The Art of Maturation

 

My view of this tasting also featured Scotland v Austria:
one of these events was more stressful than the other

Our March Zoom tasting was led by Anna, who took us through a series of five drams on the theme of 'The Art of Maturation' - with whiskies matured in casks of different kinds. We tried them blind to see if we could guess what the barrels had previously held: perhaps unsurprisingly, this proved rather tricky!

Benrinnes 11yo

We started off with something that was both peppery and yet also sweet, a bit like Coke. Not that it would have been finished in a Coke can, and suggestions of what had it actually spent time in ranged from red wine to Cognac and sherry. It was dark and certainly looked like a sherry finish, although it didn't particularly smell like it. Very pleasant all round, and a nice way to start the evening. We got a bit of dryness and wood polish along with everything else.

This was an 11yo Benrinnes, from independent bottler Cadenheads. It was a vatted malt, with two casks of sherry-finished whisky, two of bourbon and one of rum. So some of us, almost inevitably, were miles out. This got a general thumbs up. And at £49, this was good value too. The ABV was 46% although it tasted stronger.

English Whisky 12yo

Next up was something chocolately. Dark chocolate possibly, so I thought perhaps it had been finished in Nesquik casks. It was dark in colour and we definitely got plenty of, well, chocolate. In our little breakout group we liked it and thought we could easily buy it, although we weren't so keen after a drop of water. Some others thought it was a bit woody and unbalanced.

As it transpired, we were drinking something from the English Whisky Company. It was a 12-year-old, making it just about as old as you can get from that distillery. This particular bottling was finished in red wine (totally wrong, as ever), and it was a release for The Whisky Circus. It was a small cask maturation, just a 50 litre cask, which probably helped explain the unusual flavours going on. It was £65 and came in at 57.1%.

Wardhead 23yo

Whisky number three was very nice on the nose. Very sweet, with maybe even a bit of maple syrup on there. What it had spent time in was the subject of a bit of a discussion, some thought sauternes, others went for ice wine, I chipped in calvados and, as luck would have it, turned out to be right (stopped clock, etc, etc). It was certainly different and fruity, although it also split the room a bit, some didn't like it, others added water and thought that brought out the fruitiness even more.

We were drinking not a Glenfiddich as such, but a 'teaspooned' Glenfiddich under the Wardhead brand. A 23-year-old from 1997, this was 51.1% and cost us £122.

Penderyn 6yo

Dram four was dark again. A "super toffee" look and feel, thick and tarry like a wall of sugar and spice. The nose was so good in fact, some of us didn't even want to taste it. As it happened it lived up to expectations on the palate, very distinctive with Bonfire Night sweets, a real chewiness with marshmallows, toffee apple and candyfloss. However, again there were some mixed views, with others saying they found it a bit refluxy, and one or two didn't want to finish theirs.

It was even a little bit pink, which hinted at what it had been finished in: a tawny port pipe. The distillery was Penderyn of Wales, and this was a 6yo single cask from Berry, Brothers and Rudd. At £150 and 60.5% this was either one to avoid or one not to forget in a hurry: the 'Penderyn marmite cask' as someone described it.

Loch Lomond 14yo

To finish the night we were "straight onto the phenols". A bit off putting for the non-peat fans, perhaps. This one tasted a bit better than the smell, which came over as even a bit sulphury to me. This was a bit too peaty all round for some club members, but was absolutely ideal for others who loved it. Certainly the end of an extremely varied evening of drinks.

It was from the Loch Lomond distillery, and was a 14yo bottled for golf's European Tour Welsh Open. Matured in a first fill oloroso, it was 52.3% and cost £85. "Like hot tarmac!" says the last line of my notes, whatever that means.

And so it was time for the dram of the night voting. All five attracted some votes, but the winner was - unusually - dram number one, the Benrinnes, with the club's peat fans putting the Loch Lomond second.

