Side by side : Independent Ruadh Maor

On today's Side by side we're looking at two Ruadh Maor drams from two Independent bottlers. "Ruadh Maor?" you ask, "Yes Ruadh Maor" I answer.....

Photo: smws.com.au

Let see how they compare side by side!

Just in case you didn't know Ruadh Maor means Big Red and is the name Glenturret use for their peated whisky!

Glenturret have been distilling since around 1775, probably one of the first large scale distilleries in Scotland, our two independent bottlers here Waxhouse and Chorlton, both in England, are very new on the scene. In December 2018 was bought by Glenturret Holding, a joint venture between Swiss entrepreneur Hansjörg Wyss and Lalique Group.

I've bought and tried a few Chorlton drams before now and always been impressed, their Ardmore 9yo was to die for! Based in Chorlton in Manchester they have bottled 32 different whiskies to date since starting operations in 2016. They take inspiration from Medieval and Renaissance illustrators for their bottle labels.

This is the first Waxhouse Whisky dram I've tried, that's because it's their first release! Founded in 2019 by members of the St. Albans Whisky Club, they plan more releases through 2020. Their bottle labels are simple and informative leaving plenty of clear glass to see the liquid within.

Dram	Waxhouse Whisky Company	Chorlton Whisky
Characteristics	51.3% ABV D: Mar '11, B: Aug '19, 8yo 2nd Fill ex-Oloroso Cask 380 bottles	62.5% ABV D: '11, B: '19, 8yo Ex-bourbon hogshead 158 bottles
Bottler info	Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Ruadh Maor/Oloroso Cask Nose Smouldering oak embers and candied citrus peel. Palate Earthy tobacco smoke, dark dried fruits with a sprinkling of muscovado. Finish Flambéed orange, toasted peppery spice fading to subtle sherry notes.	The nose on this reminds me of being in an old garden shed on a hot day: warm, earthy, hints of lawnmower oil and old tins of creosote. Oh, and I guess the shed is on fire as it's also pretty smoky! You also get smoky bacon crisps, honey, patatas bravas and chamomile. The palate is huge, smoky and deeply savoury. Tons of barbecued meats and charred herbs, plus bitter oranges, allspice berries, green peppercorns in brine, thyme, creosote (again), Pontefract cakes, espresso - and all underpinned by a lovely honeyed taste and mouthfeel. Master Of Malt suggest this whisky was matured in an ex-Caol Ila hogshead but that isn't correct.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold, almost white wine colour, swirls leave a tiny line on the glass which eventually beads up, lingering before falling as slow thin legs.	Pale gold, again almost white wine in colour, swirls immediately form large beads and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	Huge peat smoke notes when poured but calms down a bit with time and air. It's not medicinal peat, it's more coal dust with salt notes. A little time in the glass offers porridge notes and little hints of fresh strawberries.	Gentle peat smoke, a little musty book shop, again a little salt and some citrus. A little time in the glass offers porridge, honey and orchard fruit.
Palate	Huge spice notes, the ABV showing itself immediately. Sweet dried fruit and brown sugar covered with a blanket of heathery peat smoke - sour citrus and black pepper. A few more sips offer orchard fruit, honey and floral notes. Nice! Although this was matured in an Oloroso cask I'm not picking up any sherry type notes on the palate.	Thick oily arrival, spice and lots of sweetness. The ABV is massive on this one and there's quite a burn to start with, it's nice though. A few more sips offer orchard fruit, citrus and smoke reminiscent of steak being left too long on the BBQ - but I like mine well done anyway! There's honey and floral notes as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Long and warming - smoke dominates with a little fruit.	Again long and warming - smoke and fruit. I was expecting the ABV to offer more of a drying note but it wasn't there.
Overall	To be honest there wasn't a lot in it - two similar drams, the difference being the extra 10% or so in ABV on the Chorlton. They both share the heathery floral smoke DNA, citrus, and orchard fruit notes - maybe the Waxhouse offering more sweetness - the lower ABV maybe? Both drams had high ABVs but I didn't feel the need to add any water - I'm sure it would alter the notes slightly - in my experience dulling the smoke and enhancing the orchard fruit - but I'm beginning to prefer stronger drams - and both of these bit the spot perfectly! The two independent bottlers we are trying here are very small when compared to the likes of SMWS, TBWC, G&M etc and therefore have a tough battle to get into the market. Chorlton have released 32 bottles to date and this is  Waxhouse's 1st. As with most independent bottlers each cask can only fill so many bottles so it can be difficult to get hold of one - drample swaps can be useful but you need to try a few measures to get a good taste for the whisky. I've not had a dram from either of them (not a lot of history with Waxhouse!) which wasn't very good so I'd suggest any new releases are worth a go - they are reasonable priced.

Many thanks to @Waxhouse_X for their sample and @WhiskyNibs for the @chorltonwhisky sample swap.

Geeky Stuff:

Chorlton Releases
Release	Name	Bottled	Age	ABV	Bottles
34	Miltonduff 11	2020	11yo	62.0%	176
33	Teaninich 11	2020	11yo	57.5%	187
32	Orkney 12	2020	12yo	62.9%	201
31	Caol Ila 11	2019	11yo	55.5%	141
30	Blair Athol 12	2019	12yo	56.6%	268
29	Glen Moray 27	2019	27yo	44.6%	130
28	Port Charlotte 15	2019	15yo	54.9%	132
27	Mackmyra 12	2019	12yo	50.2%	278
26	Ben Nevis 23	2019	23yo	53.6%	439
25	Tomintoul 14	2019	14yo	57.6%	455
24	Bealach Ruadh 7	2019	7yo	58.2%	152
23	Orkney 15	2019	15yo	58.7%	84
22	Tobermory 24	2019	24yo	55.1%	152
21	Glen Moray 10	2019	10yo	57.3%	119
20	Ruadh Maor 8	2019	8yo	62.5%	158
19	Còig Deicheadan 17	2019	17yo	46.5%	211
18	Ben Nevis 21	2018	21yo	52.2%	170
17	Ardmore 9	2018	9yo	60.1%	153
16	Orkney 9	2018	9yo	63.1%	191
15	Miltonduff 9	2018	9yo	58.3%	136
14	Glentauchers 21	2018	21yo	40.8%	73
13	Glentauchers 20	2018	20yo	50.9%	178
12	Linkwood 11	2018	11yo	60.9%	49
11	Bealach Ruadh 10	2018	10yo	57.1%	159
10	Ledaig 10	2017	10yo	57.4%	21
9	Burnside 20	2017	20yo	51.7%	103
8	Cambus 25	2017	25yo	56.9%	42
7	Traveller's Rum	2017	11yo	66.1%	36
6	Bealach Ruadh 8	2017	8yo	58.%	86
5	Bruichladdich 11	2016	11yo	58.4%	42
4	Glenrothes 20	2016	20yo	52.8%	30
3	Glenturret 14	2016	14yo	54.%	50
2	Bunnahabhain 23	2016	23yo	46.3%	30
1	Benrinnes 18	2016	18yo	50.%	50

Waxhouse Releases
Release	Name	Bottled	Age	ABV	Bottles
002	Glenrothes	2020	13yo	50.7	170
001	Ruadh Maor	2016	8yo	51.3%	380