Expanded Pick-Up Options

Please excuse the pause in the rollout of our new web features, but this holiday season was quite busy and it took all of our efforts to safely and effectively manage our in-store business.

That being said, we are now in the much slower month of January, so it’s time to continue what I came here to do: build out Mission’s website for increased shipping and pick-up options.

This past November we added Pasadena pick-up and curbside to the website and it’s taken off like gangbusters. As of this morning, we’ve added Woodland Hills to the list and soon we’ll have our other three locations up and running. This will allow you to purchase and reserve bottles for pick-up, then call for curbside delivery to your car if you want to remain outside.

In addition to that, we’ll be adding local delivery options that will drastically cut down on shipping rates while increasing expediency for those of you living locally here in LA. With COVID as widespread as it is in SoCal, we want to give you as many safe and socially-distant options as you need to feel comfortable.

I’m headed over to the Woodland Hills store this morning to start activating all the necessary steps, then I’ll be on my way to the Glendale and Glen Oaks locations to prepare for the next phases.

Exciting stuff!

-David Driscoll

The Best Wheated Bourbon You’ve Never Tried

When the whiskey revolution began, it was all about more.

And not just about more Pappy and more Weller.

It was about learning more, tasting more, finding more, and exploring more. We were thirsty. We wanted to know what else was out there. We spent hours on the internet searching through blogs and message boards to see if anyone had a new secret. We were buying more whiskey than we could drink, simply because we wanted to try as much new stuff as possible.

Today, however, the motivations have changed. The whiskey expansion of the last ten years has overloaded consumers with too many choices, overwhelmed their wallets, and sent them back to the familiar comfort of the classics. Rather than take a chance on something new, many are sticking to what’s tried and true.

Not that you can blame them. The odds of being burnt by a bad bottle are higher than ever because there’s more whiskey out there than ever; the countless one-offs and misguided efforts to capitalize on craft’s big moment have made exploring more perilous.

Ten years ago, we were looking for hidden gems from the past, hoping to find something old and overlooked. Today, we’re sifting through hundreds of young spirits, trying to figure out which new distillers actually know what they’re doing.

Having cut my teeth between 2005-2009, I’m still motivated by a desire for new blood. I still believe that numerous skilled entrepreneurs are making what will ultimately become new classics; the new whiskies that we’ll be seeking out years from now once the rest of the world catches on to their brilliance. If you’re sick of drinking the same Bourbons over and over and you’re looking to branch out from the standard Kentucky fare, let me tell you about the best wheated Bourbon you’ve probably never tried.

Some of the McKenzie Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon batches I’ve had from Finger Lakes Distilling in upstate New York would fool just about any Weller fan in a blind tasting. At four and a half years of age and 100 proof, I decided to taste last year’s batch against an open bottle of Weller 107 I had sitting on my counter. Mind you, I’m not one that breaks Bourbon down into commodities, looking to compare apples to apples. I just like having a nice comparison for people when I talk about new products. Tasting it side by side with the industry’s most popular bargain brand, I was mightily impressed.

“It’s taken off like gangbusters for us,” Brian McKenzie told me as we caught up over the phone recently. “We loved the whiskey and we knew it was going to be well-received, but it’s taken off more than we ever could have imagined.” It’s not hard to understand why. At around $55 a bottle, the McKenzie Wheated Bourbon is everything the craft distillation renaissance promised us, but rarely delivered. Using local grains from the New York countryside, the team at Finger Lakes Distilling has put together a mash bill of 70% corn, 20% wheat, and 10% malted barley that absolutely sings with new charred oak, baking spices, and toasted vanilla. “We’ve been making wheated Bourbon for a while,” Brian continued, “but most of it was allocated to single barrel releases. We figured it was time to make it a standard release.”

