New make spirit or moonshine can be pretty harsh stuff. And yet there is something quite revealing about sharing with the world the ‘base’ or ‘origin’ of your whisky as an undisguised spirit.
We opened The Belgian Owl “Origine” curious to see what we would find…
The Belgian Owl Origine Pot Still Unaged Spirit 46%
- Colour – Completely clear
- Aroma – First thought – sour mash, starchy potatoes, cereals, then became increasingly fruity, a touch of saline
- Palate – Remarkably smooth… not in the least bit harsh, quite pleasant
One lady observed how it was a bit reminiscent of a rye vodka she had tried. As for the palate? Was it harsh? Not at all!
We speculated it would make a brilliant base for a dirty martini or perhaps jazzed up with some lime and ice.
What do the folks at The Belgian Owl have to say?
- Nose – This unaged distillate takes you to the place where it all starts: the heart of the barley that grows in the Hesbaye region. The aroma of malted barley is surrounded by the scent of freshly-baked bread and shortbread. When this Spirit Drink further opens up, you discover fruity, fresh hints of ripe pears, greegages and cidar that then melt away into an echo of newly mown grass.
- Mouth – The initial sensation in the mouth is sweet, characterized by the beautiful oily nature of the distillate. Bit by bit, fruity notes from the orchard rise to the top.
- Finish – Long and very well balanced in which the fruit from the orchard is in perfect harmony with a touch of licorice
Whilst a bit fanciful, we would overall agree with the description. Quite a promising start!
What else did we receive as part of our The Belgian Owl quintet?
- The Belgian Owl Identité 36 months, first fill bourbon 46%
- The Belgian Owl Passion 36 months, first fill bourbon, single cask 1538337 46% Bottle 29
- The Belgian Owl Intense 40 months, first fill bourbon, single cask 1538452 72.7% Bottle 177
- The Belgian Owl Evolution 48 months, first fill bourbon 46%
This set was kindly provided by the good folks at The Belgian Owl – to me and our tasting companions scattered around Europe and India. However the views here are our own.
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