Carsebridge 1964 - 52 Year Old - That Boutique-y Whisky Company - Batch 2 - 2017 Release

Carsebridge was founded around the turn of the 19th century and operated initially as a Lowland malt whisky distillery until being converted to grain distillation in the 1850s. Carsebridge joined the fledgling grain whisky cartel Distillers Company Limited on its inauguration in 1877 and by the time of Alfred Barnard’s visit in 1886 was already producing around 6 million litres of grain spirit per annum. 

Carsebridge was damaged by a fire in 1902 but was rebuilt after the Great War, and the distillery was expanded in the 1950s and 1960s. Sadly, Carsebridge distillery was mothballed in the whisky crisis of 1983, with most of the buildings demolished in the 1990s. The first official bottling of Carsebridge was a 48-year-old in 2018’s Special Releases; independent Carsebridge is drying up but is usually great value and well worth trying if you can find it.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottling subsidiary of Atom Group, the company that owns Master of Malt and Maverick Drinks. That Boutique-y Whisky Co.’s first bottlings appeared in 2012 and are easily recognisable by their small bottles and garish cartoon labels depicting oblique references to each distillery’s history and characteristics. The company does not reveal the whisky’s vintage on their labels, and only began using age statements in 2016.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company are prolific bottlers, with over 800 releases in their first decade. The company are also distinguished by the innovation of their offering, particularly in regard to world whiskies, and are often the first UK bottlers to release whiskies from new world distilleries. That Boutique-y Whisky Co.'s parent company Atom Group was purchased by Budweiser brewers AB-InBev in 2018; in 2024 the takeover was reversed when Atom bought themselves back.