So why BIB? Why use the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, a definition meant to protect consumers at that time from adulteration and fraud, to make a craft whiskey in the modern age? “We think Bottled in Bond is a way to help differentiate serious craft producers from others. There aren’t many craft producers out there who have 4 year old Bourbon,” Brian added, noting that a number of small producers release their whiskies while still in their infancy. The BIB requires that a whiskey be the product of a single distillation season, of a single distillery, at 100 proof, and at least 4 years of age, which certainly gives the McKenzie a boost in its authenticity. What’s interesting is that the 100 proof bottling strength is the same potency McKenzie fills its barrels at.

“Our whiskey comes off the column still with the thumper at 130 proof, but we fill our casks at 100,” Brian continued. “We tasted a number of whiskies made in the fifties and sixties from our dusty hunting collection—old Jim Beam and Wild Turkey bottles from that era. From what I understand, they were filling at lower proofs back then.”

Why fill at a lower proof? Brian explained:

“Two things: a higher water content acts as a solvent so far as pulling flavor out of the oak. I don’t think we can scientifically explain exactly what that does, but it pulls out different flavors for sure. The second thing is we use less water to cut when it’s time to proof down for bottling, which means we add hardly any water when it’s time to bottle.” 

And what about the New York maturation conditions? Is there a hot and cold contrast between seasons, similar to Kentucky?

“Our aging conditions are similar to Kentucky, but we do heat the rick house in the winter to make sure it gets ample cold and hot fluctuation, as our winters tend to last a bit longer. We’re right on Seneca Lake where there’s a microclimate that gets a little hotter compared to towns further north. It’s the same reason the vineyards around here do well, because they can survive the cold winter with the water helping to keep it temperate. The lake holds the heat from the summer time and the surrounding hills help to trap it.”

With all the care that Brian and his family put into the careful production practices, it’s clear that the wheated Bourbon mash is only one of many factors that contribute to the whiskey’s ultimate flavor. But I eventually asked Brian the same summative question that I knew most consumers would ask me: why does it taste so good? “We pay very close attention to the fermentation process,” he answered, alluding to the sweet and round flavors in the whiskey; “We make sure the conditions are ideal to prevent any negative flavors. That’s a big part of it since we don’t have much temperature control around here.” 

Given that we’re still in the midst of the Van Winkle era, the fact that McKenzie is selling a wheated Bourbon recipe certainly helps with marketing and sales, but it’s not the sole reason for the whiskey’s success. There’s simply no substitute for attention to detail, time in the barrel, and a little TLC. Good Bourbon comes from good producers. It tastes good because these guys know what they’re doing. The singularity of a secret recipe is always a sure fire marketing bullet, but the proof is in the pudding.

-David Driscoll

Winter Is The Time

Glenfarclas Distillery on a freezing Winter’s morn

Two separate events have had me thinking about Scotland in the winter lately. The first was looking at the snowy Pasadena peaks last week while driving in to work. It reminded me of my first trip to the Highlands: it was a cold morning in late February, my old co-worker David OG and I were fast asleep, and we heard a banging on our hotel room doors. It was the inn owner, letting us know that we had better get on the road north fast as there was a storm coming to the Cairngorms. We heeded his advice and no sooner were we on the road, headed over the mountain pass, when we heard on BBC radio that a truck had jackknifed due to the snow, closing off the entire road north. We had just made it.

The other event was a recent conversation with a friend about post-COVID dreams. She wanted to go to Paris in the summer of 2021 and I told her: 1) that’s probably not going to happen, and 2) she should think about going in the winter, when she could have the city to herself. Having been many times, my wife and I have come to appreciate the solitude, the access and the ease of January in Europe (not to mention the price). All you need is a down jacket and you’re fine. You wear the same black jeans every day, throw on that North Face coat with real feathers inside it, and you get to see the Mona Lisa whenever you want—no one standing in your way. The same goes for Scotland. The northern United Kingdom is beautiful in the spring, glorious in the summer, bucolic in the fall, and absolutely underrated in the winter.

