The whisky was named after the tea clipper Cutty Sark, launched in 1869. The ship in turn took its name from the short shift worn by Nannie in Robert Burns's poem “Tam o' Shanter.”
A horse came from the city to the ship, and from the ship to the bottle. The three masts depicted on the bottle label are therefore not a decoration but the source of the name.
The yellow label was not the color chosen during the branding meeting. It was originally supposed to be cream colored, but the print came out incorrectly in bright yellow. It was written as is, and the mistake became the face of the brand for a century.
Cutty Sark uses several single malts, with Speyside at the centre. Bright pear and apple notes form the backbone of a blend designed to stay clear of heavy smoke—the lighter style starts with the spirit itself.
American oak shapes the maturation of this malt. It brings soft vanilla sweetness without pushing the colour or tannin too far. Carrying fruit and vanilla together, the malt now flows into the marrying vat.
Grain whisky softens the edges of the malt. It is the familiar structure of blended Scotch, but here the balance is set especially light, clean and refreshing.
Some first-fill sherry casks add spices and dried fruit. But unlike Aberlour, it does not place sherry at the forefront; the influence is a fine accent rather than a heavy layer.
The malt spirit goes through a marrying process for 21 days. It is a process of mixing several spirits and keeping them together for a certain period of time to refine the taste. This is why Cutty Sark promotes this long marrying period as a feature of its production process.
Once the separate aromas have settled into one balanced blend, marrying is complete. Gentle filtration and bottling follow, preserving the light, clean style designed to remain clear in a highball or cocktail: ‘Born to mix’.
Based on Cutty Sark Original.
Citrus reaches furthest, followed by floral and vanilla notes. Malt and oak stay restrained and peat is almost folded in, showing a bright, light blend rather than a deeply malty one.
The official note also points to the same thing. The scent is centered around fruit and flowers, and the taste is centered around vanilla and citrus. Neither heavy cask influence nor peat dominates the profile.
Monkey Shoulder spreads lower and wider towards malt and vanilla, while Cutty Sark reaches higher towards citrus. Both are good drinks to mix, but Cutty Sark is much more refreshing.
Berry Bros., St. James Street, London, 23 March 1923. It started with & Rudd. Francis Berry, Hugh Rudd, and Scottish painter James McVeigh had lunch and talked about making a lighter blended whisky than before. The first target market was the United States.
The timing was strangely bold. The United States was in the midst of Prohibition. The official brand history connects the story of moonshiner Bill McCoy and ‘The Real McCoy’ to this period. After Prohibition ended, sales grew rapidly, and in 1961, it became the first Scotch to sell one million cases in the United States, the brand records.
The person who drew the label was also McVeigh. A three-mast tee clipper was placed on the front, and the paper that was supposed to be cream colored came out yellow due to a printing error. A mistake that would have been discarded by an ordinary brand actually became the most recognizable color.
Cutty Sark is currently owned by the Glen Turner Company, with blending and bottling taking place at Starlaw's integrated production facility. The company describes Speyside malt, American oak, select first-fill sherry casks and 21-day maring as the core of its current style.