Two heavily sherried Filliers from Belgium
The Belgium whisky landscape is no less impressive than that of the surrounding neighbours France, Germany and The Netherlands. Filliers is a decades old distillery spanning many generations of craftspeople. Starting out with Genever, and pioneering the then-unknown product (in Belgium) gin, it was the cousins Jan and Bernard Filliers who took up the idea of making whisky. This resulted in the first Belgian whisky hitting the market under the name Goldlys in 2007. Good beginnings, but this whisky was not something to shout about. Having tasted it once, I never returned to it. At Filliers, they reasoned that maturing in sherry cask will result in being an above average producer. The products on our tasting table are a visible result of this. Two sherried malts, both richly dark in colour. Here we go!
Filliers 15 years old, bottled at 43 % abv
First things first: Belgian single malt whisky aged in first fill sherry casks. Supposedly batch 001, so more to come?
Upon Sipping: There is no denying that I poured a sherried whisky in the glass. The room fills up with lovely aromas of leather couches, shoe polish and red fruits. Sticking my nose in the glass, I cannot think up any other word than “classy”. The grain is still strong on first whiff, dry hey, dusty wooden floors, while the fruit seems to come off very dry and modest. Red apples that you rubbed after washing them. The palate creates some contrast, with a lot of dark berries and cherry pie, all with a good hint of chocolate and wood. If you are paying for 15 years of maturation, you want to experience them in the glass, and this Filliers delivers. The finish is rather dry on tobacco notes, but rewarding and warming. I could have done with a little bit more juiciness, and the sherry might be a tad too dominant to leave room for the whisky, but this is good stuff. My last sip made me feel like I was drinking liquid Nutella.
Word to the Wise: The nose promised a good deal of malted barley influences, but on the palate this was drowned out by heavy sherry maturation. This slight unbalance costs some points, but the whisky itself is flawless. The integration of liquid and maturation time seems very okay to me.
Score: 84 points
Filliers Cask Strength, bottled at 58,5 % abv
First things first: Matured in first fill Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and bottled at cask strength. Limited release, but I have no information on how many bottles were produced.
Upon Sipping: Interesting nose with coffee beans, damp earthen floor and wet concrete walls. In the distance a hint of cherry liquor, but that is just a whiff, turning into leather notes soon enough. After the gentle sipping of the 15 years old, the cask strength hits me extra hard. Lovers of high alcohol volume will certainly adore this. It is fierce, it is dry with notes of cold coffee and the darkest of pure chocolate. This Filliers takes no prisoners! To me, it lacks the charm that the 15 years old does have, but this expression is playing to a different need. With water, the roots of the Filliers Distillery become more apparent, making me think more of an interesting Genever than a good single malt whisky. Some glue notes disturb the peace, and on the palate the dry notes turn into bitterish wood; no more chocolate delight.
Word to the Wise: Like I said, fierce whisky for lovers of high strength whisky. I have not often tasted whisky made by this Belgian producer, and I still feel I have not really gotten to know the distillery character. That it can let sherry casks take the lead is evident, but to me it seems more logical to promote the whisky, not the cask it was matured in. Critical words, for good products.
Score: 81 points
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