… spirits …
As you know I am a big fan of this project and whisky.
The first Belgium exclusive bottling is on its way. I do not yet have any idea on my allocation, but you can pre-order now. As always we apply a ‘first come, first serve’ principle, so be quick or you will end up with empty hands.
Pppppffffff, this is a difficult one.
For a while now I am frustrated by the amount of nice, limited whiskies that are being bought by people who are never going to open the bottle and taste that golden treasure inside. To many people nowadays seem to buy whisky as an investment and that is a real pity for the real whisky enthusiast, who isn’t able to get his hands on these limited gems unless he pays big money for it.
As whisky retailer I should be happy that I could increase my profits by 200-300% for such bottles and that’s also my struggle within. I could make good money on these bottles, but the whisky enthusiast in me seems to win the battle as I am going to offer a few of these hard to get bottles at affordable prices for all those who have been loyal customers (or maybe will become).
These bottles are probably all sold out in your regular shops and are offered at ridiculous prices at auctions or on whiskybase. Springbank Local Barley is already at €300 on whiskybase to give you a reference.
These prices are offered to people who will crack open that bottle and enjoy it, preferable with friends, but I’ll leave that up to you. In order to try and keep them out of auctions every bottle and package will have a big written “Thistle +sell date” on it, so it loses it’s collectable value. So be aware that you buy these beauties to enjoy them, not to make money out of it.
How to participate in the raffle?
You can now ‘buy’ a raffle ticket for each of the 3 bottles offered.
The raffle ticket is completely free of charge.
You are only allowed 1 ticket per bottle (if you try to cheat you will be excluded from the raffle entirely).
You can only participate to enter the raffle if you have purchased other products with us before the date of the raffle on 1st of June 2021 and have registered for the newsflash/letter. So new people can quickly become ‘loyal’ customers before the big date.
Take your raffle ticket below by ordering the bottle(s) you would like to buy
We have had a couple of people telling us what they thought about our Glen Moray à la Belge, Mark Watt (whisky expert), Phillip Geubels (Belgian comedian), Bart Van Gyseghem (food/drink enthusiast), Kevin Pilley (food/drink travelling journalist). This week we saw a review by Jasper Van Papeghem on facebook. Jasper is a wine specialist at Bottleadvice, he won ‘best sommelier of Belgium’ in 2017-2018. In 2017 he won the ‘Ruinart trophy’ and he wrote the book ‘biologisch, dynamisch, natuurlijk?’.
I think it is obvious to say that Jasper knows a thing or two about flavours. Read what Jasper thinks of our latest release (translation of his in Dutch written review; we apologise for any wrong translations in there):
What I personally found unique is the small bottle with the pre-finish. You get to know the raw material of this unique whisky. As with cooking or any gastronomic event, it is important and extremely educational to get to know the raw material and the golden rule remains that exceptional products can only be made with exceptional ingredients. The pre-finish is very enjoyable and good in all its simplicity and (compared to a few other whiskys from my collection) lacked some spiciness or zest.
I was therefore extremely curious what the result would be this time (after my praise of the previous batch), especially as a big geuze / kriek lover and of course whisky enthusiast this seemed like a project for me.
The color is already very promising: chestnut brown with a light golden hue.
In the nose we immediately get a nice bouquet of caramel, vanilla, toast, tropical wood and surprisingly some candied fruit and dried herbs. After the whisky has had some time to develop, we get a soft mix between cigar box, cedar, ripe apple, flowers, honey and one of my personal favourites: the tarte à tatin. What strikes me most is the softness of the whole: nothing burning or ethereal but a clean and elegant nose. Here I notice (without tasting and compared to the pre-finish) that this finish has been well thought over. ‘Finish’ in the world of whisky can often be compared to the gold medals in wine: a marketing product without much added value or quality, which does not mean that it can’t sometimes also be a real added value.
On the palate, the first thing that strikes you again is the softness, balance and elegance of this whisky.
The tarte à tatin returns with some caramel, butterscotch, ripe apple topped with some dark cherry, Mon Chéri and chocolate. Everything in perfect balance with a soft moelleux and aftertaste where even a light spiciness / spiciness lingers that gives the whole some extra power.
