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| Domaine des Hautes Glaces Rye |
1. Domaine des Hautes Glaces Moissons Single Rye
Domaine des Hautes Glaces’ French Rye whisky. This bottling is made from 100% rye grown by the mountain farm distillery and is matured in French oak. The distillery is located in the Trieves Mountains, west of the French Alps, at an altitude of 900m. Alongside the grain-to-glass method, the diverse alpine climates should have an interesting affect on this dram!
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| Puni Alba |
2. Puni Alba
Italian whisky producers Puni made their UK debut this month. We are keen to try their Alba expression, which is three years old, matured in Sicilian Marsala casks and finished in casks from Islay that previously held some peated scotch. The whisky is made using malted barley, rye and wheat. If their whisky is anything like their wine, this Italian malt might be worth a try.
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| Xolato Chocolate Gin |
We attended the Manchester Gin Festival this month and came across this chocolate flavoured gin from Xolato. It was a real game-changer, served to us with a sprinkle of cacao nibs. The gin itself is made with 15 botanicals, including cocoa beans from Colombia, hazelnuts from Piedmont, almonds from Avola, pepper and Madagascan vanilla pods. It’s one we wouldn’t mind having a bottle of handy at home!
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| Teeling Stout Cask |
We are suckers for a bit of experimentation, and the guys over at Teeling have collaborated with Galway Bay Brewery to bring us this Irish whiskey. The brewery released a barrel-aged beer in 2016 – 200 Fathoms Imperial Stout – which was finished in Teeling whiskey casks, which have come back around again to finish this new small batch spirit. We enjoyed the Glenfiddich IPA finish, and think it would be interesting to compare the two beer-cask whiskies.
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| Huxley Rare Genus |
This one has made the wishlist for being damn interesting. This blended whiskey is an “Atlantic spanning” expression, made using whisky from America, Canada and Scotland. At £29.95, this might be the next bottle we buy.
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| Icewine Old Tom |
Like we said, we like a bit of experimentation. The folks over at That Boutiuqe-y Gin Company have combined ice wine with a pot-still Old Tom gin made using juniper, lemon and lime peels and liquorice. Old Toms are usually sweetened with sugar or honey, but the sweet ice wine will add a grape twist. For those who aren’t familiar with Icewine, it is made using frozen grapes to produce a wonderfully sweet dessert wine.
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| Auchentoshan Bartender’s Malt |
7. Auchentoshan Bartender’s Edition
We are big fans of this Lowland distillery. This limited release single malt came from their New Malt Order competition, in which the 12 winning bartenders came together to create The Bartender’s Blend, designed specifically for cocktails. They say that the youngest whisky is 6 years old, and the whiskies chosen span five decades with a range of cask types, from ex-Laphroaig to German Oak to ex-rum barrels. Cocktails for everyone?
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| Infirmarian |
8. Zymurgorium & Northern Monk Infirmarian
Black Hop gin experiment. Need we say anymore? The Manchester-based “meadery, brewery and distillery” Zymurgorium teamed up with Leeds-based Northern Monk to create this hoppy gin, based on the increasing popularity of Black IPAs. Featuring Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic hops, along with liquorice, corriander and pink grapefruit botanicals, we want to give our local producer some support by getting our hands on a bottle of Infirmarian, if there are any left!
