Category Archives: Cask Strength

The Heart Cut #4 – M+H Pomegranate 57%

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I’m no stranger to Milk & Honey distillery from Israel. Most notable was a masterclass at Nürnberg’s The Village in 2024. So when we spotted that The Heart Cut had a pomegranate wine cask Milk & Honey expression? It was pretty easy to hit the order button!

Here’s what they have to say about this whisky:

Israel’s first whisky distillery, M&H encapsulates the flavours and terroirs of its homeland within a bottle, and this whisky does just that. Not only is it fully matured in a pomegranate wine cask, but it’s also spent some of its time maturing in their warehouse by the Dead Sea —the lowest point on earth. A single sip of this whisky instantly transports us back to the Tel Aviv sunshine and its laid-back vibe.

What did we think?

The Heart Cut #4 M&H (26/02/2019 – 26/03/2023) Pomegranate Wine Cask 57%

  • Colour – A deep ruby red
  • Nose – Really interesting. It was strongly sherry-adjacent, sweet, syrupy, treacly, with a compelling intensity. Every once in a while, it was a bit sharp and peppery, then it would settle back into a delicious, textured tart, salty sweetness. We certainly could discern pomegranate influence, a bit of marzipan, cherries, vanilla cola
  • Palate – Burnt caramel, dry wood, then a luscious cherry pie. It was remarkably rounded, heavy, fruity, and even a bit creamy
  • Finish – It had a big, flaming finish – spicy and dry at first, a hit of bitter… a few sips later, we found it settled in, though it remained warming, also had some nice tannins, star anise

What a treat! This was distinct and delicious. The more time in the glass, the more we enjoyed it. This is the kind of whisky that intrigues and delights. A pity they are now sold out.

How did our experience compare with the folks at The Heart Cut? They describe it as SHERRY CASK LOVERS, MEET YOUR NEW FAVOURITE!

Fully matured in a Pomegranate Wine cask. Rich, viscous, and bursting with fruity intensity, a sherry-like whisky with a vibrant twist.

Tastes like:

You know the rich, fruity character you get from a Sherry cask whisky. Turn that up to 11 and layer on fresh pomegranate, baked plums, medjool dates, salted caramel, cherry pie and a thick, unctuous mouthfeel. Then you’re halfway there with this whisky.

Would we agree? Largely yes! And we were happy to have a chance to try it.

What more do we know? Georgie and Fabrizio shared more about the cask and its aging:

POMEGRANATE WINE CASK

Derived from pomegranates, pomegranate wine is an alcoholic beverage often laid to rest and mellow in oak casks. Those ripe pomegranate, roasted coffee + dried fig notes you may detect in this whisky? Yep – that’s what the cask brings to the party.

AGED BY THE DEAD SEA

From February 2021 to July 2022 this cask was relocated from M&H’s Tel Aviv warehouse to their one situated near the Dead Sea. As earth’s lowest point, the Dead Sea presents an exceptionally hot and arid environment, where temperatures frequently soar to 50°C. Within this setting, more water than alcohol evaporates from the cask due to the intense heat and dry humidity. This unique ageing process intensifies the flavour congeners within the cask, and enables it to narrate a compelling story of the diverse terroirs found across Israel.

Curious to explore more? Check out The Heart Cut’s Pocket Pours:

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The Heart Cut X – Barley English Blended Malt 46%

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My tasting companion and I have been on a bit of an English whisky journey – from Cotswolds to The English Whisky Company, Fielden to Lakes Distillery and Wire Works…, However, a blend of five English distilleries? Nope!

Yet this is exactly what The Heart Cut did for their Barley blend, described as:

Five distilleries, one small-batch English Blended Malt. Bursting with the flavours you told us you love in whisky – summer fruits, vanilla cream, and a touch of spice.

What did we think?

The Heart Cut x BARLEY English Blended Malt Whisky 46%

  • Nose – Lots of fresh grains initially, then strawberries, light with a hint of spice, shifts between jammy fruits and agricole hay, finally settling on red berries and cherries
  • Palate – Spicy cinnamon buns! There is a kick at first.. then the spice is joined by delicious berries and cream – yum!
  • Finish – Initially, we thought it was light and short. However, with a revisit, it stayed with a tingly peppermint spice
  • Water – Softens the spice, enhances the cinnamon buns – now buttery slathered in creamy icing, joined by strawberries and raspberries
  • Revisit – Oh, give this one time, and you will be rewarded! Say hello to an enticing strawberry shortcake. Now we get the full gamut of summer fruits, and indeed vanilla cream, with the spice balanced with the sweet

Really rather interesting. There were many elements at play here, yet they all came together in the end! Particularly if one is patient and sets it aside for a bit.