Thanks again to all members for joining us on Zoom, it's now more than a year since we last met in person but hopefully we're much nearer the end than the start of the pandemic now. And particular thanks to Anna for taking us through a great selection!

Short Haul Drams

February's line up

February's Manchester Whisky Club tasting via Zoom had us try a range of 'short haul' drams from European distilleries, all selected by club chairman Adam.

Armorik Dervenn

And we didn't have to travel too far for dram number one. Just down to Brittany in fact, for something from the French Armorik distillery. We've had a couple of big sherried bottlings from there at past tastings which went down well, but this Armorik Dervenn was a little different to that. Dervenn is the Breton word for oak, and this was matured in local Breton oak barrels as well as bourbon casks.

We liked this one straight from the off. Coffee on the palate, and very peppery, it reminded some drinkers of a Campbeltown. "Tell me where I can buy it" said someone straight away, and they're in luck, as it's widely available for about £55. It's 46%. A no age statement whisky, we reckon it's about four years old. Not a bad start to the evening all told, and another success for Armorik.

Teeling Brabazon

We looked west for the second whisky of the night, to Ireland and Teeling. This was the Teeling Brabazon, a 14-year-old whisky which spent most of its maturation in bourbon casks before a final three years in ex-PX sherry. We got some butterscotch on the nose, and it was slightly grassy on the palate. There was a bit more on the palate in fact, although it was oily and the finish was a bit short. Not bad but we wouldn't rush out to buy it. Some drinkers thought it was nice, others felt it was a bit dank like wet cardboard.

It's 49.5% but will set you back £84. "I'm looking at the price and now I'm saying no thanks" said someone, probably just about summing it all up.

Millstone Special

Dram number three was very dark indeed. It had an industrial sort of a smell, almost like a carpet factory, and again was a bit oily. Almost like pickled herrings in fact. The taste was a surprise too. Kind of sweet and raisiny as if it was very sherried, but what it was we had absolutely no idea.

It turned out to be Dutch, and was one of the oldest whiskies available under the Millstone name from the Zuidam distillery, the 23-year-old Special Release 18. Adam had a look back at the club records and discovered it was in fact the most expensive non-Scotch we've ever had, at £250! It really split opinions. Some liked it and were getting lots of dark chocolate and coffee, others weren't so keen. Certainly unusual, but perhaps not worth that kind of money.

High Coast Timmer

Sweden is a club favourite because of Mackmyra, the distillery with the distinction of having been tasted the most by the club over the years. However, on this occasion we went elsewhere in the country for the fourth whisky of the night, to High Coast (formerly known as Box). This had an interesting nose with a bit of antiseptic, while the taste was more sherbet. "Trying a bit too hard" as someone suggested, with maybe too much going on. You could smell the peat on this, and taste it too, but it was more floral and mossy than a bit peaty punch.

The expression is a no age statement called High Coast Timmer, and comes in at 48% and £49, matured in bourbon barrels and refill quarter casks. A lot of phenols here, in fact not a million miles away from Laphroaig technically but didn't taste like it, and was apparently actually modelled on the subtler Kilchoman. Again there were mixed feelings in the end. Some liked it, others thought it was a bit forgettable. The barley was upfront, it was a bit sweet, a bit salty. We thought we'd liked to try a bit more from here once it's older (this is probably a 6yo).

Kornog Roc'h Hir

Onto our last whisky, and we were back in Breton country again, this time for a Kornog from the Glann Ar Mor distillery. It smelt like ammonia. In fact, we weren't sure about the nose all round, but loved the taste. It was kind of dusty, like pencil shavings. A little bit nutty with almonds, and some of the vanilla-ness you get with bourbon albeit with more fruit maybe. Peaty and very drinkable, very sessionable in fact. We liked this one, really liked it.

It had a lighter peat level than the High Coast, putting it more on a level with Caol Ila or Lagavulin. The expression itself is a no age statement called Roc'h Hir, coming in at 46% and £66. A good way to end the tasting.

