Page 66 - Issues131-133

LA ALAZANA

A PATAGONIAN SINGLE MALT WHISKY FROM ARGENTINA

The current production of miniature bottles in
Argentina is extremely low. Fortunately however,
every year we are surprised with new pieces
launched on the market. They are not normally mass
produced or distributed and are usually
manufactured for special events, such as fairs or
exhibitions, or they are locally and regionally
distributed. The specimens presented in this article
do not constitute an exception to this fact, and
hence, they become very rare pieces. In addition,
they are enhanced by the spirit they contain. They
are miniature bottles of single malt whisky produced
entirely in Argentine Patagonia; specifically, from the
Las Golondrinas area, nearby Puelo Lake,
Cushamen department, Chubut province (Figure 1).
La Alazana distillery was founded in 2011
by Néstor Serenelli and family.
Interestingly, Ian Buxton in this book “101
Craft and world whiskies to try before you
die” (2nd edition, 2019) tells us that Lila
Serenelli studied for a masters degree at
the International Centre for Brewing and
Distilling at Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt
University and the couple then toured
around Scotland to learn more, though
the distillery’s robust-looking copper pot
stills were built locally to their design.

As seen in the figures 2 and 3, on their
beautiful farm, they carry on the entire
whisky production process, from barley
planting and harvesting to the
finished distilled product. As
informed on his webpage,
https://www.laalazanawhisky.com,
they are proud pioneers in growing
barley varieties for whisky and
malting in their distillery. These
varieties contribute to the
distinctive character of totally being
a Patagonian expression. The local
peat is burned under the barley in
the malting process to obtain the
different smoked notes. An
additional regional influence in the
production process is the spring
water of unmatched purity from the
Andes Mountains. The double

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