English Whisky Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of the English Whisky Company was launched in June 2010. It is a mere three years old and matured on a first fill bourbonvat. The barley was peated to about 35 ppm. On the label, it proudly states 'Peated/Smokey'. It is a vatting of four casks: 105, 116, 122 and 141. The nose is nice and oily with some sweetness in the shape of toffee and burnt malt with even hints of tropical fruit like pineapple and papaya. Something that makes me think of ice coffee. Summer hay and apples, as well. But the peat is quite prominent. It gives it a sour touch, but it works wonderfully. Citrus slowly shines through. Give it at least ten minutes and you will be amazed of the complexity of this nose. What a pleasant surprise! The attack is somewhat weak, but very tasty from the start. It starts a little less sweet than you would have expected after the nose and the peat also offers a rather big smokiness. Reminds me of a struck match. After the spices (which translates into ginger, cardamom and mostly vanilla and nutmeg), it becomes nicely sweet. Mostly malty hints and butterscotch. Midpalate the citrus reappears. Mint! The smoke fades very gently in the surprisingly long finish. It makes room for apples and vanilla. It dies a very sweet, albeit peppery, death with a touch of oak. I confess that my expectations may have been a bit too low. Hence they were exceeded with flying colors. This is a feisty little animal. Young, surely, but very amusing and tasty. Reminded me, in a sense, of Caol Ila (and that is always good news).

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