As for the dram of the night voting, it was a narrow win for the Millstone! So narrow in fact, it came down to Adam's casting vote. Thanks to Adam and all club members for another successful tasting!

Rye Hard 2: Rye Harder

The full line-up

January's lockdown tasting had club member Tim bring us the long-awaited sequel to his Rye Hard tasting of ryes with, what else, but Rye Hard 2: Rye Harder.

And we went straight in with dram number one. This was a bit woody, almost like a furniture sort of smell contributing to a lovely nose. But the views got a bit more mixed once we actually tasted it. There was sweetness, a bit of spice too, but if anything we were a little disappointed with the palate, which went dry and then bitter quite suddenly. It got sharper with water but, as Tim revealed, there wasn't actually enough rye it in it to be a rye, so it was in fact a bourbon.

Woodford Reserve

There was also a bit of dark chocolate around, which was explained by the fact it did have chocolate malted rye in it. It was the Chocolate Malted Rye Bourbon expression from Woodford Reserve. It's 45.2% and costs £80. Certainly distinctive and we were glad to have tried it, but not something anyone rushed out to buy at that price.

Next was a bit of a surprise as we had an English rye, prompting the inevitable chorus of "I had no idea English rye was even a thing". Well, it is, and this one has been produced by Suffolk brewery Adnams. This had boozy mixed fruit on the nose, almost like a Speyside. Someone even said it reminded them of Drambuie. It was certainly a bit orangey on the palate too, citrussy, spicy but almost smooth. "Would be great in an Old Fashioned" someone suggested.

Adnams Rye Malt

The aftertaste was very citrussy too, and it had a long, slightly dry finish. There was a bit of a consensus around the word 'unusual' which is no bad thing. The bottle simply called Rye Malt, is 47% and is not bad value at all at £45.

The third dram of the night didn't have quite as much on the nose as the previous two, although some members thought that changed a little bit with a splash of water. It was unmistakably a rye but was perhaps a bit undistinguished compared with the ones we'd already tried. It smelt sweet but the palate was very short and didn't taste of all that much, beyond a bit of spiciness that didn't really stick around. A pleasant enough, easy drinker though.

Templeton Rye

This was the Templeton Rye Small Batch, from Indiana. It was 40% and cost £39 for a 75cl bottle, although this particular expression is no longer available.

Dram number four got an immediate response: "Do you not think it smells of straw?" There was definitely a bit of the giraffe house going on, although at the same, I thought a bit of steamed pudding as well. Deeper and richer than some of the others we'd had during the tasting, it was rich, lovely and sweet on the palate, with a bit of spiciness coming through as well. Apple pie was another tasting note that plenty of people agreed with.

New Riff Straight Rye

We were drinking New Riff Straight Rye, from Kentucky, made with 95% rye and clocking in at 50% ABV. It's £60 and was a clear favourite so far for most of the drinkers.

The last of our five drams also had the highest rye content, at 100%. Apples were again in evidence, along with pear drops (Editor's note: after this discussion of pear drops I went to the trouble of buying a bag for the first time in years - it turns out they taste nothing like whisky. What a con). There was caramel on the finish too although it wasn't as sweet as some of the others. Oily and toffee notes got a few shouts as well. It punched up on the flavours, and it might have been a bit sharp for some club members.

Reservoir Rye

It was the Reservoir Rye Virginia Rye Whiskey, at 50% and £99. A bit pricey, despite being obviously a quality drink.

Which brought us to the dram of the night voting. Only the third one didn't attract any support, but it was the New Riff which took the honours with 14 votes, to 10 for the Reservoir Rye and seven for the Adnams.

Thanks to all club members and those on the waiting list who joined us via Zoom for another successful lockdown tasting, and in particular to Tim for selecting the whiskies and guiding us through it. We'll have to do a part three one day!

Another Zoom tasting!

The 2020 Christmas Party

 

Another Zoom tasting!

