“Distilled using Jackson, a handmade copper pot still and aged in used oak barrels in the shadow of St Michael’s Mount.”
Appearance: White wine/sun-bleached straw. A decent viscosity for 40% with plenty of medium trails and good film around the inside of the glass.
The tide mark quickly evolves into a series of teardrops.
Nose: Sweet. Plenty of orchard fruits, such as red apples and pears, along with honey, vanilla and gentle sweet spices.
For a 40% whisky, it supplies a decent ABV punch on the nose, not CS level but definitely hitting above its weight category for sure.
There’s a leaf litter aroma after a little time too. Sightly damp and vegetal, with bark and an earthy quality.
Palate: Black pepper, subtle bitter-sweet grapefruit, melon and honey at first. The ABV is more evident on the palate, a little thin in terms of viscosity and a slightly diluted flavour profile. The initial flavours that are there, however, are pretty pleasant.
The black pepper intensifies upon the second sip, morphing into white pepper and a slight mild chilli tingle.
Icing sugar and Chantilly cream flavours do emerge to balance against the spice and heat, which is welcomed.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a complex whisky, but it’s definitely not one-dimensional.
Finish: The Chantilly cream and icing sugar last a short while. The spice dies off pre-finish. There’s nothing not to like on the finish, but nothing surprising or memorable either.
Overall: To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this whisky generally and I’m not a fan of 40% whisky either.
I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised and somewhat impressed. It’s not stunning, but it is a very pleasant dram and a very friendly easy sipper.
