London Distillery - The Golden Union - Release No. 1 : A Field in England

Following hot on the heels of their Renascence release earlier in month The London Distillery Company have released an English Blend.

Let's try this Golden Union!

I reviewed the London Distillery Company's Renascence release here, as I said they are working with less than 100 casks of spirit so for their 2nd release they've crafted an English Blend. To be honest I can't think of many other English Blends I've tried from the 50 odd distilleries now producing whisky in England.

"The Golden Union is The London Distillery Company’s tribute to the vibrant and rapidly evolving world of English whisky. This ongoing series of blended malt whiskies is designed to showcase the diversity, depth, and creativity emerging from England’s growing community of whisky producers.

Crafted with purpose and precision, each release in The Golden Union brings together malt whiskies from different English distilleries — highlighting the unique character of each component whilst creating something greater than the sum of its parts."

London have said that Each edition will feature a different combination of distilleries, casks, and flavour profiles — offering whisky lovers a journey through the full spectrum of English whisky styles.

Distillery thoughts:

The first release unites malt whiskies from Adnams Distillery and The London Distillery Company, matured in a combination of hogsheads and barrels. It is a bold introduction – a marriage of heritage, innovation, and spirit character. 50% ABV

Nose: Creamy toffee and buttery corn join breakfast cereals and meringue, whilst earthiness sits alongside expressive waxed lemons.

Palate: Mouthcoating with vibrant citrus and developing tropical fruits – preserved lemons and ripening mango. White pepper cask spicing gives way to milk chocolate, oats and buttered toast.

Finish: A prolonged finish of zesty lemons and tingling cask char.

My thoughts:

Appearance: Very pale gold in the glass, swirls leave thin lines which bead up slowly and eventually fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: Buttered popcorn, vanilla, a little toffee and some pine forest floor notes. There's a lovey rum & raisin ice cream note and a little shortbread.

Palate: Thick sweet arrival: golden syrup, drying icing sugar and a bite of ginger spice - very similar to the London DC Renascence release. This is a little more cereal forward with the buttered popcorn from the nose coming through strongly - it's a little like a well aged ex-bourbon grain. Tropical fruit and bite of citrus left on the tongue as the liquid disappears. A few more sips offer milk chocolate chipped shortbread and a little peppery spice.

 

Finish: Short and sweet with cereal, citrus and peppery spice.

Summary: A quick check on the spreadsheet reveals that this is the first English Blended malt I've tried. Blind you could easily think this was an older grain, London DC don't reveal the ratio of the Adnams / London split, you could assume 50:50 or you could think that London don't have much spirit so the ratio splits in favour of the Adnams? Either way this is a lovely dram, and seeing as I've been less than impressed with the whisky I've tried from Adnams in the past, either it's improved or the London DC spirit has rounded off the rough edges? 

Just a note on the Renascence release - I was sent a sample from the distillery to try, this Golden Union was include din the same box, but the following day I tried to buy a bottle from Berry Brothers, London DC's distributor. To be honest it was a complete pain in the neck - the bottle was listed but not available for a good couple of hours, it was then only available to buy into 'my cellar' rather than for immediately delivery. The price I paid was before tax duty. Then nearly 4 weeks later I got a bill for cellar storage, then another one saying it had been a mistake and that my bottle was ready for delivery once I'd paid the tax duty. Needless to say I won't be buying anything from Berry Brothers online store again...