As a cask comes to maturity, Finn curates sampling sessions in interesting and relaxing environments, with friends, whisky experts and trusted partners to discover the personality of each cask and gauge the experience each dram evokes.
All the best distillers pride themselves on crafting whisky with a distinctive flavour, which is determined by the water source, grain and barley, the peat and malting, and their distilling processes. High quality original spirit is integral to every cask we bottle.
The cask itself interacts with the whisky over time. The type of wood plays a big role, as do treatments such as the whiskies are aged in a variety of types of casks. The whiskies are aged in former sherry or bourbon casks, augmenting the cask influence. External conditions such as air temperature, pressure and humidity also interact with the cask producing a knock-on effect that makes the spirit inside unique.
Finn uses these factors to balance each FT whisky experience. He may sample a cask and decide to leave it on the rack, allowing age to further develop its personality. He might decide to re-rack a whisky in a new cask to add a finishing touch. Or, he might simply deem it ready. When Finn decides the flavour is perfectly balanced, it’s time to bottle the whisky.
The story behind selecting this North British single cask release perfectly showcases the vital role independent bottlers have in bringing the best casks of whisky to the public.
In November 2024 I got a message from the master blender of a highly respected whisky company who had discovered a selection of North British casks that were ‘too good’ to be lost in the blend he was creating.
North British is one of the unsung heroes of the Scotch whisky industry. A grain distillery that produces its spirit from maize, North British is present in most of the top blends which have made Scotch whisky so famous across the world. The maize base gives the spirit a buttery texture that is more complex than many of the other single grains. It is a quite vast operation, producing around 10 bottles of whisky per second at full capacity. With no official bottlings from the distillery itself, it is left to independent bottlers like ourselves to showcase this quiet giant.
These were heavily sherried casks that would have altered the consistency of their house blend which required an ex-bourbon cask profile. After coming to one of my tasting events where I was singing the praises of North British Distillery, he invited me in to taste 8 cask samples of these sherried beauties. After nosing and sipping each one carefully, I selected 4 for adding to our family cask portfolio and knew I immediately wanted to bottle the first of which as soon as possible.
This particular cask is bursting with chocolate, caramel and raisins and is already at the sweet spot for bottling. Once destined to behidden in a blend, I’m delighted to be able to highlight this single cask in all its sherried wonder.
The story behind selecting this North British single cask release perfectly showcases the vital role independent bottlers have in bringing the best casks of whisky to the public.
In November 2024 I got a message from the master blender of a highly respected whisky company who had discovered a selection of North British casks that were ‘too good’ to be lost in the blend he was creating.
North British is one of the unsung heroes of the Scotch whisky industry. A grain distillery that produces its spirit from maize, North British is present in most of the top blends which have made Scotch whisky so famous across the world. The maize base gives the spirit a buttery texture that is more complex than many of the other single grains. It is a quite vast operation, producing around 10 bottles of whisky per second at full capacity. With no official bottlings from the distillery itself, it is left to independent bottlers like ourselves to showcase this quiet giant.
These were heavily sherried casks that would have altered the consistency of their house blend which required an ex-bourbon cask profile. After coming to one of my tasting events where I was singing the praises of North British Distillery, he invited me in to taste 8 cask samples of these sherried beauties. After nosing and sipping each one carefully, I selected 4 for adding to our family cask portfolio and knew I immediately wanted to bottle the first of which as soon as possible.
This particular cask is bursting with chocolate, caramel and raisins and is already at the sweet spot for bottling. Once destined to behidden in a blend, I’m delighted to be able to highlight this single cask in all its sherried wonder.