That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler owned by Atom Brands who also own Master of Malt. Founded in 2012, TBWC buys casks from distilleries all over the world, matures and bottles them. Each has a unique hand drawn label telling the story of the whisky.
| Dram | Linkwood 10yo (Batch 8) | Macduff 10yo (Batch 8) | Secret Distillery #1 9yo (Glenfarclas) (Batch 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 48.2% ABV, Non-coloured, NCF Refill Hoggies | 50.2% ABV, Non-coloured, NCF Sherry Butt | 51.7% ABV, Non-coloured, NCF Sherry Butt |
| Bottling notes | Nose: Apple pie, with vanilla ice-cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Palate: Butterscotch, malt loaf and milk chocolate is cut through by spicy woody tannins. Finish: Black peppercorns crackles through a touch of banoffee pie. | Nose: Thyme honey, chewy fruit sweeties (think red and green Wine Gums) and some flaky pastry. Palate: More pastry notes, though this time filled with apricot jam. Gingerbread and citrus. Finish: Subtle hints of oily malt and more honey. | Nose: Oodles of classic Sherried whisky notes, from juicy raisins to Christmas spices to dark chocolate truffle. Palate: Blackberries, more chocolate and a mixture of cinnamon and clove spiciness. Finish: Red fruit jams and a crack of black pepper |
| My thoughts: | |||
| Appearance |  | ||
| Pale gold in the glass, thin lines when swirl fall as thick slow legs. | Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a beaded crown before falling as slow thick legs. | Dark gold almost brown in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs. | |
| Nose | Orchard fruit - pears, apples and peaches - some sweet honey and a fresh cut grass note. | Herbal notes with a little milk chocolate and a little dried fruit. | Sherry notes - strawberry jam, dried fruit and cinnamon spice. It's a mild sherry bomb on the nose. |
| Palate | Smooth sweet arrival, immediately spicy. The orchard fruit from the nose is back along with huge citrus notes. There is a slight drying note with toffee and milk chocolate. - nice! | Thick almost syrupy arrival, sweet notes, a nice spicy bite. There's no herbal notes - it's more earthy. Loads of apple and toffee. | Another thick arrival, immediately spicy. Lots of red berry notes, dark bitter chocolate giving a drying effect on the tongue. A spicy aftertaste is left in the mouth - nice. |
| Finish | Long spicy finish with tropical and citrus fruit notes. | Medium length apples and spices with a gentle spice bite - lovely. | Long drying sherry notes, dried fruit with a spicy bite. Yummy! |
| Overall | Three completely different drams here - the Linkwood would be what I'd call a standard Speyside ex-bourbon - orchard fruit and honey with a little spice - nice but boring? I know a lot of people like this kind of dram, it' maybe close to the Bells or Grouse that they started drinking but it's not near the top of my list of favourites. The remaining two were both ex-sherry butt - the nose put me off a little with the Macduff - again I'm not keen on herbal notes and this was a little too sweet. To be honest only the Glenfarclas (sorry Secret Distillery) really came across as having a big sherry influence and it was really good - the ABV not pushing it quite into sherry bomb territory but nevertheless the strawberry jam, red berries and drying dark chocolate were all there. Boutiquey bottle some good stuff, but you can't like all of it - maybe the Linkwood had been diluted a little too much to it's 48.2%, Macduff isn't a favourite but the Glenfarclas hit the spot and takes the honours from these three. Maybe your thought are different - let me know! | ||
| Label Stories | ||
|---|---|---|
| Emily Chappell creates all the amazing labels for the Boutique-y bottles - each has its own unique story! | ||
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| The Linkwood distillery was founded in 1821 in Speyside. It distilled tasty single malts and top whiskies for blends until 1971, which is where it gets a little confusing. In 1971, Linkwood was expanded with two more stills, although these stills actually belonged to a new distillery, which would be called Linkwood B. In 1985, Linkwood A (the original Linkwood) was closed down, making Linkwood B just Linkwood. It’s a different distillery, but it’s still Linkwood. Right? It’s a bit like that chap with the ship and had all its wood replaced. It’s the same ship, even though everything has been replaced. Right? The chap on the label is fixing a broom - the owner has had the same broom 20 years just with different heads and handles. It’s still the same broom, though. Right? | The Macduff distillery was founded in the 1960s and is kitted out with five stills, four of which have lyne arms that are rather oddly arranged, with one of the wash stills’ lyne arms being U-shaped too, just so they’ll all fit in the still room! They don’t release whisky themselves under their own name - they release it under the name The Deveron. This is why the name Macduff might be more familiar to you from Shakespeare’s play, ‘Macbeth’. We’ve even put one of the deleted scenes from the play on the label of our Macduff bottling. Press the stopper down to hear the director’s commentary from Shakespeare himself (probably a lie). | What the…?! How did you get back here?! I thought I locked that door… Well, now that you’re here, you have to promise to keep this excellent single malt Scotch whisky from a distillery known for its well-Sherried expressions a secret. No one must find out about it. No one. Look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you. No. One. Can. Find. Out. About. This. Fantastic. Whisky. Are we clear? Good. |
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