Are you familiar with teaspooned whisky?
No, not a cocktail recipe, but one of Scotch whisky’s most delightfully petty secrets.
What is a teaspooned whisky?
It goes like this: take a single malt, add a literal teaspoon of another distillery’s whisky, and legally, you can no longer call it a single malt.
Why do this? Because distilleries don’t always want their names attached to indie bottlings, especially if those bottlings are cheaper, older, or better than their official releases. The legal point is that once whisky from more than one malt distillery is involved, even if it is basically one cask plus a homeopathic dab of another malt, it can no longer be labelled as single malt from that original distillery. It becomes blended malt Scotch whisky.
The practice was started by William Grant & Son’s in the 1980s, and for the consumer, the advantage of a teaspooned whisky is that you often get top distillery quality without paying the brand-name tax. Today, the names we well known to any Scotch whisky sleuths who have realised the power of Google. They’re used almost for tradition now rather than pratical purposes.
What is a teaspooned malt? Let’s explain.
Teaspooned whisky: malts bottled under a pseudonym
There are just a few teaspooned malts. Westport is Glenmorangie with a splash of something else (Glen Moray), just enough to rename it. Other examples include Burnside, which is Balvenie with a tiny amount of Glenfiddich, and Wardhead, it’s reverse (Glenfiddich with a tiny amount of Balvenie). There’s also Aldunie, comprised of Kininvie, usually with Balvenie and/or Glenfiddich involved. You can see the William Grant & Son’s influence here.
There’s also examples of aliases and pseudonyms used in a similar manner. Williamson, for example, sometimes refers to Laphroaig as a teaspooned malt, other times it’s purely an alias. Blairfindy is a name used by independent bottlers, such as Blackadder International, to release Glenfarclas, while Margadale and Staoisha are Bunnahabhain, peated and heavily peated respectively.
We’ll wrap this up with some examples. One of them, Teaspoon B 36yo, is a new release. Do let us know if you have a favourite teaspooned whisky. Slàinte!
Examples of teaspooned whiskies
Teaspoon B 36 Year Old 1989 Single Cask (Master of Malt)
A teaspooned malt whisky from the Dufftown region, dating back to 1989 that spent a whopping 36 years maturing in a single first-fill bourbon barrel for layers of juicy melon, honey, and fudge. It’s a release of just 316 bottles.
Westport Blended Malt 21 Year Old 1997
A single cask filled back in 1997 and aged for over two decades in a refill bourbon cask before 134 bottles were filled in 2018 at 49.6% ABV. Has notes of Tarte Tatin with buttery pastry, elegant spice, earthen vanilla, waxed peels and orange zest.
Leith Bond Staoisha (Bunnahabhain) 12 Year Old Single Cask Whisky
This heavily peated Staoisha release spent 12 years in a refill Pedro Ximénez hogshead, yielding 302 bottles at a bold 52% ABV. The label is a reference to the shape of the distillery’s distinctive stills, and how the spirit it produces is typically unpeated. But peat and sherry come together without chill filtration or added colouring in this whisky.
Williamson 13 Year Old Islay Blended Malt – Living Souls Whisky
Williamson independently released by Living Souls here, following a 13-year maturation in bourbon casks. You can expect plenty of pungent peat smoke, maritime campfire, and salted citrus.
Burnside 25 Year Old 1999 (cask 2132) – Bedford Park Whisky
Bedford Park presents an outstanding 25-year-old Burnside blended malt, distilled in 1999 and aged in a first-fill oloroso sherry cask. The outturn is just 217 bottles presented at a cask strength of 54.1% ABV.
