BERRY BROS. & RUDD 2022 WINTER RELEASE BRINGS TOGETHER INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS
Berry Bros. & Rudd have today launched their latest seasonal collection. The 2022 winter release from Britain’s oldest family-owned wine and spirits merchant comprises eight Scotch Single Malt expressions, a rare Japanese whisky along with a French whisky.
This quarterly release is dominated by whiskies hailing from the spirit’s homeland of Scotland, in four varying regions, Lowland, Speyside, The Highlands and Islay. Whisky lovers can sample small batch releases such as a Blair Athol 2012 or delve into the world of Berry Bros. & Rudd single cask category with Dailuaine 2009, Linkwood 2011 Oloroso Finish, Williamson 2013 Moscatel Barrel, Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji Gonchi Finish and Kornog 2006.
The rare Chichibu whisky comes from one of the world’s most in-demand distilleries.
Doug McIvor, Reserve Spirits Manager, commented:
“Every quarterly release is centred around celebrating the finest quality spirits and producers from around the world and bringing them together in a collection that covers a breadth of flavour profiles and style, giving our customers the opportunity to try new spirits with confidence.
“Looking at the 2022 winter release, we are especially honoured to be granted access to the rare liquid that is Japanese whisky. Given its rising popularity in recent years, we were thrilled to accept a cask from Chichibu, not only for its rarity but outstanding quality.”
The 2022 Winter Release, Blair Athol 2012 (£60), Dailuaine 2009 (£75), Linkwood 2011 Oloroso Finish (£95), Williamson 2013 Moscatel Barrel (£96), Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji Gonchi Finish (£105), Kornog 2006 (£160), Glen Garioch 1988 (£450) and Chichibu 2014 (£475), can be purchased via the website from January 5th 2023.
TASTING NOTES
Blair Athol 2012
Complexity and subtlety are the order of the day with this luscious Blair Athol. Maturation in refill hogsheads has allowed the distillate shine through in this bottling (generally, Blair Athol is filled into heavy first fill casks, masking the distillery’s very subtle character). The nose shows stewed apple with a touch of spice, a little vanilla, peach skins and some ground almond. A wonderfully full textured palate gives a similar ride through fruit, spice and nuttiness, with just the merest hint of wood smoke on the end. A beautiful little dram.
RRP: £60
Dailuaine 2009
This chunky Speyside wades out of the glass, offering notes of waxy honeycomb, fruit-salad chews and a pleasing floral note. The palate continues this theme, with added vibrant green fruit: Granny Smiths and pear drops, as well as dried barley, cigar papers and some beautiful waxy notes – immensely complex for a dram of this age. More fresh fruits linger on the palate, as well as a touch of spice. This is further evidence that Dailuaine is surely one of Scotland’s best lesser-known distilleries.
RRP: £75
Linkwood 2011 Oloroso Finish
This delicate Speyside, re-racked into juicy ex-Oloroso wood, is a warren of flavour. The nose offers apricot jam, figs and under ripe peach, growing into spiced creamy carrot cairn. The palate builds beautifully from fresh fruit into rich dried fruitcake. The addition of a little water and delving deeper reveals more fresh peaches and coconut, along with further wood spice. The finish delivers a lasting medley of spices, fruit jams and hot crossed buns.
RRP: £95
Williamson 2013 Moscatel Barrel
There’s a great Scottish exclamation to sum up the initial aromas: “jings!”. This is a massive whisky, with huge aromas of peat fires, ash and iodine. This is combined with a subtly spicy character from a glorious ex-Moscatel cask, giving notes of gingerbread, apricot and sultana bread. The palate is equally monstrous – Islay whisky at its vulgar best: peat smoke, leather and seaweed, all rounded by a hugely fruity cask which adds a luxurious mouthfeel. The thick texture adds length to the finish, giving more dried fruit and ash. It’s sudden, powerful, complex, lasting and memorable. Jings!
RRP: £96
Blair Athol 2008 Tokaji Gonchi Finish
Rich, sweet and chewy aromas rise from the glass, offering apricot, figs, almonds and zingy marmalade. This dram takes a little time to open up, but some air brings forth some ripe green apples and a little cinnamon. The palate is thick and full, giving more jammy apricot notes and some dried fruit, but with clear distillate character coming through in the form of stewed apples and pears. A long, mouth-coating finish shows baking.
£105
Kornog 2006
This cask came to Berry Bros & Rudd from the writer Martine Nouet, a long-time friend of the company. It was filled for Martine by her friend Jean Donnay of Glann ar Mor distillery in 2006. This is the oldest cask bottled from the distillery to date, and the following notes are written by Martine herself. “The nose displays an enticing fruity basket of plums and caramelised pears delicately entangled in smoke. Vanilla lusciously swirls up with a briny whiff. The palate is oily, almost velvety and brings out flavours of banoffee pie and intense fruit with a lingering finish on ginger, liquorice with vetiver. Elegant and complex, a true Celt character from Brittany.
RRP £160
Glen Garioch 1988
Highland Whisky at it’s best. This rich, turfy Glen Garioch harks back to the days of the distillery’s own floor malting and direct fire stills throwing out earthy aromas of Highland peat bogs, roasted barley, dark chocolate, honeycomb, leather and cigar leaf. Exceptional. If one manages to get past the nose, the palate gives a massive whack of herbaceous peat, resin, oak smoke and tar, moving to dried fruit, cocoa powder and dates. Spice rises on the finish giving lasting waves of smoke and turf. They don’t make whisky like this anymore, and after a dram one wonders why not?
RRP £450
Chichibu 2014
Lush aromas of ripe mango and lime juice drift out of the glass, mingling with spiced custard over apple sponge cake. A little time in the glass brings a chiselled maltiness into play along with a touch of desiccated coconut. The palate is noticeably thick, showing a wonderful mouthfeel. The character is initially of dried malt, but soon develops into fresh citrus fruits, apricot yoghurt and banana bread, with a suggestion of wood smoke on the rear palate. The finish brings spiced crème brûlée, dried apple and a mouth-watering note of ripening pineapple. This is a masterclass in Japanese whisky from one of the world’s most in-demand distilleries.
RRP £475
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Founded in 1698, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s oldest family-owned wine and spirits merchant. The brand boasts two Royal Warrants, more than 300 years of history and six Masters of Wine, resulting in a world-class reputation for exceptional wines and spirits. Not just a fine wine retailer, spirits have long been central to the business. Alongside award-winning Speyside single malt whisky The Glenrothes, the spirits portfolio includes the classic No.3 London Dry Gin, Mauritian rum Penny Blue and the unique and historic The King’s Ginger liqueur, while the brand’s acclaimed and award-winning Own Label collection of wines and spirits includes special bottlings from some of the best winemakers and distillers in the world.