A hiking path beside the Dornach Firth along Scotland’s North Sea coast

Scotland is breathtaking on a beautiful spring morning. That being said, I’ve never enjoyed drinking Scotch whisky more than on a cold, rugged, grey-skied day along the Scottish seaside; the wind whipping off the waves and the smell of sea salt strong in my nostrils. Scotland’s whisky tourism is not what it was ten years ago, when you could waltz into a distillery on a whim and get a personalized tour from the master distiller. Today, single malt tourism is big business and—during the spring/summer months—you’re often lucky if you can squeeze your way into the general group exhibitions (but who can say what it’s going to be like now). I was talking with friends who had gone to Islay in the fall of 2019, and they were complaining about the lack of customer service. I read between the lines. What they really meant was: the entire island was packed, there was nowhere to stay, and having come all the way from California we didn’t get any special treatment whatsoever.

Go to Islay in winter, however, and you’ll get treated like royalty. Make your appointments in advance, book your lodging from wherever you want, and you can expect every distillery to roll out the red carpet because you’ll likely be the only visitor they get that day. The same goes for just about everywhere else in the country. I remember visiting Glenmorangie in the dead of winter, a parka hood sealed tightly around my ears, as we took a morning stroll along the North Sea coast. It was freezing, but it was also utterly beautiful. It felt like we were the only people on Earth, allowed private access to an iconic distillery and its sweeping guesthouse grounds. Ditto for our trip that year to Glenfarclas. There was snow everywhere, the wind was howling through the dunnage warehouses, and we were pulling cask samples with our fingers half frozen. But that was half the fun! Looking back, it was one of the best days of my career.

Outside of Campbeltown

A drive to Campbeltown from Glasgow is majestic on a crisp spring morning, but it’s just as romantic on a dreary winter’s day. The contrast of grey and green along the maritime setting and the low lighting from the cloud bank can make for something out of an old Gothic novel. Get yourself in the right mindset and you can pretend you’re in your own swashbuckling adventure, taking the long and winding road through the elements before warming up with a wee dram at the local seaside pub. Try and do that in the spring and you’ll find yourself smashed in alongside a dozen Swedes, ten Germans, and a couples retreat from Denmark. But make the trip in January, and you’ll be telling jokes with the locals, getting the lowdown from the pub owner himself.

Digging through some old photos this morning, I’m feeling very nostalgic; but I’m not longing for a cold beer in a packed inn on a sunny Scottish day. I’m longing for a dram of Bowmore on a freezing Islay evening with the warm glow of the Lochside Hotel around me. I’m thinking of a foggy hike in the morning through the nearest peat bog, or a rainy drive through Glasgow as we dive into a spot in Finnieston for haggis and mashed potatoes. Traveling in the winter months isn’t for everyone, but it’s becoming more of an ideal for me personally. Like I told my friend, I’d rather be cold in an empty Paris than be hot, humid, and stuck with a miserable tour group at every turn.

-David Driscoll

News & Notes - 1/4/21

Good morning everyone and welcome to 2021: the year that every thing gets better, right?

Not so fast.

Let’s get to it:

• If you’ve been living under a rock, the wine and spirits industry is being used as foil for the Boeing/Airbus trade war between the U.S. and the EU. As a result, Scotch whisky and a number of European wines have been subject to a monster 25% tariff for most of 2020. It’s completely gutted the sales for a number of producers and we all hoped this would all go away come January of 2021. Instead, the USTR doubled down this week and added Cognac, and a number of German wines to the list. So get ready to pay 25% more for your Hennessy at some point if this all doesn’t go away soon.

• Last year, I wrote an independent article about how the real “whiskey of the year” for 2019 should have been Crown Royal Peach in a complete sweep. No whiskey had the impact that Crown Royal Peach had on sales, demand, and pop culture for that year, and in what constitutes an incredible staying power, I think the same is true for 2020. Looking at the industry growth numbers year over year, the top performing whiskey AGAIN was Crown Royal, thanks AGAIN to the incredible performance of Crown Royal Peach (and Apple). In a year decimated by COVID, the Crown still grew by 7.7% year over year, more than Jack Daniels and more than Jim Beam. To give you some context, when I go through the Mission sales queue every morning, I would estimate that one out of every three orders has Crown Royal Peach attached to it.

