The Queen of the Moorlands Range

The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Company - "Whiskography"

The Queen of the Moorlands Speyside Single Malt	12	40%	Our most popular whisky! This is a rich and sweet, easy drinking dram. The perfect gift. "Toffee apple and multiple layers of molassed malt...just so big and chewy, again with thin, tasteful layers of brown sugar coating malt. What a lovely whisky for a small shop to have as their own label. Some serious quality here" Scores 89 Jim Murray, The Whisky Bible 2006	£32.99
Rare Cask Bruichladdich Edition XXXVII	2001	cask	Our latest bottling, and what a gem it is too.... due to be bottled on Friday 23rd September. More info to follow...	Sorry, now sold out
Rare Cask Laphroaig Edition XXXVI The Earl Grey Bottling	1996	50.8%	For years, the Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Committee would squeeze into the back room of The Earl Grey Inn, Ashbourne Road, Leek. Here, samples would be nosed, tasted and voted upon to decide which whiskies would be the next to be bottled under the Rare Cask label. Sadly, the fabulous Inn closed it's doors recently and the Earl Grey will probably dissappear for good. We decided to bottle one of the landlord's favourite drams....a great big stonking Laphroaig..... Sorry, this bottling is now sold out
Rare Cask Bowmore Edition XXXV	1999	53.5%	Another stunning Bowmore to compliment the Queen of the Moorlands range, this time from a hogshead. Light in colour the palate exhibits classic Bowmore peat and vanilla. The finish fades nicely....once again a Bowmore that reminds the imbiber of how this classic dram reached the bottle years ago. Sorry, this bottling is now sold out
Rare Cask Bunnahabhain Edition XXXIV Heavily Peated from Sherry Hogshead 3148. Feis Ile 2010 Bottling	1997	53.2%	1997 was the year of experiments at Islay's Bunnahabhain Distillery. Spirit predating 1963 was all peated from Bunna. After that, the removal of the distillerys own floor maltings meant that non peated barley began to be used. In 1997 it was decided that every drop of spirit distilled in that year would be peated. Consequently there has been a glut of peaty Bunna on the market of late...but not like this one, this is a true peaty Bunna from a sherry hogshead. Golden marmalade in colour the peat and sherry sweetness is perfectly bablanced leading on to a huge finish of bonfire and red boiled sweets..... Sorry, this bottling is now sold out
Rare Cask Laphroaig Edition XXXII "Islay Festival Bottling 2009"	1996	51.1%	We have been lucky enough to get hold of a superb cask of Laphroaig to bottle especially for the Islay Whisky Festival 2009. Available now...very few remaining. Sorry, this bottling is now sold out

Our previous bottlings....

Queen of the Moorlands Bottling	Age/Year	ABV	Comments
Rare Cask Allt-A-Bhainne Edition XXIX	1996	53.7%	A first outing for Allt-A-Bhainne, ("Burn of Milk"), under the Rare Cask label. This is a rich and fruity dram having been matured in fresh American Oak. A classic 'all round' whisky that will appeal to all whisky lovers. Limited to only 201 bottles.
Rare Cask Caol Ila Edition XXVIII "Blacksmith's Bottling"	1995	51.6%	Without question the best Caol Ila we've come across yet....an absolute peat monster, creosote on the nose, tar and peat on the palate, the finish ever lasting. Limited to 210 bottles, this won't be around long. This is the second Islay whisky to be selected by Gordon Richards, "Blacksmith to the Stars"
Rare Cask Bowmore Edition XXXI "Mr Kelting's Quarter Cask"	1998 Cask number 351	53.9%	This is the second of the two fresh American Oak quarter casks that we have recently got hold of, and this one has been specially selected by The Committee's biggest Bowmore fan...introducing Mr Chris Kelting.
Rare Cask Bunnahabhain Edition XXVII	1976	46.5%	At last.....we've bagged a Bunna! Bunnahabhain is one of the Committee's favourite drams, and locations so its about time we got hold of a cask. This bottling is straight from a sherry puncheon and has all the hallmark flavours of a classic old dram. This cask was matured for its entire life in warehouse number 4 at Bunnahabhain, where much of the old stock lies, right by the sea. A stunner. Very few bottles remaining.
Rare Cask Tullibardine Edition XXIV	1992	55.6%	Sherry matured, rich, sweet and chewy! An excelent after dinner dram. Very few bottles remaining.
Rare Cask Bunnahabhain Peated Edition "Committee Bottling"	1997	60.2%	Another heavy weight Islay. Incredibly peaty and check out the alcohol! This is limited to only 82 bottles so please get in touch ASAP if you would like a bottle or two.
Rare Cask Bowmore Edition XXX	1998 Cask number 353	51.3%	You'll have to be quick to catch this one. A truly stunning Bowmore with an entirely different character. There is loads of peat but vanilla too as this Islay gem has been matured in a fresh American Oak quarter cask. Consequently there are only 69 bottles available...what a way to celebrate our 30th cask.
Rare Cask Caol Ila Edition XXVI	1982	61.9%	This rare dram was bottled to be shown at our tastings at the Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2008. A sweet and peaty dram with a fantastic mouth feel. Only 60 bottles.
Rare Cask Mortlach Edition XXV	1991	56.2%	Perfect Mortlach direct from top quality Spanish Oak. Amazing sherry influence...Christmas in a bottle!!
Rare Cask Laphroaig Edition XXIII	1998	55.3%	For fans of very heavily peated whiskies only...our peatiest yet, a bonfire in a glass. Only 287 bottles!! Scored 91.5 in The Whisky Bible 2009
Rare Cask "OurBeg" Edition XXII	2001	58.7%	We're not saying anymore about this one. Work it out for yourself! Come along to taste at the shop, its not "Ard" to work out what it might be!
Rare Cask Port Ellen Edition XXI	1982	46%	We are very proud to have been given the opportunity to bottle this amazing, rare whisky.
Rare Cask Bruichladdich "The Anniversary Bottling" Edition XX	1991	52.8%	Scored 94 in the 2008 Jim Murray's Whisky Bible...."I'm blown away!".
Rare Cask Teaninich Edition XIX	1993	51.5%	Butterscotch and Honey with great interaction from the sherry hoggy from which it has been bottled
Rare Cask Bowmore Edition XVIII	1991	57.7%	New...A fantastic Bowmore, heavily sherried and extremely peaty...call us now to reserve your bottle! Scored 96 in the 2008 Jim Murray's Whisky Bible!
Rare Cask Glenglassaugh Edition VII	1984	53.8%	One of our brand new bottlings, this will make the perfect special Xmas gift, call us now to reserve your bottle
Rare Cask Glenlivet Edition XVI	30 years old	54%	"one of those wonderfull sherry casks that leaves todays in the shade - an absolute must" Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2007 - scored 94!
Rare Cask Tullibardine Edition XV	1994	57.7%	Call us now to reserve your bottle. Stocks of this Highland Hoggy are very limited.
Rare Cask Bowmore Edition XII	1995	57.2%	Scored 90 in jim Murrays Whisky Bible
Rare Cask Glenglassaugh Edition XI	27 years	46.2%
Rare Cask Glentauchers Edition X	1990	58.6%	scored 92 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible
Rare Cask Springbank Committee Bottling	1991	46%
Rare Cask Clynelish Edition VIII	10	54%
Rare Cask Laphroaig Edition VII	12	54.7%	Whisky Magazine Recommended Issue 52! "A cross between a trapeze artist and a tightrope walker: performs dazzling routines while retaining poise and balance " - Ian Wisniewski
Rare Cask Longmorn Edition VI	12	55.4%	Scored 95 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible
Rare Cask Caol Ila Edition V	10	46%
Rare Cask Mortlach Edition IV	11	46%
Rare Cask Glenrothes Edition III	11	53%
Rare Cask Caol Ila Editon II	10	46%
Rare Cask Strathisla Edition I	35	56.3%

