The first mould-breaking ‘Scotch rye’ of modern times was produced by Arbikie Distillery in Angus, and launched in 2018. Since its arrival, whisky fans have waited impatiently for another Scotch rye whisky to come along. Now, five years later, two have come along at once, courtesy of Bruichladdich and Inch Dairnie.
Not that they are allowed to be called ‘Scotch rye whisky’. To comply with current industry regulations, they belong to the category of ‘single grain Scotch whisky’ and must primarily be labelled accordingly.
‘Scotch rye’ was produced until the early 20th century. In his seminal text (1887), Alfred Barnard singles out the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL)-owned Port Dundas distillery in Glasgow for its use of large quantities of rye during the 1880s, some malted
