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6th April 2023 |
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Review of the
first whiskies released in the Caskshare
Collective Series, a 9 year old Highland
Blended Malt, and four single cask
whiskies, two 4 Year Old Swedish
whiskies from the Agitator distillery, a
Dailuaine 14 Year Old and a Port
Charlotte 21 Year Old.
Caskshare is an Edinburgh based
independent whisky bottler who launched
back in 2019 as I suppose you could say
a spin-off from its parent company Uisge
Tech Ltd Incorporated which launched in
2015.
Uisge Tech Ltd is a team of innovative tech startup professionals
focussed on helping the worldwide craft
distiller, whisky and spirits industry.
Uisge Tech Ltd went on to launch Craft
Whisky Club UK in 2016 followed by Craft
Whisky Club US in 2017 and Craft Whisky
Club EU in 2019. Caskshare was then
launched in 2019 as a service within
Craft Whisky Club. Then in 2021
Caskshare.com was launched.
So what is Caskshare? Well basically
their aim is to make Single Cask
whisky available to everyone and not
just any cask they can get their hands
on, they aim to bring you unique whisky
from the latest and brightest
distilleries, before they bottle it as
well as special whiskies from the
established distilleries.
Now you can reserve a share in a
cask to secure your bottle of something
truly exciting. Watch it mature and
enjoy the benefits of their Collective
with tastings, meet the maker events and
exclusive content. Enjoy your whisky
when it’s ready. They'll let you know
once your share is ready to bottle and
winging its way to you.
With a range of ready to bottle and
maturing shares - they have everything
you need to build your whisky collection
with rare finds you’ll not see on the
supermarket shelves.
Caskshare Pairs Its One-Off Whiskies
With Adventures In Art
Driven by a passion to share the magic
of incredible rare whiskies, the team at
Caskshare has embarked on a series of
collaborations with bright young visual
artists. Specially created artworks will
feature on the labels of Caskshare’s
releases from January 2023, showcasing
the designs of a collective of talented
illustrators.
The first of this series of
collaborations are
Martha Duncan, Phoebe Phillips and Evie
Grace. Each of their labels incorporates
a different element reflecting the
enjoyment of special whiskies - and
offers an adventure for the senses.
Caskshare's single-cask-to-glass service
invites adventurous drinkers to sample a
share of a truly unique whisky from a
one-of-a-kind cask before it’s even
bottled. Making owning single cask malts
accessible to everyone from collectors
to the whisky curious, the premise is
simple: one share = one bottle and
single-bottle shares start from as
little as £40.
Amy Macrae, Marketing Manager at
Caskshare, said of the collaborations:
"For us, whisky is about community,
individuality and craftsmanship, and
we’ve invited artists to help us convey
this by sharing their work on our
bottles. Their designs are bright and
beautiful expressions of what's inside,
taking elements from Scottish culture,
myth and the feeling of 'home', along
with playful takes on the experience of
drinking whisky.
"We can't wait to embark further on this
journey, amplifying up-and-coming talent
and sharing this range with the world."
You can read my thoughts below on the
first whiskies in this Cashshare
Collective Series of artist collaborations, further bottling's,
artists and label designs will be
announced and updated over coming
months, with full details at www.caskshare.com
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Caskshare Collective Series 7/2013
9 Year Old Highland
Blended Malt Whisky Review
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Collaboration .1 – ‘Home’ by Martha
Duncan, Blended 9 Year-Old Malt (for
Collective members only, pictured second
from left)
The Glasgow School of Art graduate’s
fun, colourful designs take inspiration
from human quirks, overheard
conversations, architecture and animals
and she works mainly using the linocut
printmaking technique and digital art.
Martha’s design for Caskshare depicts
the beautiful Edinburgh New Town
townhouse which is home to Caskshare.
Martha said: "I often use Scottish
motifs, including tenement buildings, in
my own illustrative work which makes the
piece a perfect collaboration between
myself and Caskshare."
@marthaduncan.studio /
www.marthaduncanstudio.com
American Ex-Bourbon
Cask. Distilled in the Highlands.
274 Bottles. Bottled at 57% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Subtle notes of creamy sweet vanilla
fudge, a little apple and fresh pear,
some lemon and very gentle oak spice
hides in the background.
Taste:
A lovely barley sugar candy sweetness
leads the charge, followed by vanilla,,
a touch of zesty lemon and pineapple, a
lovely light touch of oak spice hangs
around in the background.
Finish:
A delicious long finish, the sugars
peak, more vanilla and a gentle candied
apple and pear fruitiness which keeps
the oak spices at bay but there is still
enough oak to entertain.
Comment:
A delicious very enjoyable blended malt,
reminded me very much of Glenlivet
Nadurra, if it had more apple and pear
notes I would have sworn it came from
Glenlivet.
SMW Blended
Malt Score
91/100
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Caskshare Collective Series 4033
Agitator 4 Year Old Peated Swedish
Single Malt Review
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Collaboration .2 – ‘Out of this World’,
Phoebe Phillips, Agitator, £75 (pictured
third from left)
Phoebe Phillips is an illustrator and
screen printer based in Somerset.
