HERESY SMALL-BATCH DELIGHTS
Love potion
The Scotch whisky regions have long been used as a benchmark for referencing a dram’s flavour. Although these can still be helpful, more distilleries than ever are defying traditional expectations and venturing off the beaten track. Uncovering our latest ‘Heresy’ small-batch release, Julien Willems reveals that Batch #32 Fife peaty potion is heretical in more ways than one
PHOTOS: DUNCAN GORMAN
Traditional whisky wisdom would have you believe Lowland whisky is light, grassy and floral. Then again it also tells you that you shouldn’t add water to your whisky or that the darker a dram, the older it is – neither are ideas we give much attention to here at the Society. Across the water from Edinburgh a newer distillery looks to break with conventional Lowland flavour, and by producing a peated and unpeated whisky, brings smoke back to the Kingdom of Fife. Making use of this maverick spirit, Batch #32 Fife peaty potion makes a fitting addition to our ‘Heresy’ range.
One of the many interesting points about this Fife distillery is that it operates a mash filter in place of a traditional mash tun. I’ll skip the technical part, but in terms of flavour it's associated with clean spirits that have fewer cereal flavours, allowing for the fruity esters to shine through. The distillery works with a variety of cereals other than barley, and the mash filter allows for a much smoother process than a traditional mash tun. This piece of kit is more associated with the world of brewing, and while uncommon in Scotch whisky production it is not unheard of. Up in the Highlands Distillery 59 had its own mash filter installed in 2000 and is producing delicious whisky we love to bottle. Once more releases from this Fife distillery land on Society shelves, it would be worth tasting it side by side with distillery 59 to see if there are any parallels in the flavour profile.
This expression, while technically still a single malt, combines both the peated and unpeated makes from this distillery. We crafted this concoction with care, combining different batches to find the right levels of smoke and peat. We then filled the resulting lightly peated single malt into fresh casks, Fife peaty potion is the combination of two such casks.
One butt formerly held an extremely sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry, while another contained dry oloroso sherry, with both influences mixing in a second layer of heretical flavour sorcery.
After 18 months in these two sherry butts, both casks were combined to produce a well-balanced, sherry-cask matured peated experience. Sweet, tarry, and medicinal aromas are flanked by smoked toffee and baked plums with a distinct dunnage dimension. As the Panel pointed out, it is a very pleasant dram that steers clear of any extremes and as a result is soothing, warming and comforting.
This Fife whisky joins another band of Lowland adventurers such as distilleries 50 and 156 which have been using peated malt for some time now.
So, let’s remind ourselves that the Lowland whisky lore of old, might not be quite as relevant as it once was. The days of Scotch whisky regions only offering one flavour profile are gone, with more than a few Lowland distilleries opting to venture off the beaten track. Get your hands on Fife peaty potion to get a taste of an ancient kingdom’s new age.