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Our picks
With July 4th days today, our eyes have turned to the USA and our favourite whiskies from across the country. We don’t hold a grudge and love an excuse for a party, so have put together a list of our top bourbons, ryes and more. Whether you’re celebrating with fireworks or just looking for a great whiskey, you’ll find something that fits the bill in our top 10.
A K&L Exclusive Cask Debut from a Bourbon Powerhouse
Angel’s Envy “K&L Exclusive” Cask #2665 Private Select Port Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml) ($89.99)
“This is it! This is the profile we want from Angel’s Envy.”
— Andrew Whiteley, K&L Spirits Buyer
Our latest epic exclusive cask comes from one of the hottest names in arguably the hottest spirits category in the market right now. This Kentucky distiller has found a fanatical following over the last ten years for crafting some of the biggest, boldest whiskeys out there, so we were ready to jump at any chance to get our hands on an exclusive single cask. When we finally thought we had one, a mix-up at the distillery resulted something unexpected in the form of Cask #2665. While it’s not what we originally selected, it’s most likely better, so count this as a big win. And although it’s not technically cask proof, its quintessentially boisterous nature makes it drink like a bigger whiskey than it is. More importantly, it’s everything Angel’s Envy fans are looking for. As spirits buyer Andrew Whiteley notes, “It’s big, it’s sweet, it’s intensely concentrated, and most importantly for anything finished in port barrels, it’s clean.” Profound bourbon spices and maple character ring across the entire profile, and despite it being “only” 110 proof, a few drops of water bring out the full kaleidoscopic panoply of flavors and aromas, resulting in a whiskey that defies individual descriptors. Our first go at an Angel’s Envy cask had some real twists and turns, but the story ends with a most incredible (yet highly limited) bourbon that every collector will want to get their hands on.
K&L Notes: Mistakes happen. No one is immune. The real test comes down to what you do when you make one. Angel’s Envy showed the utmost in integrity after the mix-up here at K&L. Barrel #2665 is the glorious replacement for the infamous #4018 cask. If you weren’t involved from ordering one and the subsequent refund, you may not know, but #4018 was never supposed to enter the door at K&L—it wasn’t the type of cask we were looking for, and it most definitely wasn’t the cask we ordered. However, Angel’s Envy went out of their way to make things right. Unfortunately, our originally selected cask ended up in another store somewhere else in the country, so we weren’t able to get that one, but in the end things worked out in our (and our customers’) favor. Angel’s Envy rushed us an epic set of cask samples and scheduled a personal zoom with Kyle Henderson to walk through each barrel and make our selection. Despite all of the samples being superlatively good, cask #2665 stood out above the top-notch field. We bottled at the highest available ABV of 55% (they protect the cask-strength bottling for the highly limited official CS release), but in truth, it opens up dramatically with a few drops of water anyway, so be sure to add some!
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: June 10, 2022
This is it! This is the profile we want from Angel’s Envy. It’s big, it’s sweet, it’s intensely concentrated, and most importantly for anything finished in port barrels, it’s clean. Robust, but not a fruit bomb. The spice of the bourbon stands proud, helped along by the maxed-out (and just a few points shy of true cask strength) 110-proof bottling. While we fought hard to leave it at full proof, it just simply wasn’t in the cards. The nose is a bit dusty in that beautiful old Kentucky way. It’s almost gummy on the palate, like a hard candy chew, as red fruits shine through, especially cherries and plums. There is a sweet bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup profile that threads from start to finish. If you add a touch of water (and for all my kvetching about proof point, I recommend you do anyway), the oils come out beautifully, and the whiskey opens in dramatic fashion. It becomes an integrated whole rather than a bunch of individual tasting notes. It’s now something to pick apart sip by sip and enjoy pour after pour. All in all, we won out in this quest to get our “first” Angel’s Envy cask here by winding up with Cask #2665 on our shelves.
