WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE
The subject of this review is an interesting wee dram from Watt Whisky, an independent bottler based in Campbeltown. It’s a Blended Scotch, (which isn’t so unusual) but what makes it intriguing, is the way it was put together. You don’t see independently bottled blends very often and if you do, it’s usually a cask of some forgotten recipe put aside and forgotten about, then sold on a few years later. That’s not what’s going on here though. This is a blend actually created by Mark and Kate Watt, the husband and wife team behind Watt Whisky.
I know the thought of blended Scotch is still off-putting to some whisky drinkers but I find myself becoming more and more excited by the possibilities the category offers. A lack of variety on the cask market, driven by the continuing boom in single malts and the increase in private cask sales, has created a tricky arena for indie bottlers to operate in. Each quarter I see the same distillery names on labels. Each visit to the whisky shop uncovers another three Royal Bracklas, another four Caol Ilas, five more Benrinnes’…
These aren’t bad whiskies but the situation sometimes creates the feeling that the market is a bit stagnant and consumers don’t have the choice they once had. The bottlers do their best to offer something unique, often through the use of cask finishes: Bottler A, for example might have a 2011 Benrinnes finished in a port cask, whilst Bottler B has a 2011 Benrinnes in a red wine cask and Bottler C has opted instead for an oloroso-finish on their 2011 Benrinnes and so on and so forth. It remains an effective way for a bottler to put their stamp on a cask but I’m not sure it completely negates the sort of fatigue encountered by adventurous drinkers when they’re confronted by the same names during each shopping trip.
Blending, seems to me, another creative solution to the situation, so long as whisky drinkers can be persuaded to put aside their age old biases towards single malts. It may not be as simple as buying a few casks and chucking them in a vat together but if the bottlers can get it right and create blends unique to their own ethos, consumers might find themselves with a little more choice again.
Of course, this idea isn’t exactly new. Compass Box has been creating interesting, flavour-led blends for years and Douglas Laing has been massively successful with its Remarkable Regional Malts series. Other bottlers, like Murray McDavid, have long been creatively blending with their cask stocks and we’ve had new arrivals like Turntable and Woven, who are perhaps best referred to as independent blenders but I still think there’s room for more experimentation from our beloved indie bottlers. We all love the single casks they put out and that isn’t going to change but a little creativity and more variety on shelves should always be encouraged. Surely everyone wants that, single malt snob or otherwise?
As it turns out, Watt Whisky has been doing this very thing and recently unveiled a 5 year old blend called “Peatsmoke on Gorgie”. Now, I should declare at this point, that I feel a particular affection for this bottle because I named it. The Watts asked for ideas on their socials and Peatsmoke on Gorgie was my suggestion. Their previous blend was given a title with a literary reference – A Tale of Two Cities (and a Wee Toon) – because it featured whiskies from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Campbeltown. This new creation, however, included peated malts, blended with grain from North British Distillery in Gorgie, in Edinburgh. I’m not clever enough to think of a literary reference for that but I did think of the song “Sunshine on Leith” by the Proclaimers, which became Peatsmoke on Gorgie. The Watts liked it, went with it, and sent me a bottle, which I’m very grateful for.
I share that information as a full declaration of a possible bias. I offer a review of the dram below, but do so in full acceptance and admission that I really want the whisky to be good. I will try to be objective, of course, but want to be transparent about my position. I had nothing to do with putting the dram together and hadn’t tasted it before suggesting the name but must admit to feeling a wee buzz when seeing the label and that means I’m already invested before tasting. I think it’s better to be up front about such things.
The Whisky
Smell: Grainy cereals and muesli. Grist. Honey. Vanilla fudge. Lemon juice and marmalade. Shortbread and oatcakes. Chimney smoke.
Taste: Marmalade with orange peel. Lemon curd. Then pepper and wood spice. Now some toffee. There’s some noticeable weight to it – you can give it a bit of a chew! Towards the back some charred oak and light wood smoke come out. Vanilla and custard. Creme brûlée. Wee peaty punch right at the finish.
Thoughts: As I mentioned above, I wanted to like this dram – and I did. It has a surprising weight and intensity for a blend, although perhaps I shouldn’t say surprising because North British does tend to be a more robust grain spirit. There’s a slightly meaty funk in the dram, that may even be coming from the grain, and it pairs nicely with the soft, woody smoke. The overall balance is really pleasing in fact, with each component being allowed breathing space. I don’t know if it’s the kind of whisky that blows people away on first taste, but the longer you sit with it, the more you appreciate what’s going on in the glass. There’s so much more than what you might expect from a “mere” 5-year-old blend.
Price: £50. Interesting, fun and affordable.
For more on Watt Whisky visit here
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