The first, The Klinsman, is described as a family of whiskies which focus on the hand kilning barley aspect of the whisky making process. Four bottlings have been developed by Goldfinch, with varying levels of peat in the malted barley. The collection includes:
• Bunnahabhain: 10-years-old. 300 bottles coming soon.
• Caol Ila single malt whisky: 11-years-old, finished in a sherry octave. 98 bottles available.
• Highland Park: 14-years-old. 146 bottles available.
• The Klinsman’s Dram - Ardmore: 13-years-old.
A sherry-centric whisky series is also being launched by Goldfinch. Titled Paloma, the series is said to explor ethe influence sherry can have on single malt whiskies. The bottlings are made by selecting casks from all sherry types, Palo Cortado. The artwork featured on the label if of the painting titled La Paloma, which is exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona. The four included in this first release are:
• Ardmore: 13-years-old. 340 bottles available.
• Benrinnes: 13-years-old. 390 bottles available.
• Caol Ila: 11-years-old. 201 bottles available.
• Linkwood: 14-years-old. 331 bottles available.
Both collections are priced from £85, with more information available on the Goldfinch website.
Goldfinch whisky founder Andrew Macdonald-Bennett commented on the launch: “Our new product launches are the culmination of so much thought, innovation and creativity. The Klinsman range is a real celebration of the dedication, experience and skill of this traditional malting role. We released this range to shine a light on this skill set which is dying out in distilleries but is being modernised through craft maltsters using the latest technology. We created Paloma to tell a different story and reveal the influence that Pola Cortado sherry can have on a variety of single malt whiskies. We chose casks previously containing one of the rarest sherry varieties in the world to finish our first releases. By focusing on the Spanish connection where sherry is produced, we have created something that looks beautiful and timeless, which tastes incredible.”