A project
shrouded in secrecy
Our second experiment of the series took place privately at our Conval warehouse. Shrouded in secrecy, malt Master Brian Kinsman invited 20 whisky experts from around the world to select any expression of their choosing from the thousands of stacked casks. The final 20 chosen malts, matured in everything from port pipes to virgin bourbon barrels, have created an unusual, innovative and unexpected whisky, one that has exceeded even our expectations.
“I wanted to create an unexpected whisky. Traditionally every malt whisky is chosen and vatted by one Malt Master to their taste, but what if there were 20 Malt Masters? It was an experiment in whisky personality.”‒ Malt Master Brian Kinsman
Deep gold in colour, Project XX has the warm summer fruity character of a classic Glenfiddich but then multiple personalities are revealed as the flavour of sweet cinnamon spice, almonds and rich port tannins kick in with the odd hint of liquorice.
Discover the taste
The Process
A meeting of minds
Not long ago, Brian Kinsman envisioned one of the most ambitious malt experiments in our 129-year history. The covert operation, (codename XX, pronounced twenty), invited 20 whisky experts from 16 countries around the world to our Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. No one was told why they were there.
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1. A covert affair
The whisky experts were led to our Conval Warehouse, an impressive building, home to 1000s of traditionally stacked casks. Each expert was given free reign to explore the warehouse and select any cask that intrigued them. It was a long task, but after searching every dark corner, each whisky expert made their final decision.
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2. The chosen casks
The final 20 malts represent some of the most astonishing whiskies under our care. From aged malts matured in port pipes to ancient sherry butts and virgin oak bourbon casks, each malt lent a unique personality to the final expression.
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3. The results
Brian married the 20 exceptional malts together, only releasing the final expression once he was completely happy with the liquid. But he was more than happy with the final result: this small batch vatting defied even his expectations.
Success doesn't just happen
It was a long process, but the results speak for themselves.
The Experiments Never Stop
Discover our next project
From one experiment to the next, we’ll always push the boundaries of the single malt.