Everyone has heard of Gulliver and his travels when he was shipwrecked on Lilliput, but who has heard of Samuel Gulliver, a wine and spirits merchant who himself had adventures in distant lands?
Let's find out a little more....
By the mid-1800s his grandson Henry had a warehouse in Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury and operated his business from The Royal Oak public house. By the end of the century the company operated 20 shops in London’s West End, with warehouses in Leith and London. The shops later became part of Victoria Wine.
During the early part of the 1900s they launched a cordials and aerated waters company as well as supplying Rum to the Army for the soldiers in the trenches. Fred Gulliver came home from the First World War missing a leg and helped his uncle Samuel run the business. Fred died in 1944 and the then owner, another Samuel, decided to spend and gamble most of the business away, it declined to just an Aylesbury operation with a warehouse and wine bar. In 1957 the business closed.
In 2018 a 9th generation Gulliver wanted to bring Samuel Gulliver’s ambitions back to life, Stuart Gulliver re-launched the business with the release of two English whiskies sourced from the The English Whisky Company's St. George's Distillery in Norfolk.
The name Gulliver's 47 comes from the start of the original business by Samuel Gulliver in 1747, the whiskies have both been released at 47% ABV. Let's see what they are like...
First up is Gulliver's 47 Bourbon Casks - a gently peated English single malt, using Scottish barley peated at 15ppm using highland peat Aberdeenshire. Aged for 4 years in ex-Jim Beam bourbon hogsheads which hadn't been broken down and rebuilt. Four of these casks were married together to create a small batch, bottled at 47% ABV natural colour and non-chillfiltered.
Bottler notes: Nose: Sweet burning peat and a snap of ginger, accompanied by herbal notes, particularly thyme and sage.
Taste: Initially sweet on the palate, then dry, rich peat. The herbal notes come through with a hint of vanilla.
My thoughts:
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Peat smoke straight out of the glass, a little orchard fruit, vanilla custard and a citrus edge.
Palate: Smoky arrival, very drying, sweet salted caramel, orchard fruit, ginger spice. A few more sips offer orchard fruit notes and a little vanilla.
Finish: Medium length smoke with a citrus edge.
Overall: Reminds me a lot of a young Bunna (Staoisha) or Ardmore dram, nice and smoky but maybe a little young? It's not new makey like some of the young peated Irish stuff I've tried recently but certainly does suggest a young whisky. It's a lot smokier than 15ppm suggests.
The second release is Gulliver's 47 Quarter Casks - a 10 year old matured in ex-red wine quarter casks, again bottled at 47% ABV natural colour and non-chillfiltered.
Bottler notes: Nose: Smoked cherry high notes with gentle earthy peat throughout, balanced with ginger, cinnamon and honey.
Taste: Bonfire oak with a hint of rich peat diminishes to a smooth and satisfying smoulder, giving way to spiced sweetness, vanilla and marzipan.
My thoughts:
Appearance: Bronze gold, swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Dunnage warehouse notes - this has been in the cask a long time and it shows. Oak and peat smoke notes dominate - difficult to get anything more than that.
Palate: Thick, sweet smoky arrival, very drying. Red fruit led but also some orchard fruit. A few more sips offer some strawberry toffo notes and some citrus hints - nice!
Finish: Long drying toffee notes, red berries and vanilla oakiness.
Overall: A lovely thick dram, loads of fruit notes, and very very dry. I think I prefer this one over the Bourbon Cask.
I've not tried many of the English Whisky Company's drams but have usually been impressed, these are worth a look too. Thanks to Stu at Gulliver's for the samples - the Quarter cask is really good but I think the Bourbon Cask needs a little longer maturation.
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