 Year Old Amontillado — A Perfect 10 and 270 Bottles

The Glasgow Distillery's 1770 9 Year Old Amontillado Sherry Cask has scored a perfect 10 from The Whiskey Wash — and only 270 bottles exist.

Distilled on 2 May 2017 in the distillery's unpeated style, the single malt spent 2 years and 10 months in a single ex-bourbon barrel before being re-racked into an Amontillado sherry hogshead for a further 6 years and 2 months. Bottled at natural cask strength of 59.1% ABV, natural colour, non-chill filtered. The release is exclusive to UK retailer The Aberdeen Whisky Shop, priced at $96.

The nose brings hazelnut praline, milk chocolate, vanilla, and caramel, with dried fruits and cinnamon. The palate opens on vanilla and caramel, then shifts from milk to dark chocolate — mouthcoating sherry, dried fruits, hazelnuts, and almonds. The finish is medium-long: nuts, sherry, chocolate, then peppery oak with clove.

Reviewer Mark Bostock called the cask choice "fantastic" and noted it demonstrates Glasgow Distillery's versatility across both peated and unpeated styles.

Murray's take: 270 bottles at 59.1% from a single Amontillado hogshead is a collector's window. The progression — ex-bourbon for nearly three years, then Amontillado for six — is not a quick finish. That's a genuine second maturation, and the tasting notes show it: the chocolate and nut profile runs deep, not painted on. A perfect review score is an opinion, but the structure backs it up. Glasgow Distillery keeps quietly turning out cask-strength single casks that punch above their price. At $96 for a 9-year-old single cask, this is the kind of bottle that disappears fast.

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Boplaas Releases South Africa's Oldest Grain Whisky — 15 Years, 400 Bottles

Boplaas Family Vineyards has released its oldest whisky to date: a 15-Year-Old Single Grain Whisky from the Klein Karoo. Limited to 400 individually numbered bottles at R1,300 each, the first 200 sold out immediately to Boplaas Wine & Whisky Club members.

Crafted from South African yellow maize and column distilled, the whisky spent fifteen years maturing in ex-bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, and Wild Turkey, followed by a period in Boplaas's own brandy casks. The Klein Karoo climate — hot, dry summers, low humidity, and significant day-to-night temperature swings — drives aggressive interaction between spirit and oak.

Sixth-generation distiller Daniel Nel said: "Our philosophy has always been that exceptional casks create exceptional whisky. Years of working with premium bourbon barrels, together with our own brandy, port casks and the unique ageing conditions of the Klein Karoo, have allowed us to produce a whisky that reflects both patience and place."

Boplaas's 12-Year-Old Rum Cask Single Grain was named Best South African Grain Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards for two consecutive years.

Murray's take: South African grain whisky aged 15 years in Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, and Wild Turkey casks, then finished in the distillery's own brandy barrels — that cask pedigree is no accident. The Klein Karoo climate does for South African whisky what the Tamil Nadu heat does for Indian whisky: accelerates maturation without decades of waiting. R1,300 (roughly £55) for a 15-year-old single cask with 400 bottles is aggressive pricing — accessible for the quality. The brandy cask finish is the distinctive note. Boplaas has been making brandy since 1880, so the cask inventory is real. Half the allocation is already gone.

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Scientists Crack the Source of Mango-Like Tropical Aromas in Whisky

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, working with Japanese drinks giant Kirin, have identified the chemical compounds responsible for the mango-like tropical aromas found in certain Scottish and Irish whiskies. The study was published in the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.

PhD student Takehiko Hiura analysed 14 whiskies from Scotland and Ireland and found that aldehydes and acetals — compounds already common in whisky — drive tropical aroma intensity. One whisky contained particularly high levels of three key compounds: isobutyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, and isovaleraldehyde diethyl acetal. When researchers spiked a low-mango whisky with these same chemicals, the tropical aroma increased substantially.

Professor Annie Hill, from Heriot-Watt's international centre for brewing and distilling, said: "Fruity notes like banana, apple and pear have long been linked to esters, which are produced during fermentation. But we didn't know where the mango flavour was coming from — and now we do."

Dr Callum Holmes added that the findings mean distillers can "dial up or tone down tropical aromas by manipulating existing process steps" — no new ingredients required.

Murray's take: This is the kind of research that changes how distillers work. Esters explained the banana and apple notes — that's been known for decades. The mango question sat open. Now it's answered: three aldehydes and acetals, already present in whisky, are the levers. The implication is practical. Distilleries known for tropical signatures — Kavalan, The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve, Cotswolds — got there by trial and error. This research turns trial and error into process control. Whether drinkers benefit depends on whether distillers use the tool to enhance character or flatten it into homogenised tropical gloss. The science is sound. The application is the question.

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