One of our annual traditions at Manchester Whisky Club is the Christmas party. In the past this has usually involved a big get-together at the Britons Protection, often involving the leftover whiskies from the year's tastings. This year, as with most things, we had to do it remotely on Zoom. But thanks to some wonderful organising from host Adam and the rest of the committee, we had a great night of entertainment and a range of whiskies to try.

Hazelburn 13yo

Everyone had a few small surprise samples to try along with the main line-up for the tasting, with the little bits leftover from bottles we tried earlier in the year, so we'd all had the chance to drink something in advance of the opening dram.

We got going with a 13-year-old from Hazelburn, a brand used by the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown. This was an unpeated expression, matured in Oloroso sherry casks. And that sherry certainly came across when we tried it, with a real Christmas cake sort of feel about it. There was also a definite toffee thing going on as well, so all very appropriate for the time of the year.

Someone suggested a bit of water helped smooth things out a bit. Certainly sweet and bold. It was £54 when available (it no longer is, the run of 9,000 bottles has long gone) and it's 47.4%.

James Eadie Benrinnes

The next whisky was a Benrinnes from independent bottler James Eadie. Again 13 years old, this was finished in a bual Madeira hogshead, but it had a much more limited run of 311 bottles, again all now sold.

And no wonder, because it was really very nice indeed. Fairly subtle on the nose but then big and buttery in the mouth, it had a spicy thing going on, maybe cardamom, and also pear drops. It was good value too at £49, and it was 56.1%.

WB Blair Athol

One of the club's favourite independent bottlers is Whiskybroker, run by Martin Armstrong, and we had one of their bottlings for the third dram of the night. It was a Blair Athol released last summer, which quite a few of the club members took the opportunity of buying at the time. Sharing the wealth with those who missed out first time around, Adam presented us with the red wine-finished 10-year-old.

You could really tell the red wine a mile off with this one. It helped give the whisky a very distinctive flavour which lingered very pleasingly, too. As is always the case with Whiskybroker, an excellent value bottle at £50, and it was 56.5%. This went down very well indeed.

SMWS 37.96

Next up we had a dram from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This was number 37.96, named 'Cinnamon Semolina Pudding' that was a 13-year-old from Cragganmore on Speyside. This had most of its ageing in an ex-bourbon hogshead before finishing in first fill Pedro Ximenez sherry.

And once again it was strong and sweet and smooth, tasting all of its 58.7%. But it also definitely had something interesting with the texture, which is presumably where the SMWS tasters got that 'semolina' reference from. It was part of the October 2017 outturn by the SMWS, and at the time was £56 for members.

Caol Ila 9yo

To finish, as we often do, it was off to Islay for a taste of something peaty. It was a 9-year-old Caol Ila, produced by The Whisky Exchange in 2019 for The Whisky Show, to honour their 20th anniversary. It was fully matured in refill sherry.

It certainly gave us a big blast of peat. The sherry gave it a lingering finish and it was definitely a complex whisky. We thought that, if anything, it might have done from a little extra time in the wood to really bring out more of the flavours.

Amidst all this, Adam kept us all going with a range of quizzes, and thank you to him and everyone who took part, for another successful lockdown tasting.

The dram of the night, mustn't forget that, actually apparently I did because I can't find the results anywhere, so they may well be lost in the mists of time. But for what it's worth my vote would be for the Whiskybroker Blair Athol!

November 2020 Tasting

The full line-up

For our latest Zoom tasting in November, Martin had laid on a selection of six drams from some unusual distilleries.

White Peak

And we started off very close to home indeed. The White Peak Distillery is now the closest distillery to Manchester in the process of making whisky, based in the former Derwent Wire Works in Derbyshire and founded back in 2016. The area is best known for brewing, and the distillery apparently makes use of some interesting yeasts from its near-neighbours.

