Lorne Mackillop, heir to the chief of clan Mackillop, is a Master of Wine with a difference. From a professional perspective, at least, he has spurned the wine industry in favour of something even closer to his heart and his heritage: malt whisky. But not just any old malt whisky. The whisky that interests Lorne Mackillop to the extent that he’s prepared to buy, bottle and sell it is mature single cask malt. And he reckons he knocks back about 80% of what he tastes for his Mackillop’s Choice label. Mackillop explains the factors involved when selecting a cask of whisky for his independent brand. ‘I’m after balance, plus typicity of distillery and region. For example, I hope to see creaminess in Speyside malt, and peat/iodide characters in Islay. Furthermore, I’m looking for subtlety and interesting nuances of flavour. By leaving a spirit in casks for a long time, you exacerbate the differences between casks, which can become quite profound after two decades and more. If I taste ten casks, then I’d expect two to three to be ordinary, two to three to be good and the rest somewhere in between’, he says. The capital costs involved in selecting and bottling individual casks are pretty steep – in the order of A$3500 per cask. National Liquor (ph 03 9791 4999) imports a range of Mackillop’s choices, including a 1984 Macallan, a 1975 Glen Esk, a 1976 Glenlivet, a 1988 Highland Park and a 1968 Longmorn. These whiskies retail between $130-240 per bottle. I have experienced a number of Lorne Mackillop’s single malts, and am very happy to commend them to you. He’s providing the whisky drinker, who will only rarely taste something with a real point of difference and distinctive character, with much of the interest associated with small wine production.
