Manchester Whisky Club Commonwealth Games

 

The full line-up

On the night of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham, the club met for a much more thirsty kind of contest, as we tried a range of six whiskies plus two wildcard drinks to see which nation would take home the gold medal (I should say I was hosting the tasting and didn't take any photos as we were going along, so the one at the top is all you're getting this month!).

We started off in Canada for an early double header. In one hand the Glen Breton Ice 10yo, the world's first regularly available whisky to be finished in casks which previously held ice wine. And in the other, some Canadian icewine itself - not from the same vineyard in Nova Scotia used by Glen Breton - but some Lakeview Cellars wine from Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario.

The nose of the Glen Breton is interesting, some thought a bit weird and off-putting, and certainly distinctive. Official tasting notes suggest sticky toffee pudding and ginger biscuits and there was a bit of that around for sure. The icewine, made using frozen grapes for a more concentrated, sweeter, but small volume drink, was really very sweet indeed for the club members' palates, although those with a sweet tooth enjoyed it. A bit citrussy and syrupy, some got a bit of elderflower or even honey, almost like mead. The Glen Breton is £48 and 40%, and the Lakeview Cellars icewine is available from Aldi at £14 for a 37.5cl bottle.

Next, South Africa and a bottling from Africa's only commercial whisky distillery, James Sedgwick. Bain's and Three Ships are the brands it's known for, but we had in our hands a 10yo version of the standard Bain's single grain, finished in a Shiraz cask for the last five years of its maturation and then bottled at cask strength - on this occasion a whopping 63.5%. This went down very well, it certainly tasted strong although it was perhaps surprisingly drinkable as well given the strength. Lots of toffee again, with vanilla, spice and red fruits. It's £50.

Having been to a couple of corners of the earth, it was much closer to home for the fourth drink, and third whisky. Wire Works Whisky is the brand name for the White Peak distillery, based in an old wire and cable factory on the River Derwent. We had one of their early expressions a couple of years back, before it was whisky, and thought there was already something interesting developing, so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it, in the form of their latest Small Batch release, number 3. A lightly-peated single malt from a small batch vatting of American and French oak casks, aged mostly in STR with some ex-bourbon, the distillery says it's a nice complement to their spirit which they describe as 'fruit forward'. On the nose, butterscotch and vanilla slice, and to be honest more vanilla all the way through. Again, not bad, but still bottled too young really, albeit out of necessity as the distillery starts to pay its way. It's £60 and 46.2%.

After a half-time break, the night's curveball. I wanted to find a rum to represent the Caribbean islands of the Commonwealth, and especially one finished in a Scottish whisky cask. There were no obviously candidates, so I broke my own rule and went outside the Commonwealth to the Dominican Republic for the Opthimus 15yo Malt Whisky Aged Cask, which uses ex-Tomatin casks in the maturation. Aiming for a whisky-ish rum that would please a whisky crowd, this did a pretty good job, and if you were blind tasting it could certainly pass for a very sweet whisky. A smooth sipper, lots of brown sugar and banana around here. £53 and 43%.

Back to the whisky for the sixth drink of the evening, and the fruits of a recent visit to the new Penderyn distillery in Llandudno. I did the whole fill-your-own-bottle thing in the distillery shop, and came back clutching a bottle of ex-Bourbon cask liquid from 2016. Green apples and pears on the nose, more citrussy and spicy on the palate. Despite Penderyn's general popularity with the club, some slightly mixed views on this one, and again a general feeling it was perhaps a bit young and not quite worth the money - I paid £101 although that included an extra sample and a glass as well, so the bottle itself would be more like £90. It was 59.7% although again, it didn't really taste like it.

Next to India for two names quite familiar to us. One being Paul John, the distillery. The other, Cadenheads, the bottler which produced the particular expression in hand. This 9yo spent five years in India - although the faster maturation in the warmer climate means that's much more like 15 - and then the last four years in Scotland. So in a way, it was more equivalent to a 19-year-old. Aged in a Bourbon hogshead cask, we got redcurrants and ginger, citrus and dates. Very nice indeed, in fact. £85 and 53.3%.

We finished the night on the other side of the world, Australia, for the Unexpeated bottle from Melbourne's Starward. It uses lots of locally-sourced ingredients, including casks from local vineyards. But on this occasion, also made use of some ex-Islay single malt casks, presumably from Diageo stablemates Caol Ila or Lagavulin, to aim for a drink balancing its natural juicy fruit flavours with a big dash of smoke. The verdict was that this worked pretty successfully on the nose and finish, but the two flavours perhaps clashed a bit on the palate and were fighting against each other. Certainly drinkable again though, with lots of red berries and a lingering peaty finish. It's £80 and 48%.

The dram of the night voting was the closest ever! The rum came fourth, just one vote behind the joint silver medallists from India and Australia, a further single vote behind the gold medallist from South Africa. So well done to Bain's! And thanks to all who attended another sold out tasting, and to everyone at the Britons Protection for hosting us once again.