Brewdog releases ‘transatlantic’ Scotch

BrewDog has launched a “transatlantic” whisky, Uncle Duke’s, which it describes as a “Scotch that thinks it is from Kentucky”.

The Uncle Duke’s brands was inspired by American writer Hunter S. Thompson and intended to create the ultimate Old Fashioned.

Inspired by the writing’s of American author Hunter S. Thompson, BrewDog co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie said the Uncle Duke’s brand had been born out of a desire to create the base for the ultimate Old Fashioned, with plans first forming in 2012.

The result was a 40% abv four-year-old single grain Scotch whisky has been matured in “heavily charred” virgin American oak casks.

“As well as having a huge love for craft beer Martin (Dickie) and I have always been obsessed with whisky, whiskey & Americana,” said BrewDog co-founder James Watt.

“The taste of the Bourbon fanned the flames to (Thompson’s) words and got us thinking. We were tired with the whisky scene in Scotland and we set out to create our own schizophrenic hybrid. A translatlantic (sic) mash up of a whisk(e)y; a Scotch that thinks it is from Kentucky.”

Furthering its spirits ambitions, BrewDog officially launched a new spirits arm, Lone Wolf, in April with the intention of “disrupting the spirits sector”, operating out of a dedicated facility in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.

It’s being headed up by Steven Kersley, formerly of Diageo, and will produce a range of vodkas, whiskeys and gins. However Uncle Dukes is a stand-alone project and not linked to the Lone Wolf Distillery.

“It was created just for us. It is a small batch one off that we will mainly drink ourselves serve in our own bars and sell on our website,” said Watt.

Uncle Duke’s will be available exclusively in BrewDog pubs, as well as via the company’s website as a 700ml bottle for £28.95. The company is also working on creating a ready-to-serve Uncle Duke’s Old Fashioned with online retailer Master of Malt.