Overview
Confessions out of the way first. I’m English. Not “slightly English” but English and nothing else as far back as the family tree (or stump) goes.
Whilst I’m not “cross-of-St.George-out-the-bedroom-window, closet-racist, stand-up-for-the-national-anthem” English I’m not “un-proud” of being English either. The way I see it, it could be worse… I could be Australian.
I also love English booze. I think English beers are some of the best in the world, English wine is amazing (especially sparkling) and I love Adnams as a brewery.
This isn’t whisky. It’s only 1 year old for a start. It’s not made with “spirit” but Adnam’s Broadside bitter, matured in heavily toasted Russian oak. It’s what is called “eau-de-vie-de-biere”. Eau-de-vie is normally a fruit brandy similar to German schnaps or Turkish raki. But this is posing as a “sort-of-whisky”
| Colour | Nose | Palate | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cask ale | Cask ale “hoppy” with spiciness and oaky vanilla | Biscuits and bread dough more vanilla and sweetness | Hops, new spirit, concentrated beer, mouthfeel like an all-day session in a CAMRA pub. |
Conclusion
I wanted to like this, but despite loving beer and whisky, this just tastes like the dregs of a drip tray with added sugar. It’s literally like someone has mixed beer with whisky and brandy and I think that’s the problem for me, I really don’t like brandy.
My bigger worry is “gin-ification”. Gin is SO easy to make, just buy industrial spirit, chuck some botanicals in and within 60 minutes… voila…gin. That’s fine, but whisky is a much more complex and sophisticated product than gin and the slow, patient, alluring craft, of whisky production seems to be being circumvented to make something “whisky-like” for a quick profit.
45%
Rating