Martin is one of the members of the distillery's Temperance Club, which gives early supporters the opportunity to try some of its outturn, and he shared a bottle of 24-month-old White Peak Temperance Club bottling 2 with us. Still too young to be whisky, but really very nice indeed already, with a pleasant and subtle taste reminiscent of some of our favourite Irish whiskeys. Hints of marzipan and cream soda. We liked this a lot, and it's certainly whetted our appetite to see what else will be coming out of White Peak in the future. It was 48% but isn't generally on sale.

Wolfburn No. 375

Next we travelled much further away from Manchester, to the independently-owned Wolfburn, the most northerly distillery in mainland Scotland. This was the third release in its Small Batch series, a no-age statement called No. 375, matured in a combination of first fill bourbon barrels and second fill Oloroso sherry hogsheads.

As soon as we got into the Zoom breakout rooms to try this one, some of the drinkers weren't as immediately keen on this as they'd hoped, especially as many who'd tried Wolfburn's stuff before had really enjoyed it. Comments included notes of brown sugar and biscuits, but that overall it just seemed lacking. The price didn't exactly help on this, it's all of £79. For that kind of money, there are better bottles to buy. It's 46%.

1770 Whisky

Staying in Scotland for whisky number three, and it was time to try another new name on the whisky scene, the Glasgow Distillery. I say a new name, it's actually a revival of a very old one, but the distillery opened in 2014 with the claim that it is the first new single malt distillery in Glasgow itself for a century.

We had a bottle of the 2019 release, called 1770 Whisky. A no age statement bottling (but on the other hand, you don't exactly need to be a maths genius to work out roughly how old it is), this was very pleasant on the nose indeed and was very sweet, almost reminiscent of Coke. Certainly sharp but without any sense of burning, a sip of water helped bring the flavours out for some drinkers, with butterscotch coming through. Interesting and a bit different, this is 46% and cost £49 for a 50cl bottle.

Strathearn Batch 001

Another new-ish distillery gave us dram number four, on this occasion the small Strathearn distillery near Perth. Established in 2013, it has already been sold to independent bottler Douglas Laing, allowing the founder a successful 'exit' for all the time and effort spend building up the business. An experimental distillery, Strathearn produces whisky, gin and rum.

We had the Batch 001 single malt, almost certainly three years old (although the label was a little unclear on this), aged in European oak and ex-sherry casks. A "weird nose" and "interesting" were some of the suggestions here, and there was definitely a heavy wood influence. Lots of positive comments all around in fact, and in particular many noted the incredible colour in such a young whisky. This was 46.6% and cost £85 when it was available.

Milk and Honey

A bit of a surprise next as we visited Israel. A nation not exactly known as a whisky hotbed, but the Milk and Honey distillery in Tel Aviv, Israel's first, is trying to change that. With the warm climate, and maturation by the Dead Sea of all places, this already drew comparisons to Indian distilleries Amrut and Paul John before we'd even had a taste.

The bottle we had was called Young Single Malt Aged Spirit, so presumably below three years again, and was matured in a combination of ex-red wine, bourbon and Islay casks. The smoke from the Islay definitely came through very clearly, and we got an interesting mix of sweetness, spiciness and that smoke, with tasting notes suggested including nougat or even incense. Quite a few drinkers really liked this one, although there was a view that adding water did nothing for it. It's 46% and is £41 for a 50cl bottle.

Langatun Old Bear

And we finished off with a visit to another country we've not visited before, Switzerland. There's not much history of whisky making, but things are changing, with the Langatun Distillery in the vanguard. We had a bottle of its Old Bear Smoky, a five-year-old aged in Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine casks, full maturation we believe.

This was certainly unusual once again, with some interesting, weird and spicy bittersweet notes. We couldn't tell if this was from the spirit or the grain. It opened up a bit and mellowed with a little water, bringing forward the flavour and warmth. It's £68.75 and 58.5%.

And so that brought us to the dram of the night voting, and each of the whiskies got at least two votes, a sign of another fine selection. The winner though, and unusually as it was first in the line-up, was the White Peak, which just pipped the Strathearn.

