House of Hazelwood: Autumn Collection 2022
The family behind William Grant & Sons has one of the largest and most diverse collections of Scotch whiskies in the world. The House of Hazelwood, is dipping into their private inventory, selecting and bottling some of their most precious casks, and making them available to the drinking public.
In the rolling Scottish countryside, just north of Dufftown, is Hazelwood House. It was constructed around 1830, as a dower house for nearby Kininvie Castle. The slate-roofed, polished sandstone structure is built against the slope of a hill, with a raised ground floor, and extensions including a library wing, that were added in subsequent decades.
Along the south side of the building, the intercommunicating drawing and sitting rooms have cool, pale walls and disarmingly simple interior design. Their large bay windows afford magnificent views over the surrounding farmland. Outside are finely manicured lawns, a sunken garden producing the rosiest of apples, a glasshouse for growing grapes, and the remnants of a hen-house and pigeon-loft nestles behind the house. Seated around the fireplace, you cannot help but feel that Poirot is about to burst in, and accuse you of murder.
Hazelwood House is the home of the Gordons – one of the richest families in Scotland – descendants of pioneering whisky-maker William Grant, and the owners of the company that still bears his name. For many years it was the residence of Grant’s granddaughter, Janet Sheed Roberts. Born in 1901, she too was a pioneer, obtaining a law degree from the University of Edinburgh, where she was the only woman in her class.
She would go on to practice in the 1930s, barely a decade after the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 granted women admission to the legal professions. Although Roberts never worked for William Grant & Sons Ltd directly, her involvement in the business was life-long. Her husband – a fellow lawyer that she met at work – became a director, and was the company’s Chairman during the 1960s. Roberts lived to the age of 110, becoming Scotland’s oldest woman, before her death in 2012.
Hazelwood House still has the feel of an immaculately kept family home, and it is used routinely by members of the Gordon family on visits to Speyside. So when they decided to start selling whiskies from their private collection, naming the new brand “House of Hazelwood” was an obvious choice.
The Gordon family’s collection really got started with Roberts’ nephew, Charles Grant Gordon, who began laying down casks more than 70 years ago. But the collection is not only whiskies from William Grant-owned distilleries, like Glenfiddich and Balvenie. It includes output from producers all over Scotland.
A Gordon family representative explained, “For almost one hundred years my family have been laying down stocks of whisky to mature for future generations to enjoy, with the collection growing in scope and stature as the decades have passed. For the first time, this once-private collection is being offered to those outside the immediate family in small batches hand-selected for release. These are the most compelling whiskies that the inventory has to offer – a bridge between the past and the present, each issue remarkable by virtue of its character, history or method of production.”
Indeed, the longevity and omnivorous tastes of the collection mean that it encompasses styles of whiskies made with grains and techniques that are no longer in use, providing an organoleptic connection to the history of Scottish whisky-making, going back almost a century. The collection is not only single malts, but blended whiskies and grain whiskies as well.
Casks that are part of the collection are stored in warehouses throughout Scotland, with the different environments having sometimes markedly different effects on how the spirits age. While some of the bottlings coming out of the collection are single casks, others are the result of sometimes daring experiments in secondary maturation. This accounts for the reticence of the House of Hazelwood to disclose the origins of some of their whiskies, as the results that the Gordon family have produced through maturation or blending may differ significantly from the intentions, or expected flavour-profiles, of the original distillers or blenders.
Before bottling, casks that have been identified as approaching their peak are moved to a warehouse on the site of the now closed Convalmore Distillery, just minutes from Hazelwood House, so that they can be monitored closely.
While it is not unusual for producers of advanced age whiskies to sit on their stock so that it can be sold with an age statement that is a nice, marketing-friendly round number, House of Hazelwood’s ethos is that whiskies should be bottled at their peak. This may account for the two 44-year-olds in their most recent release.
House of Hazelwood launched this spring, with the release of two collections, each of which included four whiskies. The Charles Gordon Collection comes from the family’s most precious and extremely rare vintage casks, showcasing the breadth and depth of the Gordon’s historical whisky stock. Meanwhile, the Legacy Collection offers an opportunity to experience unique flavours, ghost distillery output, and important changes in the production of Scottish whisky, at a price that should be within reach of many serious whisky enthusiasts.
One of the jewels of the House of Hazelwood’s inaugural Spring Collection was “First Drop”. It was some of the first spirit to come off the stills at William Grant’s single grain distillery in Girvan, South Ayrshire, when production began in 1964. Only 71 bottles were put on sale, and they sold out in weeks. Similar treasures await in the about-to-be-released Autumn Collection, which once again comprises four Charles Gordon and four Legacy whiskies:
“A Singular Blend” 1963 Blended Scotch Whisky, 42% ABV, 74 bottles, RRP £4,900
A 58-year-old blend of grain and malt whiskies, both of which were produced at the same distillery. This is rare, because there are only a handful of distilleries that produce both spirits. To the knowledge of the House of Hazelwood, there has only been one other commercially released single distillery blend. Antique whisky characteristics, with hints of black cherry, caramel, smoke, and the iconic Scottish boiled sweet Soor Plooms.
