The Vintage Malt Whisky Company are a family-owned Independent operator that since 1992 have been bottling exceptional single cask and blended malt releases. Owners of the Finlaggan, Ileach and Cooper’s Choice brands, the Crook family use their experience to ensure each bottling is of the finest quality.
This Australian exclusive bottling of a ‘teaspooned’ Campbeltown malt whisky came about after conversations with Andrew Crook (MD of The Vintage Malt Whisky Company) about bottling something special exclusively for the Australian market to showcase what Cooper’s Choice is about. Simon (of SSW) selected this Campbeltown from a lineup of interesting casks, but was most impressed with the balance of the whisky, and the intriguing flavour profile.
The distillate came from ‘a famous distillery in Campbeltown’ (make of that what you will), and spent close to bang on 8.5 years in a refill American Oak barrel before transferring to a French ex-muscat cask for a long 18 month finish. The result is a sublime and intriguing whisky.
Simon’s notes:
Nose: sweet and floral with a grapey element sitting comfortably alongside dried orange rind, ginger and some earthy dampness
Palate: Fresh grape sweetness at the front that mellows into oranges, cooked peaches, ginger with a subtle saltiness and leathery, earthy notes.
Finish: Really quite long with grape and orange fruits slowly drying over time as the oak spice and tannin notes remain.
Bottled at a high 54.5% with no chill filtration or colour additions. The barrel produced 295 bottles (the label states 312 based on a pre-bottling cask dip).
700ml. 54.5% ABV.
