Side by side: Bankhall bourbon-style grain spirit

Bankhall is the new distillery in Blackpool, England. Founded in 2019 it's producing single malt and bourbon-style whiskey in it's triple still setup.

So far they've released two bourbon-style spirits - let's see what they are like.

I visited Bankhall just before Christmas 2021, you can read about it here, and picked up bottles of their first two bourbon-style spirit releases (they can't call it bourbon because it's not distilled in the USA).

Yellow wash from Corn in the Mash kettle.

Wash still being filled.

I expecting the Rebellion and Sweet Mash to be similar, let's try them side by side:

Dram	Rebellion	Sweet Mash
Characteristics	47.4% ABV NCF, Natural colour 8mth old Corn, Rye & Malt Bourbon-Style Recipe from 3 casks	46% ABV NCF, Natural colour 9mth old Corn, Rye & Malt Bourbon-Style Recipe from a blend of 49 quarter cask and full size barrels.
Distillery notes	Notes of kettle corn and orange glaze on the nose, followed by notes of crème caramel, vanilla custard and charred oak on the palate.	Notes of creamy custard toasted coconut, baked apples, and brown sugar on the palate.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	BBQ corn cob, butterscotch, vanilla and wood smoke, it's quite spicy. There's some maple syrup, orange zest and some coconut.	As expected, similar nose to the Rebellion: corn, butterscotch, vanilla, maple, orange and coconut but the extra month or so of maturation has added some orchard fruit notes.
Palate	Thick syrupy arrival, oak wood and rye spice dominate with a little sour note. The butterscotch and coconut from the nose are here along with brown sugar, glacier cherries.	Again a thick syrupy arrival, the sour note from the Rebellion is here - grapefruit maybe? Peppery spice, toffee, coconut and glacier cherries.
Finish	Lingering peppery spice and toffee.	Lingering peppery spice and toffee.
Overall	These are both very young spirits but there's no hint of meaty new make, I'm not sure if that's due to corn being used rather than barley or the impact of the charred casks - I haven't much experience of young bourbons. These have been released to make money early in the life of the distillery, in the same way as a lot of distilleries release gin or vodka. Similarly they are probably better enjoyed with a mixer rather than neat. There was a sour citrus note on the palate of both which I just didn't enjoy so I tried something I don't usually do to my whisky - I added some cola and ginger ale to each to see what difference that made. The sweetness from the cola balanced the sour citrus, a bit of ice and this would make a lovely summer drink. The ginger ale added more spice and fizz to the whisky again a  lovely summer drink. The market for these drinks will be Blackpool's party bars for use as shots or tall drinks but I think that is doing them an injustice - they are young yes, but do show a lot of potential.

Whilst at the distillery I was also able to get a sample of their maturing malt whisky, We took a sample from cask #20-PBM023 - a 17 month old at approx. 59% ABV distilled on 24th Jul '20 from Peated Black Malt - usually used for stouts and porters.

Normal Malt v Peated Black Malt

Rather than the traditional 'Scottish' way of removing the bung and using a valance to draw some liquid, the 'American' way is to drill a hole, drain some liquid and then fill the hole with a cedar peg!

My thoughts:

Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take a while to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: Orchard fruit: apples, pears, apricots; there's some hints of toffee, honey and gentle smoke. A little time and air offers coffee and milk chocolate notes.

Palate: Smooth thick arrival, immediately warm and spicy. There's some gentle smoke and coffee notes. The orchard fruit from the nose are here along with sweet honey, toffee and milk chocolate notes. There is some drying brown sugar and vanilla with a peppery spice.

Finish: Lingering peppery spice and honey.

Overall: Very pleasantly surprised with this dram, obviously completely different from the two bourbons above, but perfectly drinkable at such a young age - the potential for a lovely whisky is easily seen (or tasted!) There's no new make notes that I can detect just a tasty young whisky. Unfortunately I didn't have a sample of unpeated or normal malt to compare against this black version but for me there was a little more coffee and chocolate notes. Looking forward to trying this when it's matured for a little longer.

Vince Oleson and I in front of his three stills.