As I said in Part 1, I did a bit of island hopping (metaphorically, not literally) and tasted another three fist batch releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Unfamiliar with That Boutique-y Whisky Company? You shouldn’t be, but click here to find out a bit more about them just to refresh your memory. For those too lazy to click and who want an easy-to-digest nugget of information to sum up this brand, it’s Master of Malt’s independent bottling label. A sort of George at Asda of the whisky world, if you will. But with less polyester. Anyway, now we’ve got that cleared up, let’s plough on with a Tobermory, an Arran and a Bowmore…
Tobermory Batch 1
That Boutique-y Whisky Company
200 bottles
53.8% ABV
£49.95 from here
Nose: A pepper prickle to begin with, then mango chutney and caramelised onions. Then some stewed fruits appear – rhubarb and apple.
Palate: Warm wood spices instantly dominate and give way to salty black pepper oatcakes and a clean citric note – lemon juice? Some dry wooden floorboards creep through at the end.
Finish: A tingling array of woody spices.
Arran Batch 1
That Boutique-y Whisky Company
211 bottles
49.1% ABV
£43.95 (sadly all gone) but…
£4.67 for a 3cl sample from here
Nose: Buttered toast, malt loaf and creamy fudge. Then rum and raisin truffles give a richer edge and some orange peel keeps things fresh.
Palate: Really very smooth. Cinder toffee, Nice biscuits, some ripe berries and oak.
Finish: A lovely fruity sweetness – peaches and pineapples are balanced by some woody notes.
Bowmore Batch 1
That Boutique-y Whisky Company
263 bottles
48.7% ABV
£52.95 (sadly all gone) but…
£5.31 for a 3cl sample from here
Nose: Faint bonfires, salty rockpools and oyster shells to begin. It’s quite soft though, with peaches, vanilla yoghurt and floral notes also evident.
Palate: Heather honey, singed orange peel, cocoa and vanilla are all covered with a layer of woodsmoke and sea spray.
Finish: Lingering smoke with a salty/sweet battle going on.
Overall: Another three cracking bottlings from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Tobermory isn’t my favourite distillery by any stretch of the imagination, but this is one of the better liquids I’ve tried from the Island of Mull. The Arran really is a smooth and complex little so-and-so, and considering nothing in it can be more that 18yo (the distillery only opened in 1995) it’s a very impressive dram. The Bowmore surprised me a little – I expected an all guns blazing peat fest and it’s actually rather delicate. Good to see the ‘other’ sides to the Bowmore spirit. Just a shame two of these three bottlings are sold out, I wonder what the second batches taste like…
Tiger
