This is the latest in an occasional series about newer distilleries, this entry is about the Bonnington Distillery
Location
The Bonnington Distillery is located in Leith, Edinburgh
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The Bonnington distillery (home for Halewood’s revival of the John Crabbie & Co. Scotch Whisky brand) was commissioned and constructed on the site of a former coach works near to the site of the original Bonnington grain whisky distillery in Leith.
Construction started in 2018, during which the team unearthed the ruins of an 18th century distillery and an 11th century mansion, Bonnington House - all future releases from the Bonnington distillery will now launch under the Bonnington name. Due to the delay Halewood built an experimental distillery in nearby Granton called the Chain Pier distillery allowing them the opportunity to develop a wide range of new spirits. Chain Pier was equipped with a small 500 litre still and operated only between October 2018 and November 2019, closing as the construction of Bonnington distillery was finally completed. In those 13 months only 39 casks of whisky were filled. Bonnington's first cask was filled in March 2020 just as the Covid lockdown started!
History
From the middle of the 19th century, John Crabbie blended his own range of
whiskies. In addition to procuring large stocks of Scottish single malt
whisky, from some of the finest distilleries, Crabbie signed licences to
produce his own whiskies at distilleries such as Balmanech and Benrinnes.
However, his commitment to the field of whisky industry stretched further
when in 1885 he became involved in the creation of one of Scotland’s most
iconic grain distilleries, North British, with his partners Andrew Usher and
William Sanderson, sitting on its board in its formative years.
Crabbie’s glory years span from the 1830s. These were pioneering times,
and it seems John Crabbie and his successors were possessed of the same
self-confidence as other famous explorers were responsible for building
The British Empire. Using the Port of Leith in Edinburgh as its base, the
company sent its products to the world – also seeking to bring the finest
world products back to Scotland. Records show that its team of drinks
makers was experimenting with a vast array of fruit, grains, herbs, spices
and spirits – creating new and exciting beverages.
Today the Port of Leith bears little resemblance to the Leith John
Crabbie would have known. In the 19th century it was a dangerous place;
a haven for smugglers and pirates, but as the British Empire grew Leith,
established itself as Scotland’s gateway to an exciting and
ever-expanding new world. Leith became famous for wine and whisky
storage, too, at its peak there were around 100 warehouses storing wine
and brandy. In the late 1880s the wine harvest in Europe collapsed due
to the spread of a parasite, opening the door for Scotch whisky. To
reflect the changes, most of Leith’s warehouses were converted to whisky
storage. Around 85 bonded warehouses stood in Leith in the 1960s.
Jointly these matured about 90 per cent of all Scotch whisky.
Process
2.2 tonnes of barley are milled and mashed, fermented and distilled through their 10,000 litre wash and 7,500 litre spirit stills (from Speyside's Copperworks) Water is sourced via a private bore hole for both production and cooling.
Unpeated malt is used for most of the year with two months given over to 50ppm barley. Spirit is matured in on-site warehouses in a variety of casks including Bourbon, Sherry and Port and Wine.
Halewood send me a sample of their Inaugural Release and held a quick
Q&A on zoom.
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| Due to an unusually early time 3pm and me being stuck on the M6 I was in the back of the car! |
Distillery notes:
The new release is a rich, rose gold liquid, which has been aged in Ruby Port casks. It offers notes of dessert wine, hints of dried pears, subtle citrus and rich oak on the nose. On the palate, it boasts sweet malt, creamy berries, poached pears, caramel and candied ginger, all with a long, sweet finish with hints of gentle spice.
Jamie Lockhart, distillery manager at Bonnington Distillery, comments; “It’s been a long journey since we bought the distillery back in 2018, so naturally it’s a hugely exciting step for us to finally announce the launch of our inaugural release, which, from start to finish has been produced right here on site. The liquid itself is something that we’re really proud of – aged in Ruby Port Casks and cut at 57.1% it’s bold, rich and full of flavour, and certainly worthy of the first release from this new distillery”.
Bottled at 3½ years old at 52.3% ABV, a little below cask strength.
My thoughts:
Appearance: Light gold in the glass with a little hint of pink; swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick oily legs
Nose: thick dunnage funk notes to start, musty and a little dry. There's some maltiness and baked orchard fruit stuffed with raisins covered in vanilla custard. A little orange marmalade and honey offers some sweetness. There's a little vegetal or heathery note in here too. The high ABV isn't noticeable.
Palate: thick sweet arrival, mouthcoating and chewy. Yummy! The vanilla custard is back but the fruit had turned into berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and some cherries. There's some malt and a little buttery shortbread with honey offering dryness and some sweetness. There's a little toffee and some liquorice, with lemon zest giving a sharpness as the liquid disappears. The ABV is a little more noticeable but this is a well integrated dram.
Finish: lingering berries, chewy toffee and a little peppery spice.
Overall: It's 3½ years old but it doesn't show, the ABV obviously helps and the full term Ruby Port rather than 'plain' ex-bourbon hides the distillery character that we'd all like to try from a new distillery. That said it's a lovely dram, one I'd happily buy a bottle of when it's released over the next few weeks. Let's hope Halewood don't go down their usual route of releasing a diluted, chill filtered 40% bottling - this one is all about the mouthfeel - a yummy dram!
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