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Most of you reading this, will have already ordered their special, exclusive box of the last Single Malt Scotch that will be finished on a iconic Kriek Cantillon cask. As you know by now the Scottish Whisky Association has changed their regulations in August 2019 regarding the casks that are allowed to be used in the maturation of Scotch. Kriek beer casks aren’t allowed anymore.

It has taken us more than 2 years to bring this bottling to an end. I still remember ordering casks samples in may 2018 for this 2nd Whisky à la Belge. It was a choice between Benrinnes, Linkwood and Glen Moray. The Glen Moray Single Malt came out strongest.

We planned on releasing this edition in januari 2020, but then in december 2019 we came into the SWA-maze with a lot of vague regulations and some new additional rules that seemed to be made as a reaction on the Arran à la Belge.

After a fierce discussion we came to an understanding and the SWA agreed on allowing us to release this last Kriek finished Scotch.

Now we are waiting for the transport from Scotland and the bottling of the Geuze Kriek Cantillon. The Kriek will probably be bottled in 2 weeks time, so I just went over to deliver the special labels for our Whisky à la Belge beer bottles.

So, we seem to be on track to achieve our new estimated release date in the beginning of December 2020. Right on time for the festivities, right?

Fancy a box of your own? Order here.

For our second batch we decided to stay in the same line of thought as our first batch: an excellent selection of Single Malt Scotch, finished on a traditional Belgian “Kriek” cask of Cantillon.  

However, the release of this batch turned out to be much more challenging than anticipated. The reason: a change in regulation during the maturation process which almost prevented us from releasing our Glen Moray as “Scotch” (and even releasing it at all).

The last Scotch?

Every good story starts with a sudden change. An unexpected twist. And for us it was a slap in the face. Initially we planned on releasing the ‘Glen Moray à la Belge’ early 2020. But we ran into a small inconvenience, the SWA (Scottish Whisky Association).

Our friends at the SWA changed regulations: not all types of casks are allowed to be used for maturing Scotch. Casks that have held liquids that contained stone fruits, like cherries, in any way during the production process, are since august 2019 a ‘NO GO’. Keeping in mind Tequila and Mezcal cask are still considered as ‘traditional casks’ the ruling seemed a bit arbitrary, but we drew the short straw here.

The return of the stone-fruit savourists

An easy fix would have been to release our batch as a BE- or EU-whisky that happened to be produced in the Glen Moray Distillery in Scotland. New labels should do the job, right?

Unfortunately, not according to SWA, as regulation also defines that there cannot be any other type of whisky being produced in Scotland other than ‘Scotch’.

At that time, we didn’t see any obvious way out. It was a Catch-22.

Brave as we are, we looked the SWA straight in the eyes and started negotiating. Endless hours of waiting, discussing and throwing arguments at each other. In the end, reason prevailed! As our whisky was re-racked before the amendment, the SWA agreed that we could sell it under the Scotch label for the very last time. So after printing a new label (again!) we are good to export our finished product to Belgium. 

All’s well that ends well

Due to these negotiations and necessary changes in labeling, we encountered multiple months of delay. But in the end, it was more than worth the effort and we are very happy the SWA had ears for our arguments.

Our most loyal fans had to exercise a little more patience than expected, but they’ll get an even more precious product in return…

… the last Scotch finished on a Kriek Cantillon cask.

Interested in tasting? You can order here. 

For this vintage, a small number of Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks were hand-selected to create a marriage of exceptional richness and complexity. It is a truly masterful expression of our robust Highland single malt.

After 25 years in the finest sherry wood, The Glendronach 1993 Master Vintage is an extraordinary limited edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Expect profound layers of depth and complexity, leading to an exceedingly long, voluptuous and memorable finish.

DE FILOSOFIE & HET VERHAAL ACHTER WHISKY À LA BELGE

Soms wordt een sterk verhaal geboren vanuit vele vragen. In ‘Whisky à la Belge’ leidden de vragen tot het verhaal. Hoe vind je in de whiskywereld verruiming en verdieping naast al de reeds bestaande speciale rijpingen en finishes? Wat is er nog niet gedaan? Welke creatie voegt waarde toe aan de ruime waaier van whisky?

Al die twijfel en onwetendheid brachten Tom Van Gyseghem bij een avontuur dat hem van een Brussels studentencafé zou meevoeren naar een Schotse distilleerderij.
Een ontdekkingstocht op een moto langs artisanale stokerijen met menige cafés als tussenstop. Whisky als brandstof voor mens en machine!

Een gesprek met Tom Van Gyseghem, bezieler en inspirator van ‘Whisky à la Belge’.

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