In our small corner of the Highlands, just outside the town of Thurso, we do things a little differently. We embrace long fermentations of at least seven days. We work with Kveik, a characterful yeast more at home in Norwegian farmhouse brewing than in a Scotch whisky distillery. We are chasing depth and character, not just uniformity. And when it comes time to put that spirit to bed, we are obsessed with the char.

[It] means owning a cask of spirit crafted here in the Far North of Scotland and following its exciting journey towards becoming Dalclagie Scotch Whisky[...] For some people, it's simply about owning something genuinely unique. For others, a cask marks a wedding, anniversary, birthday, new baby, new business or another milestone worth remembering[...] Families can buy one together. Friends can share one. Businesses can create something special for a future anniversary or ce

It struck me that Scotch Whisky seems quite inaccessible, exclusive, almost sitting high on a pedestal and out of reach. So, I wanted to take down some of those barriers and share just how simple it all really is, hopefully, making it more accessible to anyone feeling put off by the complexity of it all. The main thing to keep in mind when starting your own Scotch Whisky journey is that at its core, Scotch Whisky really is super simple.

Crafting an experimental whisky mash bill is where tradition meets imagination. Before the barrel, before the still, before even the fermenter starts to bubble, there is a question: What story do I want this whisky to tell?

This got me thinking: there’s a plethora of content on the internet around what “Scotch Whisky” is, but not so much of a peek behind the curtain to show what a typical distillery needs to provide in order to be allowed to use that protected term.

Scotch Whisky can only be matured in casks and barrels made from oak. Lucky for us, this isn’t as limiting as you might think.