Castle & Cairn

Sourced for Costco from Scotland by Alexander Murray and Company, this edition of Kirkland's Highland Single Malt packs a 16-year age statement at an aggressive price point. Costco also regularly puts out a 15-year bottle for around five dollars less that is also sherry cask aged. I'm a bit perplexed by having two products so similar in terms of production techniques, age, and cost, so I will be doing a side-by-side tasting with some control methods to boot. My only hypothesis is that the two may be sourced from different distilleries as Costco is a truly huge contract account by volume and it may be necessary to spread the load. Not naming the producer gives Alexander Murray a good amount of flexibility, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it used in that way. On the other hand, maybe Steve Lipp, Alexander Murray and Co's CEO, just likes having two versions? Both bottles have the same quote from him on the back, "Perfect for after dinner drinking." Costco is f...

The 2025 release of Costco's Kirkland 15-year Highland Scotch hit shelves in late January and is a recurring installment on an annual cadence. The first pallet to hit my local store sold out almost immediately. Thankfully, we got two more shipments at one pallet each that hung around a bit longer and I was able to snag a bottle. Like in previous years, this Highland Scotch is finished in sherry casks. Alexander Murray & Co. is the bottler with MISA imports out of Texas bringing it to the States for consumption (Costco's standard sourcing pattern for Scotch). The bottle has a nice heft to it and there is an ensconced Alexander Murray Lion adding some nice texture to the front of the bottle. Steve Lipp, CEO of Alexander Murray, calls it "Perfect for after dinner drinking." All-in-all, this shows an attempt to elevate the product and presentation from the ubiquitous blends and non-age stated iterations you'll sometimes find under the Kirkland label.  Neither Alex...