Blind Summit Whisky

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Blind Summit Whisky Independent Wh**ky Bottlers

Sometimes a wh**ky causes a little ripple effect throughout our wee community.While we welcome all forms of feedback (an...
12/10/2026

Sometimes a wh**ky causes a little ripple effect throughout our wee community.

While we welcome all forms of feedback (and try hard to grow thicker skin), this one has been the most DM'd and happily shared by our wh**ky pals. It's incredibly heartwarming.

It's rare to be able to pick a cask from a list of imported w**ery barriques, select it based on vintage, variety, region and style, then pair it with a single malt from a distillery that holds such a special place in your younger self's wh**ky journey.

For us, this was about drawing on years of combined experience. But it's always a bit of a squeaky-bum wait, checking in on something as it matures, wondering if it'll actually work and whether we really got it right.

We're so, so happy that this big collection of ideas and flavour combinations has resulted in the wee wh**ky you see here.

Glen Elgin at 11 years old, finished for one year in a Napa Valley Chardonnay barrique.

Seeing Glen Elgin's gently honeyed, fruity oiliness come together with notes of apricot, pear crumble and almond pastry has been a delight. The flavours feel like one connected, integrated spectrum, with the cask and spirit complementing each other rather than competing.

There are so few white w**e cask whiskies out there, and we were very nervous about releasing our first. So thank you to everyone who's poured a dram, taken a chance on it and let us know their thoughts. It's been an absolute pleasure to make.

A huge thanks to Ryan for pairing it with such a vibrant and beautiful depiction of the Fairy Pools on Skye. The photograph, the artwork and now this wh**ky all carry such amazing memories for us.

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This is Rosie 🎨One of our favourite parts of Blind Summit is getting to work with brilliant local artists and designers....
09/10/2026

This is Rosie 🎨

One of our favourite parts of Blind Summit is getting to work with brilliant local artists and designers.

is an Edinburgh-based graphic designer and the person behind the artwork for our recent Old Pal collaboration.
Rosie also created the original identity for Old Pal, so it felt particularly nice to have her work on this one too.

A tasting with Old Pal’s Ben , Kielan and Rosie followed.

A few drams, a few ideas, and Rosie took it from there.

“The inspiration behind the design really came from creating a link between the cold climate of Islay and warm climate of Barbados, making the connection between the wh**ky and rum cask finish.
The main focus was on colour; blending the cool blues into the vibrant oranges, portraying the wh**ky maturing in the rum cask and these flavours coming together.
The deep oranges are also seen a lot in Old Pal; through the cocktails, posters and of course if you know Old Pal well, the orange wheels with their logo burnt into them. This felt like the perfect way to represent the sun and the Old Pal brand for this artwork.
Another link I wanted to make was between the wh**ky barrel and wooden panelling seen around Old Pal, by using the vertical lines to represent waves. A subtle connection but I wanted it to be a part of the design somewhere.”

We feel very lucky to work with people like Rosie. The artists we collaborate with have become a huge part of Blind Summit, and we’re very grateful for it.

Thanks Rosie 🧡

Our wee webshop is live 🪅We make quite a few tiny collaboration whiskies that, by their nature, can be pretty hard to ge...
06/10/2026

Our wee webshop is live 🪅

We make quite a few tiny collaboration whiskies that, by their nature, can be pretty hard to get your hands on.

So we’ve opened a wee webshop where we’ll be making a small number of bottles from some of these projects available directly.

First up, Old Pal x Blind Summit x Rosie Rees

Bunnahabhain, finished in a Barbados rum cask and bottled at natural cask strength. Just 58 bottles from the cask, with artwork by Edinburgh designer .

We’ve kept a few bottles back and they’re on the webshop now for anyone who missed out first time around.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

More on Rosie and the story behind the artwork next.

Nearly three years in 🪅A few weeks ago we spent an afternoon wandering along the Water of Leith, getting some much neede...
04/10/2026

Nearly three years in 🪅

A few weeks ago we spent an afternoon wandering along the Water of Leith, getting some much needed photos together ahead of the Macallan launch.

Blind Summit is still just the two of us, built around our day jobs and whatever evenings and weekends we can throw at it. We carefully select and create whiskies we’re excited about, work with casks we think can add something, bottle and label by hand, and bring in local artists for every release.

Nearly three years, going on 60 whiskies. Pretty tired, still very excited about what we’re building and where we can take it next. Every bottle sold goes straight back into Blind Summit. The next cask, the next release, and giving us the chance to keep pushing what we can do.

Kitted out here by our pals at . Shot by .palermodesigns

Third birthday coming up. Some good stuff planned.

Macallan 35 Year Old // Two unique whiskies.This one started as a single cask of Macallan. We were very fortunate to get...
24/09/2026

Macallan 35 Year Old // Two unique whiskies.

This one started as a single cask of Macallan. We were very fortunate to get access to it, and from the moment we did we wanted to make something genuinely unique.

One refill bourbon hogshead, filled in 1989, left alone for 35 years. Rather than release it as another sherry or bourbon Macallan, we split the cask in two, into a small Rivesaltes cask and a small Barbados rum cask. Both chosen to work gently with a wh**ky that was already excellent. The aim was to complement the flavour and create something truly unique.

We kept a very close eye on both, tasting regularly, making sure the finish was adding to the wh**ky and never taking over. When the balance was right, we bottled them at the perfect moment, side by side.

The Rivesaltes at 45.3%, the Barbados rum at 46.4%. Although uniquely different, they each carry a complexity only three and a half decades of gentle maturation can give a single malt.

