The English: Sherry Cask (England Single Malt Whisky: 46% ABV)
Visual: Bright rich, just slightly darkened gold body with fast, thick streaks from the spirit.
Nose: Black cherry. Strawberry. Pencil shavings. Red apples. Pears. Light custard. Mint leaves.
Body: Strawberry. Sweet dessert wine. Mine leaves. Chives. Water adds toffee and a mix of green and red apples.
Finish: Strawberry. Chives. Peppermint. Lightly peppery. Mint leaves. Water adds red apples.
Conclusion: This has a wonderfully fruity aroma, which should not come as a surprise considering its barrel aging. It has lots of red fruit, some on the darker end of the spectrum, some lighter, covering the full range. The most unusual is a red apple note, distinctly apple but also different.
When you first sip it, it is still rich – not as full as the aroma promised but still a delight of plenty of red fruit backed by a gentle toffee style to show the more standard whisky notes. There is however a very unusual contrast against that, with a mint leaves , peppermint and chives kind of way. The mint being the most unusual and most likely to be crowd splitter in how people react to it. I like it, it is not the most dominant note but it is very unusual.
It does result in a very rewarding dram rather than something one dimensional. That greenery touch is not for everyone, but the wine influence is lovely and a nigh certain crowd please, layered over a very solid base. It is definitely well made, and while for tonight’s favorite I prefer the more heavy and chewy and also unusual Morris dram, I can easily see why this was so well received as to win high awards
Not a best in world for me, but an excellent dram.
Background: Final of the whiskies tried at the Independent Spirit World Whisky tasting and this is a first fill PX cask and rightfully saved to be the final whisky of the night as it won worlds best single malt at the world whisky awards. So big reputation to live up to. As you might expect, five whiskies down I was not at my best by this point for doing notes, but as always I tried my best. Unlike most whiskies this night this was aged in fairly similar climate to Scottish whisky, so something comparatively familiar style wise