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Jamie Dawson

@calvadaws

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Wine | Spirits Buyer @corkcask
Whisky Bottler @blindsummitwhisky 🏔️🥃
📍Leith, Edinburgh.

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BEHIND THE SCENES // Selecting casks, re-racking, bottling, tasting, tasting, tasting. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work making these latest Outturn III whiskies 🥃 It's been even better chatting to so many people about them and gathering more feedback for future releases. by @calvadaws

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2 years ago

DALMUNACH 7 // First up from Outturn IX, fully matured in Amontillado sherry, with a Blind Summit twist. We drew a portion off into a 30 litre Amontillado bloodtub, then married it back together. The result is the mid palate concentration we felt the cask was missing, plus a little extra aromatic lift.

We had far too much fun writing the notes for this one. Stewed green apple, white grape, melon and gooseberry on the nose, with pistachio, orgeat and a touch of rancio. Rich and round on the palate, toffee and tablet developing, then ginger and gentle spice. Does anyone make oxidised granny smith fudge?

A complex dram for the real sherry fans out there.

170 bottles // 55.4% // Amontillado Sherry Hogshead

🎨 @marinellostudio
📷 @studioreekee by @calvadaws

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2 months ago

OUTTURN IX ARTWORK // Before the whiskies, the art.

Leith based artist Ryan Marinello has created four unique designs for Outturn IX, all worked up from a photograph Jamie took of the Fairy Pools on Skye. One image, four interpretations, each one matched to its whisky.

Working with local artists is one of our favourite parts of putting an Outturn together. Every release gets its own commissioned artwork, and watching a memory become four label designs never gets old.

Whisky reveals imminent ⛰🥃

🎨 @marinellostudio
📷 @studioreekee by @calvadaws

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2 months ago

Fourth from Outturn 8 - Pulteney 18 year old.

From the very top of the Scottish mainland, all that maritime character - Pulteney is a malt with a strong sense of identity. Eighteen years in a single refill bourbon hogshead has taken something bold and turned it into something quietly extraordinary. Beautifully balanced and entirely effortless.

The nose opens with oyster shell and sea spray before softening into wild honey, sponge cake, preserved pears and butterscotch, with green apple keeping things lifted and fresh. Cereal bars - apple and biscuit folded together - alongside vanilla pod and stewed orchard fruit. The palate carries that elegance straight through, wave after wave of wild honey with yellow fruit, vanilla and Werther's Originals underneath.

The finish is long, fading on salted honey and gentle fruit - the sea making one last quiet appearance right at the end.

Single refill bourbon hogshead. Distilled 11.02.2008. 230 bottles.
51.8% ABV.
🎨 @adamjamesblair
📸 @studioreekee by @calvadaws

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6 months ago

TWO YEARS // Blind Summit Turns Two 🎉🥃

We can’t quite believe it. Blind Summit is two, and somehow we’ve bottled 33 whiskies in that time.
It’s been intense, hands on, wildly labour heavy and loads of fun.

A huge thank you to everyone who has picked up a bottle, poured a dram, shared a post or joined us at a tasting. Your support has made this little independent project feel genuinely alive.

Thank you to all the artists who have collaborated on these bright and beautiful labels, and to everyone behind the scenes who helped us bring these wee whiskies to life.

Here’s to year three. More casks, more graft, more late nights and hopefully a few surprises along the way.

Thanks for being here with us.

📷 @awayemedia

#blindsummit #independentbottler #scotchwhisky #singlecask #leith #edinburghwhisky #whiskylife #whiskycommunity #yearthree by @calvadaws

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10 months ago

BEERHIVE x BLIND SUMMIT x SINNISTER BREW

14TH BIRTHDAY RELEASE // TOMINTOUL 10 YEAR OLD 🥃🍂🍻

Finished in a Sinnister Imperial Stout Cask and exclusive to @thebeer_hive

This started as a chat over a few pints, trying to come up with something special for Beerhive’s 14th birthday. The fact we actually pulled it off still feels like a minor miracle.

Huge thanks to Logan @sinnisterbrew for donating one of his Imperial Stout casks. Sinnister only make Imperial Stout and it is outstanding, so when one of those rare barrels was emptied, we moved fast. Pete collected the cask the same day (after tasting the stout), then drove it to Fife with the barrel wedged in the back. The wedges did not hold. Every corner required a full body lean to stop the hoops hitting the windows. A glamorous operation.

In the warehouse, James re-racked our Tomintoul 10 immediately. Beer to whisky in just over an hour. About as fresh a finish as you get, and important

The result:
The base Tomintoul was already fruity: raspberry, peach, malt biscuit, barley sugar.
The stout cask added roasted coffee, dark chocolate and molasses richness.
The kind of flavour that makes you nod at the glass and say, "yes, that works." You know those high altitude single origin coffees that taste so good, all fruity and lean...those vibes.

A few months finish, big flavour.
Only 62 bottles of this exist, exclusively from Beerhive.

Label artwork by Tommy brings in Cannonmills history, Beerhive bees and celebrates their 14 years of hard work. Fourteen years is no small thing for an independent business. We are two years in and we feel it.

