Try Wildmoor, a brand new range of ultra-luxe blended Scotch whiskies

William Grant & Sons is a big on the earth of Scotch. The company was founded in 1887 by its eponymous patriarch and remains to be within the hands of his descendants today. For whiskey connoisseurs, the portfolio’s liquids are mostly related to high-end single malt. In fact, The Balvenie and particularly Glenfiddich helped popularize the style worldwide.

This week WGS is spreading its wings into luxury blends with the launch of Wildmoor. We’ve compiled your advanced taste of the four-bottle range – together with some exclusive words from Brian Kinsman, the acclaimed master blender who created the juice.

“I’m just a whiskey maker and don’t really get involved in marketing decisions,” explains the industry icon, who began working with William Grant brands back in 1997. “But the task that came to me was to use the inspiration of Scotland, the place, to portray the different aspects of the country in fluid form.”

The name Wildmoor itself is meant to evoke the untamed landscape of his birthplace. The latest release within the range, Dark Moorland, is a 23-year-old mix of Highland and Speyside malts with lowland grains, aged in American and European oak and finished in Oloroso sherry casks. It is bottled at 42% ABV and retails at £185. The reddish-colored spirit comprises an appealing mixture of cherry fruit, barbecue and wood spice.

Rugged Coast is a 30-year-old wine whose sweet and peaty undertones are more assertive because of the longer time within the aforementioned sherry cooperage. The alcohol content can also be 42% but is predicted to sell for the upper figure of £550.

The Elder Statesmen is Black Mountain, a 40-year meditation on the fabled Bens of northern Scotland. It comprises broth from now-closed (ghost) distilleries and has a sticky custard sweetness because of about six months of storage in PX sherry casks. You can find the 92% drinking whiskey for £960.

Although lots of these initial releases share a standard sherry theme, there are also plenty of flavor differences. From dry and woody on one side to wealthy and dessert-like on the opposite.

“In Scotland you can get from coastal areas to moorland to forests relatively quickly,” adds Kinsman. “We are a small country, but full of great contrasts that exist here with Wildmoor. And I like the visual appeal of creating flavors inspired by the landscape.”

The three labels listed above can now be found on shelves within the UK, China and Southeast Asia. Another release, Ancient Moorland, is 23 years old mixed Malt is currently available exclusively to global travel retail in Taiwan and China. A broader international launch of the range is planned for early 2025. In the meantime, you possibly can safely assume that Wildmoor shall be an integral a part of the William Grant portfolio. It draws on inventory that the family business has amassed over many years – and not only from its own properties.

“It’s all been in our warehouses for years, but it comes from across the industry,” Kinsman says. “We filled barrels from 30, 40, 50 different distilleries that we traded with over the years and kept.”

In other words, in case you’re in search of a brand that paints an image of Scotland in fluid form, WGS has an excellent color palette to work with. And Kinsman, for his part, is exclusive in bringing all of them to life on screen.