English Whisky

 

The full line up

For July's meeting of the Manchester Whisky Club we had a great selection of whiskies from around England to try, as we visited a mixture of brand new names and some distilleries which have already become firm favourites.

A new one for most of us to start with though, Ludlow, which comes from, well, Ludlow. We had a bottle of the Batch 5 PX finish. Despite that advertised sherry hit, we didn't get much of it beyond the faintest of hints. The taste itself was a bit thin as well, but perhaps not unexpected for a 3yo at 42%. The price tag was off putting though: at £80 this was more than a bit steep, we felt.

The dram of the night: Bimber!

We moved south and east next for a bottle of Oxford Rye. The purple label gave away the theme of this expression, in that after two years in American virgin oak it was finished in purple Moscatel. A 53.6% cask strength dram, this was great on the nose. Very sweet but overall it divided the room, some very much liked it but the bigger rye fans in the room weren't as thrilled. A last tasting note: buttered toast! It was £75.

The English Whisky Company from Norfolk kickstarted the resurgence in English whisky more than a decade ago, and we tipped our collective caps to them with dram three, a 9yo dating from 2018 released especially for friends of the club Aston's of Manchester. We weren't sure of the tasting notes as only 60 bottles were produced. But it was definitely citrussy, smooth, strong and tasty. There must have been some wine barrels involved somewhere, we felt. Committee member Martin, who raided his own stocks for this one, couldn't quite remember how much it cost, but it was £80 or thereabouts.

After a half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs at the Britons Protection, we were back for the fourth whisky, from the Weetwood Distillery close to home in Cheshire. Only just over 3yo but, in contrast to the Ludlow, full of flavours such as foam bananas (!), this generated a lot of excitement in the room for what the spirit might turn into in years to come. This had more on the nose than the palate but was still great all round. It was 46% and £60.

Wire Works in the Peak District has already become a favourite with many club members after succcessful outings at previous tastings. We had in our hands a bottle of their latest collaboration with nearby craft brewer Thornbridge, Necessary Evil, where beer and whisky are swapped around before bottling (this expression involved stout). Absolutely delicious, this, there was an almost universal love for it. It was 51.3% and £65 (full disclosure: I went online and bought a bottle straight away).

The biggest name in English whisky is arguably Bimber from London, popular with hipster drinkers and savvy investors alike. We had a bottle from Martin's cask. At only just over 3yo this was another young one, but having been warehoused in a particularly hot location (it had lost ten litres) this really accelerated the maturation process. This had a hint of smoke and was absolutely lovely. It was no less than 58.9%.

This took us on to the dram of the night voting, and it was a win for Bimber with ten votes, just ahead of the Cheshire in second place and the Wire Works third.

Thanks to all in the club, those on the waiting list and everyone who hosted us at the Britons for another great evening.

All the drams