DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 16 September 2026

By Murray

The Borders Distillery Releases First Single Malt in Nearly 200 Years

The Borders Distillery has launched its inaugural single malt, claiming the title of first malt whisky distilled and released in the Scottish Borders since 1837. The Hawick-based distillery filled its first casks in 2018 and has spent eight years getting to this bottle.

The First Release was aged initially in first-fill ex-Bourbon American oak casks, then finished in Malmsey Madeira casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, the whisky carries tasting notes of sultanas, citrus, sweet caramel, hazelnuts, and macadamia, with aromas of honey and vanilla. Whisky writer Charles MacLean called it "easy drinking and more-ish."

Managing director Giancarlo Bianchi said the Madeira finish was chosen to add complexity without masking the distillery's house style. The release is limited to 10,000 bottles worldwide, available from 24 September at select UK retailers with an RRP of £46 ($62) for 700ml. International distribution follows.

Murray's take: The Scottish Borders has not produced a single malt since 1837. That gap is not a marketing line — it is nearly two centuries of nothing. Eight years from first fill to first bottle is the legal minimum plus one year of patience. The Madeira finish is a smart call for a debut. Malmsey is the richest and sweetest Madeira style, and it pairs with the bourbon-cask foundation without fighting it. At £46 for a first release from a new distillery, the price says "try me" rather than "collect me." That is the right instinct.

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Port Ellen 1979 Cask of Distinction Hits Auction at €1 Million

A 1979 Port Ellen Cask of Distinction will go under the hammer at Fine Spirits Auction, France's leading online spirits auctioneer, with bids opening at €1 million (£865,000). The auction closes on 2 October 2026. The lot is presented in partnership with Diageo.

Cask number 1145 is a refill American oak hogshead, distilled on 15 February 1979 — four years before Port Ellen ceased distilling in May 1983. The cask is currently maturing at Royal Lochnagar Distillery in the Highlands. The buyer can continue maturation until 16 February 2029, allowing the whisky to be bottled at 50 years old. Estimated ABV is 51.4%, with an expected yield of approximately 73 bottles.

Etienne de La Morsanglière, director of fine and rare spirits at La Maison du Whisky, called the cask's provenance "impeccably documented." Charles MacLean's tasting notes describe it as "sensational — as good a Port Ellen as I have ever tasted; unusually dark and rich, hugely complex and rewarding." This same cask previously sold at auction in 2022 for £875,000 (approximately €1.018 million).

Murray's take: A cask distilled before the distillery closed, sitting in a Highland warehouse for 47 years, with the option to push it to 50. The 2022 sale price and the 2026 opening bid are roughly the same number in euros. That means the seller is not chasing a profit — they are testing whether the market has moved. Port Ellen from the original distillation era is finite. Diageo restarted production in March 2024, but the new spirit will not be bottled for years. The old stock is what it is. Seventy-three bottles from a single cask at this age is a small universe of supply.

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Aurora Spirit Debuts Whisky Distilled From Arctic Barley

Aurora Spirit Distillery has released Bivrost Arctic Barley 2019 Harvest, its first finished whisky made from barley grown above the Arctic Circle. The grain was cultivated at Heimdal Farm in Øvre Alta, Norway, before being malted, fermented, distilled, and matured at the distillery at 69° North.

The 2019 harvest was fermented for seven days using Tormodgarden kveik, a traditional Norwegian farmhouse yeast culture, then distilled and matured on-site. Benjamin Hykkerud of Heimdal Farm has experimented with barley in Alta for decades alongside his family's milk, beef, and potato operations. "Growing barley this far north is easy," he said — then listed the reasons it is not: short season, unpredictable weather, years that simply fail.

The midnight sun provides one advantage: near-continuous daylight during the growing season. CEO Tor Petter Christensen said the project was never about turning Northern Norway into a major barley producer. Yields remain low. The aim is to understand what is possible at the geographical extremes, with each harvest providing new conditions to study.

Murray's take: Most whisky provenance stories are about water source or barrel provenance. This one is about whether barley can grow at 69° North. The answer is yes, but barely, and not every year. Kveik fermentation is a Norwegian farmhouse tradition that predates industrial distilling. Combining Arctic-grown grain with kveik yeast is not a novelty act — it is a test of whether place, right down to the soil and daylight, produces a discernible difference in the glass. The distillery is honest about the economics. This is research with a bottle attached, not a production model.

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Buffalo Trace Releases First Uncut Elmer T. Lee Bourbon

Buffalo Trace Distillery has released the Elmer T. Lee 40th Anniversary Edition, the first uncut and unfiltered expression of Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon. The bourbon is drawn directly from the barrel without dilution or chill filtration, bottled at natural barrel proofs ranging from 124.8 to 138.6.

Official tasting notes describe apricot, almond, vanilla, toasted coconut, and honeysuckle, leading to a chewy palate with crème brûlée sweetness and a long finish of toasted oak and baking spice. The release echoes how Lee evaluated barrels for Blanton's selection — uncut, as he would have tasted them.

Lee joined the then-George T. Stagg Distillery in 1949 as a maintenance engineer after serving in World War II. He introduced Blanton's in 1984, the world's first single-barrel bourbon, and the distillery launched Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel as his namesake expression in 1986. Master distiller Harlen Wheatley said Lee's guidance "left a lasting impression on how I approach my work."

The 40th Anniversary Edition carries a suggested retail price of $99.99 (£74) for 750ml. It will be available through a bottle drawing system: registration opens 10am ET on 15 September and closes 11:59pm ET on 17 September, with random selection on 22 September and pickup from 28 September through 11 October.

Murray's take: Elmer T. Lee is the name behind Blanton's, which means the name behind the entire single-barrel bourbon category. An uncut version at barrel proof is the distillery saying: this is what the whiskey tastes like before we make it commercially palatable. The proof range — 124.8 to 138.6 — tells you each bottle is a single barrel with its own personality. The bottle drawing system is Buffalo Trace's answer to the allocated-bourbon circus: register, get drawn, collect in person. It is not a perfect system, but it beats the secondary market.

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Justerini & Brooks Reopens Historic London Townhouse

Fine wine and rare spirits merchant Justerini & Brooks has returned to its London townhouse at 61 St James's Street. The reopening marks a new chapter in the merchant's 277-year history and creates a dedicated space for private clients, producers, and collectors.

The building unfolds across four floors. A reception and curated boutique greet visitors at street level. The first-floor Library serves as a private salon where clients meet with collection managers. The second floor presents an invitation-only dining room. Beneath the building, the historic cellar has been restored as a tasting destination, housing rare vintages alongside a dedicated Casks of Distinction whisky alcove.

Justerini & Brooks has held a Royal Warrant continuously since 1761. The merchant serves private clients across more than 60 countries, anchored by a 50-year legacy in Hong Kong with hubs in Singapore and Taiwan. The buying team has selected bottles spanning younger vintages through to mature and ex-cellar releases, including the merchant's own 250th Anniversary Cuvée Champagne and collector whiskies such as the Brora Triptych.

Managing director Naomi Alston said the space combines "longstanding producer relationships and trusted advice with an extraordinary fine wine and spirit experience right in the heart of London." Private clients can book dedicated appointments from September 2026.

Murray's take: A 277-year-old merchant reopening its physical home is a counter-argument to the idea that rare spirits are moving entirely online. The Casks of Distinction alcove in the cellar is the detail that matters for whisky. That programme gives J&B clients first access to Diageo's rarest Scotch stocks — Brora, Port Ellen, single cask Johnnie Walker. The relationship between merchant and producer is the product here, not the building. The building is where that relationship becomes something you can walk into.

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