Turkish Bottler KA Icecek Debuts The Project W Whisky Series

Independent Turkish bottler KA Icecek is expanding its whisky portfolio with the recent release of a new limited edition whisky series. The series, The Project W, consists of no-age-statement whiskies bottled from distilleries around Scotland.  KA Icecek has also added new staffing to procure the expressions.

As the first independent bottling project in Turkey, Project W is focused on quality rather than cask age. The debut expression of the series will be the Glenturret Ruadh Maor, a hand-filled rollout at a 55.8% cask strength.

Making The Project W Whisky Series

According to a report on The Spirit Business, only 288 bottles will be released, first in Turkey, then in the UK. The barrels will be selected by whisky author and Quaich Keeper, Burkay Adal.

Adalığ said: “I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of this great initiative. I sampled several casks in Scotland for this project and tried to find out the best casks from different regions and styles.

“We wanted to debut with a distillery close to my heart, The Glenturret, which was the first ever distillery I visited many years ago and ignited my passion to become a whisky author.”

He also spoke of Turkey’s growing interest in whisky, noting: “Turkey is one of the countries with the highest growth figures for whisky consumption. Over the years, the whisky enthusiasts grew a big appetite for premium Scotch whiskies, and despite some negative effects in the global markets, whisky exports to Turkey grew by 14.6% in volume and rose by 26.5% in value to £60.8 million.

“There’s a large number of whisky collectors in Turkey and KA is happy to contribute to these great collections with the first ever Turkish-led independent bottling brand The Project W.”