Monthly Archives: October 2023

That Boutique-y Whisky Co – New Core Range

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No Whisky Show is truly complete without the dynamic duo of Dave Worthington & Sam Simmonds. That Boutique-y Whisky Co is just a “must go”! 

At London’s 2023 Whisky Show, you could spend the entire day at their wee stall! This year, they introduced their new core range along with three different features:

  • Land of Oz
  • American
  • Cinema expressions

We somehow managed to stick with just a partial sampling of the Core Range, Oz, and Cinema… however that took rather a large amount of restraint!

Starting with the World Whisky Blend (fabulous and affordable!), the good folks at Atom Brands aka That Boutique-y Whisky Co, decided it was time to have something a bit more regular and dependable for fans. Shifting from 500ml bottles of unique expressions with sometimes only 100+ bottles in existence where you could “blink” and they are gone, their new core range can be found in “industry standard” 700ml bottles, all at a traditional strength of 45.8% in batches of approx 1,000 liters, with the intention of being much more accessible.

Naturally, there had to be something a bit cheeky about the approach with Emily Chappell’s labels! With a nod to traditional scotch whisky which often featured deer… in this case, the age of the deer was linked to the age of the dram… except of course for the Canadian whisky, it simply had to be a moose! Dave also shared the bottle colours are meant to reflect the northern lights too. 

Which was exactly where we began, the good Canuck that I am! 

Canadian Corn 8 year 45.8% (GBP 38)

Big bold and sweet aromas, caramel toffee sweetness, nutty, and more! And on the palate? Even more of that dramatic desert with some cracking ginger spice. Yet even with all the big bold aromas and flavours, it was in harmony and not overwhelming. A fun, fabulous sweet treat with a punch.

What more do we know? It was matured in 100% Oloroso casks. As for official tasting notes?

  • Nose – Fruity muffins, buttery oak, opening up into sherried goodness: raisins, prunes, dates, drizzles of runny toffee and toasted nuts.
  • Taste – Big, bold, and fruity! Toffee ripple ice cream, wafer, and popcorn join toasted almonds and cooked peach, white cracks of black pepper nestle in the depths.

Where did we go next? We then shifted to the oldest offering in this new core range – the 30-year-old blended grain!

Blended Grain 30 year 45.8% GBP 75

As bold and youthful as the Canadian corn was, we shifted to a genteel dame with the blended grain. On the nose, it was a friendly ‘breakfast dram’ with delicious buttery pastries, honey, and a hint of marmalade, some cream with vanilla. Then on the palate? Soft, even creamier, and far too easy to drink. This one was dangerous in its deceptively easy style. Yum!

What more do we know? It is a blend of refill casks of ex-Bourbon hogsheads and ex-Sherry octaves. As for tasting notes?

  • Nose – Honeycomb, red grapes, immensely buttery biscuits or shortbread, waxy orange peel, polished oak and a touch of floral spring breeze.
  • Palate –  Thick, textured with rich butterscotch, freshly baked cookies with still-soft chocolate chunks, hints of cedar and white pepper in the finish.

Next up was the Speyside….

Speyside 12 year 45.8% GBP 45

If the Canadian was big and bold, the Grain genteel and intoxicating, the Speyside was a sherry delight with substance!

On the nose, we found crunchy chocolate caramel with roasted nuts, some fruity sweetness too, and a puff of smoke. It had real substance on the palate – this was no lightweight! Warm and full of classic sherry dark fruits combined with a hint of salt. Far too drinkable too!

What more do we know? It is a combination of all-new Oloroso casks.. with the official tasting notes:

  • Nose – Caramelised nuts and chocolate mousse, flamed orange peel, cinnamon, earthy density, punchy cassia, and smoky oak.
  • Taste – Fruity, chewy and spicy. Tangy cranberry, salty jerky, oily walnuts, an absolute belter of a Speyside whisky. Complex and quaffable.

We held off on checking out the Highland 18 year and Islay 8 year. I’m sure they are equally worth checking out. Our overall conclusion for the trio we tried is that each is, in its distinctive way, simply too easy to drink. Which I supposed is exactly what they were aiming for with this more accessible range – bravo!

What next? Well… join me as we dive into a selection from Australia!

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Whisky Show 2023 – Show Bottles Loch Lomond, Clynelish, Orkney

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This year, I decided in advance to purchase a “festival pick” at London’s Whisky Show 2023. I set myself a maximum budget and even put together a shortlist. This is exactly why I made a “beeline” to the Whisky Show “Festival” Bottles early Sunday morning and zeroed into the Clynelish immediately. 

