Edradour has been pouring into our glasses since August, when we announced Scotland's Little Gem had joined the collection. Now the second half of a remarkable story has landed: Enigma 2, cask number 368, sits beside its sister, Enigma 1, and for the first time both bottles are in stock at Club Mareva Beirut.
For those who haven't followed the thread, a quick recap. Edradour was founded in 1825 in the village of Pitlochry, Perthshire — one of Scotland's smallest and most traditional distilleries, still working with tiny copper pot stills and almost entirely manual methods. Andrew Symington, founder of Signatory Vintage, has owned it since 2002, and the philosophy has never wavered: character over volume, patience over shortcuts.
In 2025, Edradour marked its 200th anniversary with a pair of 35-year-old single casks from the 1989 vintage, both first-fill Oloroso sherry butts, both bottled on 2 July 2025, both non-chillfiltered and natural in colour, both presented in a wooden case with a pair of crystal glasses. They are called Enigma for a reason.
The two casks spent their entire lives in different warehouses, and the difference is the point. Enigma 1, cask 355, distilled 27 September 1989, matured in the damp dunnage warehouse — less liquid lost to evaporation, but a greater loss of alcohol, finishing at 52.6% ABV with 498 bottles. Enigma 2, cask 368, distilled 10 October 1989, matured in the modern concrete warehouse, partly underground with air circulating around it twenty-four hours a day — far more liquid lost, but the strength held, finishing at 62.3% ABV with only 379 bottles.
On the nose, Enigma 1 opens with dark chocolate, walnut cake, and dates soaked in sherry, polished oak and dried figs underneath. The palate brings espresso, leather, orange peel, roasted hazelnut, hints of treacle tart and dried cherry. The finish is long and warming — cocoa, walnut, sticky dried fruit. You can read our full piece on Enigma 1 (https://clubmarevabeirut.com/edradour-scotlands-little-gem-joins-our-whisky-collection).
Enigma 2 is the bolder sibling. The nose is opulent: dark fruits, treacle, rich oak, chocolate, warm spice, coffee, orange zest. The palate is full-bodied and intense — sherry-soaked fruitcake, dates, molasses, cocoa, roasted nuts, balanced by oak spice and honeyed depth. The finish runs long, with lingering sherry sweetness, dark chocolate, and gentle spice, a slight bitterness at the end keeping the sweetness honest.
Side by side, they are a masterclass in what warehouse conditions do to a spirit over thirty-five years. Same distillery, same year, same cask type — and two completely different whiskies. That is the Enigma.
Both are available now at Club Mareva Beirut. Given the outturns — 498 and 379 bottles worldwide — this is not a restock that will happen again.