Thanks to Martin and all club members for joining us for another successful evening!

Another Zoom tasting

A Virtual Trip To Islay

Another Zoom tasting!

For our tasting in October we went far away from our locked down homes in and around Manchester, and took a virtual trip to one of the homes of whisky, Islay.

Jade's Cask

Adam had five drams lined up for us, along with a sprinkling of the unique history of the whisky island and its classic peated produce.

The first whisky was actually acquired a little closer to home, though. The Wee Dram in Bakewell is one of the best independent booze shops around. The owners produced their own 15-year-old bottling of Bruichladdich back in 2017 in honour of their daughter, Jade, and this was it, simply called 'Jade's Cask'.

We were trying all of them blind and playing a bit of 'guess the distillery' and for this bottling, the smoothness and lack of very strong peat left some speculating it might be a Bunnahabhain, before Adam revealed the correct answer.

Caol Ila

Very sweet on the nose and the palate, with notes of marshmallow and a bit of a kick at the end, we thought this was very nice indeed. It was 50% and cost £53 directly from the shop, although it's no longer available.

The next dram was much more spicy, with pear drops on the nose, although that rather gave way to a bit of Christmassy sweetness on the palate, with raisins and a touch of mince pie. Some with longer memories even suggested Parma Violets.

There certainly wasn't much smoke around, and that was confirmed when the bottle was announced as an unpeated Caol Ila, in the form of a 2017 Diageo special release. It was 18 years old and clocked in at a hefty 59.8%, although it didn't really taste quite that strong.

Bunnahabhain

This particular bottle was in the old 'Highland style', made for blends, which pre-dated the more familiar single malt releases we now get from Caol Ila, making it doubly unusual. If you can find a bottle out there today it'll set you back about £100.

For whisky number three we really were going to Bunnahabhain. We got a characteristic phenolic nose, and then in the mouth a powerful tingle and dry biscuity feeling, with sweetness not far behind. A bit like a caramel flapjack, as someone suggested.

This was a Signatory single cask bottling, an 11-year-old aged in first fill sherry casks and remarkably strong, at 67.3%. A real bargain at £82 when the club bought it, but now sadly sold out.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

We moved on, for whisky four, to a bottle from the ever-popular Ardbeg. However, this particular bottle didn't exactly have the characteristics of a typical Ardbeg. We weren't sure whether this was because it was lighter than normal, or whether that monster of a Bunnahabhain had knocked our tastebuds out of whack a bit. But we didn't get too much from this at first.

Perhaps it was a little of both. This turned out to be a new addition to the Ardbeg range, the Wee Beastie, a 5-year-old at 47.4%, making it only a little stronger than the standard 10-year-old bottling.

Some felt this a bit watery rather than showcasing the classic heavy Ardbeg taste, but those in the group who had tried this before said it was generally a lot better when it didn't have such a big act to follow, and we did appreciate the fact Ardbeg are bold enough to put an age statement on this. One to have another go at. It's 47.4% and £37.

The Dark Side of Islay

To finish, we somewhat unusually had a blend to get our teeth into. The name Octovulin, itself a long-shut Islay distillery, was used by independent bottler Malts of Scotland for the 2017 instalment in its Dark Side of Islay series. A 19-year-old, this was a blend of three types of cask from three different distilleries.

A lovely, interesting dram with plenty going on, smooth on the nose and palate and a long, warm finish. There were 1,421 bottles produced, although they are long gone!

The dram of the night voting went the way of that last bottle, the Dark Side of Islay, just ahead of the big old Bunnahabhain. Although each of the whiskies got at least a couple of votes, which goes to show what a strong line-up we had.

Thanks to Adam for hosting the tasting, and to all club members old and new for joining in once again over Zoom.

English Whisky Special

Another Zoom tasting!

