I think this is the first time I have had an English whisky in my collection. I’ve had Dutch, German, French, Scottish (duh), Irish, Japanese, Australian, South African, Mexican, Canadian, Swedish, Finnish, and I’m probably forgetting some. But not yet English.

So, when this one came out last year, it was available at my local bottle shop and with 44 votes and a score of almost 90 points on average, this seemed like a no-brainer! Of course, by now the score has settled a bit more, although 44 votes is not nothing on Whiskybase.

Interestingly, this one is called ‘the Whiskymaker’s Reserve’, but when a whisky is drawn from Oloroso, PX and Red Wine casks I would expect it to be called the Cooper’s Reserve sooner, but that is probably my cynical mind showing up…

Sniff:
The nose on this one is fairly simple. There’s some sherry, with a bit of a youthful spirit undertone. Maturation was cut short, or forced with woody flavors. Let’s keep in mind that that is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a peach cobbler with basil and another crisp note there. Maybe something yoghurt like.

Sip:
The palate starts with a note of charcoal and sweet, fruity pork barbecue marinade. So, young whisky with oloroso sherry? I think so. Definitely some lighter red fruits, raspberries, blackberries. Quite a bit of oak and twig like bitterness.

Swallow:
The finish initially dries the palate which makes the hotter notes sing a bit over-actively. But when it starts mellowing there’s mostly the twig like bitterness that lingers on top of sharp red fruits.

Even though this started out as a 90 point whisky when I bought it, it’s not that. Tasty, but not great.

83/100