• In what seems like a continuation of 2020, no good deed goes unpunished. It turns out that the FDA now wants distillers who stepped up and began producing hand sanitizer for the good of the nation to now pay fees normally designated for “monograph drug facilities.” Because hand sanitizer is on the list of “over-the-counter” drugs, the FDA is dinging struggling craft distillers with a $14K fee for having operated as such. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

• That being said, apparently the Department of Health and Human Services has asked the FDA to cancel the surprise fee, so we’ll see what happens.

Given all the news right now, wait and see seems like the best approach across the board. As for me, I’ll be waiting with a stiff drink in my hand.

-David Driscoll

The Complete Singani 63 Happy Hour: Featuring Steven Soderbergh and Kevin Nash

Just before Christmas, I invited some of our Mission VIP insiders to join me, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh, and WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash for a private Zoom happy hour to drink Singani 63 and talk about movies and wrestling.

Sound crazy? We’re just getting started, so you should definitely put your name and email into the box on the right-hand margin of this blog and become an insider. That way you won’t miss out of the next surreal Zoom happy hour.

Steven and Kevin worked together on the Magic Mike films, so they rehashed some of the stories from the shoot, talked about drinking Singani for the first time, then took an open Q&A from those on the Zoom call.

Of course, we recorded the entire thing for future use, so here’s what you do: grab a bottle of Singani 63, pour yourself a cocktail, and sit back for one of the most entertaining conversations I’ve ever had the pleasure to be part of.

-David Driscoll

The Last Dance

I spent the last day and a half binging ESPN’s The Last Dance with my wife, the ten part documentary about the 1997-98 NBA season and the last title run for the Chicago Bulls. There’s a number of threads that have been running through my mind ever since:

• Jordan and the Bulls drink a lot beer, and Jordan still drinks Tequila. They also smoke copious amounts of cigars. In a world of extremes, it was a great reminder that you can push your body to the limit as an elite athlete, while still enjoying life’s many pleasures.

• While I don’t think I’m nearly as good at anything as Jordan was at basketball, I want to win at retail the way Jordan wants to win championships. I’ve been known to push my colleagues or rub them the wrong way when they underperform. It was interesting to see how that same desire played out within a basketball team and I learned a lot about myself in the process.

• Jerry Krause is seen as the villain of the documentary because he was more worried about money than winning. If you want to know why I’m on my fifth job in four years, it has a lot to do with this dynamic. I want to win, first and foremost. The money is secondary. If you don’t want to win, I can’t work for you.

• Looking back on how some of the Bulls viewed MJ, many of them thought he was an asshole, but they understood his motives in retrospect. It made me think about a guy on my high school baseball team that was such a dick to me every season. Yet, now I can see that he was just serious about playing baseball, whereas I was absolutely not. I just wanted to be on the team and say I was one of the guys, but I didn’t have the competitive edge at 15. He clearly saw that and was calling out my heart. And he was absolutely right to have done that because I did not really want to be there.

But the most eye-opening part of the documentary is one of the assessments about Jordan’s presence—his ability to be in-the-moment at all times.

One of the execs says (and I’m paraphrasing): “You think he’s the best because he can jump high, run fast, or make a basket? That’s not why. It’s his ability to be present and in-the-moment at all times.”

He talks about how meditation gurus in India spend their entire lives trying to be more present, whereas Jordan has the innate ability to do so. It made me think about how I hate New Year’s Resolutions and how we use January 1st as an excuse to do things we should be doing normally.

Going back to the first point about extremes, I don’t want to change on January 1st. I simply want to live my life with balance and presence, so that I don’t have to make changes that I don’t want to make. As an example, I want to be able to have a drink every single day, and exercise every single day. Too much of either inhibits that balance.