We are as passionate about great Malt Whiskies as we are about fine wines here at The Wine Shop....to such an extent that we recently launched our new business...The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Company. We market a range of exclusive Single Malt and Single Cask Single Malt Whiskies.

The first whisky that we launched back in May 2004 is our very own The Queen of the Moorlands Speyside 12 year old Single Malt Whisky. This is a rich and sweet dram, perfect for gifting and bottled at 40%. Sales of our first permanent bottling rocketed during 2004 and 2005 and this encouraged us to look at further ways to make our whisky range more interesting.

In February 2005 we held our first Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Committee meeting. We invited 12 of our whisky customers to help us choose the first of our Single Cask bottlings to be bottled under the Rare Cask label. The first whisky selected and approved by the Committee was a 35 year old Strathisla...it was delicious! It all sold within a couple of weeks and people still ask for it today...so if you have one...hide it away!!! We have a small sample available to taste in The Wine Shop if you ask nicely!! We like to bottle all of our whiskies at Cask Strength wherever possible. No artificial colourings or chill filtering processes are used.

At each of our Committee meetings, a dozen or so of us get together and taste through a range of about 30 cask samples. These samples will have been selected by David Wood and Iain Banks (our Chairman) from a range of about 100 cask samples. Usually we will pick around 6 cask samples that would be suitable for bottling. These then become our future Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask bottlings. Occasionally we are asked to pick a sample exclusively for a single customer. Our most recent exclusive bottling was for The Library Bar at The Lanesborough Hotel, Mayfair in London.

Our range of Rare Cask bottlings took off and developed quickly from the Strathisla, have a look at the "Whiskography" of all our bottlings.

Don't forget that we personalise labels for special occassions and for wholesale orders, we can design a label for your business using your logos and ideas.

If you are interested in becoming a member of The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Committee, please email us or call us on 01538 382 408

Other places where you can enjoy our whiskies include....

The Islay Whisky Shop, Shore Street, Isle of Islay.

The Lochside Hotel, Shore Street, Isle of Islay.

Port Charlotte Hotel. Isle of Islay.

The Highlander Inn, Craigellachie.

The Craigellachie Hotel, Craigellachie.

The Earl Grey Inn, Ashbourne Road, Leek.

The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, London.

The Red Lion, Thorncliffe, Leek.

The Red Lion, Waterfall, Leek.

The Ship Inn, Wincle, Nr Leek.

The Three Horseshoes, Blackshaw Moor, Leek.

The Swan, Leek.

The Bulls Head, Leek.

The Jervis Arms, Onecote, Nr Leek.

The Riversholme Hotel, Rocester, Nr Uttoxeter.

Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot, Surrey

The Cuckoo Club, Swallow Street, Picaddilly, London

The Alexandra Court Hotel, Newcastle Road, Congleton