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5th January 2022 |
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Berry Bros. &
Rudd today launched their latest
seasonal collection, nine winter warmers
including six Scotch single malt
whiskies, a rare Chichibu Japanese
single malt whisky, a Kornog French
single malt whisky and one Fijian
tropical rum.
On The Twelfth Day of Christmas Berry
Bros. & Rudd gave to us - six Scotch
single malt whiskies, a rare Japanese
single malt whisky, a French single malt
whisky and one Fijian tropical rum. In
other words Berry Bros. & Rudd today
launched their latest seasonal
collection for Winter 2022.
This latest quarterly release is
dominated by whiskies hailing from the
spirit’s homeland of Scotland, in four
varying regions, Lowland, Speyside, The
Highlands and Islay. Whisky lovers can
sample small batch releases such as a
Blair Athol 2012 or delve into the world
of Berry Bros. & Rudd single cask
category with Dailuaine 2009, Linkwood
2011 Oloroso Finish, Williamson 2013
Moscatel Barrel, Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji
Gonchi Finish and Kornog 2006.
The rare Chichibu whisky comes from one
of the world’s most in-demand
distilleries so it isn't likely to be
available for long. Completing the
release is a spirit known for its gutsy,
complex quality; Fiji Rum 2010 which is
described as a hybrid of traditional
Jamaican style tropical funk and
agricole-like synthetic fruit, creating
an intense yet moreish liquid.
Doug McIvor, Reserve Spirits Manager,
commented: "Every quarterly release is
centred around celebrating the finest
quality spirits and producers from
around the world and bringing them
together in a collection that covers a
breadth of flavour profiles and style,
giving our customers the opportunity to
try new spirits with confidence.
"Looking at the 2022 winter release, we
are especially honoured to be granted
access to the rare liquid that is
Japanese whisky. Given its rising
popularity in recent years, we were
thrilled to accept a cask from Chichibu,
not only for its rarity but outstanding
quality."
The 2022 Winter Release, Blair Athol
2012 (£60), Dailuaine 2009 (£75),
Linkwood 2011 Oloroso Finish (£95),
Williamson 2013 Moscatel Barrel (£96),
Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji Gonchi Finish
(£105), Kornog 2006 (£160), Fiji Rum
2010 (£120), Glen Garioch 1988 (£450)
and Chichibu 2014 (£475), can be
purchased via the BBR website from
today, January 5th 2023, in case you
wondered what I was going on about in my
introduction above.
You will also a great selection of Berry Bros. & Rudd whiskies
available from specialist online whisky
shops such
as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop,
Hard To Find Whisky
and
Master of
Malt
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Blair Athol 2012 Review
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Complexity and subtlety are said to be
the order of the day with this Blair
Athol. Maturation in refill hogsheads
has allowed the distillate shine through
in this bottling (generally, Blair Athol
is filled into heavy first fill casks,
masking the distillery’s very subtle
character). Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
46% ABV, 777 bottles. RRP: £60
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
The nose shows stewed apple with a touch
of spice, a little vanilla, peach skins
and some ground almond.
Taste:
A wonderfully full textured palate gives
a similar ride through fruit, spice and
nuttiness.
Finish:
Just the merest hint of wood smoke on
the end. A beautiful little dram.
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Dailuaine 2009 Review
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Matured in a Hogshead cask. Naturally
coloured, unchill-filtered, 53.7% ABV,
307 bottles. RRP: £75
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
This chunky Speyside wades out of the
glass, offering notes of waxy honeycomb,
fruit-salad chews and a pleasing floral
note.
Taste:
The palate continues this theme, with
added vibrant green fruit: Granny Smiths
and pear drops, as well as dried barley,
cigar papers and some beautiful waxy
notes - immensely complex for a dram of
this age.
Finish:
More fresh fruits linger on the palate,
as well as a touch of spice. This is
further evidence that Dailuaine is
surely one of Scotland’s best
lesser-known distilleries.
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Linkwood 2011 Oloroso Finish Review
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This delicate Speyside dram was
re-racked into juicy ex-Oloroso wood and
is described as a warren of flavour.
Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
52.6% ABV, 459 bottles. RRP: £95
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
The nose offers apricot jam, figs and
under ripe peach, growing into spiced
creamy carrot cairn.
Taste:
The palate builds beautifully from fresh
fruit into rich dried fruitcake. The
addition of a little water and delving
deeper reveals more fresh peaches and
coconut, along with further wood spice.
Finish:
The finish delivers a lasting medley of
spices, fruit jams and hot crossed buns.
