The reason for the season, pt 3: whisky shopping for an anorak

Anorak: seasoned and self-proclaimed enthusiast. Whisky geek… Someone who’s deep into whisky, who has been so for a number of years, who has tried pretty much everything there is to try and as a consequence can sum up by heart probably most, if not all, Scottish distilleries past and present in alphabetical order (and when they were founded). Someone whose collection of whiskybooks is only outnumbered by his collection of actual bottles. Someone who’s visited his fair share of distilleries over the years and who can give you solid advice on which tours are worth taking, quite likely with some tips regarding accommodations on the side, all based on first-hand experience. Someone who will likely get misty eyes when you whisper names like St-Magdalene, Glen Mohr or Banff into their ear. Someone likely to be on a first name basis with a few distillery managers and who’s on WhatsApp with folk like Dave Broom and Charlie MacLean.

Call it (them?) whatever you will, but you know who I’m talking about surely, as it’s likely someone not entirely unlike yourself. You may not tick all the boxes (yet) from the descriptions above, but if you’re here, reading this blog, you’re probably already at least knee deep (if not waist deep) in whisky, aspiring these very things. Run, Forrest run, indeed…

What do you buy for someone like this, then? Of course, when you have deep, deep pockets, getting them a bottle from a long closed distillery or a decades old expression from, say, Bowmore or Macallan is always a good choice, but let’s just assume you’re not Richard Branson here, shall we. It may seem a daunting task to go out there and find something suitable for someone whose experience and level of geekiness is on par or even larger than your own? But is it though? When you sit back and think about it for a while, it’s not that hard at all.

The way to go, I reckon, is even pretty straightforward: you buy them a bottle from an indie bottler (preferably not one of the big boys, the more adventurous in fact, the better), and, if at all possible, a single cask, cask strength expression. And if you really want to score some extra points, try and make it something somewhat niche, be it from an under the radar distillery, or from a release with a limited outturn of 100-ish or less bottles. Preferably both.

I’m fairly sure you can’t do much wrong if you take your whisky gift in this direction. What these bottles bring, after all, is a celebration of singularity. They offer exactly what it is a seasoned enthusiast is likely to appreciate: a one-off, particular, unique take on a distillery. Likely, they’ll have at least two or three bottles from the same distillery stashed away somewhere, but that’s perfectly OK. You’re not just gifting a bottle of whisky after all, but also an opportunity to put your bottle in a fun little line-up with other bottles from said distillery for a little head to head to head to head… making for a fun and engaging evening of spotting differences and similarities, overlapping characteristics and particular, unique elements they might not have expected or, even better, encountered on previous occasions. Because that’s exactly the sort of stuff anoraks live for.

Therefore, that’s exactly the type of bottle I’ll be reviewing today: a single cask, cask strength indie release from a somewhat under the radar distillery. Fully aware most of you likely won’t be able get it (or is it? Keep reading…), but worth paying some attention to nonetheless.

Royal Brackla 10 yo – Double V Private Cellar cask series (cask 154/2011), 2011-2021, 61.5% ABV, refill hogshead, 90 bottles, bottled for The Whisky Barn, €85

A nice gift is always even better when it comes with a bit of extra background and a story. This particular botting was done by Double V, a young Belgian indie bottler, for a whisky store near me (The Whisky Barn). Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: shopping locally comes with some perks no Amazon of MoM can ever compete with: having a nice little chat about the whisky at hand. Taking things a step further, I asked Jonas, the proprietor of the store, what the story was about this release. Turns out that he worked in close collaboration with Double V in finding this cask. Now Double V as a bottler has an interesting way of doing things. Although they’ve only been active as bottlers for a few years, the people running things have been buying and selecting casks for some 2 decades, so safe to say they know their stuff. Also, they always buy new make spirit rather than matured product, which they then put into casks they decide upon themselves. This obviously gives them much more control over the entire process as they can monitor the whole maturation process from new make to what eventually gets put into a bottle, rather than having to settle for whatever it is a broker or distillery sees fit to offer you.

So safe to say, the people ‘involved’ in this whisky were indeed really as involved as much as you could hope an indie bottler to be. That’s points already being earned right there. Full disclosure: as I went shopping at the store, Jonas added this bottle to my shopping bag. I didn’t ask for any such favour, but he was kind enough to give it to me free of charge. This of course doesn’t imply it will automatically receive a favourable review, though. But what I will do, is pay it forward and share the heck out of this bottle. Provided it’s good stuff, of course. Speaking of which…

Nose

Floral-soapy, making for sweet and sour notes. Something minty-herbaceous, like fresh parsley. (Vanilla) oils, lemons and citrus, and cereal notes mixed with something creamy/dairy. All the while it has this oily, yet dry (paperlike) touch. Some water puts the focus on the floral and herbaceous notes. Young, yet interesting and layered.

Palate

Soft, vanilla driven arrival, but then the ABV rolls in like a tidal wave. In need of some water I feel. Dry mouthfeel, a gentle woodnote, and only then the ‘aha’ moment kicks in, as it turns very oily-viscous, with a plethora of grainy, grassy and herbal notes. This may come with a hefty ABV, but all in all it’s delicate and rather soft.

Finish

Softly bitter, woody, peppery and increasingly drying. Pretty long too.

Final thoughts

I’m enjoying this. The high ABV gives plenty of leeway to experiment with different levels of adding water to find the sweet spot. To my palate, the window to reach it is a rather small one. Be gentle with it and it might well remain a bit overwhelming, be overly generous and you’ll likely drown it. Hidden behind the powerful ABV lies a subtle, layered, almost understated whisky. The refill hoggies may not have enough of an impact to give this a great deal of cask influence, but given where I am now on my journey, that suits me just fine. But the story doesn’t end there. There’s an interesting little bonus to this, to really get your geek on. 90 bottles were drawn from this cask, as the rest was put to rest again in a Marsala cask which will be bottled in the foreseeable future (somewhere in 2023 I’ve been told), while the refill hoggie has also been put to use by a Belgian brewer to mature beer in it. So, anorak mode on: I’ll need to track down some bottles of said beer, and I will also be on the lookout for the Marsala finished sibling of this one. Which scores a handsome 84/100 in my book.

Next week: splash some cash on a limited, +£100 official release, why don’t you…