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 449: Cley Secret Islay
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a Dutch malt. Paul and Maria from the Rotterdam Cley distillery have a special place in Mark’s heart. They make really nice whisky and they are also super sympathetic people. That’s always good for a nice story. And they are getting more and more acclaim – rightly so! – because after the special festival bottling for the whisky festival in Eindhoven – selected by The Barrel Baron – this time they bottled a very special malt for the Whisky Festival in Delft in May 2022. A Secret Islay! And triple distilled! After 4 years on a classic bourbon cask, this Dutch malt got an 18-month finish on a cask on which an Islay whisky previously matured.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) has awarded the International Water Stewardship Standard certification to our Cameronbridge distillery.
Cameronbridge is the largest whisky and alcohol distillery in the world to have been awarded this. The prestigious certification sets the global benchmark for site-based water stewardship and ensures precious water resources are managed responsibly. We now have twelve distilleries recognised with the AWS standard reflecting our commitment to the environments in which we work.
The distillery, in Fife Scotland, contributes single grain whisky to some of our much-loved Scotch brands including Johnnie Walker, and produces Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Tanqueray. Our efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in our distilling business began at Cameronbridge in 2008 with the investment of £65m in a state-of-the art bio-energy and water treatment plant – using the co-products of distillation to power the distillery.
Cameronbridge is fed by boreholes along the River Leven, a 26km long river that flows through Fife, and the water is purified on site before use, and used cooling water is then released back into the river. Previously the communities around Fife depended on the River Leven to help run the mills and factories which impacted the river health with blockages to fish migration and physical river modifications. We’ve been a part of the Leven Programme since it began in 2018 to help restore the river in line with our commitment to being water stewards as we believe collaboration is at the heart of this. We’re helping to shape future projects such as natural flood management, wildlife corridors and wellbeing provisions for the community.
Ewan Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer, said: “Water is a crucial ingredient to our products and we work hard to protect such a precious natural resource. Responsible water use is vital for both our business and for our communities and so I am delighted that our Cameronbridge Distillery has received this accreditation.”
The AWS Standard is the international standard for responsible water use and encompasses social, cultural and environmental criteria, including engagement with local communities. The Standard recognises continual improvement and commitment to ongoing action in response to the ever-changing nature of water and climate-related threats.
Adrian Sym, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) said: “Diageo continues to show great leadership in water stewardship through the AWS certification of their Cameronbridge distillery. Water stewardship offers a collaborative and multi-stakeholder approach that involves not only managing a site’s direct water impacts, but also working with others in the catchment they rely on to address shared water risks and challenges. Businesses are reliant on the natural ecosystems that surround them; Diageo recognises this and continues to set an example for the beverage industry.”
Our commitment to water is outlined in Society 2030: Spirit of Progress which you can find out more about here. You can also read about our previous AWS certification on the River Spey for eleven of our distilleries here.
White Peak releases next in the Wire Works Whisky series:
-Small Batch-
Following on from the runaway success of Derbyshire’s first ever single malt – Wire Works Whisky – in February this year, White Peak has a new single malt release – Wire Works Whisky Small Batch – due out on 23rd June.
Derbyshire’s first full-scale craft Distillery released just over 5,000 numbered bottles of its long-awaited inaugural single malt, Wire Works Whisky, at the beginning of February. The whisky received an extraordinary response from the Distillery’s loyal followers and supporters, selling out in just a few hours.
This new release of Wire Works Whisky Small Batch is a recognisable sibling to the inaugural spirit, however with a lower ABV of 46.2%. A lightly-peated single malt whisky from a small batch vatting of American and French oak casks, the spirit has been fully matured in predominantly STR casks (re-conditioned casks that have been shaved, toasted and re-charred) with a significant element of ex-bourbon. The use of these casks compliment the White Peak house style of fruit forward new make.
The resulting spirit is a complex, approachable single malt whisky with sweet popcorn, and orchard fruits on the nose, brandy baskets, banana and sandalwood on the palate, and a sweet vanilla finish, with a touch of nutmeg.
