The English Whisky at 8 years old by Cadenhead’s
The landscape for English single malt whisky has drastically changed over the past two decades, with numerous initiatives coming up. We see the brands more often, and some of them have made quite a name for themselves, like Cotswolds, Finlay Bay and of course Bimber in London. But one had to be the first, and this was the St. George’s Distillery in Roudham, Norfolk. Nowadays known as The English Distillery. The construction was finished in 2006, which made them the first dedicated distillery for malt in a hundred years. You can find their website here, with a fancy looking core range in offering. However, we try an independently bottled specimen today.
The English Whisky 8 years old, vintage 2010, bottled at 64,6 % abv by Cadenhead’s
First things first: This bottling in the Small Batch range of Cadenhead’s contains one hogshead with heavily peated whisky, and one unpeated hogshead. This resulted in 420 bottles when this was released back in 2018.
Upon Sipping: I have tried only the very first releases by this distillery, when it came out around 2009 and 2010. Did not leave a lasting impression, other then it being very clean spirit. Let us see how this combination of peat and non-peat works out. Of course, it is not easy to nose such a rocket fuel strength, but my first impressions are that of creaminess and light smoke indeed. Delivering on the promise, it seems. The taste follows in those footsteps, a nice vanilla and buttery mouthfeel followed by a very dry smoky signature.
When water is added – and I put in a lot, the whisky eases into a nice vanilla character, but the smoke is very present. There is more fruitiness to be found now too, with an emphasis on lemon and grapefruit. Some grasses and sunflower oil are in the mix too. Not very complex, but complete nonetheless. The taste reveals hints of tropical fruits, which is quite a contrast with the nose on this English whisky. It soon falls back in line, when you swallow and the smoke overtakes the finish completely, wiping out all sensations of fruit. The clean character of the whisky is still noticeable.
Word to the Wise: This English Whisky by Cadenhead’s offers a lot in one glass. One could say it is all over the place, or you could conclude it is multifaced which shows a lot of diversity. Be it as it may, you will certainly not get bored with this dram in the glass!
Score: 82 points.