Sip Scotch From Shuttered Stills

What do Port Ellen, Rosebank and Littlemill have in common? Yes, they are all brands of single-malt scotches, but they also fall into a special category: silent stills. Silent stills are distilleries that have been closed – even demolished – or mothballed, meaning that production has stopped for an extended period of time. Although thousands of malt whiskey distilleries once operated in Scotland, only about 100 distilleries remain active today. But the product of some of these shuttered stills is still available, making these whiskies quite rare – and sought-after by collectors. On Sat., Nov. 13, Dave Davis, resident whiskey expert at The Wine Merchant, will be pulling out rare single malts from some legendary silent stills, offering whiskey aficionados a night of delicious sipping accompanied by an earful of all you ever wanted to know about these distilleries and the unique taste and bouquet of each spirit. What is the style of each distiller? How are they aging the scotch? Where’s the color coming from? Does older equal better? Davis will delve into the smoky, peaty details during the 90-minute session. The tasting will feature a total of six scotches, although he’s still deciding exactly which bottles to raid from the shelves and even from The Wine Merchant’s private collection. “We will be pouring Port Ellen and Rosebank for sure,” said Davis, who has conducted dozens of whiskey classes and tastings during his 12 years in the beverage industry and tasted more than 1,000 different whiskies. Last March, when Davis held the first silent stills tasting at the Clayton shop, scotch enthusiasts also got a taste of a 1981 Lochside bottled by Murray McDavid; a Brora 1981 Cask Strength bottled by Signatory; and two from Gordon & MacPhail: a 15-year-old Imperial Port Finish that boasts some amazing butter, toffee and caramel notes, and our favorite, a 1984 Cask Strength Convalmore. At that tasting, 50 malt maniacs crammed into the retail space at The Wine Merchant. This round, the event will be held in the store’s private classroom, with room for only 14 lucky sippers and swirlers. Want to learn about this bonny booze? Reserve your $75 seat by calling The Wine Merchant at 314.863.6282.