White Peak Distillery was founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife team Max & Claire Vaughan – both originally from Derbyshire – and continues to go from strength to strength, having won awards not only for its whisky but also for its Distillery visitor experiences.
Max Vaughan, Co-founder of White Peak Distillery said: “We were incredibly humbled by the fantastic reaction to our first release of Wire Works Whisky in February and would like to say a big thank you to our various communities of supporters. Our first bottling sold out much more quickly than we could have ever anticipated, so we’re delighted to be releasing another small batch bottling and we’re looking forward to the exciting plans we have for the rest of 2022 and beyond.”
Just over 4,300 bottles of Wire Works Whisky Small Batch will be released in total and will be available on 23rd June via the White Peak Distillery online shop and in-person from the Distillery’s shop from 24th June, RRP: £60 (70cl). The release will also be available from selected trade retail partners, including various nationwide independents: Booths (leading food and drink retailer in the northern counties), Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky Shop, Selfridges, Berry Bros, House of Malt and Hard to Find Whisky.
The Distillery is open Monday – Saturday for shop visitors, with tours available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For availability, timings and to book, please visit www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk
46.2% ABV
100% natural colour and non-chill filtered
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet popcorn, butterscotch, cloves, ripe banana, orchard fruit, vanilla slice, candied ginger, cherry pie filling, icing sugar, white chocolate, bergamot, nutmeg and cinder toffee
Palate: Chocolate orange, brandy baskets, Victoria sponge, liquorice all-sorts, cinnamon, cashews, marshmallow, vanilla, pink grapefruit and banana
Finish: Vanilla wafers, crème brûlée and nutmeg / mace.
Wire Works Whisky from White Peak Distillery is Derbyshire’s very first single malt.
Provenance, heritage and flavour are at the heart of the Distillery ethos and whisky-making process, and it’s home at the dramatic former Johnson & Nephew Wire Works is celebrated within the whisky brand. The Distillery’s woodland home on the banks of the River Derwent has a long history of innovation and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wire Works Whisky celebrates its rich homeland and the brewing heritage for which the region is so renowned. Every aspect of production and maturation is done onsite at the Distillery to ensure that the unique location and environment can play their part in the provenance of the final spirit.
The lightly-peated single malt whisky has been created using a combination of English un-peated and peated malted barley. A flavour-focused four-day fermentation uses a unique yeast Blend incorporating live yeast sourced from a local Peak District brewery.
The Distillery’s traditional, bespoke copper pot stills have been hand-built by McMillan and are run slowly to help produce the desired flavour profile. The final spirit is matured in a variety of carefully selected first fill oak casks, including ex-bourbon, virgin and STR (re-conditioned casks that have been shaved, toasted and re-charred), adding the final rich flavours to the whisky.
The Peaks Whiskey Glass Set live on Kickstarter
Tour the world with friends on your next whiskey night. The Peaks Whiskey Glass set by Liiton introduces four new destinations to add to your collection. Whiskey lovers can visit Mont Blanc, Denali, K2 and Fuji while enjoying their favorite premium single malt or blend.
Whiskey fans are enthusiast about the news. Not only has The Peaks Whiskey Glass smashed through its Kickstarter goal in less than 24 hours, it has surpassed the same-day goal set by its predecessor, the Everest Whiskey Glass.”
You spoke and we listened,” says Liiton founder Peng Lin. “During our Everest campaign, you asked for more mountains and so we’re delivering four peaks in this collection. We couldn’t be more pleased to bring whiskey fans the glasses they have been clamoring for.”
With the Peak Whiskey Glass set, Liiton is offering whiskey fans who missed out on the Everest Kickstarter Campaign to be first to jump on board for their newest premium whiskey drinking experience. More than 13,000 whiskey lovers backed the Everest Whiskey Glass.
“If you thought our Everest project was ambitious, we went to new heights to design four new, true-to-scale replicas of these four iconic mountains.” says Lin of the collection.
