A Scot on Scotch

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

St Bridget’s Kirk

St Bridget’s Kirk is a 12th-century church built to serve the parish of Dalgety. It remained in use after the Protestant Reformation but was altered to better suit a new kind of worship. By the early 19th century, however, the building had become unstable and a new church was built half a mile away. In 1830, the roof finally collapsed and the building was left in ruins. It is now under the protection of Historic Environment Scotland.

You may be wondering what this has to do with whisky but the answer lies with independent bottler, Lady of the Glen which is based in Dalgety Bay, the small Fife town that is also home to the ruined Kirk.

The St Bridget’s Kirk whisky is a blended malt with some serious peat in the recipe. The most recent iterations take the form of the Solera Batch drams. The whiskies are inspired by the solera systems commonly found in Spanish bodegas. Lady of the Glen has installed its own, consisting of two ex-oloroso casks and a fino cask. The blend components are fed into the first cask and work their way through to the final cask before being bottled.

*Full disclosure: the samples featured in this review were sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

St Bridget’s Kirk Solera Batch #1

Batch #1 is bottled at 48.8%.

Tasting notes: The nose has a distinctly funky edge with overripe fruits and tobacco leaves. Coffee beans, chewy toffees and ashy peat smoke. A splash of water brought some fresher fruits, like apples and lemons. The smoky element grows in pungency over time. The big peaty arrival on the palate is backed up by black pepper, sea salt, salted caramel and some raisins. There’s also some vanilla fudge, orange liqueur and dark chocolate at the back.

Thoughts: I felt this one needed a wee bit of time in the glass and maybe a bit of water to show its best self. The funky, fruity nose was a wee bit off-putting at first but it found some balance as the sherry influence started to come through. It’s bold, yet kinda quirky. There’s plenty of sherry but it’s not a typical sherry bomb, perhaps the fino influence in the solera shakes things up a bit? There’s a nice balance to the peat though – it’s not too subtle and not too dominant. The balance, especially after water, between sherry and smoke also works well.

Price: £65 – £70. The only price I could find online for this was in Danish Krone! If it’s accurate, it’s not too expensive but would you maybe like to see a smaller RRP on a no-age-statement blended malt? There’s a lot of character, in fairness, and the solera system is something a bit different, but I’m still a wee bit unconvinced.

St. Bridget’s Kirk Solera Batch #2

Batch #2 is bottled at 48.4%.

Tasting notes: The nose has really evolved since batch #1. The sherry and peat feel dustier and drier. Less funky. Old ashtrays and last night’s coal fire. The sherry is less prominent, too. Currants and figs lie under the smoke and there’s some malt and even a wee grassy note. The first sip brings sherry, closely followed by smoke but both feel more entwined and connected than before. The peat is earthy and ashy while the sherry offers up notes of raisins, toffee and walnuts. Also a wee touch of dryness from the oak this time.

Thoughts: While this version is arguably more predictable than Batch #1, I think it’s also the superior whisky. The previous release challenged you to come around to its way of thinking and that can be a very rewarding experience but Batch #2 hit the right notes from the moment it arrived on the tip of the tongue. It’s just an instantly lovable dram. Peat and sherry cask working in perfect harmony.

Price: £65 – £70. This time, I could only find the price in Euros. Looked on par with Batch 1, so hopefully accurate enough. I think there was a wee step up in the quality of the experience this time so I’d be fairly content at this kind of price.

---

For more about Lady of the Glen visit here

---

---

---

About Whisky Reviews

Contact

---