However, as always, I enjoy being guided through explorations. So when they recommended we start with the Loch Lomond, we were happy to oblige!

Loch Lomond 14 year Cask no. 22/709-1 55.6% (2023 Whisky Show Bottle)

What an intriguing bottle! It was initially quite shy and a bit funky on the nose, gradually easing into yogurt, it then burst open with dried fruits and cream, and generous dollops of dark honey. On the palate, it was dangerously drinkable and delicious. All those lovely fruity flavours coming together, well balanced and most enjoyable.

Whilst Loch Lomond (under many labels) has a huge range of styles, I personally prefer ones like this – un-peated, uncomplicated, and friendly (once you get to know each other a bit!). This one needs a wee bit of time in the glass, then absolutely rewards you with a treat!

What more do they say?

One of Scotland’s most versatile distilleries, Loch Lomond produces an astonishing range of different styles and flavour profiles. This cask of un-peated single malt showed such a perfect balance of fruity spirit character and oak influence that we knew we had to have it for Whisky Show.

  • Nose: Runny honey, golden syrup, wine gums, buttercream, orange flower water, sultanas, vanilla.
  • Palate: Thick-cut marmalade, apple juice, chewy flapjacks, digestive biscuits, fresh baguettes, rice pudding, more wine gums, and yellow fruit pastilles. There’s a leafy peppermint note that keeps the sweeter elements from getting out of balance.
  • Finish: Fruity and creamy with oak spices and a touch of pencil shavings.

From curious to most enjoyable, I then turned my attention to my potential festival pick…

Clynelish 12 year (2011/2023) 1st Fill Barrel #880297 56.4% (2023 Whisky Show Bottle) GBP 120 / EUR 142

I will admit it, just reading about this bottle put it in the front-runner position. I was not at all disappointed! It was full of gorgeous fruity aromas, chased by warm lemon, sponge cake, a hint of floral honey, and enough beeswax elements to make it interesting. On the palate it rewarded with more fruit – I definitely found the pineapple, elegant and well-rounded. There really is something distinctive about Clynelish – the more I explore, the more I want to explore further.  

What do the Whisky Show folks have to say?

A real whisky drinker’s whisky distillery, Clynelish has made single malt on Sutherland’s east coast for more than 200 years. Its characteristic waxy, fruity, mineral profile is quite unlike anything else being produced today. We’ve found these 2011 casks to be of excellent quality overall, but we thought this one was particularly good and a fitting addition to our Whisky Show lineup this year.

  • Nose: Gummy bears, nectarine, yellow plum, and lemon oil. There’s also a floral side with irises, blossoms and wildflower honey.
  • Palate: All the Clynelish hallmarks are present and correct: candlewax, beeswax, olive oil. Then more stone fruit and candied pineapple with seashells, chalky white wines and Yellow Chartreuse. The influence of that first-fill bourbon barrel grows over time with toffee, crème anglaise and honey granola.
  • Finish: Sweet anise, gentian, vanilla.

An excellent example of 2010s’ Clynelish from a particularly good first-fill barrel. I happily snapped it up for Eur 139 / GBP 120 and sent it home to India with my hubby for a future-future-future tasting session!

We were then steered towards the Orkney…

Orkney 22 year (2000/2023) Refill Hogshead #41 52.7% (2023 Whisky Show Bottle)

Obviously, this was Highland Park… and for 22 years, it greeted us with a fresh (though slightly shy) nose, light sea breeze, fresh leaves, and just the slightest hint of peat. On the palate, the peat was unmistakable – that lovely non-Islay peat that warms gently without overpowering the fruits and cinnamon sweet. The finish continued in the lightly sweet peat vein, lingering. Really rather nice!

Again, it is worth checking the further details about this Show Bottle here:

The first of our three bottlings for Whisky Show 2023 comes from a venerable distillery in the Orkney islands. We can’t say which one, but the keen-nosed will be able to make an educated guess. Full maturation in a refill hogshead means that the oak influence is nicely restrained, allowing the quality of the underlying lightly smoky spirit to really shine.

  • Nose: Heathery peat, beeswax furniture polish, linseed oil, white pepper and sackcloth. Brilliantly old-fashioned and probably a great example of whatever Orkney distillery this happens to be.
  • Palate: Nicely mineral at first, with oil lamps, polished brass, copper coins, peat kilns and brick dust. Then green apples, pears, lime juice, wood sorrel, brown butter, dandelion leaves and roasted green peppers.
  • Finish: That grassy, floral smokiness lingers along with a sense of earth and stones.