We have released 30 pairs worldwide. The labels are mirrored cut-outs, so standing side by side the two bottles form one continuous piece of artwork.

We're hugely grateful to our stockists and export partners for getting behind this one. Taking a release like this is a big ask, and they have been so supportive and encouraging from the start. Personally, for both of us, supporting independent shops and bars has always been the dream. It's why we started Blind Summit, and it's still the best part of the job.

The second release in this series is not far away. More on that soon.

Jamie & James

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Macallan 35 Year Old.Two years ago we got the chance to bottle a 35 year old Macallan, and we knew straight away it dese...
22/09/2026

Macallan 35 Year Old.

Two years ago we got the chance to bottle a 35 year old Macallan, and we knew straight away it deserved more than we'd ever done before.

We bottled it in April 2025, the moment the two cask finishes sat in perfect balance with that old Macallan character. Next, we set out to build it a proper home and develop the mirrored labels. A wh**ky this rare needs to arrive safely, wax intact, so the box is cloth bound and felt lined, with the Pentland Hills ridge cut into the lid, the view we know from Arthur's Seat.

It's taken a lot of patience, and a lot of help. Thank you to Liam and Adam at Studio Reekee for turning our ideas into something this beautiful.

With it comes a third range for Blind Summit. First, and close to our hearts, the blending and wh**kymaking behind The Lochend Blend, and many upcoming releases. Then our single cask releases, selected, bottled and sometimes creatively finished. And now these rarer drams, with their gold labels and cosy gift boxes. There are more in the works, and we can't wait to share them.

Jamie & James

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A cracking night at The Valinch Glasgow with Glasgow Wh**ky Club last Monday, the club’s first tasting in their new home...
20/09/2026

A cracking night at The Valinch Glasgow with Glasgow Wh**ky Club last Monday, the club’s first tasting in their new home and a full room of 29.

We ran through eight whiskies released over the last year, covering our blending, cask selection, finishing and maturation choices. All the different ways we steer these wee releases towards their final bottling.

Great energy, what a group, and such a rare spread of favourites, with the Pulteney 18 single cask winning the tie breaker for favourite of the night.

Big thanks to Thomas and the team at the Valinch for having us, and to Julie and Rod at Glasgow Wh**ky Club for organising.

Can’t wait to be back ⛰🥃

Session 1: Pulteney 18, Lochend Blend Vol.IV Oloroso, Glen Garioch 18 First Fill Oloroso and the Glen Elgin 11 Napa Char...
13/09/2026

Session 1: Pulteney 18, Lochend Blend Vol.IV Oloroso, Glen Garioch 18 First Fill Oloroso and the Glen Elgin 11 Napa Chardonnay.

Session 2: Ardmore taking centre stage, with the Pulteney and Glen Elgin close behind, and the Blend going down very well with folk newer to wh**ky.

Thanks to Aberdeen Wh**ky Shop, Tasting Room & Bar for all the support with the festival shop, and for the nice chats and tastings with the team. If you tried something you liked, they’ve got our 500ml bottles in stock right now.

Huge thanks to everyone who came by, chatted and tasted. Can’t wait for the next visit ⛰🥃

OLD PAL x BLIND SUMMIT x ROSIE REES // New collab bottling 🏝A 7 Year Old Bunnahabhain finished in Barbados Rum and bottl...
29/08/2026

OLD PAL x BLIND SUMMIT x ROSIE REES // New collab bottling 🏝

A 7 Year Old Bunnahabhain finished in Barbados Rum and bottled at a whopping 58.6% cask strength. Cask and finish selected by the team at@oldpal_edin , original design by .

Drawn from the very first cask James and Jamie bought together at the start of Blind Summit, chosen by the old pals. A delicious bourbon barrel Bunna, now with a rum twist.

"Toasted coconut and waxy barley over honeyed bourbon oak, with a coastal salty edge. A wee sprinkle of tropical rum character gives it notes of banana bread, dried pineapple and a brown sugar glaze.

Long time **ky fans will remember the Bunnahabhain 11 Barbados Rum, easily one of the most loved releases of the last three years. If you liked that one, get along to Old Pal and try this sibling release.

The incredible label art by Rosie Rees features a crazy 2,257 individually placed dots 🤯

Just 55 bottles, available exclusively from Old Pal. Head down to try it, makes a belter of a Guinness hauf n hauf 🧡

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SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE // What a weekend we had at **kyfringe. Throughout the weekend we ran a very excited and fun campai...
23/08/2026

SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE // What a weekend we had at **kyfringe. Throughout the weekend we ran a very excited and fun campaign to make the top 10 voted for drams (AKA the Spirit of the Fringe). They've now counted the votes and we're sad to say this wasn't our year 🥲

We put a lot of heart into our first outing at Mansfield Traquair: a new banner (brighter and more colourful than ever), new stickers, new t-shirts (launching soon), seven unique wh**ky releases, three humongous half time orange drams, and a whole lot of hand shaking and campaigning for votes.

On the day our Jura 20 Year Old, Glen Garioch 18 and the Napa Valley Glen Elgin were the ones people kept coming back for, and we collected 102 half time orange vouchers. Not bad at all for a first go!

If you missed them, our half time oranges were:

Friday and Saturday, a sneak peek at an old Macallan release coming soon
Sunday, Bunnahabhain 51 Year Old Sherry Cask

The bar was set high this year with some great drams from our pals and neighbouring indie bottlers. To everyone who enjoyed our whiskies and took time to vote for Blind Summit, we're super grateful, thank you for the continued support.

Catch yas next year on the campaign trail 🫡

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Leith
Edinburgh

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+447933404120

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