A dram I recommend to everyone I talk to yet one I haven't actually reviewed yet! Now to put that right a straight side by side against it's elder brother.....
What whisky am I talking about? Bains Single Grain!
Bain's Single Grain whisky has been around for more that 10 years, the innovation of Andy Watts, then Master Distiller but now retired!
When I spoke to Andy about more Bain's whisky coming to the UK, he said "our whisky industry is young (40yrs) and when I took over 28yrs ago there was no innovation. The innovation we started is now starting to come through. Bain's is 10yrs on shelf in July this year."
Bain's is distilled at the James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington using a 15 meter high column still - 2 columns - Stripper & rectifier. The Stripper column has 18 trays and rectifier 58 trays with 20 stripping at the bottom & 38 rectifier trays.
In 2018 Bain's released a batch of 3,600 bottles of 15yo Single Grain and I was straight on to Andy to get the details: "this 15yr is the first in the Founders Collection range of innovation along with the Masters Collection on the Three Ships side."
Andy said "We released 2,000 special bottles for the VVIP guests at the Mandela 100yrs Centenary celebrations in 2018 led by Barack Obama." This was part of a pack with a Van Ryn’s 27-year-old pot still brandy. "It was after that the decision was to create a litre bottle (of the 15yo single grain) for duty free."
Like the normal NAS Bain's it's distilled from maize and spends its first three years maturing in 1st fill ex bourbon then is revatted for two years in a new set of first fill ex bourbon. Then instead of bottling as Bain's NAS it's revatted into older ex bourbon casks (3rd and 4th fill) for a further 10 years.
In the press release from Distell, Andy said:
Andy regularly tasted the whisky during its extra ten years of maturation, and found that the whisky was “at its most optimum” at 15 years. The whisky is only available in South African Duty Free.“It took me ten years to perfect Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky and it was during this time that I realised that it has the potential to age much further than originally anticipated due to the flavour profile being upfront and complex,”“But in the world of whisky nothing is immediate or guaranteed and so I went about on an exploration, hoping that my experiment would not disappoint my vision.”
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| Andy - distiller and salesman! |
Andy's tasting notes suggest that “The whisky has a beautiful dark amber, golden orange, honey and treacle colour with soft floral notes, spice, tropical fruits, banana and teak aromas on the nose. The sweet butterscotch, raisins and banana loaf flavours coats the mouth with a complex, smooth and delicately lingering taste.”
The 15yo pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain and the Bain’s Kloof Pass he built. The brand describes it as “one of his most spectacular mountain passes constructed across South Africa”.
The tribute to Bain will continue over the next few years when further editions of the Founder’s Collection of limited release single grain whiskies will be launched, featuring some of the other passes he built - we can't wait!
| Dram | Bain's Single Grain | Bain's 15yo Single Grain |
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 40% ABV (43% ABV in South Africa) Coloured, NCF | 52.5% ABV |
| Distillery notes | Bain’s distinctive aromas and delicate smooth flavour is a result of its unique provenance, climate and ingredients. The only whisky in the world to use 100% South African sun-kissed grain in its uniquely warm location. Uniquely double matured; first aged for three years in first-fill bourbon casks and then for another two years in fresh first-fill bourbon casks. Aroma: Floral, banana, honey, toasted hazelnuts and toffee aromas unravel with wood, vanilla and spice. Taste: Vanilla, cocoa butter and light spices from the casks lead to a warm mouthfeel and long, exceptionally smooth finish. | This 15-year-old single grain whisky started its life off as Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky. Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky is the only whisky in the world to be made from 100% sun-kissed South African grain and spends first three years maturing in casks previously used for bourbon before being revatted into a fresh set of ex-bourbon casks for a further two years. In crafting this 15-year-old, the whisky spent an additional 10 years maturing in older American oak to reveal new depths and layers of flavour and smoothness. Nose: Soft floral notes intertwining with spice, tropical fruits, banana and teak aromas. Taste: Sweet butterscotch, raisins and banana loaf flavours coats the mouth with a complex, smooth and delicately lingering taste. Finish: The finish is warm and spicy with an incredibly smooth and silky mouthfeel. |
| My thoughts: | ||
| Appearance |  | |
| Coloured light gold, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thin legs. | A lovely dark gold in the glass, swirls bead up and fall as slow thin legs | |
| Nose | Vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, buttered popcorn, brown sugar, almonds with a hint of citrus - orange peel? | Vanilla and oak, the ABV hits you immediately. toffee popcorn, brown sugar, tropical fruit. Yummy! |
| Palate | Thick oily arrival - mouthcoating. Loads of fresh vanilla custard, toffee and orange peel from the nose. A little honey, coconut and sour grapefruit add a tropical edge. Very spicy - some cinnamon and clove hints. | Thick, creamy and mouth coating, loads of spice initially with banoffee pie and vanilla ice cream coming soon afterwards! After a few more sips I'm getting a slightly sour grapefruit note - usually something I get from an old sherry cask dram. |
| Finish | Lingering warm finish with spice and toffee notes. | Lots of oak tannins drying the mouth, a big kick of ginger spice and a little hint of that sour grapefruit again. Yummy! |
| Overall | I first tried the NAS as a 43% import in November 2016 at a local whisky show and thought that was interesting but wasn't able to get a bottle to try for myself until January 2018 at the ridiculous price of £21 from Amazon. At that price it's competing against the likes of Haig Clubman and it's far superior - this isn't a bland whisky meant for mixing or for cocktails it's full of flavour and character. I was lucky enough to be sent a sample of the 15yo from Andy in April 2019 but again wasn't able to get a bottle until a whisky mule delivered one from South Africa Duty Free a couple of months later. Both are really great drams, the NAS is unbeatable as a summer dram to enjoy in the heat of the day, the 15yo is more of a sipper - one to take your time with. | |
Geeky stuff
There are also a 10yo and three 18yo's available in Duty Free in South Africa:
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