I also want that resolution to be a permanent part of my being, not a goal for an arbitrary calendar date. Watching The Last Dance was great motivation to do so.

-David Driscoll

2020 Whisky of the Year: GlenAllachie 12 Year Old

Granted, I didn’t taste every Scotch whisky, every Bourbon, every Canadian, and every rye whiskey in 2020. I didn’t go through all the Irish selections, or the new Japanese whiskies either.

That being said, I tasted A LOT of them; over a thousand to be sure.

For the last two months, I’ve done nothing but open box, after box, after box of samples. They pile up at my front door, and they flood my office at Mission. So while there may be a hidden gem that I’ve missed, or a rare allocation that I didn’t try, I feel pretty confident in this decision.

I’ve seen what the critics had to say about 2020. I think most of the “Best of” selections were well chosen. I didn’t have any gripes.

But, for me personally, one whisky was so, so, so good—just light years ahead of anything else I tasted—that I’m somewhat surprised it hasn’t ended up on someone else’s list.

What’s my criteria for “Best Whisky of 2020?”

Simple: which whisky offered the most bang for the buck?

Let’s say there was a Bourbon that rocked my world at $20, but in reality was priced accordingly. It was good, but it didn’t really exceed its value.

A $500 single malt whisky may taste incredible and showcase spectacular complexity, but if I think it should have cost $200 then it’s out of the running.

So let’s talk about the winner: the GlenAllachie 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky for $54.99—a $50 whisky that tastes like a $100 whisky.

More importantly, let’s talk about Sherry.

In the information age of whisky connoisseurship, everyone wants to know the specs about their Sherry-matured Scotch.

What type of Sherry? Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez? PX is generally sweeter and more concentrated.

What fill? First fill or second fill? First fill barrels are being used for the first time, so the Sherry flavor is generally more intense.

But do you know how many fucking terrible Sherry-matured whiskies I tasted in 2020? More than I care to talk about.

Yet, based solely on the specs alone, most of them were triple, quadruple, and quintuple the price of the GlenAllachie 12 year.

There are two things you can’t quantify for a label or calculate in a formula: taste and balance. You can use all the first-fill Sherry barrels you want, but if the casks are not chosen carefully those whiskies can be bitter and full of sulfur.

Do you know how disappointed some customers must be to open a $200 bottle of luxury, Sherry-aged whisky and find that it smells like a giant fart? That happened to someone I know last week.

GlenAllachie’s Billy Walker understands Sherry. He knows how to use it, when to use it, and what it’s meant for. He proved it at Benriach. He proved it at Glendronach. And he’s proved it again at GlenAllachie.

The GlenAllachie 12 year is like a hard single malt candy, dipped in caramel, then covered with dark chocolate, then dusted with cocoa. As you work the whisky around in your mouth, the layers start to peel back and you can identify every single one of them, each completely in balance and playing off one another.

With the GlenAllachie 12 year, you’re not just getting a fantastic whisky that’s been aged in the best possible Sherry casks, you’re getting a marriage of those casks that has been masterfully blended to sheer perfection. It’s not only the best bang for the buck I’ve tasted in 2020, it’s the best value I’ve tasted in the last three years. It’s better than any new whisky I tasted in 2018 and 2019 as well.

So let’s talk about what the GlenAllachie can do for you.

Is it going to wow your rich friends at a party? No.

Is it going to garner thousands of likes on social media? No.

Will showcasing your GlenAllachie bunker on Instagram impress the other basic bitches who all post the same shit over and over again thinking it makes them cool?

It will not.

But if you want to drink a whisky that tastes better than most whiskies at double or even triple the price, this is your bottle.

In the end, that’s what consumers want, isn’t it? To get value for their dollar? To feel like they’re being taken care of rather than screwed over? To know that they’re buying something at a reasonable price?

That’s what I want from my whisky. I want to feel special.

And no whisky in 2020 made me feel more special than the GlenAllachie 12. I haven’t had anything this good at this price in quite some time.

