Murray McDavid

Murray McDavid is an independent bottler that began in the mid 1990s. Its founders, including wine merchant Mark Reynier, went on to revive Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, and the bottler's early releases reflected that wine background. The name has since passed to new owners, Aceo, who run it from Speyside.

Like most independent bottlers, Murray McDavid does not distil its own whisky. It buys casks from distilleries across Scotland and decides how long they mature, whether they move into a second cask, and when they are bottled. Finishing in wine and other casks has long been part of its style, as releases such as the Tokaji Wine Cask Finish show.

The ranges a buyer meets today are fairly clear. Benchmark covers single malts with a stated age and vintage, sometimes from paired casks. Mission is the older, rarer tier. The Vatting brings together malts under names such as Peatside and Rìgh Seumas I, Select Grain is devoted to single grain whisky from distilleries like Girvan and Invergordon, and Mystery Malt hides the source distillery behind names such as Lennox Peat.

In our catalogue its bottlings come from Tobermory, Loch Lomond, Caol Ila, Linkwood, Clynelish, Glenallachie and others, along with older vintages from the brand's earlier years. Because the bottler chooses and finishes each cask, the label is a good guide to what to expect.