Ready to celebrate our birthday with a bumper Pour & Sip box?!
Excuse us if we’re a little over-excited here at Pour & Sip this month – it’s just that, well, if you hadn’t heard us shouting about it by now, it’s our birthday!.
We’re turning one year old, and we can’t believe it’s been a whole 12 months of sharing our love of whisky with you. We’re flipping the usual ceremony of gift-giving on its head, because even though it’s our birthday, we’re giving you a few little gifts.
As well as the usual five expertly-chosen whiskies, we’ve created a bumper box this month, throwing in (carefully) a miniature bottle of Angostura bitters, and even a branded Pour & Sip Glencairn tumbler. Sounds like the perfect start for an Old Fashioned…
What’s more, we’re also giving you the chance to win one of these celebratory boxes for you and a friend in our Instagram competition. Make sure to check out the post here – it couldn’t be easier to enter.
Think someone would love to tear open one of these beauties, but hedging your bets isn’t really your thing? You can simply buy the Birthday Box here. (But why would you want to stop the whisky fun after just one month, right?)
Our two live tastings this month are bumper sessions too, with a guest from each distillery joining us to talk about the whiskies. Are you excited? We’re excited. Roll on September!
We’ve thought long and hard about which whiskies to include in this month’s selection, and we couldn’t be more excited to show you what a treat you’re in for this month. Let the celebrations begin…
Deanston Virgin Oak
This is a cask-finished single malt from the Highland-based Deanston distillery! It spent the majority of its life in ex-bourbon casks from a family-run cooperage in Kentucky, before it was moved to brand new virgin oak casks from Kentucky for a finishing period. Not only are Deanston’s whiskies certified by the Organic Food Association, but the distillery is also powered using hydro energy, selling excess electricity to the National Grid. It’s based in an old mill on the banks of the fast-flowing River Teith, and was used for weaving until whisky production started in 1969. Like many distilleries it was mothballed in the 1980s, though only for eight years before it got back up and running. Virgin oak can be overpowering but that’s certainly not an issue here, with the cask finish adding subtle spicy flavours among the creamy, fruity flavours from the maturation. We’re going to be talking to master distiller Brendan McCarron himself about how this particular dram makes the most incredible Scotch-based twist on an Old Fashioned on the blog soon, so keep an eye out…
Nc'nean Organic Single Malt
Nc'nean is relatively new on the whisky scene, founded in March 2017 by Annabel Thomas. It was the first fully organic modern distillery in Scotland powered by 100% renewable energy, too! The name is pronounced ‘nook-knee-anne’, and it’s an abbreviation of Neachneohain, a witch-queen in Scots Gaelic folklore. In keeping with its sustainable mission, the wood chips for the biomass boiler are sourced from a local forest, and all by-products are recycled as animal and plant feed on the distillery’s estate. This single malt is produced entirely from organic Scottish barley, and is matured in 65% STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) red wine casks and 35% ex-bourbon casks. Thanks to long mash time, slow fermentation, and unusual yeast strains, there’s bundles of ripe, fresh stone fruit notes to enjoy. A lip-smacking array of citrus, stone fruit, and spice. We’re shining a light on this wonderful distillery next week on the blog, so prepare to learn all about its sustainability and scrumptious spirits!
Irish Single Malt #2 15 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler which sources all sorts of delicious whiskies from all over the shop – just like this Irish single malt! This is a mysterious whiskey, as the Boutique-y bunch aren’t giving any clues as to which distillery it came from. That doesn’t matter to us, though – while all we know is that it was aged for at least 15 years and bottled at a healthy 50.2%, that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the decadent symphony of creamy malt and honeyed orchard fruits you’ll find in its flavour profile.
Wilderness Trail Cask Strength Rye (56%)
Wilderness Trail is making rye whiskey with a difference! Based in Kentucky, the distillery uses a mash bill of 56% rye, 33% corn, and 11% malted barley. Where lots of American distillers favour sour mash, Wilderness Trail makes its whiskey with a sweet mash. Sweet mash is fermented at a higher pH, and the reason it’s much less common is because it’s a little harder to control than its sour counterpart, where the acidity kills off any unwanted bacteria. This particular rye whiskey is then matured in air-dried, #4 char (the highest level, also known as alligator char) barrels, before it’s bottled at cask strength – a generous 56%! There’s that hallmark rye spice, though thanks to the mash and fermentation, there’s a wonderful creaminess and lots of sweet citrus flavours, too. Get ready to learn more about sweet mash on the blog this month, as we talked to co-founder Pat Heist from the distillery, all about their unique process.
Aber Falls 2nd Release
Aber Falls has been busy making waves in the Welsh whisky category over the last few years, taking the title as North Wales’ first whisky distillery in over 100 years – and this is its second whisky release! The very first expression, released in May 2021, sold out like hot cakes, and this shiny new release is matured in ex-Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, as well as ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks. Rather unusually, it’s distilled entirely from Welsh malted barley in a combination of copper pot and stainless steel stills, and is brought down to bottling strength with rock-filtered water from the beautiful Aber Falls waterfall from which the distillery takes its name. What’s more, the distillery isn’t just placing a great emphasis on Welsh provenance in its delicious whisky, but on sustainability, too – spent grain is recycled as cattle feed, and waste pot ale is used by local farms as fertiliser. If you missed it, make sure you catch up on all three episodes of Diary of a Cask, so you can see all the love and craftsmanship that went into this spectacular whisky.