-David Driscoll

Catching Up With Benriach: An Interview With Master Blender Rachel Barrie

Back in 2012, when podcasting was more of an amateur hobby rather than a full-fledged career path, I hosted a tiny show about whisky that interviewed notable personalities from distilleries all over the spirits world. One of my first guests was Rachel Barrie, at that time the master blender for Ardbeg. Almost all the press surrounding Ardbeg back then involved the brilliant Dr. Bill Lumsden and his penchant for whisky creation, but I was interested in learning more about Rachel’s blending.

Given that Ardbeg’s flagship whisky—the Uigeadail—is a complex marriage of whiskies of various ages, maturations, and proofs, I thought the woman who had brought harmony to that force must be quite the wizard.

Indeed she is.

After working a few Ardbeg-related whisky events with Rachel in San Francisco, I wouldn’t see her again until driving out to Glen Garioch to work on a new single barrel program. Rachel had been hired as the master blender for Morrison-Bowmore and was working out of the Highland location. I remember it well because she said the cask I chose reminded her of “mealy,” sort of like stuffing made with oatmeal and grains instead of breadcrumbs. We ended up grabbing lunch right after that a local cafe that served mealy because I was utterly transfixed with understanding her tasting note.

That was the last time I had contact with Rachel until just recently, when I connected with her for this interview. Like myself, she’d been head-hunted yet again, taking the reigns as the master blender for Brown-Forman’s Scottish distillery trio of Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh. Right out of the gate, she’s making an immediate impact, having locked up the #3 whisky of the year from the Whisky Advocate for the new Benriach Smoky 12 year old.

As I’m perpetually interested in her world, I sat down with her recently for a quick catch-up:

David: I was racking my brain as to the last time I saw you; I think it's been over eight years since I came to visit you in Oldmeldrum at Glen Garioch. We're both with new companies now, so how has the change from Morrison-Bowmore to Brown-Forman been going?

Rachel: It’s been wonderful going back to my roots to the three distilleries in the north east of Scotland, connecting past experiences, ideas and memories over the decades with a vision for the future. 

David: What's been the most exciting part of working with the whiskies from Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh?

Rachel: The most exciting part has been getting to know every inch of the distilleries and maturing stocks intimately, developing an understanding of their character, before guiding them on the path to success.

David: What's something you've learned about the whiskies since coming on board that most drinkers may not know?

Rachel: There is not enough space on your page! Drinkers might not know that Benriach distills three styles of whisky: luscious orchard fruit-filled spirit distilled all year round, triple-distilled in the summer, and smoky, peated Benriach distilled in smoke season for around one month of the year. These styles are matured in an eclectic range of casks, woven together to create the new range of fruit-filled and smoky whiskies. 

David: Benriach in particular has always been a unique distillery.

Rachel: Yes, and Benriach has its own floor maltings, one of only two distilleries to do so in Speyside. Smoke season and malting season will be releases to look out for in the future!

David: Then you’ve got the Sherry-matured whiskies from Glendronach.

Rachel: Yes, Sherry cask mastery is king at Glendronach, with maturation in Spanish oak Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry casks from southern Spain, the perfect duality to mature our robust Highland spirit into a full-bodied, richly fruity and elegant single malt. 

David: And Glenglassaugh? I’ve never been, so what’s that like?

Rachel: Glenglassaugh is nestled in Sandend Bay, a magnet for sea surfers, and just along the coast from Portsoy boat harbor. It distills a highly distinctive tropical fruit-laden spirit with the taste of salted caramel, straight off the still!  Luscious and deeply coastal qualities mature in Bourbon, Sherry and wine casks warehoused in the bay, creating a single malt interchangeably reminiscent of the sweetest beach summers, and salt-laden depths of North Sea.

David: In terms of blending, are there differences from what you were doing with Glen Garioch and Ardbeg previously?

