The English Whisky Co

Continuing my wee whisky mini explorations, I turned to a combination of two different sets… mixing up countries and styles!

2019 Drinks by the Drams Single Cask – Tipperary (Irish)
2022 Drinks by the Drams World Whisky – Nc’Nean (Scottish) & Gulliver’s 47 (English)

For Nc’Nean, this mini came after I’d already purchased a full bottle with thoughts to bring it back to Mumbai for the Whisky Ladies. I knew it would be young but had been impressed with meeting the women leading the way with this fresh new independent distillery – committed to sustainable production, carbon-neutral, using recycled glass for the bottles, and most importantly passionate about crafting a fine dram in harmony with our planet.

Nc’Nean Single Scottish Malt Batch 7, 46%

Colour – Light gold
Nose – How delightfully fresh, fresh barley, light orange citrus
Palate – Initially prickly then gentled, quite young and active, some ginger, tinned pineapple, honey sweetness with something a bit rustic, tannins belying a wine cask influence? If yes, it was subtle and balanced
Finish – Waxy, a touch bitter like roasted nuts, light spice, a touch of orange oil

The challenge with tasting minis is that sometimes it simply isn’t enough! I was glad that I have a bottle to explore another time at leisure with friends.

I then shifted gears from Scotland to the Emerald Isles…

Tipperary 8 year Red Wine Cask Finish, Cask RC00117, 59.5%

Colour – What colour! A bright ruby
Nose – Bold blackberries, spice
Palate – Brash, a bit harsh and spicy, with some strong oak undertones, tannins and juicy red berries, like chewy red gummy bears
Finish – Sweet and tart at the same time, oak spice chasing

If Nc’Nean had a subtle hand, here there was no mistaking the use of a red wine cask with the Tipperary. So heavy, I wondered if it could have been finished in a decidedly “wet” cask leaving some wine behind? There is nothing shy about this whisky!

Whilst the Irish distillery is undisclosed, the folks at Tipperary have started their own distillery and in time will be putting out their own whisky. In the interim, this bottling of another is retailing for Eur 68.

And then on to a third country – England – with a lightly peated dram from The English Whisky Company:

Gulliver’s 47 Single English Malt 47%

Colour – Pale white gold, nearly translucent
Nose – Fresh sea breeze and smoke, angel food cake, citrus, layers of soft peat
Palate – Delightful! Gentle sweet peat, apples, buttery, lovely malty, most
Finish – Sweet tobacco leaf, lingering cinnamon

I really enjoyed this one – rolling around the palate – the peat was subtle yet satisfying. A rather nice dram.

What more do we know? It was aged in bourbon casks from Jim Bean, with the brand inspired by Samuel Gulliver an explorer who brought wines, spirits and liqueurs from around the world back to 18th century Britain. You can find this for Eur 60.

What fun to mix and match tasting from two new distilleries and one brand with a distillery to be!

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Whilst Scotland is considered by many the true “home” of whisky, go a little south and you will find the English are also getting into the game! To celebrate this, That Boutique-y Whisky Co started a “Home Nations” series… My original aim was to get an English trio however despite some efforts, couldn’t track down in Germany the Adnans, Circumstance wheat spirit, Oxford grain, or White Peak Single Malt Spirit.

So instead, brought two fine English single malts to an April evening for the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai – this English 12 year and Cotswolds 3 year.

It was fitting to close our evening with the oldest new English distillery – named ‘St George’s’ but bottled under the label “The English Whisky Company” (perhaps so as not to be confused with their American St George cousin?). Regardless of the name, it was the 1st English distillery to produce whisky after 100 years, with its inaugural bottle released in 2009. Which I believe makes this 12 year the oldest English whisky available!

What did we think?

English Whisky Company 12 year Batch 3, 63.4% (TBWC Home Nations Series) Bottle 146 of 299

Colour – Burnished copper
Nose – Vanilla custard and biscuits, butterscotch, a hint of rum raisin, and hiding behind the dessert elements, a whiff of blossoms
Palate – Deceptively soft and fruity and sweet at first and then wildfire, settling down into a Canadian butter tart
Finish – Quite a bit of masala spice, gentling into marmalade with cloves
Water – A must!!! It absolutely transforms this whisky from something promising but a bit imbalanced into something stunning. The hints of rum raisin on the nose and palate blossom into a rich single rum, charred pineapple, simply delicious.

This whisky was described as being quite romantic and poetic on the nose, Then like dragon fire on the palate… or akin to the first time you smoke a cigar! Of all the three single malts we tasted that evening, this one is best with water. Beautiful!

And what do the folks over at That Boutique-y Whisky Co have to say? Let’s start with their amusing take on describing the distillery:

The English Whisky Company distill English single malt whisky at the aptly named St. George’s distillery with their own logo featuring St. George and the dragon he’s said to have so bravely vanquished. Well, we weren’t going to turn down the chance to have a scrap with a dragon on one of our labels were we? Our dragon, potentially a connoisseur, appears to have some gorgeous golden Boutique-y whisky amongst his hoard of treasure.

Then move on to their tasting notes for Batch 3:

Nose: Delightfully delicate, with butterscotch, light honey, floral – spring blossom, backed up with the oak spices,
Taste: Gently warming with creamy custard cream biscuits, spicy oak, vanilla essence, clove, and a long satisfying finish.

I purchased this bottle online in Germany from Whic.de for Eur 76 and opened it in Mumbai for a Whisky Ladies‘ session in April 2023 together with:

Curious about other English drams? Read on: