A plain looking box revealed an interesting use of some biodegradable packaging and four single cask bottles.
@TheSippingShed was founded in 2014 by Dan Hipshon. Discussing his romantic idea of bottling single casks with friends in his kitchen one evening and before he knew it he had a business partner and talented friends offering their services. They bought their first casks and released a blended whisky called VatOne (a blend of Tamdhu, Glengoyne, Glenrothes and everyone's favourite family run Speyside that doesn't like to be named). Blended at 6 years old then matured for a further 6 years in a sherry cask - it disappeared quickly. The Ben Nevis came next followed last year by the Linkwood, Ardmore and Caol Ila.
Their website tells us:
"A great whisky is history in a glass. And while we strive to create something new, we’re always respectful of the proven, traditional methods that have endured for centuries.
We source malt whisky from some of the finest, most iconic distilleries in the world. Then we mature it, carefully selecting the moment when they’re ready to tell their own story, using our own custom made casks to add new chapters to old tales.
Each bottling has a unique illustration, carefully crafted to bring the history of its origin to life and create truly unique expressions that stand apart."
My thoughts:
Initial nose Stewed pears covered in honey
Nose: The ABV hits you straight away - there's orchard fruit aplenty stewed with honey and little vanilla custard. Hints of spice - maybe a little ginger. There's also some sour citrus note.
Palate: Thick arrival, immediately spicy and warming - the sour citrus note hinted at by the nose is there along with all the orchard fruit notes. There's some fresh cut grass notes - but that may just be the packaging it arrived in! A few more sips brings in the ginger and a brown sugar note. Can't bring myself to add water - this is nice just as it is!
Finish: Fairly short but full of spice - the orchard fruit has gone now - it's ginger and sour lemon all the way. Nice dram!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Appearance: Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thin legs. Initial nose tropical!Nose: Tropical fruit notes - pineapple, peach and coconut. There is a background of citrus but it's sweet rather than sour like the Linkwood. Some icing sugar and berry notes.
Palate: Tropical notes from the start - dried pineapple, kiwi and the coconut from the nose - slightly drying. This is much sweeter than the Linkwood but with a slightly bitter dark chocolate note as the liquid disappears. After a few sips the spice kicks in - pepper and ginger. There's a load of sweet sugary notes and an odd oaky drying note. It's OK but a little sweet for me, seems a little all over the place - too long in the cask?
Other tweeter's thoughts:
My thoughts:
Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, beads forming an inverted crown before falling as slow thick legs.Initial nose: I'm in heaven!Nose: Stealing a few notes from others here and adding a recipe to my BBQ portfolio for the summer: BBQ pineapple sprinkled with paprika! YUMMY! Once you get back the BBQ paprika-ed pineapple there's a lovely complexity - a smoked bacon note with chip shop salt and vinegar, strawberry jam notes and that lovely blanket of smoke.
Palate: Loads of smoke hits the tongue closely followed by a chilli spice. This is tempered by some mixed berry jam notes and a huge drying effect. The liquid disappears and the spice kicks in again. YUMMY!
Finish: Long lingering smoke with a dry spicy note and a small hole in my bank balance!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Nose: Bonfire on the beach - smoke, salt, seaweed and sweet peanuts.... I just don't know what it is with me but Islay peat is just not doing it for me this year......
Palate: Smokey oily arrival, loads of maritime peat smoke, a little orchard fruit and a little sour citrus. The palate isn't as bad as the nose in the peanut stakes but it's still there - I need to seek medical attention........
Finish: Long lingering smoke - a little ginger spice. No sign of the peanuts - nice!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
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