For our September tasting, once again held via Zoom, we had a selection of whiskies from across England to try. It wasn't so long that England didn't produce any whisky at all, but now there are an increasing number of distilleries not only producing the stuff, but putting some impressive bottlings out onto the market, and we had five to try.

Filey Bay

We kicked off the evening with a dram from what is, by geography at least, the closest working whisky distillery to Manchester. It's Filey Bay in North Yorkshire, and we had a bottle of its First Release, which came out towards the end of 2019, once the spirit had passed the three year mark.

It certainly tasted young, with not a lot of wood in it yet, although it was nice and biscuity. The real sages in the group felt this tasted like great quality whisky, although it was obviously still very young and therefore perhaps a bit rough around the edges. It was short-lived on the palate, although quite smooth considering its youth, while others did think it burned a bit. The whisky is all grain to glass on the same site, and we certainly think it's one to watch as it moves up in age in the coming years. This was 46% and £63 when you could get it, although it now goes for upwards of £100 on auction sites.

Cotswolds

Next it was a move much further south, to the Cotswolds in fact, and another inaugural release, from the Cotswolds Distillery. As with Filey Bay, this distillery was established with the help of whisky guru, the late Jim Swan. We felt this had more about it straight away, with a very good nose like a sweet pastry or strudel.

There was a little bit of dryness too, and we felt this was better than some of its English rivals of a similar sort of age, although those who added water felt this killed the whisky a bit. Aged in a mixture of red wine and bourbon casks, this was again 46% and was just £50 when it came out - a bargain! But if you want to buy a bottle now it'll set you back a cool £300. So perhaps best wait for something newer from them.

The English

For our third drink of the evening we visited the oldest of this new breed of English distilleries, the English Whisky Company in Norfolk, which at one time was the first English distillery to bring a whisky to the market in a century. A sign of the age of the distillery is that they are now producing an 11-year-old, which is what we had before us.

We got toasty nuts on the nose, with a little bit of ashtray. Adding water diminished that a bit, and made the drink sweeter. At 56.8% this had a real cask strength feeling to it, which did polarise the club members a bit, with some of our Zoom breakout rooms giving this the thumbs up and others less keen. The finish was a bit short. A single cask whisky, one of 311 bottles matured in a red wine cask, it was £75 when you could get it although it's now sold out.

The Lakes

After a short half-time break, we were on to the fourth whisky and a return to the north of England and The Lakes distillery. Possibly best known for its The One blend, featuring a mixture of whiskies from the four nations of the UK, we had a bottle of its higher end Whiskymaker Reserve No 3.

Spicy, with citrus on the nose, and burnt orange, dark fruits and even cherry. In short, lots going on, with a different sort of taste and some unusual flavours. Very enjoyable, although the nose was perhaps more of a highlight than how it tasted on the palate, yet still a very well balanced drink overall. At 54% and £65, this had a bit of "all the sherries" in it, from Oloroso, PX, cream sherry and then red wine, as if that wasn't enough.

Bimber

To finish off we had something even more special, and it was from one of the hottest names in whisky this year, super trendy London distillery Bimber. This was a bottle of a recent release, an unpeated whisky finished in a peated Islay quarter cask, which sold out of its 1,750 bottles in under an hour.

This whisky was, to quote one member "on another level" to even the very good ones we'd had earlier in the tasting. A lot to it, perhaps with more on the palate than the nose, but it really came at you in layers. Waxy and greasy with a mixture of subtle tastes, that helped it to taste much older than it really is. At auction these bottles will already cost you more than £100. It's 54.1%.

And so it came to our dram of the night voting, and it was the Bimber which came out on top with 10 votes, while the slightly more polarising English Whisky Company bottling picked up 7, while the others also attracted at least one vote each. Bimber certainly one to watch - but then so are all these developing English distilleries.

Thanks to the committee and club members who all took part in another successful tasting. We're counting down the days until we can return to in person tastings at the Britons Protection, but in the meantime, these lockdown specials are continuing to prove hugely successful!

The full line-up