Here is what The Heart Cut team had to say for flavour highlights: Strawberry jam, Thick vanilla cream, Cinnamon buns, Fresh raspberries, Orange blossom

FLAVOUR DEEPDIVE
Barley opens with bright, juicy red berries – strawberry jam and fresh raspberries – followed by a generous wave of thick vanilla cream. Gentle baking spice brings warmth through the mid-palate, before orange blossom lifts the finish with a soft, floral freshness. Rich, vibrant and beautifully balanced, this is English whisky designed to be delicious first and foremost.

Would we agree? On this one, not entirely, yet it was a great start to our evening of The Heart Cut’s Pocket Pours:

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The Heart Cut’s Pocket Pours – Barley, M+H, Starward, Thomson

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Valentine’s seems a fitting time to explore drams from the fabulous indie bottling team –  The Heart Cut. The 2025 Whisky Show is responsible for introducing us to them – and it was love at first pour!

We were so impressed that we walked out with 3 bottles, picked up a 4th just after the show, then decided to add another 3 bottles for our 2027 Bombay Malt & Cigar / Whisky Ladies‘joint tasting.

You would think that would be enough, right? Nope! We simply couldn’t resist adding a quartet of “pocket pours”!

My tasting companion and I sampled these on a lazy evening in Kalote – rural Maharashtra. With the sound of crickets and frogs croaking, punctuated by the occasional bark fest from our dogs and our neighbours, we thoroughly enjoyed our exploration.

A few drops remained, so I brought them back to Mumbai to taste this week with another Whisky Lady.

What follows in the coming days will be an amalgam of impressions about these Pocket Pours…

However, if you just can’t wait, check out the notes for what we explored at the 2025 Whisky Show! It was a bit of an around-the-world tour! From single malts to rye and spirited experiments! The casks reflected a wonderfully eclectic range – from wet red wines to ex-Islay, 250+ year old European oak to new American oak. And the biggest surprise? A Californian Ale Cask! Here are the expressions we experienced:

** Identifies the bottles purchased for a Bombay Malt & Cigar / Whisky Ladies‘ future flight.

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Chorlton – Faemussach 21 year 56%

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One of the true joys of whisky tasting groups is the thrill of unveiling a bottle that’s anything but ordinary—something bold, maybe even a little controversial, guaranteed to ignite lively debate! This Faemussach, bottled by Chorlton, did exactly that. Whilst the distillery is likely BenRiach, the specifics of the cask (or casks) and its 21-year maturation remained a mystery.
With only 313 bottles in existence, unless you already bought this bottle or can track it down via an online auction, you’ll simply have to settle for experiencing vicariously through our impressions!

Faemussach 21 year (2020 / 2022) 56% 313 bottles

  • Nose – It began quite “fresh” – fresh mint, a hint of solventy-sweet glue-like aromas, a bit of rubber, then lemon dishwashing soap. As it opened, it became even sweeter – think juicy raisins, shifting into sweet jasmine flowers, Chinese white tea, more flowers like rajnighanda (tuberose), chrysanthemum, khus, vanilla pod… Every once and a while, out popped smoke, fish oil, and even socks!
  • Palate – What a contrast from the nose! Whilst at first there was a teasing gulkand (sweet rose petal preserve), we also found it quite umami with shitake mushrooms, bitter leaves – more accurately betel leaf – with its fresh, peppery and bitter taste. We also discovered malt extract, hints of smoky peat, resin, and milan supari, cloves and cardamom
  • Finish – Quite pronounced – strong, bitter then sweet paan
  • Water – Whilst it initially brought out even more of the wood character, it also highlighted sweet maple bacon, aniseed, mint, sultana raisins, and oranges
  • Revisit – We set it aside and returned to find it quite smoky, much more so than when initially poured!

This was the most divisive dram of the night! It was bold with diverse elements co-existing – from fresh to umami, sweet to peat, floral perfumes to fish oil. It was very dynamic, and many of our flavour references were specifically Indian, often having no easily translatable equivalent. For example, the best description of the aroma was khus – with its distinctive green, earthy smell.

I expect this will be a whisky that needs time… perhaps some deliberate oxidation. It was simply too active with the first opening and could do with a revisit in a few weeks or more!

What did David (the man behind Chorlton!) have to say? The following is an extract from his email…

So, first up we have Faemussach 21-year-old. This is peated single malt from an undisclosed distillery, which I’m told (although I can’t prove anything!) was Benriach. The slight air of mystery also extends to the cask. The colour suggests sherry, but it could be an unusually active bourbon cask. A few people have tried this now and opinions have been divided.

On the nose I find smouldering charcoal in a cast-iron stove, autumn leaves, mango chutney and orange jelly. Little Gem biscuits (do they still exist?), vanilla pods, leather, green walnuts and banana skins. It really is this shifting mixture of earthy/smoky and sweet/fruity, with “dark” notes of black cardamom, Pontefract cake and lapsang souchong in the background.

The palate is pretty massive, with a wave of fruit (orange, mango, sultanas) and earthy peat (much more resinous and phenolic than outright smoky), then wine cellars and a stroll down the spice aisle (liquorice root, anise, cloves, cassia) and some thick vanilla cream. The finish is really incredibly long, with scorched honey, malt extract and smouldering oily peat.