Rachel: Like every person, every distillery is its own malt, influenced by synchronicities that make each unique. My approach is to first listen to the whisky and then let it do the talking! Then, wood, maturation and blending strategies can be defined enabling each distillery to flourish in its own way. For example, Glendronach is focused on the understanding and mastery of Sherry cask maturation. Benriach is the creator, so fusing distilling and maturation styles, in an eclectic range of casks is the goal, creating an accessible malt to surprise and delight.

David: Glenglassaugh was sort of a late addition to the group, so how has the development come along there compared to the others?

Rachel: With Glenglassaugh, nature has the biggest influence in creating this highly distinctive malt. All I have to do is follow the ebb and flow of nature, marrying Bourbon, Sherry and wine casks in just the right proportions, to enrich luscious and ripe tropical fruits in balance with sweetness, ocean spice and sea-salt. This is the distillery I would describe most as working in harmony with nature.

David: Whisky drinkers love GlenDronach because of its decadent Sherry flavors, but I've always felt that Benriach was the more dynamic of the two, with so many different offerings—peated and unpeated. How would you describe the differences between those two distilleries for people just learning about the whiskies?

Rachel: I would describe Glendronach as “the Grand One,” with its dark fruit and robust Highland style, and maturation in Sherry casks. Deep, commanding and substantive, it has an exceedingly rich and satisfying character, never missing a crescendo into the grand finale.

Benriach, on the other hand, is a delicate genius with its attractive and dynamic spectrum of flavor that makes it highly versatile and agile. It dances on the tongue like the rhythm of life, never standing still, with plenty of surprises and lots of twists and turns. The new range expresses this dynamism, fusing distilling and maturation styles to play tunes with fruit, malt and oak, taking unexpectedly sweet turns with its added layers of smoke.

David: What has been the most exciting release from any of the distilleries since you've come on board?

Rachel: It has to be the Benriach rebrand, launched in September, now taking flight all around the world. Since the launch, the source of my excitement has been from the incredible reaction to the new whiskies!

David: Tell me more about that.

Rachel: In the past nearly four years, I had the creative freedom to develop the smooth and multi-layered Original Ten: matured in Bourbon, Sherry and American Virgin oak; and the Smoky Ten: matured in Bourbon, Jamaican rum and charred American oak barrels for sublime smoky fruit and oak. The Twelve is Sherry-rich, and I added a twist and turn of Bourbon and Port casks, capturing the flavors of Speyside in Autumn at Benriach. The Smoky Twelve has perhaps taken people most by surprise, matured in Bourbon, Sherry and Marsala casks, and with its creamy smoothness and sweet, aromatic smoke, it’s like an orange cake, baked over an open fire, smothered in dark chocolate.

David: How has COVID-19 impacted your job over the last year?

Rachel: The impact of COVID means we’ve had to be agile and find new ways of doing things. For one, over the past months, I’ve never had as many cask samples in my home to evaluate and blend with. Saying this, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to go into the blending lab, socially-distanced, taking it in turn with others to work in the lab, whilst using virtual chats and hangouts to connect between distilleries, and with teams all over the world. The level of communication and collaboration has really accelerated, with time on a plane or traveling replaced with more time making connections.

David: I’m sure more and more of your work is virtual.

Rachel: Related to this, a big step forwards has been connecting with hundreds, if not thousands, of people through virtual tastings and whisky shows. Global reach has never been greater. In the space of just a few hours, I introduced Benriach across the US, from east to central to west, north and south. Morning meets with Australia and Asia, to midnight meets with California and Seattle are the new norm, all woven into the rich tapestry of whisky-making.

David: Are you working on anything for the future that you're exciting about and that you can talk about?

Rachel: I’m always imagining the exciting whiskies of the future! This week I’m selecting casks for our annual cask bottlings, and working on some new Glenglassaugh expressions, which I’m really excited about. I’m also fine-tuning recipes for whiskies from Benriach’s malting and smoke seasons, for bottling and launch in 2021!

Check out selection of whiskies from Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh on the Mission store website for more information.

-David Driscoll