Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Whisky Discovery #110

The English Whisky Co. Diamond Jubilee (46% abv OB, bottled 2012 70cl)
English Single Malt Whisky
Circa £60.00 70cl

The limited edition Diamond Jubilee decanter

I really like what The English Whisky are doing. Their St George's Distillery was the first distillery to be opened in England for over 100 years, and it is the first (and only) distillery I have visited on my journey to date. It was a fabulous day out and I can't wait to go back there again to see how they are getting on since my last visit. It seems such a long time ago now, but it has been just three months!

I've tasted all of their core expressions before while at the distillery. They’re all really worth having on your whisky shelf, and I came away with a bottle of the Chapter 6, so I wasn't too worried about tasting these all again while chatting the Andrew Nelstop, their Managing Director. However, I really wanted to try this recent addition to their range, and was really pleased to see them exhibiting at the Whisky Lounge Midlands Fest.

This limited edition expression was bottled specially to celebrate the Queen's 60th Jubilee and was brought together from four and five year old casks that were hand selected by chief distiller David Fitt. Just 3,300 bottles were released. I guess this whisky must contain some of the oldest whisky released, although age is not important as Andrew explained that they would only start mentioning ages when they had reach at least eight years old, the spirit has been maturing a little quicker in the more milder temperatures of East Anglia that it would in the Highlands of Scotland

As you can imagine, there have been a number of limited releases from distilleries and blending houses to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, with some fetching huge sums of money. This limited edition comes in a very elegant decanter and at around £60 for this what will surely become collectable, doesn't seem to be a bad investment.

So what did I think?

It was really quite floral on the nose, 'springtime in the countryside' I scribbled. There were also the expected caramel notes and a slightly citric sherbet too, but certainly not unpleasant. On the palate I enjoyed the caramel sweetness balanced with a peppery spiciness. 


Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this expression, certainly worthy of celebrating any jubilee with. If bought as an investment and it fails to perform, at least you will have the contents to drink which certainly does perform, I just hope there's still some left when my buying budget is back in the black!

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