Adding water makes everything cleaner, a touch more citrussy, and adds some menthol and tar in the finish. It’s also noticeable how much fruitier this gets with time and air. Drams from my now-mostly-empty sample bottle are really different from the first few. Fascinating stuff!

This hogshead (I can say that much safely!) produced 313 bottles at a cask strength of 56.0% and they are available for £105 each.

I would agree with David – there is a real interplay between different elements and our Whisky Ladies with Bombay Malt & Cigar gents were equally divided on this one!

I purchased the Faemussach directly from Chorlton in May 2022, then another via a European distributor.

It closed our special Bold and Beautiful Chorlton quartet with:

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Chorlton – Caol Ila 11 year 60.4%

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These days, I rarely buy peaty whiskies, so when I do, it is a carefully considered decision! Caol Ila is just one of those Islay distilleries that reliably delivers. Known for its balanced approach to peat and sweet, often with light salty sea spray, I knew when Chorlton released this expression in 2022, we just had to try it!

It patiently waited more than 2 1/2 years to join a special evening in Mumbai with the Whisky Ladies and Bombay Malt & Cigar gents!

Here is what we found…

Caol Ila 11 year (7/10/2010 – Mar 2022) 60.4% (281 bottles)

  • Nose – Oh yes! That wonderful, sweet bacon! Meaty with smoky sweet maple notes. Fresh sea breeze… then it shifted from the ocean to the orchard with candy apple – specifically a Macintosh red apple! Then hickory and pine nuts, from sweet grass to walnut. Delicious!
  • Palate – Fresh cut grass, mint, then chives…. Hay and a bit of havaan kund. The 2nd sip began with ashy sandalwood, cedar sauna, steam from water on hot stone! There was a lovely buttery mouthfeel, more delicious bacon, salty and sweet with a chasing of smoke!
  • Finish – Green garlic or leek, long and strong, slowly fading into cinnamon and ginger!
  • Water – Brought out walnut oil, peanut brittle, salty olives
  • Revisit – After setting aside for some time, we went back to the glass – that fabulous maple drizzled bacon was back – yeah!

A classic Caol Ila at its very best! At the same time, it was also such fun! For many, this was the preferred dram of the evening!

What did the man behind Chorlton (David) have to say? The following is an extract from his email..

And lastly we have an 11-year-old Caol Ila. This is another surprisingly active hogshead like last year’s 12yo release, but goes off in a much different direction.

So, on the nose: camphor, wood smoke, green apple sweets, oysters and smoked mussels, plus a light waft of something medicinal. The longer it breathes the sweeter and fruitier it gets, with smoky cherries and red fruits, plus a bit of cough syrup.

The palate has a combo of ashy smoke and sweet fruitiness that’s quite lipsmacking (if this was a SMWS release I’d call it “Tutti-frutti Bonfire”). The development is long, with tarry smoke, coastal salt and olives alongside the fruit. Adding water makes everything feel a bit more “classical” Caol Ila: clean, coastal (crab and seaweed), slightly herbal, lemony.

I purchased this in June 2022 from Whisky.base for EUR 89 plus shipping.

This Caol Ila was part of a special Bold and Beautiful Chorlton quartet – bringing the Whisky Ladies and Bombay Malt & Cigar gents together with:

Curious to explore more? We’ve had some delightful experiences with Caol Ila over the years!

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Chorlton – Speyside 13 year 64.6%

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We were off to a rollicking good start with our Chorlton “Bold and Beautiful” evening featuring four cask strength whiskies! After the Blair Athol 12 year, our attention shifted firmly in the Speyside region with what is likely from The Glenrothes distillery.

Speyside 13 year (June 2008 / Nov 2021) 64.6%

  • Nose – First whiff was surprisingly mellow, quite subdued and shy, then began to open up with mawa cake, buttery, cherry in brandy, then a hint of leather, shoe polish, quite fermented and yeasty, shifting further into orange, sour plums (umeshu), becoming more vegetal, rubbharb, pumpkin and nutmeg, cayenne then maple syrup sweet, butterscotch, persimmon
  • Palate – Initially, incredibly sweet, also quite oily and peppery, then shifted to a slightly sour gooseberry (amla) flavour. Coming back for the second sip, and wow! It really is something – bold with loads of flavour, dense, wonderful mouthfeel, round and rewarding! Like a hot, buttery, cinnamon roll combined with rich, intense mulled wine, steeped in sweet spices and dark fruits.
  • Finish – A pepper close joined by the distinctive taste of Big Red cinnamon chewing gum, sweet with spice
  • Water – We had a mixed response here – some thought it augmented the dram – revealing juniper, more orange, whereas others thought it made it more vegetal with brussels sprouts!

Overall, this was a complex, sometimes contradictory whisky. Yet the more we sipped, the more I enjoyed it. And I am looking forward to revisiting on a quite cool evening where all I do is settle down with just this whisky.

What did David have to say? The following is an extract from his email…

This is sherry-matured single malt from Glenrothes distillery.

You almost get two whiskies for one here. Neat this is rich and intense, with chocolate, peanut brittle, dried figs, jaffa cake and a thickly-textured mouthfeel. Adding water brings a zesty fruitiness into the foreground (orange cake, grapefruit jam, apple pie), with the richer caramel and nutty notes returning in the finish. It’s great fun to play around and find your own perfect balance!

This whisky was distilled on the 19th June 2008, and matured in a second-fill sherry butt until being bottled in November 2021. It produced 368 bottles at a cask strength of 64.6% and they were sold for £76.50 each. I purchased this directly from Chorlton in December 2021.

Our “Bold and Beautiful” Chorlton quartet also included:

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Chorlton – Blair Athol 12 year 54.9%

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When planning our Chorlton Bold & Beautiful whisky evening, I knew that Blair Athol would make the cut. Whilst often underestimated, there are many reasons why Blair Athol has been around since 1798 – known for a rich, robust, nutty, and full-bodied character. Most expressions will have some maturation in sherry casks, however there are a few – like this one – which was matured exclusively in ex-Bourbon cask.

It was first up for our quartet…

Blair Athol 12 year (2022) 54.9% 290 Bottles ~Eur 79

  • Nose – Sugar on toast, scrambled eggs, waffles with a drizzle of maple syrup, vanilla custard, caramel, gulkand – a sweet preserve of rose petals, then a little orange zest….  it shifted into green pepper, becoming more vegetal, a few folks even found gerkin – pickle juice, red earth after it rains, leaves, mustier over time
  • Palate – Initially came on full force, lots of tannins, raisins and rum, very dry, became plummier and nuttier on the next sip, marzipan joined by gingerbread, even a hint of lemon sherbert!
  • Finish – Dry, long and tasty, more of that capsicum, then a delightful teasing ginger
  • Water – Worth trying with a generous amount of water – whilst it loses some of the complexity, it amps up the sweetness and fruits, with the overall impression of ginger tea

It began like breakfast, then shifted into savoury, herbal, a hint sour, and autumnal dessert! One taster remarked how it reminded them of samahan – a herbal, gingery tea one often has to help with a cold.

We set it aside, and discovered a lovely combination of dessert and sour plums, blackberry leaf team… with even more time in the glass, it took on more toffee, becoming super sweet with toffee, with substance too from tobacco leaf, a bit woody, ending with a dry finish. Overall, it was delicious and well worth exploring!

As for Chorlton tasting notes? Here’s what was shared when this whisky was launched in 2022:

…we have a 12-year-old Blair Athol from a first-fill bourbon hogshead. This whisky actually has more colour on it than the sherry and marsala ones above, and fits in with the recent-ish Orkney 15 and Caol Ila 12 bottlings in terms of slightly aberrant bourbon casks!

So, on the nose I find toffee pennies, fruit jellies, hay bales and shoe polish. Also rum baba, various dried fruits and peels, and orange sponge cake. It’s even cakier with added water, and softer too, with some marzipan and even a nibble of Fondant Fancy.

The palate is really big and nutty (walnut liqueur? is that even a thing?), with dark plum jam, marmalade, tea-soaked raisins and maple syrup. Some anise-y herbal liqueur notes develop, and there’s a distinctly mineralic, even salty, finish. With water everything feels cleaner, with lots of stone fruit popping up.

A lovely dram this, with some stout Highlands spirit standing up nicely to the active cask, and even soaring above it when water is added. It’s been quite a hit with people who’ve had a preview.

Whilst released by Chorlton in December 2022, I waited until it became available via WhiskyBase – only purchasing it in July 2023 for Eur 79 + tax + shipping.

It then patiently waited for the right opportunity to join a special Bold and Beautiful Chorlton quartet – bringing the Whisky Ladies and Bombay Malt & Cigar gents together with:

Plus we enjoyed a bonus with a revisit of a few bottles opened previously:

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2025 Whisky Show – The Heart Cut

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Every Whisky Show has something that really stands out – be it a remarkable bottle that one remembers for years, a masterclass that brought deeper insights into the drams, or a new distillery to discover!

Sometimes the “Oh wow!” isn’t a new distillery; it is a new blending company or independent bottler. For my tasting companion and I, the 2025 Whisky Show will be remembered as the year we discovered The Heart Cut husband and wife bottling team – Georgie and Fabrizio.

Bursting with enthusiasm and a quest for unique and interesting expressions, we were so impressed that we walked away with three bottles from the show and ordered a fourth from The Whisky Exchange – picked up shortly before my flight to Mumbai!