Drawing on inspiration from pop culture
- past and present - she reimagines
nostalgic curiosities with an unmissable
vibrancy through illustration and
hand-crafted screen printing. Her love
of the weird and wonderful pours through
in her custom designs for these sister
Caskshare labels. Depicted in her
distinctively retro style of
illustration, the labels combine to show
a space robot and astronaut enjoying an
out of this world whisky in an out of
this world setting, together. Phoebe
turned to the pages of her vintage comic
book collection to seek other-worldly
inspiration which she realised initially
in pencil. With the concept defined, she
moved into Illustrator, selecting a bold
and beautiful colour palette that
reflects the tasting notes of the
whiskey itself. The pieces were then
finished with an intricate stipple
shading to add depth and dimension to
the artworks.
www.phoebephillips.co.uk.
Bottled at 58.6% ABV% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Sweet vanilla fudge infused with very
gentle peat smoke, some distant citrus
fruit and raisin.
Taste:
A young delicious, genteel peat smoke
and vanilla mix leads along with an
infusion of wood spice (the chestnut no
doubt). Some orangey notes, raisins,
ripe pears, a little cinnamon, just a
touch of bitter sweet dark chocolate
which keep the fruit in check.
Finish:
A longish finish, the spirity youth of
the whisky is a little more apparent,
the peat has a wee touch of a liquorice
edge now and there is a wee touch of sea
salt, the fruit bows out to leave the
chestnut wood spice and peat to slowly
fade out.
Comment:
A cracking young peaty dram again a
great insight as to what is to come from
Agitator distillery, something special I
suspect.
SMW Score
85/100
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Caskshare Collective Series 4067
Agitator 4 Year Old Four Grain
Swedish Whisky Review
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This is a second work by Phoebe Phillips
which features on Agitator’s
Swedish Four Grain Whisky, £75 -
pictured left)
White Wine Port Casks. 315 Bottles. Bottled at 58.6%
ABV% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose::
Vanilla toffee infused with sugared plum, a
wee touch of candied sweetness, fruity and
floral, a little orange blossom and
raisin.
Taste:
Deliciously rich and just the slightest
touch of spiritiness which you would
expect in a whisky of this age. Chewy toffee
and the sugared plum from the nose lead
the charge, followed closely by a apple,
sultana and raisin fruitiness, a delicate vanilla oakiness
with a bit of a vibrant spicy edge, a
late touch of ginger and zesty orange.
Finish:
The toffee and sugared plum slowly fades
as the oak spice and ginger peak before
bowing out.
Comment:
A cracking young port rich Swedish
single malt and hopefully this is an
insight into what is to come from
Agitator. Outstanding for such a young
whisky.
SMW Score
88/100
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Caskshare Collective Series 310031
Dailuaine 14 Year Old Review
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Collaboration .3 – ‘Bothy’, Evie Grace,
Dailuaine, £85 (pictured right)
Scottish freelance illustrator and
designer Evie is currently based in
Bristol and shares stories through bold,
honest and witty concepts. Evie’s
inspiration comes from what’s going on
in the world whether linked to the
environmental or social, and from the
stories she collects through life
experiences and conversations. A keen
outdoor and cold-water swimming
enthusiast, Evie said: "Whisky and
adventures are one and the same for me -
a Scottish bothy with a whisky is the
perfect combination. I wanted to show
both the magic of Scotland and the magic
of adventures by adding mystical twists
to the starry bothy scene."
www.eviegraceillustration.com / @eviegraceillustration
American Ex-Bourbon Cask. 216 Bottles.
Bottled at 56.5% ABV
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Malted bread, vanilla toffee and
marmalade, some distant spice.
Taste:
Spiced vanilla toffee apple with a
cinnamon edge, some heavy weight barley
sugared sweetness, oak spice and a touch
of late butterscotch.
Finish:
The spices gather before bowing out, the
sugars fade next, slightly drying oak
has the last word.
Comment:
Like many Dailuaine single malts it is
heavy on the sugars. The bottling strength make
for an enjoyable enough flavoursome
Dailuaine.
SMW Score
85/100
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Caskshare Collective Series 1033
Port Charlotte 21 Year Old Review
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Artist: Small Studio
Filled into a refill Bourbon hogshead,
then around 2009, the cask was re-casked
into a Saint-Julien ex-Bordeaux red wine
cask in Jan 2020 it was then re-casked
into its current bourbon barrel.. 230 Bottles.
Bottled at 60.1% ABV
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
A gentle peaty smokiness mixed with the
malty sweetness of spring barley and vanilla.
A little lemon citrus with a touch of spice.
Taste:
Delicious barley sugared peat smoke
fills every corner of the mouth, honey
and vanilla. lemon and a lovely touch of
drying oak
Finish:
Delicious honeyed, vanilla'd peat smoke
with a oak infusion lingers long into
the finish
Comment:
A delicious Port Charlotte that has had
its peat tamed more than you may be used
to for Port Charlotte. It is currently
the oldest Port Charlotte on the market
so that would explain it.
SMW Score
89/100
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