We love to support young people who are going to be the next generation of whisky lovers.
So, in our April tasting we turned over the reins to the University of York Whisky Society for:
THE NEXT GENERATION.
This obviously lent itself to Trekkie branding, which hosts Anthony & Ethan embraced slipping in a ‘finish of Klingon blood wine’ & hints of ‘very illegal Romulan ale’ into their tasting notes.
The drams:
- Penderyn Portwood (46%, £55)
- ‘The Discovery’ from Pōkeno, NZ (43%, £52)
- Nikka Miyagikyo (45%, £88)
- Three Ships 12yr (46.3%, £41)
- Kyrö Malt Oloroso rye (47%, £55)
- The Rampur Double Cask (45%,£58)
- Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof (50%, £40)
Boldy going….
First up was Penderyn Portwood (46%, £55), a 🏴 whisky matured in bourbon before a port cask finish. V.tasty & reasonably priced, this flipped what normally happens & warped into top spot with dram of the night. 🚀
Global exploration followed with ‘The Discovery’ (43%, £52) from Pōkeno in New Zealand distillery w/ an intriguing process of being aged in first fill Bourbon/Sherry casks which are blended together after maturation.
Next up was a redirected birthday gift – Ethan was going to give his Dad a bottle of Nikka Miyagikyo (45%, £88) – a smooth introduction to Japanese whisky – but he put it into the tasting – we’re glad he did! Very smooth & his Dad who attended agreed that he would have liked it (!)
Three Ships 12yr (46.3%, £41) from S.Africa had a delicate peat note, then we headed to Finland for the less subtle Kyrö Malt Oloroso rye (47%, £55): cue debate about what a ‘baking spices’ finish meant. Conceived in the sauna ‘like half the Finnish population’, we’re glad this triple cask dram made it in – having sampled before, we know it also makes a great Old Fashioned🍹.
In a spirit of one-upmanship, The Rampur Double Cask (45%,£58) 🇮🇳 finished with a ‘Symphony of Baking Spice’ after a nose of cooked 🍌 . Not a popular one but the tasting was soon to be rescued from the surface of the 🌍.
The tasting beamed up with Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof (50%, £40). A winner of the ‘World’s Best American Whiskey’ at the World Whisky Awards in 2010, this is a great rye with a 🌽 + 🍯 essence, different from the grassy taste of many ryes, closer to a bourbon.
Phil won the Talisker Port Ruighe giveaway & we gifted our hosts some bottles to say thanks for boldly taking us into next generation collaboration space!
