Celebrating 20yrs of The Whisky Lounge
We love to do our York Whisky Club bit to bring innovation to the whisky world.
So for our recent appearance at The Whisky Lounge York Whisky Festival we piloted our ‘Micro-tasting’ concept:
- We decided to pour one bottle at a time with a delay between each pour
- We put on a countdown timer
- People either gathered to wait (we could chat about the club) or made an effort to come back
- More relaxing for us hosts with breaks and less frantic stand action: more time to chat about whisky 🥃
- Trying the same whisky at the same time with everyone at the stand was a more social experience, reflective of our club ethos
- Since we brought enough bottles to cover a two session tasting, with half of each bottle going in both, we didn’t have any half empty bottles to clank away with
It created a buzz with attendees and lots of “I’ll have to stay so I don’t miss out” excitement but for those who didn’t attend, here are the drams we poured:
Aberlour 33yr old (LIMITED)
Grand feedback for the first dram in our ‘Micro-tasting’ concept – a group of 10 attendees gathered to try a 33yr old Aberlour from Limited. Limited is an independent bottler of rare, single-cask scotch whiskies and attendee quotes included “Amazing, so floral. Very special” with some surprise about the lack of sherry in this single cask bourbon hogshead – Aberlour are often heavily sherried – once again underlining the intrigue to be had from independent bottlers.
A very accomplished dram, in their words:
“Traditionally, Aberlour are famed for heavily sherried drams. Here, we offer a different, refreshing approach. Matured solely in a bourbon hogshead for over 33 years, this is incredibly unique both in terms of age and flavour profile.”
“The result showcases the strength of Aberlour distillate. A very well coordinated whisky which offers drinkers something different from what is normally available from this distillery, at an incredible age.”
Linkwood 2011 Double Oak Madeira Cask
When we asked Ed from Top Whiskies if he had a great bottle for our ‘Micro-tasting’ concept he was quick to put this bottle in the post:
FIRKIN X NO NONSENSE WHISKY – LINKWOOD 2011 DOUBLE OAK MADEIRA CASK
Firkin use an innovative hand coopering approach, in their words:
“The Firkin uses a pioneering maturation technique in which each single malt is matured in its own unique, custom built ‘double oak cask’ hand-coopered from American first fill Bourbon and new French oak staves. Each cask is seasoned with a perfectly matched fortified wine that complements the flavour of the chosen whisky in a unique process they call ‘Soulmate Pairing’.”
“It is this step that delivers a totally unique oak−wine profile that accentuates and curates a special depth of flavour unparalleled in single malt whisky maturation.”
The verdict of us and micro-tasting attendees:
“oooh” 🥃🤎
We expected much from a Madeira cask and interesting cask construction and it delivered! For £65.95, this is a whisky of amazing quality/value for the price.
Wire Works Port Cask (White Peak Distillery)
We’ve enjoyed some fantastic whisky from Max and the team at White Peak Distillery (Special Waters anyone?) and when we heard they had a new port cask out (released 17/10) we asked if they fancied being in our exclusive micro-tasting lineup? Thankfully they said yes, and a bottle arrived in the post.
In their words:
“For our new Core Range whisky, we’ve returned to Tawny Port. Aged in American oak barriques, Tawny Port develops layers of dried fruit, jammy red berries, marzipan, and caramel sweetness — the perfect partner for our lightly-peated house style.”
“In this release, we’ve combined fresh Tawny Port barriques from Dias Cooperage with first-fill American oak ex-bourbon barrels, creating a whisky that bridges the richness of Port with the vibrancy of our spirit.”
“The result is both familiar and new — Wire Works at its heart, but with a bold, fruit-driven profile that feels like the natural evolution of our Port story.”
Tasting Notes
Nose: Bakewell pudding, milk chocolate, cinder toffee, candied ginger.
Palate: Strawberries and cream, marzipan, lemon curd, vanilla fudge.
Finish: Cherry pie filling, bonfire toffee, hibiscus and eucalyptus.
Our verdict:
We love ❤️ their house style and this doesn’t disappoint. We got the vanilla / creamy notes and this is a very enjoyable dram – for a £65 price point this is great value. In the words of one attendee:
“That Wire Works was great! Excited to visit the distillery in a couple of weeks.”
Since the festival, White Peak have won Best World Whisky in the 2025 Online Scotch Whisky Awards (OSWAs) for their Bourbon Barrel so a BIG 👏🏻 CONGRATULATIONS from York Whisky Club and we’re excited to see what releases they have in store for 2026.
Lancaster Spirits Co. Single Malt Spirit – Cask #45
As a whisky club, we feel it is our duty to champion new whisky and help people discover what new and upcoming distilleries have to offer.
