Scotland, Lowlands: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes
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Ladyburn

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Girvan distillery

Girvan Distillery
Grangestone Industrial Estate
Girvan, South Ayshire KA26 9PT
+44 1465 713091

Owner:William Grant & Sons Ltd
Creation date :1965
Copyright photo: Oliver Dixon
The Ladyburn distillery has been created in 1966 by William Grant & Sons (owners of Glenfiddich and The Balvenie) to ensure the production of single malt for the needs of the blend business of the company.
Two years earlier, William Grant started the production of grain whisky (for the same purpose) in the industrial complex Girvan in the Lowlands. The Girvan grain distillery is still active and produces grain whisky for the Grants brand, the blended whisky of the group.
The malt distillery Ladyburn had a very short life, as it only produced for 9 years, between 1966 and 1975, when it closed definitely.
Recent economic developments in the world of grain alcohols inspired the alteration of Ladyburn into a vodka distillery, and Ladyburn produces the Richard Branson's Vodka "Virgin Vodka".
Ladyburn whisky is very rare, greatly because of the very short production period. Further, Ladyburn was not really marketed as a single malt, even if some rumours say that the group has kept about 30 casks in order to bottle them one by one in the coming years.
Divers independent bottlers sell Ladyburn under the name "Ayrshire".

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

Ladyburn

Ayrshire Thirty
Age
 30 years
Alcohol percentage
 48,9 %
Bottler
 Wilson & Morgan
Cask number
single cask 3376
Dates
 Distil: 24/10/1975 Bottling: 9/09/2005
Bottle
 0 of 223 btls
Particularity
 Non chillfiltered cask strength
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links & average quote
 Forum 88/100
Ladyburn Ayrshire 30

The very first nosing reveals some bee wax hints, sweet spices, apricot and some pepper. Vanilla notes follow together with some apple pie and then a touch of very fine wood. The whole seems to be embedded in bee wax.
The first mouth is complex, from acid and fruity notes, green apple developing on nice slightly woody and malty hints, while keeping this acid balsamic impression. However, the palette of tastes is relatively small, at least I mean there is no taste explosion in the palate, with all kinds of tastes. The whole is very coherent and balanced, without an exaggerated influence of wood and keeping a kind of strange impression both oily and acid, green fruit embedded in bee was. Very amazing mouth anyway.
The finish is lingering and pleasant, in exactly the same mood as the mouth. A strange mix of slightly acid aromas, slightly woody (bitter) and again this impression of a wax veil around it makes it a very special and quite unique whisky. Excellent, and not really usual.
90/100

 
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Lowlands

There are only three active distilleries left in the Lowlands. This area was during the 18th and 19th century the main producer of whisky. This area has seen the birth of the industrial production of whisky.

Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information about the Lowlands area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please click on one of the pagode roofs, according to the direction you want to follow