Special Release – Four Ultra Rare Bottles
24.169 – Bonkers For Conkers
53.8% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Butt ~ 33yo ~ Speyside ~ £2,499.00
A deep russet hue led us straight into an autumn landscape with aromas of polished horse chestnuts, rosehip, birch branches, prunes, dates and figs. Tasting neat the first thing we noted was “still plenty of zing”, followed by flavours of hay-smoked roe deer with blackberry and beetroot beautifully balanced by a fresh berry chantilly cake. After reduction, we found cedar, tobacco and dark chocolate notes next to the scent of roasting chestnuts. On the palate were orange oil, raspberry and blackberry jam, ahead of a long finish from a tiramisu with conker coffee liqueur. Following 29 years in a refill oloroso butt, we transferred this whisky into a first fill oloroso butt… read more
38.36 – After-Five Attire
50.7% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 25yo ~ Speyside ~ £345.00
We all got apples on the neat nose – apple blossom, polished apples, cider-baked apples, apple-flavoured shisha tobacco and an apple storage cellar. Initially a little ashy on the palate, before we entered an antique wood-panelled library, sat on a buttoned leather chair, lit a cigar and read an old leather-bound book. Following reduction, we were served a cup of darjeeling tea and a slice of walnut loaf before finishing with a “dressed-up” martini of vodka, orange triple sec, lime and blood orange juice. At 22 years of age, we combined selected barrels from the same distillery into a variety of different casks to develop further. This is one of those casks… read more
A8.1 – ‘Just What The Doctor Ordered’
47.1% ~ Refill Armagnac Black Oak Barrel ~ Armagnac ~ £130.00
We were handed a bouquet of roses, dark red with soft and velvety petals, with the most deliciously heavy scent – think warm, rich chocolate combined with balsamic and woody notes. Plenty of exotic wood spices on the palate neat as we mixed a Penicillin cocktail of whisky, ginger, lemon and honey. It was sweet, fresh, spicy and simply delicious. Careful when adding water, as we found cherry blossom, milk chocolate with prunes, bananas doused in spiced rum and cinnamon bagels on the nose. To taste, a surprising fizzy, chilli bite like a prosecco topped up with ginger beer and garnished with a slice of orange and a basil leaf… read more
Batch 15 – Smokus Fruticosus
50.0% ~ Bourbon, PX & Oloroso Barrels, Butts & Hogsheads ~ 10yo ~ £63.00
Our latest blended malt is comprised of malt whiskies from the islands of Islay & Orkney. We made use of bourbon barrels and hogsheads, as well as Spanish and American oak sherry hogsheads, which were seasoned with oloroso & Pedro Ximenez wines. The resulting whisky is sweet, rich & intensely smoky, as the medicinal character of Islay peat marries with the floral & earthy smoke of the Orkney isles… read more