Whilst still on the journey to whisky, this 11 month PX ‘Single Malt Spirit’ from Lancaster Spirits was really well received – yes, it tastes young, but the flavour was good and less ‘spirity’ than other releases of this age in the maturing malt category. In fact, two attendees at the festival thought that if served as a post dinner digestif, this would 100% hit the mark.
It’s £40 on their website if you didn’t manage to make the festival – scroll down this page.
In their words:
“Introducing Lancaster Spirits Co. Single Malt Spirit – Cask #45:- A Single Cask Pedro Ximenez 100L cask. A limited-edition single malt spirit with only 160 hand-labelled bottles available, exclusively from Lancaster Spirits Co. Cask #45 – Matured exclusively in a first-fill 100L Pedro Ximénez (PX) cask for over 11 months.”
“First-fill PX casks are famed for their intensity, but this one is exceptional. With every passing season, it infuses the spirit with deep layers of complexity, colour, and richness. Liquid treacle. Exceptional depth and opulence.”
Tasting notes:
Nose: A burst of ripe sultanas, sticky Medjool dates, and dark honey. Hints of orange zest and toasted walnut emerge beneath waves of rich sherry warmth.
Palate: Syrupy and decadent – treacle toffee, spiced fig cake, and chocolate-dipped raisins dominate. Underneath, oak spice and soft tannins add structure without overpowering the sweetness.
Finish: Long, warming, and luxurious – lingering notes of espresso, black cherry, and PX-soaked fruitcake carry you into the next sip.
“Crafted in the heart of the city, Lancaster’s very own single malt spirit.”
Definitely one to keep watching on their path to the full maturation whisky release! 🥃
24 month aged new make from Ellers Farm Distillery
Sticking with championing distilleries on the road to a whisky release, next up in the micro-tasting concept was the 24 month aged new make from Ellers Farm Distillery, available as part of their ‘Evolution Collection’ which includes a collectable set of bottles that track the maturation journey.
Some comments from attendees:
“Lychees”
“Pear drops”
“Cocoa elements”
“Lychees with cocoa”
Like all our offerings in this space, we try to get clues to what’s ahead and we are intrigued. 100% looking forward to the whisky release which *may* be in 2026!
Indri Agneya
The last pour of our first afternoon ‘micro-tasting’ session was the Indri Agneya. We really enjoyed their first release in the UK, and found the Dru cask strength follow-up even better so we were keen to try this Sherry and Bourbon cask release.
In their words:
“Derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “belonging to fire,” Agneya carries the spirit of the flame-not its chaos, but its clarity. Not destruction, but purpose. It is the quiet power of fire, held in balance. Matured in Sherry and Bourbon casks, where depth and complexity unfold to embody the very essence of fire and wood.”
Tasting Notes
NOSE: Delicate hints of chocolate intertwined with subtle vanilla sweetness, a touch of spice, dried apple and apricot. Notes of fruit jam and peat dust with earthy undertones.
PALATE: Tropical fruits like mango, ripe banana, rich toffee, light spice followed by a warm embrace of dried peat smoke. Melon adds a refreshing twist, while a sweet, fruity essence lingers with a soft, rounded smokiness.
FINISH: A blend of sweet and salty nuances, culminating in a smooth, smoky finish. Balanced layers of fruit sweetness and soft spice leave a lasting impression and a long finish.
In the words of one attendee (who has not tried Indian whisky before):
“I think it’s alright!”
Great Drams North British
With the festival at the end of October, obviously Christmas whisky is not that far away.
We thought of one indie we should definitely call who can be relied upon for *great* Christmas releases – Greg from GreatDrams. This year, they had a limited release (90 bottles globally) of Single Cask Single Grain whisky matured in a Sauvignon Blanc cask.
In their words:
“Grain whisky already carries a natural elegance – smooth, buttery, and soothing – but in this rare maturation it takes on a whole new vibrancy. The Sauvignon Blanc cask layers in notes of ripe fruit, crisp freshness, and subtle zest, lifting the whisky’s creamy base into something bright, celebratory, and joyfully different.”
“Few whiskies of any style, let alone grain, ever see time in Sauvignon Blanc wine casks. That makes this release not only delicious, but genuinely unusual – the kind of bottling that sparks conversation and lingers in memory long after the last drop.”
In our words:
We definitely agree on the ‘buttery’ and it was a first to see this type of whisky from that type of cask. Some of our club regulars popped by and here’s what they said:
“Very robust in a subtle sort of way”
“Ooh, that’s the noise I made, very smooth”
“Your pre-Christmas lunch dram”
Whilst the Christmas dram is often a sherry-heavy PX, we encouraged people to get this in – either for pre-dinner (as one of our tasters recommended) or as part of their festive dram’ing.
Enough people must have taken our advice as it is now sold out, but not wishing Christmas to be cancelled, Greg has launched a Christmas Blend and the GreatDrams website has other delights such as this Bunnahabhain Peated 10 Year Old Gold Medal Winner.