The English Whisky Co. Chapter 11 Heavily Peated (Cask# 0501) (46.0%): I got this bottle at Vinology, a tiny wine and spirits shop in Stratford-upon-Avon with a quite impressive whisky selection. We were lucky enough to catch Matt Cowan one of the owners of the shop and taste a few drams when we were geeking out about whisky. Great time spent... No wonder why everybody was talking to me about them before I came here. If you happen to be in Stratford-upon-Avon you definitely should pay a visit to Vinology. Anyway, since we are in England I thought tasting an English whisky would be a proper choice. Chapter 11 is the latest expression from St. George's Distillery home to the English Whisky Co. They started to distill single malt spirit late 2006 and are running very exciting experiments since then both with different peatiness levels and different types of maturation. Chapter 11 is their heavily peated expression. It is a very young release distilled in August 2008, bottled in January 2012 and aged exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels. Color: Very pale straw, young Pinot Grigio. Nose: Sweet pungent new make aromas hit the nose immediately. Like walking into the still room of the distillery. Wet sand at the beach on a cold winter morning, rubber band ball and smoked kipper... Fresh cut grass and cold pear compote aromas follow after. Aniseed, tincture of iodine and sterilized gauze pads to finish. Palate: More medicinal than being smoky and peaty. Powdered latex gloves and rubber hot water bottles. Cereal; whole wheat cookies, tea biscuits and sweet malt. Ginger candy and dried papaya and mango slices. Finish: Not so long, but distinctive with sprinkle of white pepper. Overall: My kind of a whisky; young but very enjoyable. There is something about ex-bourbon aged young peated whiskies I really love. It reminded me the first releases of Kilchoman. Very promising... I bet it will mature amazingly well in another five years or so. To be honest right now it is a little pricy for a 3 1/2 years old whisky but I assume it will be priced more moderate when it gets a wide release.
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