What did we try? It was a bit of an around-the-world tour! From single malts to rye and spirited experiments! The casks reflected a wonderfully eclectic range – from wet red wines to ex-Islay, 250+ year old European oak to new American oak. And the biggest surprise? A Californian Ale Cask! Here are the expressions we experienced:

** Identifies the bottles purchased for a Bombay Malt & Cigar club future flight.

Our journey began at the Mainstage session about the Future of Independent Bottlers. Even though technically the St George is a spirit rather than whisky, we were simply blown away and had to have it!

You can read about our experience as part of the Mainstage session soon! In the interim, here is a bit of an introduction!

St George Spirits California Ale Cask (25 Jul 2016 / 17 Nov 2023) 54% (The Heart Cut #08) 

St George is a distillery based in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California, USA. It was founded in 1982 by Jörg Rupf and produces a range of spirits, including some rather fine Gins that I received years ago as a gift! I was also introduced to their unique single malt (Lot No 16) expression from 2016.

Here are their official tasting notes for their spirit:

Delicate notes of dried chamomile, ripe stone fruit and juicy mango lead the way, followed by a rich burst of apricot jam. The finish is all toasted brioche and the creamy, caramel-chocolate goodness of Rolo’s.

The description was further “distilled” on the label to a few succinct words! Dried chamomile, candyfloss, apricot jam, toasted brioche, Rolo’s.

They call this an “Experimental Malt” due to the addition of hops during brewing. It began as a 100% malted barley, sage-infused, heavily hopped IPA, then was matured in a cask that previously contained Bourbon, Reposado Tequila, and a Californian Ale.

They further share why they selected it:

Adventurousness is next to fearlessness, and the team at St. George skirts the line between the two – and if there were ever a cask to epitomise this ethos, this would be it. From a production standpoint, it’s absolutely unique – an unprecedented combination of malted barley and both hops and bay added as hot-side aroma additions during brewing.

It’s utterly delicious, and we can’t get enough of it!

Neither could we – hence why we selected this experiment for a further tasting with the BMC!

At The Heart Cut stand, we were first directed to a Thomson… As we stopped by New Zealand’s Thomson booth last year, we skipped over it this year. However, this expression was irresistible!

Thomson (6 June 2019 / 25 Mar 2025) Fresh NZ Pinot Noir 50.8% (The Heart Cut #19)

Here’s what we found…

  • Colour – Bright red, almost impossibly so!
  • Nose – The aromas were bursting with jammy yumminess! We found warm strawberries – like picking them from the backyard on a summer day! Lots of figs, plums, and Christmas treats. There was something more that was very enticing too!
  • Palate – It was full of red plums, ripe dark red cherries – like the ones you get in Germany! Beyond the fruits was a nutty element, some salted caramel
  • Finish – I didn’t take specific note – perhaps as we were just enjoying the whisky so much!

Just wow! We were a bit blown away by this dram. I’m so happy we didn’t miss sampling this expression! This was absolutely up my alley – whisky-wise. And that’s exactly why it made the “pick” to bring from London back to Mumbai!

The Heart Cut official tasting notes share:

‘Holy wow’ on the nose (thanks to H from our tasting panel for that one!). First comes spiced plum jam and wild strawberries, then sesame snaps and a hint of sandalwood. On the palate, sweetness unfurls: salted caramel, fig rolls, and a nutty Brazil nut note. With a splash of water, the whisky blooms into stewed apples, dried apricots, and candied pecans, with a long, warming finish.

Key Takeouts: Spiced Plum Jam, Wild Strawberries, Dried Cherries, Salted Caramel, Figs

I have to admit to being a bit amused by reading their notes. They were totally in keeping with our brief experience – right down to the wow! I’m looking forward to revisiting it in an upcoming session – including adding water to see its impact. Unfortunately, knowing us, it could be in a few years!

What next? We shifted to Germany… While living in Nürnberg, I kept thinking I would take a trip to Berlin and check out the Stork Club’s “House of Rye”.  Somehow that visit didn’t happen; however, I have tried their rye whiskies a few times! And their single malt once too!  Made for memorable cocktails, my last Stork Rye bottle was used for a rather tasty Old Fashioned at a Mumbai birthday party!

So what did we try and what did we think?

Stork Club (28 Jun 2019 / 5 Nov 2024) German Napoleon Oak Cask 55% (The Heart Cut #13) 

Dubbed as “Black Forest gateau in a glass”, what did we think?

  • Colour – Bright gold
  • Nose – Hello rye! Lots of cereals, initially a bit musty, umami, then sweetened into caramel, cherries, a cross between a ginger spice and chocolate cake with creamy icing
  • Palate – Candied ginger, jalapenos, toasted rye bread… roll around a bit more, and there is some mocha, evolving into rich chocolate, roasted nuts
  • Finish – A tasty coffee close

My main recollection was how it was surprisingly rich, indulgent, and rewarding – in many ways unlike any Rye I’ve had! I could completely understand the black forest cake moniker!