For me personally you can test the quality of a good whisky by its aftertaste … what sticks? How long? And above all: is alcohol getting the upper hand? With this Whisky a la Belge, for me, the tarte a tatin, dark cherry and a fine spiciness lingers with a very long aftertaste where the alcohol always remains in the background and never takes the upper hand. What surprised me the most was the absolute balance between the whole with especially the light moelleux softness of this exceptional whisky that reminds me a bit of a top bourbon in terms of mouthfeel but with the elegance and power of a real scotch. Is the finish an added value here: without a doubt yes!
I am already looking forward to the next batch!
This whisky can of course go with a cigar, after a coffee and all other traditional pairings, but due to its exceptional softness I would dare to serve it with gravadlax, game, apple pie, tarte tattin or of course just as pure enjoyment.
The Arran Explorers Series is a collection of limited edition expressions of The Arran Single Malt. Each edition celebrates the outstanding scenic beauty and diversity of nature on the Isle of Arran. To the west of the island you will pass through the pretty coastal village of Blackwaterfoot. North of the village, the main road leaves the coast for a few miles and bypasses Drumadoon Point. The scenery of the headland is breathtaking with a raised beach and dramatic cliffs formed from basalt columns. Drumadoon Point is home to Shiskine Golf Club, a unique 12-hole golf course regarded by many as one of the finest in the UK. Slightly to the North of the course, its impressive cliffs on the seaward side protect the remains of the largest Iron Age fort on Arran. For the walker, the terrain is diverse. Sandy beach, grassy footpaths and large boulders make it a beautiful piece of coastline to explore. This view across Shiskine Golf Course towards Drumadoon Point is best appreciated with a dram of Arran Single Malt in hand.
This particular expression has been maturing for the last 23 years in ex Sherry Puncheons sourced directly from Jerez from a respected small producer who shares our values. The resulting whisky perfectly captures the impressive and dramatic scenery of this part of the island. Take your senses on an adventure around the Isle of Arran.
Please sent us an e-mail if you like to pre-order it. We are waiting our allocation, so it is not sure how many bottles we will get. First come, first serve.
Price: €182 (excl.transport/delivery).
TASTING NOTES:
NOSE A burst of sweet apple with an underlying maltiness – a classic expression of well aged Arran. The sweet notes linger and are enriched by baked pastry and a dusting of icing sugar (think Apple Strudel). Rich and nutty in the background, bringing to life the influence of the casks used.
PALATE An initial wave of sweetness followed by spice; Spiced apple, cocoa powder and star anise. Flavours of dark chocolate and raisins also start to develop, creating a beautiful balance between Arran’s signature style and sherry cask maturation.
FINISH A long and warming finish, reflecting the sweetness and spice found on nose
and palate. A dram that will leave you wanting to pour another!
Specs:
49.5% Vol., 23 years old, limited Edition of 9,000 bottles worldwide, matured in Sherry Puncheons.
As most of you know we don’t like to tell you what something tastes like, whether you have to like this dram or that other one. Taste is something very personal and basically you are never wrong, but it is fun to discuss our different interpretations of a dram.
So, we love it when people write a review or send us feedback on our whisky. It also means they cracked that bottle open to enjoy and not to make money out of it at a later time. In the end that is why we try to create new and interesting whisky. After a video review by Mark Watt we have the pleasure to get some feedback of Mickaël of the Campfire Dram.
But let me just shut up and let Mickaël do the talking:
As promised, my review of the Glen Moray à la Belge, a Speyside whisky with a Cantillon cask finish!Here are my tasting notes. Full review on the blog!In the nose, I was greeted with syrupy cherries (the dark ones), reminding me of cherry pie, with a delicate balance between sweet and sour. There’s some caramel as well, and even a light poster paint scent. My advice is to give the dram some time to fully develop in the nose, after which you’ll be able to enjoy dark chocolate notes too, moving towards cocoa beans and cocoa butter.I enjoyed the wood flavors that are present while tasting the whisky, and I’m happy that there was a slightly bitter note as well, besides the vanilla and toffee. At the core, I discovered a gentle and pleasantly sour note, which then moved high up towards my hard palate. I also had a slight tingle on my upper lip. The finish is long, and reveals a bit more wood and even some cherry pits. But then, I sipped the Cantillon beer. And man. It was divine. The red fruit and cherry flavors, the sour notes, the combination with the chocolate in the nose. It all fit so naturally, so beautifully. I think I might even try some Black Forest cherry pie (Schwarzwalder Kirsch) with this next time. My birthday is coming up…
You can find the full article here
