Back in 2015 David Stirk released the David Rampling Series. A series of 12 bottlings with special labels by David Rampling. It’s all about falcons with this artist, so it’s not overly surprising that the labels all contain those.

Since then, David Stirk has sold The Creative Whisky Company and continued his whisky escapades with a consultancy firm, a shop and a new brand of independent bottlings. But, with The Creative Whisky Co. bottlings still being available the old name is not going away anytime soon. This bottle, though, has gone away. I finished the last couple of drams over the weekend after picking it up at De Whiskykoning years ago.

I did a quick review of this one 8 years ago, when I tried it there in one of the Bad Ass Tastings we did. Reading it back I agree with what was said back then, so there’s a little bit of consistency after all!

Sniff:
Rich on the sherry in such a way that it’s recognizable as old whisky. There’s a soft oakiness, slightly bitter spices and lots of dried fruit. Plums and peaches, tree bark, and a minor note of peppermint.

Sip:
The palate is gentle, warming and quite sherry’d. Not overly so, but it is unmistakable. Slightly bitter, with almonds and cherry stones. The bite is peppermint like but the flavor is not. Not overly sweet with lots of clean European oak. A minor note of cream, peaches and apricots.

Swallow:
The finish is very similar to the palate but adds a little bit of chili pepper and its heat. Dry, woody, a bit pithy. There are lots of things happening still.

It seems the level of spoiled-ness has not increased too much over the last decade. Understandably so, because I wouldn’t know where it would go from where I am…

Anyway, a cracking old sherry cask whisky. It might have gone ever so slightly more thin over the 8 years since I opened it, but it’s so, so good. I love that it’s rich and toffee-y, but still has some crisp notes to balance things out!

90/100