Whisky matured in casks submerged in legendary Loch Ness

By Rosalind Erskine

A Scottish drinks manufacturer has found a new way of developing spirits - by maturing casks of 'whisky' deep below the surface of Loch Ness in a world-first.

Domhayn – named after the Gaelic word for ‘deep’ – was plunged 214 metres (702 feet) below the surface of the legendary waters on Valentine's Day.

The Stirlingshire-based company's inaugural release comes from a 2010 single malt barley spirit, bottled at natural strength 55.5% ABV.

With only six bottles existing, legally, the spirit can’t be called whisky, since its unique production of submersion in water alters its molecular profile.

The process enhances and smooths spirit, creating unique flavour profiles compared to those achieved by traditional maturation.

One of the bottles will be auctioned on Friday (April 26) as the world's first legitimate in-cask submerged spirit.

Founder James Patterson was watching wild swimmers take a celebratory dram after a dook in Loch Ness when the idea struck.

Patterson said: "This is about pushing the boundaries of how we understand spirit maturation.

"We know the environment a cask matures in has a huge impact, but no one has explored the application of pressure like this before.

"The results have been astounding.

"When we retrieved the cask, the difference was undeniable.

"The spirit had developed a distinctly different aroma and smoothness – something traditional maturation simply couldn't achieve in the same timeframe.

"Given its uniqueness, we expect collectors and enthusiasts to be very curious about how this method compares to conventional maturation.

"What’s more, our proprietary technique isn’t limited to spirits – it also applies to wine, rum, and vodka – and that makes it incredibly exciting."

To ensure authenticity and quality, the spirit from each cask undergoes molecular-level analysis at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford.

Patterson added: “Submersion causes the cask to compress and decompress, triggering a unique interaction between the wood and the spirit involving both extraction and absorption.

“It’s a one-off opportunity – each cask can only withstand one dive before the pressure permanently alters it.”

"We wanted to go beyond tasting notes and detect molecular-level changes in the spirit.

"To do this, samples from each of the casks were tested by the Department of Chemistry at Oxford University using chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

“The technique measures differences in the compounds found in samples.

"The results showed a different molecular composition in the processed samples, providing evidence that our process alters the molecular level profile of the spirits compared to control samples.”

The whiskey will be auctioned with the first bottle available online on Friday, April 25, 2025 at Whisky Auctioneer.