Don’t believe me? Check out The Heart Cut’s tasting notes:

Rich and indulgent, the nose bursts with black forest gâteau – ripe cherries, dark chocolate, and a hint of sponge cake – layered with chocolate-covered candied ginger and a touch of baking spices (cinnamon, clove, and allspice). On the palate, toasted cacao nibs and dark chocolate Bounty bring a deep, roasted intensity balanced by the exotic sweetness of candied mango and the savoury-sweet depth of koji. A warming hint of white pepper and subtle woody spice add complexity, leading to a smooth, lingering finish of vanilla cream.

Key Takeouts: Black Forest Gâteau, Candied Ginger, Toasted Cacao Nibs, Koji, Vanilla Cream

From our brief sniff and swish, we would certainly agree. Whilst it didn’t make our “cut” for purchase, it certainly made an impression!

I love how Georgie and Fabrizio share their thinking. This is why this cask made their “cut”:

We’ve been talking with Bastian at Stork Club – Germany’s first Rye Whiskey Distillery – for years (literally), exploring casks and sampling different options. Then one day, he sent us this cask. A malted rye whiskey, matured in a Napoleon Oak Cask – something we’d never come across, and that got us excited! Rich, decadent, and so chocolatey, this whiskey is unlike anything we’ve tasted in all our years. It’s Black Forest Gateau in a glass, and we love it.

PS – Napoleonic oak means the tree is made from 250+ year old oak (ie survived the Napoleonic wars, WWI, and WWII). Coopers X-ray the wood for shrapnel to ensure past conflicts haven’t left lead traces behind!

From New Zealand to Germany, we moved to Australia. Starward is known to use quite “wet” red wine casks, marrying a bit of wine with whisky. We’ve had a few explorations with this distillery and were curious what The Heart Cut chose and why!

Starward (18 Jun 2019 / 29 Aug 2024) Fresh Red Wine Barrique – American Oak 55% (The Heart Cut #14)

What did we find?

  • Colour – A darker ruby red
  • Nose – Rich and juicy, loads of ripe raspberries, molten dark chocolate
  • Palate – Easy and approachable, yet with substance. More of that raspberry – think of raspberry brownies
  • Finish – Some roasted coconut and spices

I was a bit sentimental about this one. Why? The nose reminded me of my mother’s raspberry jam made with berries picked in their backyard. She’s long past her jam-making days; however, the last jar was such a treat!

My final tasting note? “Their tasting notes are perfect!”  So what was I agreeing with?

LIKE CHOCOLATE-COVERED RASPBERRIES? THEN YOU’LL LOVE THIS.

Starward Distillery has firmly put Melbourne on the Whisky map. Matured in a fresh red wine cask from the Barossa Valley (crafted from American oak), this single malt is all about juicy red fruit and indulgent sweetness – guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The Heart Cut couple shared that it tastes like:

Bright redcurrants and dried apple slices lead the nose, lifted by delicate rose petals and a whisper of hay. On the palate, a burst of chocolate-covered raspberries meets the comforting crumble of digestive biscuits, layered with rich vanilla and a drizzle of golden syrup. There’s a soft, malty warmth – think porridge laced with dates – and a long, satisfying finish of desiccated coconut, toasted spices and a lingering echo of a raspberry dessert.

Key Takeouts: Chocolate Covered Raspberries, Redcurrants, Digestive Biscuits, Rich Vanilla, Dried Apple Slices

Whilst this one didn’t make the final cut for our quartet, it was definitely a contender!

That was one hard act to follow! So why even try? We went in a totally different direction, returning to Rye, but this time with a new English distillery – Fielden.

Fielden English Rye (7 Jun 2019 / 4 Jul 2023) New American Oak Cask, Coastal Solera Oloroso Finish 56.6% (The Heart Cut #16) 

What did we discover?

  • Colour – Dark copper
  • Nose – An unmistakable aroma – Li Hing Mui – a Chinese dried sweet, sour, and salty dried plums! This was joined by salty caramel
  • Palate – Churan – a distinctive Indian Ayurvedic powder blend made from spices and herbs like mango powder, fennel, cumin, ajwain, ginger, black pepper, and black salt. This was joined by fruits
  • Finish – A bit savoury – think sea salt and roasted nuts

For an English Rye, our impressions veered towards Chinese and Indian flavours! How did that compare with our merry bottling duo?

They described it as a salty caramel bomb! Here’s what more they have to say:

You’re wrapped in warmth from the first nose of this whisky — salted caramel melts into golden honeycomb and a whisper of honeysuckle. On the palate, that saline-sweet caramel deepens, layered with vanilla ice cream and overripe apricot, before thickening into pecan pie richness. Banana chips bring a crisp, tropical chew; there’s also nostalgic notes of warm waffles with maple syrup. To finish, a playful fizz of kola cubes is grounded by toasted walnuts, oak sawdust, and a flicker of smoked Maldon sea salt.