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Williamson 2013 Moscatel Barrel Review
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The knowledgeable peaty Islay whisky
fans amongst you should have no trouble
guessing the origins of a whisky called
Williamson. Initialy matured in a
Hogshead cask and finished in a Moscatel
cask. Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
58.9% ABV, 307 bottles. RRP: £96
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
There’s a great Scottish exclamation to
sum up the initial aromas: "jings!".
This is a massive whisky, with huge
aromas of peat fires, ash and iodine.
This is combined with a subtly spicy
character from a glorious ex-Moscatel
cask, giving notes of gingerbread,
apricot and sultana bread.
Taste:
The palate is equally monstrous - Islay
whisky at its vulgar best: peat smoke,
leather and seaweed, all rounded by a
hugely fruity cask which adds a
luxurious mouthfeel.
Finish:
The thick texture adds length to the
finish, giving more dried fruit and ash.
It’s sudden, powerful, complex, lasting
and memorable. Jings!
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Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji Gonchi
Finish Review
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Matured in a Hogshead cask then finished
in a ex-Tokaji Gonchi cask. Naturally
coloured, unchill-filtered, 51,2% ABV,
146 bottles. RRP: £105
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Rich, sweet and chewy aromas rise from
the glass, offering apricot, figs,
almonds and zingy marmalade. This dram
takes a little time to open up, but some
air brings forth some ripe green apples
and a little cinnamon.
Taste:
The palate is thick and full, giving
more jammy apricot notes and some dried
fruit, but with clear distillate
character coming through in the form of
stewed apples and pears.
Finish:
A long, mouth-coating finish shows
baking.
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Glen Garioch 1988 Review
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BBR tell me this one is Highland Whisky
at it’s best. This rich, turfy Glen
Garioch harks back to the days of the
distillery’s own floor malting and
direct fire stills. Laid down back in
1988 in a Hogshead cask. Naturally
coloured, unchill-filtered, 45.4% ABV,
202 bottles. RRP: £450
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
This throws out earthy aromas of
Highland peat bogs, roasted barley, dark
chocolate, honeycomb, leather and cigar
leaf. Exceptional.
Taste:
If one manages to get past the nose, the
palate gives a massive whack of
herbaceous peat, resin, oak smoke and
tar, moving to dried fruit, cocoa powder
and dates.
Finish:
Spice rises on the finish giving lasting
waves of smoke and turf. They don’t make
whisky like this anymore, and after a
dram one wonders why not?
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Kornog 2006 Review
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This cask came to Berry Bros & Rudd from
the writer Martine Nouet, a long-time
friend of the company. It was filled for
Martine by her friend Jean Donnay of
Glann ar Mor distillery in 2006. This is
the oldest cask bottled from the
distillery to date, and the following
notes are written by Martine herself.
Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
50.9% ABV, 152 bottles. RRP: £160
Martine Nouet's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
The nose displays an enticing fruity
basket of plums and caramelised pears
delicately entangled in smoke. Vanilla
lusciously swirls up with a briny whiff.
Taste:
The palate is oily, almost velvety and
brings out flavours of banoffee pie and
intense fruit.
Finish:
A lingering finish on ginger, liquorice
with vetiver. Elegant
and complex, a true Celt character from
Brittany.
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Chichibu 2014 Review
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Matured in a First Fill barrel.
Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
57.6% ABV, 213 bottles. RRP: £475
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Lush aromas of ripe mango and lime juice
drift out of the glass, mingling with
spiced custard over apple sponge cake. A
little time in the glass brings a
chiselled maltiness into play along with
a touch of desiccated coconut.
Taste:
The palate is noticeably thick, showing
a wonderful mouthfeel. The character is
initially of dried malt, but soon
develops into fresh citrus fruits,
apricot yoghurt and banana bread, with a
suggestion of wood smoke on the rear
palate.
Finish:
The finish brings spiced crème brûlée,
dried apple and a mouth-watering note of
ripening pineapple. This is a
masterclass in Japanese whisky from one
of the world’s most in-demand
distilleries.
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Fiji 2010 (Rum) Review
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Naturally coloured, unchill-filtered,
64.6% ABV, 268 bottles. RRP: £120
Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Whack. This Fijian rum leaps out of the
glass from metres away; an incredible
hybrid of Jamaican- style tropical funk
and agricole-like synthetic fruit
rampages across the olfactory senses,
leaving one astounded and wanting more.
Taste:
The palate offers linseed oil,
pineapple, guava, grapefruit, engine
oil, beeswax and paraffin, all with a
backbone of cream-soda-like vanilla.
This is an immense rum - be sure to warm
up before approaching it.
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