Sharing this one together as a brewer, bottler and shop is the bit that matters.

Serve:
With pals. With Sinnister beers.
Keep a small sample aside to compare to future releases. This cask will return in... Beerhard II and III: Beerhard with a Vengeance. Yippee-ki-yay!

🎨@tommychuggin
📷@studioreekee by @calvadaws

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a year ago

EDINBURGH WHISKY FESTIVAL 2025 //

What a weekend exhibiting @edinburghswhiskyfestival on Saturday @murrayfieldstadium

Great to hang out with so many lovely attendees and exhibitors.

We were pouring 3 single casks from Outturn VI, our Blended Malt, and a sneak preview of 3 of our upcoming whiskies from Outturn VII 🙌

It was a nice change of pace from some very long days bottling and labelling these new releases. Some big drams coming for the Winter season! ⛰🥃
 
📸 @studioreekee

#blindsummit #leith #singlemalt #scotchwhisky #indepdendentbottlers #limitededition #edinburghwhisky #singlecask #whisky #whiskylife #whiskygram #visitedinburgh #scotland #visitsscotland taken in Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh by @calvadaws

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a year ago

Outturn III
Launches day 03.10.24 🚀

Original Artwork: @designbyjakes
Photography: @awayemedia by @calvadaws

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2 years ago

Ben Nevis // 006 Saint Emilion Wine Finish.

A single cask of unpeated Ben Nevis distilled in 2017. We'd had this a few years maturing in a re-fill bourbon hogshead before we transferred it to a Saint Emilion Bordeaux Cask for it’s final 12 months. Over the last year it took on all the leafy, red berry fruit you might pick up from this high quality, Merlot dominant wine. Ben Nevis being a rich and savoury dram, this made for a super complex marriage of flavours. The cask yielded 165 bottles at 54.6% natural cask strength. It has a beautiful rusty orange hue and pours out with a slight pink tinge.

Tasting notes:
“Red grape pomace, candied red fruit, sponge cake, ginger, very berry herb tea and ripe plum. Savoury on the palate, funky, with cured meats and bacon. A long round and spicy finish. Big berries and delicious Ben Nevis funk. Remarkably more-ish.” by @calvadaws

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2 years ago

HAND BOTTLING // We had a lot of fun bottling Outturn II on April 1st. Labelling followed shortly after on April 18th, which surprised a few people to hear when we were calmly pouring them at The Biscuit Factory in Leith on April 19th. Who doesn't love a deadline 🤪

Outturn II is out in the world now:

Mannochmore 11 Year Old - Australian Tawny
Ben Nevis 6 Year Old - Saint Emilion Bordeaux
Secret IsLay 10 Year Old - Refill Oloroso by @calvadaws

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2 years ago

We did it 🎉
Finally out in the world @blindsummitwhisky is a project @james.zorab and I have been working on for about 18 months now, and talking about for too long.

The whiskies we've planned for a while but the reason they look so pretty is thanks to the work of artist @emma_inks and designer @iamtomcostello 🙏

This inaugural release is 3 different single malts, firstly a Glencadam 12yo (the yellow one) with big calvados vibes 😉 it's all orchard fruit, waxy green apple, butterscotch and custard creams. Priced £55.

Second is a malty Miltonduff (the purple one) matured 12 years (10 in bourbon barrel, then 2 in St Julien Bordeaux Cask). It's big on red apple, red fruit gums, brambles and dried raspberries. Barley sugars and rich mahogany. Priced £65.

Lastly 36 bottles of Lochindaal (the pink one) distilled at Bruichladdich, matured 13 years in a first fill bourbon barrel. This last one was almost entirely for bars and restaurants. There was so little of it we felt this would create many more drams and chances for folk to taste. There is a list of where you can drink it on our Blind Summit page. Tasting notes were "Bonfires galore, coastal Islay brine, vanilla fudge & portuguese tarts". Priced £95.

The label artwork is an original piece by Emma based on a photo of Arthur's Seat in the snow, taken on a walk with my brother @dawsons_bristol.
There are a few other details to explain when the website goes live but the outline on the right is the skyline of the Pentlands from the summit of Arthur's Seat. Go check it out!

If you'd like to buy any we have bottles stocked at a few indie retailers Jeffrey St Whisky, Cork&Cask, Nips Bottle Shop and Beerhive, also the The Cocktail Geeks have them available from their Edinburgh Christmas Market shop on Princes Street.

We will be doing our best to get some friends and family bottles out ourselves over the next two weeks. Busy elves indeed 👬
If you are short a bottle let us know and we'll point you to a stockist.

Thank you so so much to everyone who's supported this so far 🙏to those who have send feedback after tasting them, and most importantly to @johannalizzy for your endless patience ❤️

📷@awayemedia 🙌 by @calvadaws

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3 years ago

Exceptional views from Ben Lawers and Beinn Ghlas today 😂

1.5hr ascent with Zack setting the pace, fuelled by Reece's peanut butter chocolate and rewarded with Ardnamurchan Sherry Cask at the Summit 🥃 taken in Ben Lawers Mountain Range by @calvadaws

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3 years ago