Key Takeouts: Salted Caramel, Honeycomb, Kola Cubes, Walnuts, Banana Chips

We love their approach to exploring and sharing impressions. We weren’t familiar with this distillery, though we spotted that they were at The Whisky Show. So here’s what the Heart Cut has to say about them:

Fielden is shifting the conversation from the stillhouse to the field, championing regenerative farming and heritage grains to create whisky that’s not only great to taste but good for the land. Learn more about Fielden here.

And with that, we moved on to our next expression…

In keeping with a theme of “new”, Lochlea from the Lowlands certainly fits the bill. In 2023, we spent time with the folks behind Lochlea, exploring their family-run approach to whisky making. As for the whisky?

Lochlea (25 Sep 2019 / 14 May 2025) Ex-Islay Cask 54% (The Heart Cut #17) 

  • Colour – Bright yellow
  • Nose – A lemony peat, fresh, with a bit of crisp green apples and lemon zest, joined by honey
  • Palate – Sweet, balanced with a great mouthfeel, more sweet peat and smoke on the palate than nose
  • Finish – Flavourful finish of sweet peat

There was a bright coastal feel to this expression. Quite a contrast to the others – standing out for this very reason!

The Heart Cut couple had this to say about their bottle:

A summer night’s bonfire, wrapped in shortbread sweetness. On the nose, you’ll find freshly cut grass, barbecued pineapple and delicate coastal smoke – all underpinned by buttery apples and soft green pepper. The palate glows with barbecued citrus, runny honey and creamy hazelnuts, before the smoke thickens into birchwood and burnt embers. The finish is long, bright and creamy, with sherbet candy (flying saucers!), bitter orange peel and a wisp of sea salt.

Key Takeouts: Sweet Smoke, Baked Apples, Creamy Hazelnut, Next Door’s BBQ, Sherbet Candy

It made our “cut” as the closing dram for an upcoming session – with a deliberate decision to end on a smoky note!

Westward (22 Mar 2018 / 9 Aug 2023) New American Oak 50% (The Heart Cut #07) 

  • Colour – Dark copper
  • Nose – Dessert in a glass! Tropical fruits, creamy vanilla pudding, vibrant and intoxicating
  • Palate – Fun and sweet, veering towards marmalade and nuts
  • Finish – Dry

Most enjoyable!

Here are their official tasting notes:

Bursting with juicy passion fruit, rich vanilla, panettone, and a zing of bitter orange, this whiskey’s sweetness is beautifully balanced by toasted almonds and a pleasing dryness reminiscent of cacao nibs. This is American Single Malt, but on a whole other level.

And why they chose to bottle this cask:

The newly emerged American Single Malt Whiskey category is gaining momentum, and there’s one distillery we’ve had eyes on since the start. Westward Whiskey brew like a craft ale, distill like a Single Malt and age like a Bourbon to create something otherworldly delicious, and this single cask blew us away with its super juicy and tropical character.

It’s a whiskey that just gets better with every sip. Enjoy!

I’m certainly interested in exploring more!

Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show 2025, this is the most recent expression from The Heart Cut. You can read more about our tasting experience here:

Kanosuke 5 year (Nov 2019 / Apr 2025) Ex-Bourbon Quarter Cask 54%

Was I in love? Most certainly! However, I felt such a delicate and nuanced dram might be lost with the bolder choices we were making for our future The Heart Cut tasting evening. Additionally, at £125 for 500ml, the price was a bit beyond what we would normally spend for a tasting flight.

What did the folks at The Heart Cut say about this expression?

Our first Japanese release is a once-in-a-moment cask: a single malt from Kanosuke Distillery, matured in a rare ex-bourbon quarter cask. It’s a whisky of concentrated elegance – all ripe apricots, toasted marshmallows, and refined black tea.

I love how they also share their thinking about why this cask made their “cut”:

Kanosuke is everything we look for in a partner distillery: a new generation of makers, respectful of tradition yet unafraid to shape a bold future for Japanese whisky.

Together with the Kanosuke team, we identified this cask as a once-in-a-moment find – one that captures the distillery’s spirit in crystalline detail. Matured in an ex-bourbon quarter cask from a renowned American distillery, it delivers concentrated flavour and texture, layering ripe apricots with the charred sweetness of toasted marshmallow, all wrapped in a signature elegance that is unmistakably Kanosuke.

And there you have it! A fabulous introduction to a great new team putting out some lovely spirits!

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2025 Whisky Show Exclusives – Kanosuke, Tormore, Clynelish

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All whisky shows have “exclusives” bottled just for the event. 2025 Whisky Show was no exception! There were many on offer – including a “Lost in Time” series that we didn’t get a chance to try!

So what did we experience?

Inspired by the St George spirit from The Heart Cut that we tried at a Mainstage session about the future of Independent Bottlers, we went straight for their show bottle! As he poured, Duncan shared that he’s become a big fan of The Heart Cut, bottling some good stuff! He especially enjoyed their Cotswold and Milk & Honey expressions, which were not available at the show. So what about what we could try?

Bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky Show 2025, this Kanosuke is the most recent expression from The Heart Cut.

Kanosuke 5 year (Nov 2019 / Apr 2025) Ex-Bourbon Quarter Cask 54% (The Heart Cut #21) 115 bottles

What did we think?

  • Nose – Fun, effervescent, fruity, apricot, a gentle honey, lightly herbal
  • Palate – Black tea, toasted marshmallows, delightful!
  • Finish – A lovely fragrant finish

This was a lovely dram – with the official tasting notes spot on! Here’s what they have to say about the liquid:

This whisky opens with big, ripe fruit – sun-warmed apricots that soften into honeycomb, lifted by a delicate, fragrant herbal note. On the palate, more apricots and juicy peaches layer with honeycomb that deepens into bittersweet caramel, reminiscent of the charred sweetness of toasted marshmallows, before easing into the refined bitterness of black tea. The finish carries the juiciness of stone fruit long and bright, with a whisper of lemon verbena to close.

Key Takeouts: Toasted Marshmallows, Honeycomb, Black tea, Lemon Verbena, Ripe Apricots.

A truly delightful treat to try!

We moved on to Sukhinder Singh’s distillery – Tormore. Our last experience was during an evening at my friend’s London home with Sukhinder, where we shared a Chorlton indie bottle – a Tormore 28 year. This wasn’t quite so old – more in the range of 15 years and was sampled from an official Pre-release for the 2025 Whisky Show.

Tormore Legacy Casks 2009 Vintage (May 2009 / May 2025) 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel Cask #4046 55.1% 210 bottles.

  • Nose – We found it bursting with orchard fruits – lots of crisp green apples and pears! Then it shifted to reveal red berries, warm oak, and then caramel custard! After some time in the glass, there was a light floral element on top – sweet!
  • Palate – It had lots of currents, raspberries… rich and rewarding!
  • Finish – A hint of smoke and black tea

Though it was only a wee sniff and swish, we quite enjoyed it!

I spotted the 29 year Clynelish and got excited! My festival pick from the 2023 Whisky Show was the Clynelish 12 year (2011/2023) 1st Fill Barrel #880297 56.4%.

Clynelish 1993 29 Year Old (20 Oct 1993 / 20 Dec 2022) Bourbon Barrel #11080 49.6% (Càrn Mòr)

Duncan warned me this might not be quite what I was expecting….

  • Nose – I expected something joyful and waxy; instead, there were apples, but slightly past their prime, sweet
  • Palate – Initially, it seemed like it would be an easy-going, well-rounded dram, yet, then amidst all the red apples, the prick of spice became sharper

And that’s when it dawned on me. What about that classic Clynelish waxy trait? Where was the honey and heather? Then I learned it is GBP 775 / bottle? What….?! Oh my! Somehow, I stopped evaluating the whisky on its own merit and couldn’t get past the price tag.

After this trio of show exclusives, we noticed that the throng around The Heart Cut stand had lessened slightly, so we decided to make our move next door to further explore!

As always, it is good to reconnect with folks and share a dram or two, kibbitz over this and that, and slow down to enjoy good moments! (Yes that’s me with my regular tasting companion and Duncan, late of The Whisky Exchange).

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Chorlton’s Balblair 16 year (2025) 55.8%

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The Bombay Malt & Cigar club began over a Balblair 38 year from 1966… and continues to have a soft spot for special drams from this Highland distillery. When my most recent purchase from Chorlton arrived in Mumbai in time for my October 2025 hosting, I simply had to include it in my session!

Balblair 16 year (Spring 2025) hogshead 55.8% 271 bottles

  • Nose – Honeysuckle, peaches, bananas, sweet pastry, a “French Fancy” in a glass, joyful and bright, a hint of mineral, then moves more into berries and herbs
  • Palate – Starts off a bit prickly, quite active, and calls out for some water
  • Water – Do please add, it then became a marvelous mess of Madeira cake, marmalade, joined by minerals in a lovely way – delicious!
  • Finish – Dry, very wood forward

This too was another beautiful Balblair. It was “dessert in a glass”! Bright, fruity, classic, more than able to hold its own.

Here’s what David shared on his website about this Balblari:

I’m delighted to present the first Chorlton bottling from one of my favourite distilleries! Reliably the fruitiest Highlander this side of Hector McDram.

The nose is enticing and a little idiosyncratic, with honey, dessert wines, rose petals, blackcurrant branches and fruit cordials. The texture on the palate is remarkable – chewy and dense, while somehow also light and lively. Taste-wise I find cherries, Gewürztraminer, oranges and limes, and a blackberry pie with cinnamon and brown sugar. A drop of water has green apple sweets and citrus popping out.

This is a wonderfully fruity, floral and complex whisky. What a spirit!

I bought this whisky online in the UK directly from David in April 2025 for £95 + 8 shipping (Eur 120). Which puts this into a pricier category for me, except for special treats. 

Curious about other Balblair experiences? Read on…

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