Cutty Sark 15 year old Scots Whisky.

The ‘Cutty Sark’ clipper was famed as one of the fastest, most reliable clipper ships in history and to celebrate her achievements Cutty Sark Scots Whiskey developed the deluxe aged whisky - Cutty Sark 15 year old.

The elegant blend of Cutty Sark 15 year old contains malt whiskies from Scotland’s finest distilleries which have been matured for at least fifteen years in cask. Sharing many of Cutty Sark Scots Whisky’s characteristics - delicate flavour and distinctive smoothness - Cutty Sark 15 year old has a supreme quality which can only be found in the older, finer whiskies containing a high proportion of superior malts.

The characteristics of Cutty Sark 15 year old embody the nineteenth century traditions of quality and craftsmanship associated with the ‘Cutty Sark’ clipper. The maturation of the whiskies for many years in hand-crafted oak casks allows the whiskies to mellow, take on the characteristics of the wood and become elegant and rounded. This mellowing process in oak casks imparts special properties to the finished blend.

The result is a naturally golden Scotch whisky with a soft honeyed fruit aroma, a hint of sweetness on the palate and an elegant rounded lengthy finish. To be able to create a twelve year old blend of the highest standard, the Cutty Sark Master Blender selects whiskies which have reached the peak of perfection. Many of these whiskies are considerably older than twelve years.

After the whiskies have been expertly selected they are blended together and returned to oak casks. This ‘marrying period’, of up to nine months, is characteristic of all the whiskies in the Cutty Sark family.

To ensure that each of the whisky in Cutty Sark 15 year old is of the highest standard, the Master Blender noses the whisky six times before it is bottled. The blend is then decorated with the Cutty Sark yellow shield as a guarantee of the compromised quality of the whisky.

The ‘Cutty Sark’ clipper sailed on the Tea Route from China and the Wool Route from Australia in the late nineteenth century.

At this time one of the most lucrative and sought after trading commodities was tea. There was great competition between ship owners for their vessels to win the race for the fastest voyage between the ports of the Far East - Shanghai and London. The ship which reached its destination first with the new season’s crop of tea always secured the best prices. One such shipowner known as ‘White Hat’ Willis - due to the colour of his top hat - commissioned a ship to be built to compete for this trade and in 1869 the ‘Cutty Sark’ was launched. She became a familiar sight on the tea route and in 1872 beat her great competitor, the ‘Thermopylae’, arriving in England two days ahead of this rival clipper.

In 1877 a new trade route between London and Australia opened requiring the fast delivery service which the clipper ships could provide - the cargo was wool. The ‘Cutty Sark’ became the fastest clipper ship on this route, around Cape of Good Hope, continually beating ‘Thermopylae’. It was during these voyages that the ‘Cutty Sark’ reached her fastest speed of 17 Knots. On one particular trip to Australia the ‘Cutty Sark’ out-sailed a steam ship - she is the only clipper ship ever to have achieved this feat.

At the end of this century it was no longer economical to use sailing on the Wool Route and ‘White Hat’ Willis sold her to Portugal under whose flag she sailed for twenty seven years carrying a range of cargoes from palm oil to coal. It was not until 1923 when she was bought by a retired sea captain that she returned to England.

It was at this time that the partners of the old established wine and spirit merchants Berry Bros. of St. James’s Street, London, were considering a name for a new Scotch whisky which they had blended for the export market. The renowned Scottish artist James McBey, when lunching with the partners in March 1923, suggested that the whisky be named ‘Cutty Sark’ after the clipper that had just returned to England. The partners thought this an excellent idea and agreed.

Since that date the Cutty Sark family of whiskies, and today Cutty Sark 15 year old, have remained closely linked with the origins and history of the ‘Cutty Sark’ clipper.

Cutty Sark 15 year old is a unique whiskey for the self-assured which embodies the nineteenth century traditions of quality and craftsmanship and the adventurous spirit of the ‘Cutty Sark’.

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Last modified: August 29, 2011