Murree

Murree

Pakistan is pretty high up on the list of countries where you would least expect to find a whisky distillery. But it does have one, and one with more history than quite a handful of Scottish distilleries. Rawalpindi distillery was established in 1899, next door to the Rawalpindi brewery, which was owned by the Murree Brewery Company (which itself was established in 1860). The name of the distillery was later changed to Murree. The reason behind establishing a whisky distillery in that part of the world is clear once you consider that that time, there was British rule in Pakistan and that meant thirsty colonist’s throats used to whisky …..

The Murree Brewery Company very kindly sent me some wonderful old sepia pictures of the Murree brewery, buildings, cooperage and courtyard.

Today, the barley for Murree’s single malt whisky is imported from Britain. Murree is probably unique in the whisky world for having both floor maltings and a Saladin box. It has four large stainless steel (!) wash stills and two large copper spirit stills. Maturation takes place in barrels and large oak vats, which are stored not in a warehouse, but in underground cellars.

At present, Murree has two expressions: an 8 y.o. ‘Malt Whisky Classic’ and a 12 y.o. ‘Millennium Reserve’. Both are bottled at 43%. The 8 y.o. has a very buttery nose, slightly rancid butter to be precise. It is a light, malty whisky, with the butter remaining in the background and a touch of dry wood late in the finish. In a blind tasting this would certainly be regarded as a ‘whisky’ in contrast to the 12 y.o. which is something completely different. Wood or floor polish, oily, quite soft and with a very odd, almost nauseating sweetness. Is this whisky? Hard to believe these two malts come from the same distillery; they couldn’t be more different from each other in every aspect. If you want to have a taste of Pakistani malt whisky, go for the 8 y.o.; steer clear of the 12 …..