Let’s take a whisky dip! Our Distillery Dive series continues as we explore an ocean of flavours with two sensational casks from the Orkney Islands! Distillery Dive #4: Orcadian Elegance offers decadent aromas and flavours of sea, smoke and sherry! Whilst most Society members are quite familiar with the peaty potential of distillery 4 releases, let’s look at the dazzling effects of sherry cask maturation in two 19-year-old expressions!
The single malts featured today were distilled on August 20th, 2001. After 17 years of aging in ex-Oloroso butts, they were each transferred to a different sherry cask for 2 years of additional maturation. The resultant whiskies will transport your senses across the Atlantic to Scotland and Spain! Cask No. 4.292 Peat fire tales was aged in a first-fill Pedro Ximenez butt and displays a balanced union of maritime salinity and sherry sweetness. The heather-honey peat of Orkney shines through on a palate of chocolate, citrus and exotic herbs. Cask No. 4.293 A cunning combo was aged in a second-fill Spanish oak Oloroso butt that previously contained a stunning whisky from distillery 29! Dessert is served with this delicious dram – dark chocolate, figs, maple syrup and crepes flambéed in Grand Marnier are just a few of the aromas and flavours picked up by our Tasting Panel. These whiskies exhibit entertainingly different styles of peat and sherry influence!
The best way to foster this exploratory dive is through a side-by-side comparative tasting so we have created the Distillery Dive #4: Orcadian Elegance bundle. The Society’s Ben Diedrich and Scott Brunow took this delicious dive last night on the SMWSA YouTube channel – follow this link to watch the stream! Whether you choose to savour these malts side by side or individually, we trust your discovery will be an utterly delicious and richly rewarding one!
Slàinte Mhath!