Darkness Tasting

Darkness may not be a brand you've heard of - they are part of Atom Brands who also own Boutique-y Whisky amongst others. Darkness is their bottlings of Sherry Octave finished whiskies.

We spent an evening with Sam Simmons @dr_whisky trying some samples from Release #2.

Sam led a zoom session taking us through 3 of the drams from the new release....

...explaining how the whiskies are finished in sherry octaves from a cooperage in Spain, each 50-80 year old sherry butt has been broken up and rebuilt into 4 octaves. The 8yo comes from an undisclosed Speyside distillery that uses partial triple distillation and worm tubs....

First up was the Darkness 8yo, the undisclosed Speysider, bottled at 47.8% ABV

Darkness 8yo 47.8% (6-9mths in sherry Octave)

Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls leave thick lines on the glass which bead up and fall as slow thick legs.

Nose: Strawberry jam, dunnage warehouse funk, dried fruit, spicy orange zest, toffee.

Palate: Dry sour citrus, strawberry toffos, brown sugar, some nutty earthy notes.

Finish: Long, dry and spicy.

Next was a Benriach 7yo, bottled at 56.8% ABV

Benriach 7yo 56.8% (12mths in oloroso Octave)

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

Nose: Grapes, floral notes, salted caramel, orange, ginger, 

Palate: Sweet thick arrival, meaty, orchard fruit - pears and peaches, some mint and a bite of ginger spice.

Finish: Long, dry and spicy.

Final dram was an undisclosed Irish 14yo single malt at 57.6% ABV

Irish 14yo 57.6% (11mths in oloroso Octave)

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

Nose: Musty bookshop, dark fruit, bubble-gum.

Palate: Thick dry arrival, dusty cocoa, spicy ginger, liquorice and dark chocolate. Lip tingling!

Finish: Long dry, sweet fruit and a little spicy.

On the night the Irish stood out for me as the best dram but the other two were very close behind!

Many thanks to Sam and the team at @AtomBrands for a great evening of whisky tasting!

The range is available from @MasterOfMalt here.

Darkness 8 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish - £49.95 (Continuous release from Speyside)

Full Darkness Limited Edition Range #2:

Auchroisk 21 Year Old Moscatel Cask Finish - £119.95 (120 bottles)

Aultmore 23 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish - £99.95 (110 bottles)

Balmenach 18 Year Old Moscatel Cask Finish - £89.95 (197 bottles)

Benriach 7 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish - £49.95 (230 bottles)

Caperdonich 24 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish - £335.95 (114 bottles)

Dalmore 14 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish - £128.95 (92 bottles)

Deanston 20 Year Old Palo Cortado Cask Finish - £129.95 (91 bottles)

Glen Elgin 12 Year Old Moscatel Cask Finish - £64.95 (260 bottles)

Inchfad 13 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish - £64.95 (212 bottles)

Irish Single Malt 14 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish - £99.95 (227 bottles)

Islay 12 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish (Master of Malt Exclusive) - £54.95 (118 bottles)