Our journey then continued with an amusing and educational exploration with Dave Worthington and fellow Canadian Sam Simmonds at That Boutique-y Whisky Co!

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Dream Dram – Adelphi’s Miltonduff 40 year old 50.4%

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We were on the quest for a “Dream Dram” at London’s Whisky Show 2023… which meant we simply had to prioritize getting to the folks from Adelphi. 

Folks who know me well, know that I have a soft spot for several independent bottlers. I appreciate the hard work that goes into creating a whisky, yet equally appreciate those who aspire to pre-select unique, sometimes quite rare special bottles. Before they opened their Ardnamurchan distillery, these folks were known for bringing out some exceptionally rare remarkable drams.

This is why I knew I was in good hands with my top choice for Dream Dram – the Miltonduff 40 year old!  Our guide shared how it was matured in refill Bourbon hogshead, enabling the flavours to slowly ease into the liquid gold.

Miltonduff 40 year (1982) 50.4% (Adelphi) GBP 700

Incredibly elegant with a beautiful, delicate nose, lightly floral with orchard fruits. And on the palate? It was effervescent, almost sparkling like a bubbly champagne! Bright, oaky spice, with more apples & pears, creamy and even a hint grassy….. The finish was equally elegant, though from our simple light sips, not so long.

We didn’t even notice the relatively high cask strength for a 40 year old! Only later did I observe this must have meant very little escaping into the angel’s share. Perhaps that contributed to the sparkling quality we found!

I had planned to return to explore whiskies from their distillery – Ardnamurchan – however, alas we didn’t manage to make it back! One simply can’t do everything at a show!

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London’s Whisky Show 2023 – Decadent Drinks

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We arrived at London’s Whisky Show 2023 approximately 45 minutes early so that we could efficiently make our way to a few “target” stalls. First on our list was Decadent Drinks / Whisky Sponge.

For those not familiar, these folks (approx seven) are an independent bottler of spirits worth checking out. Rather than my speaking for them, you can get a sense just from how they describe their aim:

We try to source and create products that are fun, a bit different and are designed to provide pleasure and joy. And hopefully to lift your spirits and give you a bit of a laugh as well. We care deeply about quality and we go to great lengths to ensure that what is inside our bottles is brilliant, delicious and beautiful. But we also think it is important to not take life, or drinks, too seriously. Which is why you’ll find the outside of our bottles plastered with original artworks and designs which are surreal, silly, often satirical, sometimes dark or arty, but hopefully always fun. Above all else, we believe in having fun. 

As this was our 1st stall and it was only 11:30am, we knew we needed to begin with something lighter and fruitier – better known as a “Breakfast Dram”. We were 100% steered in the right direction by the lovely ladies who knowledgeably poured this beauty to get us into the mood for the malts to come!

Balblair 15 year Equinox & Solstice Summer Edition 2023 48.5% (Decadent Drinks) GBP100

It was a delightful dram – a nose bursting with sunshine, an orchard of apples and pears, fresh and intoxicating. On the palate, it was incredibly creamy and tasty – dancing along the tongue in a summery romp. Delicious! 

As we only do a sniff & a few drops, my notes are limited. However, it left a very positive vibe. Curious to know more? Then check out what the Decadent Drinks folks have to say about this dram:

This year’s Summer Edition of Equinox & Solstice is a small batch mix of two 2008 1st fill barrels of Balblair. They’ve been bottled at 15 years of age and this series’ trademark strength of 48.5%. 

The result is an extremely easy and luscious summer dram that showcases an abundance of Balblair’s natural green fruitiness and lusciousness, along with a nicely rich and creamy vibe from the 1st fill barrels. A gorgeous dram that balances simplicity, directness, freshness and maturity – perfect for summer as an easy sipper or in a highball with ice and soda! 

This year’s series features a set of wonderful original artworks by Skye-based artist Ellis O’Connor. For the Summer edition her inspiration was taken from some of the colours associated with long and luminous Scottish summer nights.  

With our palates perfectly calibrated for explorations to come, we then enquired about our 1st Dream Dam. I had my eye on the Glen Grant 5-year-old, bottled for the Italian market. Only to be informed, this very special, very old bottle was only available for purchased tokens. Sigh…

Whilst my tasting companion was inclined to “give in”, I kept us to our strict regimen – enjoy fully what is on offer at the Whisky Show, wait for a different environment to splurge on indulgent drams where can focus on a full tasting!

With that, we moved on to our next stall… Adelphi! 

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