Speyside Beinn Dubh One Very Black Scotch Whisky

The Speyside Distillery has unveiled a new extremely dark colored Scotch whisky that’s named after a high mountain called Beinn Dubh in the Cairngorm mountain range. It is the Gaelic translation of the peak’s actual name, Ben Macdui, and has a bit of an interesting back story as to why it ended up being called as such.

Speyside Beinn Dubh, according to the distillery, was so named “to recreate the essence of the black mountain in a bottle.” The phrase was originally floated by one Professor Norman Collie after his solo climb to the summit in 1891, and its a reference to the mystical and spooky atmosphere he encountered on Ben Macdui.

“Like the mountain,” said Speyside Distillers managing director Patricia Dillon in a statement, “the whisky is dark and mysterious. It is very much the whisky of the Cairngorms – the water used in its production is from the Black Mountain itself, and the malted barley is sourced locally. We are deeply passionate about the Cairngorms and our links to this area: the landscape, the history and the people are very much part of the distillery’s story.”

The whisky itself gets unusual colouring because it has been finished in toasted port casks from the Douro Valley in Portugal.  Bottled at 43% ABV, it has tasting notes from the distillery which indicate “rich fruits, currants and chocolate dominate at first, but these gradually give way to both bitterness and sweetness.”

Beinn Dubh looks to be on sale now.