Virtual tasting: Firkin Whisky Company

A conversation with  @FirkinWhiskyCo led to a zoom tasting with the #RatFans #WolfPack #BlindPack #RaasayPossie #FirkinDrammers

Lets see what they were like!

Founded in 2017 by Mike Collings who had created Johnnie Walker Blue & Green Labels, The Classic Malts, Rare Malts, Distillers Edition, Flora & Fauna series, Cardhu and Royal Lochnagar.  Mike found himself enjoying a few drams in a Tokyo bar thinking: what if I created a whisky that was unique on the single cask single malt market and The Firkin Whisky Company was created.

Firkin's range is made up of 4 different bottles:

• Firkin 49 - Tullibardine, named after Mike's birth year and the founding of the site of Tullibardine distillery
• Firkin Ten - Benrinnes, not your 'standard' Ten year old
Firkin Islay - Caol Ila, smoke with a twist
Firkin Rare - a range of distilleries what aren't usually bottled as single casks

Firkin do things a little differently, they normally take 10 year old whisky and finish it in their own custom wine seasoned double oak casks:

"The Firkin approach is to create unique double oak barrels that use two types of oak and mature the whisky in a soulmate wine cask.

The first type of cask is American oak from first-fill Bourbon. The second is new Limousin oak with a custom char. Master coopers combine the two types of oak into one barrel. The result is a cask with a unique oak profile.

But the Firkin Approach doesn’t stop at the wood.

Firkin matches the single malt with a fortified wine that accentuates and polishes the original whisky. It gives the whisky a depth of flavour, unlike any other whisky on the market."

Although named after a small cask size Firkin use full size casks for their second maturation, everything is bottled at 48.9% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered.

We tried five of their bottles:

• Ten: Benrinnes 2008 Single Custom Madeira #SC1A @ 48.9%
• 49: Tullibardine 2012  Single Custom Oloroso and Amontillado #SC13 @ 48.9%
• Rare: Aultmore 2010 Single Custom Marsala #SC8A @ 48.9%
• Islay: Caol Ila 2010 Single Custom Marsala #SC20 @ 48.9%
• Rare: Ledaig 2008 Single Custom Marsala #SC5A @ 48.9%

Brand Ambassador Ed took us through the tasting.

Brief tasting notes:

Benrinnes 2008 Single Custom Madeira #SC1A @ 48.9% 

Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Dry orchard fruit, citrus peel, vanilla, coconut, hints of mushroom!
Palate: Dry spicy arrival, virgin French Oak making itself known. Sweet berries, tropical fruit, honey.

Finish:  Dry, spicy, tropical fruit notes.

Tullibardine 2012  Single Custom Oloroso and Amontillado #SC13 @ 48.9%

Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Sweet honey, fruit jam, vanilla, digestive biscuit, a little spice.
Palate: Smooth sweet arrival, bite of spice before settling into tropical fruit, berry jam, almond, toffee and some dried fruit hints.

Finish: Lingering spice and a little nuttiness.

Aultmore 2010 Single Custom Marsala #SC8A @ 48.9% 

Appearance: Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as an inverted crown of beads and fall as slow thin oily legs.
Nose: Vanilla to start, then orchard fruit, almonds and some strawberry jam.
Palate: Sweet creamy arrival, strawberry jam again, vanilla custard, orchard fruit,  marzipan and digestive biscuit.

Finish: Dry and biscuity, berry fruit and a little spice.

Caol Ila 2010 Single Custom Marsala #SC20 @ 48.9% 

Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Dry smoke, BBQ meats: burnt ends? Dark chocolate, orchard fruit, toffee and a little seaweed salinity.
Palate: Sweet arrival, immediately smoky, hedgerow berries, some salinity.

Finish:  Dry oaky spice, strawberry jam and that salinity.

Ledaig 2008 Single Custom Marsala #SC5A @ 48.9% 

Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as thin lines and fall as slow thick legs.

Nose: Smoke, rubber, leather, citrus zest, petrol.

Palate: Sweet smoky arrival, jam, citrus zest, tropical fruit: pineapple, mango; some berries, toffee and honey.

Finish: Lingering smoke, salinity and jam sweetness. 

Thoughts:

A really nice flight of drams, made better with the company and discussions led by Ed. Firkin's custom casks made a difference to the maturing spirit, the virgin French Oak adding vanilla and spice, the wine berries and jam notes. For me the Benrinnes and Aultmore were the least changed, the distillery spirit still showing through strongly. The Tullibardine was probably the surprise of the night, especially when going back to it after trying all 5 - the extra ABV, lack of chill filtering over the distillery's core range and the custom cask finish totally transforming the spirit, a lovely dram. The Caol Ila and Ledaig were the standouts for me, again the custom casks had transformed the spirit, you could still just about tell the distillery but there was an extra layer of flavour over the top - yummy! Most of these bottles are still available - treat yourself - you won't be disappointed!