Visit the four corners of the Earth with The Peaks Whiskey Glass Set
Here are just a few features of the Peaks Whiskey Glass:
Power in your Palm
Precision-crafted Peaks Whiskey Glasses are the only tumblers to feature a true-to-scale 3D glass carving of these breathtaking mountains.
Chill-Charge System™
The glass sculpture of each mountain embedded within the whiskey glass charges up with cold to chill your drink, evenly distributing it throughout the whiskey without watering down the beverage for the cleanest unadulterated whiskey experience.
Unlocks Aromatics
The Peaks Whiskey Glass offers the optimal expression of whiskey flavors by gently and naturally releasing the aromatic compounds of your whiskey through interaction with each mountain carving.
Stronger. Faster. More whiskey flavor.
Each glass in The Peaks Whiskey Glass collection is made from X1 Crystalline, a proprietary glass tested over hundreds of days. It chills drinks quicker, and it offers more durability and the most pristine aromatic whiskey flavors available.
The Peak Whiskey Glasses Set is live on Kickstarter now. Learn more now about it here.
http://liiton.com/thepeaks/presskit
ABOUT LIITON
At Liiton, we know every good whiskey deserves a trustworthy companion. A wingman who lifts you to greater heights and won’t let you down when it matters most. We named our company Liiton, the Finnish word for union, to bring people together through the enjoyment of whiskey. We’re on a mission to create the world’s best products for whiskey lovers. Spending an evening with Liiton is creating lasting friendships and lifelong memories.
COMPASS BOX CANVAS LIMITED EDITION
A fantastic Compass Box release, experimental barrels, (casks seasoned with Vino Naranja – Spanish fortified wine infused with Orange Peel), be prepared to refill your glass. This is an exceedingly colourful and vibrant Scotch whisky, thanks to a parcel of single malt re-racked into experimental barrels for three years.
Seasoned with Vino Naranja (Spanish fortified wine infused with orange peel), these unusual casks bring new shades of deliciousness to Canvas with their chocolatey richness and sticky marmalade fragrance.
Single malts from the Tomatin, Glenburgie, Glen Elgin and Imperial distilleries, all aged in American oak, bring further generous flavours of custard, honey and frangipane. Rather than restrained watercolours, this is a work in decadent oil paints.
Flavour Profile: The gloriously waxy and citrusy nose is followed by forest honey and vanilla shortbread notes on the palate. Flavours of nutmeg, cardamom and chocolate intertwine in the long-lasting finish.
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Benromach Cara Gold
A Speyside beauty aged for 11 years in ex-bourbon casks, bursting to the brim with perfumed and tropical fruit notes, cracked black pepper, smooth butterscotch, and that delicious, sweet smoke. It’s our pick for Dram of the Week!
Benromach Contrasts: Cara Gold
A fabulous release in the Contrasts series from Benromach! This eleven-year-old single malt has spent its life maturing in first-fill bourbon barrels before being bottled at 46% abv. The dram is made up of a combination of Cara Gold malted barley and Benromach’s usual lightly peated malt, creating a truly special Speyside expression.
Barton Distillery 1792 “Full Proof” K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #7393 Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) $54.99 View
Barton’s Full Proof is widely regarded as one of the best deals coming out KY today. Add to that the intensity of a K&L selected single barrel and you’ve got a recipe for success. We ordered this bad boy ages ago, but it’s finally here. 3 bottle limit/household will be strictly enforced.
I.W. Harper 15 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) 94 $89.99 View
We had the distinct pleasure of selecting this cask at the incredible Frey Ranch in Nevada back in February. It is a marvelous visit and if you ever find yourself in Reno or the Tahoe area, it is not a far drive and it is well worth the trip. Truly estate produced and with an impeccable attention to detail at every turn, these casks are superlatively good. It was simultaneously one of the hardest and easiest barrel picks we’ve done. Insanely hard because every cask put in front of us was a knockout. Easy, becuase we couldn’t go wrong. In the end cask 938 came home with us becuase it was just a touch punchier than the others with a massive 134.1 proof. Undoubtedly this barrel won’t stick around long.
