An exclusive, 57.1% Single Cask Release, bottled exclusively for The English Whisky Society Festival October 2020.
Appearance
Mid gold with a tizer orange hue in colour, it has a lovely thick swirl line on my copital glass, with slow medium thick legs.
Nose
Yes, it’s got high ABV, and i’ts fizzy up my nostrils. I’m diving straight into a bag of starburst sweets, with more red ones than anything else. Definitely lots of strawberries here, perhaps a little unripe, then lots of black cherries. Slowly wood varnish, with vanilla pods and foresty aromas come into play.
Unexpectedly there is a smokiness coming from this whisky, along with germoline cream, totally unexpected but very much welcome. Menthol aromas push forward now, with macadamia nuts.
Palate
The mouthfeel is instantly thick and oily, and that smokiness is here big time, and it’s very spicy too, it’s a hell of a palate tbh. A quick fresh mouthwash buzzes through, and it’s liquorice allsorts all day long, with stewed dark fruits. Cloves, dates, cardamom, cumin, sweetened espresso too.
More time and it sweetens up, definitely tropical and stoned fruits now, and the espresso is more sweetened. The red berries are still here, though more cranberries and red currant jam now.
Finish
The finish is still quite Smokey, it’s long side of medium in length, and developing back into those darker fruits, it’s quite a ride tbh.
My thoughts
I have to say that i thoroughly enjoyed this dram, it’s Ex Bourbon cask matured, but there’s so much more here, and that peat was a total surprise, and a much welcomed one. The nose and palate both have plenty going on to entertain me, and anyone that bought a bottle got a banger in my opinion. i’d love to have a bottle myself.
A big thank you goes out to Damian – @newdramrising, a whisky friend over on Twitter, for this super sample. Please do give Damian, along with us, a follow on Twitter using the buttons below.
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