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9th October 2024 |
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Review of five
whiskies from the Caskshare
Collective Series: Caol Ila 8 Year Old,
Benrinnes 12 Year Old, Craigellachie 21
Year Old and two Swedish whiskies from the Agitator distillery
a Four Grain White Port Wine Single Cask
and a Peated Sauternes Cask matured
single malt.
Caskshare is an
Edinburgh based independent whisky
bottler who launched back in 2019, 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.
You can read my thoughts below on
five current single cask whisky releases from the
Caskshare
Collective Series below, further single cask bottling's
will be released over the coming
months, with full details at www.caskshare.com
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Caskshare Collective Series Caol Ila
8 Year Old
Ex-Bourbon Cask CA.16.01 Review
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Distilled at the Caol Ila distillery and
matured in a single in a single American
Oak ex-Bourbon Cask CA.16.01 which
produced 267 bottles. Bottled May 2024
at a cask strength of 60.8% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
A lovely fresh, clean nose, sweet malt,
vanilla and some lovely enticingly
gentle sweet peat smoke, a little mild
zesty lemon.
Taste:
At first a lovely gentle sweet peaty
entry, the sweet peat rises in intensity
acompanied by sweet vanilla, a lovely
maltiness, a touch of peppery oak spices
and lemon zest.
Finish:
A lovely long lingering finish, the
delicious sugary sweet peat smoke has
been mellowed but outlives the vanilla,
mildly drying and lingering oak spice
hang in there until the end.
Comment:
A stunning example of Caol Ila which is
all about the malt, sugars, oak, lemon
citrus and of course the delicious sweet
peat all served at the very flavoursome
cask strength of 60.8%
SMW Score
93/100
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Caskshare Collective Series
Benrinnes 12 Year Old
Oloroso Sherry Cask 11875/082 Review
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Distilled at the Benrinnes distillery
and matured in a single Oloroso sherry cask
11875/082 which produced 342 bottles. Bottled
February 2024 at a cask strength of 55.7% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Sugar sweetened raisin infused toffee,
gentle orange zest and dates. A wee
touch of toffee apple sweetness also.
Taste:
A deliciously rich smooth delivery of
lovely sherried fruit. Sweet, then mouth
drying, yet not astringent as the
concentrated sweetness remains. Raisin
and dates laced with rich sherry, zesty
orange, a touch of treacle toffee and
some lovely vibrant pepper and oak
spice.
Finish:
A long delicious sherry rich finish,
dried sweet sherried fruits just cling
to the palate, eventually bowing out to
leave some peppery sweet oak spice to
have the final word.
Comment:
A sherry rich and a very good Benrinnes
which you don't see that many of,
without a doubt a decent Oloroso sherry
cask was used here, it is packed with
sherry flavour thanks to its cask
strength but still a smooth easy
drinking big sherried dram
SMW Score
89/100
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Caskshare Collective Series
Craigellachie 21 Year Old
First Fill Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogshead
CR.03.01 Review
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Distilled at the Craigellachie
distillery and matured in a single American Oak ex-Pedro Ximenez
first-fill Sherry Hogshead Cask CR.03.01
which produced 195 bottles. Bottled
August 2024 at a cask strength of 56.7% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
A lovely sweet mix of toasty vanilla, dark cherry
and orange zest, a wee touch of iced
coconut and a little
nuttiness lurking in the background.
Taste:
A delicious barley sugar sweetened
sherry rich and vibrant delivery. Sherry
oaked sugared raisins and sultana, orange
infused toffee which is bordering on the
treacle side, plum, some apple and pear, some
lovely slightly drying oak spice hanging
around in the background and a very
distant mild sulphury smokiness.
Finish:
A long finish with burnt
raisins and sultanas hanging in there
for an age, some lingering
treacle toffee which all bitters out to
leave some mature
oak clinging to the palate until the
end. A wee touch of late sulphury
smokiness.
Comment:
A lovely big sherried Craigellachie, not
a huge sherry bomb but it really is a
mature fruity sherried pleasure on the
palate and the long finish simply
extends that pleasure. The wee touch of
sulphur Craigellachie is known for is
there if you dig deep enough. A
different and very enjoyable alternative
to the Craigellachie core range, just as
you want from an indie bottling.
SMW Score
90/100
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Caskshare Collective Series Agitator
(Sweden)
Peated Single Malt First Fill Sauternes
Cask AG.19.05 Review
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Distilled at the Agitator distillery in
Sweden and matured in a single
White Wine Port Cask which produced 265
bottles. Bottled May 2024 at a cask
strength of 58.3% ABV.
William Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
A creamy butter and vanilla mix infused
with some lovely gentle sweet peat smoke
and the slightest wee touch of
saltiness.
Taste:
Gentle creamy butterscotch and honey
interlaced with delicious sweet peat
smoke, some equally delicious gentle
candied fruit, pineapple and pear, then
some lovely pepper and oak completes the
party.
Finish:
Candied sugar boosted, honeyed peat
smoke simply clings to the mouth for an
age before giving way to some gentle
pepper and oak to have the final word.
Comment:
Not my first young peated single malt
from Agitator but it is another cracker
and the Sauternes wine cask has added a
delicious sweet, fruity edge to it.
Deliciously moreish!
SMW Score
88/100
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Caskshare Collective Series Agitator
(Sweden)
4 Grain
Whisky White Port Wine Cask 4067 Review
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Distilled at the Agitator distillery in
Sweden and matured in a single
White Wine Port Cask which produced 310
bottles. Bottled December 2022 at a cask
strength of 58.6% 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 sweet grain spiritiness which you would
expect in a young grain whisky. 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 very port wine rich
Swedish single grain whisky 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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