“The Next Chapter” 50 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 44% ABV, 157 bottles, RRP £4,000
The youngest component of this whisky was distilled in 1972. Fifteen years ago it was already great, but Charles Gordon wanted to experiment, and so it was transferred into a highly reactive first-fill American Oak cask, to be revivified by a further decade and a half of maturation. Rich, creamy caramel flavours mix with marmalade, for a satisfyingly long finish.
“The Unknown” 44 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 43% ABV, 143 bottles, RRP £3,000
Distilled in 1978, then blended in Girvan in 1989, it was aged for an additional 33 years in a single refill butt. But beyond that, its provenance is unclear, the precise details having been lost in changes to record-keeping systems over the intervening period. This sweet, almost treacly, whisky should appeal to lovers of rich demerara rums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPDYDTQeeQw
“The Old Confectioners” 44 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 45% ABV, 256 bottles, RRP £3,000
The youngest malt whisky in this blend is 44 years old, but some may be considerably older, after marrying for years in refill sherry butts, the candied fruit on the nose gives way to dark toffee and liquorice on the palate, with a pleasantly dry and oaky finish, recalling the sweet shops of yesteryear.
“Breath of Fresh Air” 37 Year Old Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, 46% ABV, 417 bottles, RRP £1,450
A blend of grain whiskies, aged in American oak, it does not have the expected rich caramel flavours. Instead, it tastes like mint, lavender, heather honey, and even a hint of camphor, transporting you to the verdant Scottish countryside. A truly magical example of the unexpected transformations that can take place inside a cask… and the best decongestant that money can buy.
“A Trail of Smoke” 42 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 45% ABV, 385 bottles, RRP £1,900
Matured exclusively in American oak, and only recently blended. It tastes like a meandering tour of the Scottish Islands, and is composed of whiskies from several of them. Dry on the nose, but juicy on the tongue, like barbecue-roasted pineapple. While the flavour develops on the palate, the characteristic smoke of Islands whiskies is always in the background, tying it into a beautifully cohesive whole. Perhaps the standout of the Autumn releases.
“The Eight Grain” 40 Year Old Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, 48% ABV, 384 bottles, RRP £1,200
A blend of whiskies from eight different grain distilleries, all of which have aged for at least 40 years. It includes stock from both active and ghost distilleries. The House of Hazelwood set out to display the diverse distillery character of the individual whiskies, and demonstrate that grain whiskies can have the depth and complexity of single malts. The Eight Grain is a louche soiree that you should be curious to attend.
“The Lowlander” 36 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky, 46% ABV, 432 bottles, RRP £950
The youngest member of the Autumn Collection, the Lowlander is a beautifully delicate, grassy blend of malt and grain whiskies from Lowland distilleries. An initial hit of sugar-sweet meadow grass becomes tart as it lingers on the palate, with a suggestion of lemons and kiwi fruit. A compulsive, surprising blend from a region that is often overlooked.
The team
The small, but experienced team curating House of Hazelwood’s releases is drawn from across the industry, and spearheaded by marketing director Jonathan Gibson, who previously worked for the boutique blenders Compass Box. His excitement at having access to the Gordons’ private inventory is evident, and he is revelling in the freedom that the company’s unique approach allows.
Gibson says, “Unlike most Scotch whisky producers, our business carries with it no requirement to release whiskies of a given age or a given style on a set date. This is a collection of individual spirits, representing unique casks, trials that have taken place over the years and combinations that may never be seen again.
“Central to this is the philosophy that the maturing stock is ready when it’s ready. The inventory is regularly sampled, with meticulous records kept of its progress. Only once it reaches its peak will it be bottled – and of course, in a world of individuals, once it’s gone it is truly gone. The whiskies carried within the collection are unique and irreplaceable– single snapshots in the long history of Scotch whisky.”
Considering the future of the company, House of Hazelwood’s Commercial Director Phil Keene says, “We will build up a personal relationship with the collectors and enthusiasts that we know will be interested in the launch releases. We are also opening the business up to consider private projects by commission through our whisky concierge service that will offer individuals and businesses the opportunity to explore the collection with a view to bottling a single cask or working with us to create their own proprietary blend.”
House of Hazelwood already has a club for “Keyholders”, with registered members gaining access to exclusive member-only releases, invitations to private events, and preferential access to new releases. For instance, the Autumn Collection’s “A Singular Blend” can only be ordered by Keyholders.
• Orders are now being taken for the Autumn Collection, and bottles will ship next month. To purchase bottles or to become a Keyholder, visit: www.houseofhazelwood.com