Side by side: a pair of indie North British Sherry Bombs

@thenorthbritish distillery is one of Scotland's oldest and largest Scotch grain whisky producers.

Here I've got two indie bottlings, both matured in sherry casks, to try!

North British was founded in 1885 on the western outskirts of Edinburgh by Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John Crabbie.

3.6 Million litres of alcohol was produced in the first full year of production, the distillery is now capable of producing 70 Million litres of alcohol per year. 

Changing hands through mergers and acquisitions the distillery is now owned as a joint venture between Diageo plc and The Edrington Group.

Most of their output goes into the two company's (and other distillery's) blends but some is bought and bottled by indie bottlers.

What we have here are ex-sherry butt bottlings from Douglas Laing and Whisky Broker:

Dram	2007 15yo Single Cask #315673 (Whisky Broker)	2003 18yo Single Cask #14515 (Douglas Laing)
Characteristics	55.5% ABV Sherry Butt D: 2 Nov '07, B: 12 Dec '22 423 bottles	48.4% ABV Refill Butt D: Mar '03, B: Jun '21 712 bottles
Bottler notes	None	Old Particular - The Midnight Series Nose: Dark toffee gives way to baking spice, chewed leather and ripe, autumn fruits Palate: Cocoa and mocha alongside a creamy cereal style with juicy plums and grape juice Finish: Spiced, damp oak lingers on and on with a dark chocolate and Sherry sweetness
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take a age to bead up and then a while to slowly fall as thin tears.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, take a age to bead up and then a while to slowly fall as thin tears.
Nose	Dunnage warehouse funk, musty second hand bookshop - we're well into sherry bomb territory here. There's a little tropical fruit and buttered popcorn here but it's mainly red berries and black stoned fruit.	Similar dunnage funk and mustiness from the DL dram but there's a lot more tropical fruit alongside the berries and black stoned fruit. A little vanilla and buttered popcorn reveal the single grain nature of this dram.
Palate	Thick, sweet, mouthcoating arrival, brown sugar, sherried fruit and a few spoonful's of Christmas spices.  Balsamic vinegar soaked strawberries and some dark chocolate remind me of the Bain's 15yo PX. There's a little vanilla and some tropical fruit hints but you'd be hard pushed to say this was a grain. Hugely warming on the way down.	Again a thick, sweet, mouthcoating arrival but much more grain influence: buttered popcorn, vanilla and a little tropical fruit. There's a huge note of liquorice and some dark chocolate. The sherry influence is a little more subdued to start but builds with each sip. Brown sugar dryness, coffee and some citrus notes. There's a lovely warming spice note as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Lingering sherried fruit, dry brown sugar and Christmas spices.	Lingering vanilla, tropical fruit and spices.
Overall	A love a single grain and these two hit the mark, the sherry cask maturation makes them a little different,  The Whisky Broker bottling is a stereo-typical winter dram and one I enjoyed over the festive period! The Douglas Laing has more single grain notes - probably due to the use of a refill (3rd or 4th use?) sherry cask. On paper they look similar but in the glass they are very different. If you haven't tried any single grain get yourself a bottle - you'll enjoy it!

Huge thanks to Alistair @SpiritAndWood for the DL sample.