It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Continuing on the North British vibe, but merging in malt and wrapping the resulting intriguing blend up in a Dickensesque double-sider we have Watt Whisky’s 5 year old Blended Scotch Whisky by-lined ‘A Tale of Two Cities (and a wee Toon).
The Watt’s first in-house created amalgamation contains malt from both a Campbeltown and a Glasgow distillery (at 28.5% each according to Neil over on whiskyreviews.net) with the remaining 43% sourced from Wheatfield Road in Edinburgh. Fun stuff. 501 bottles were produced at 57.1% ABV. The original price was £48, though I believe you’ll need to look outside the UK to secure a bottle now.
Nose: Out of the bottle - crystalline lemon and chiselled minerality. This fades and gives way to toffee cups, sultanas and honey bread alongside choux pastry and a scattering of breakfast cereals. Dilution reveals vanillins and raisins together with Rich Tea biscuits and a edge of sea breeze.
Taste: This drinks exceptionally well for the chosen ABV – with the malt firmly in charge of the grain. Powered lemony gravel sits with oven-baked buns, sultanas and preserved lemons. Lamp oil and mineral fizzing oak gives way to tart cases, powered ginger and a white wine sharpness. The addition of water is a bad idea here – the whisky quickly loses cohesion, with the grain elements bringing grist and cereal strongly to the fore.
Finish: Medium with pastries and lemons – still quite mineralistic and honed.
Watt Whisky’s first blend is as fun as it sounds. Though perhaps lacking in layers from the convergence of the grain and malt (I’m personally missing a base note to juxtaposition against the sweetness and coastal qualities) – the profile works and provides more than enough interest to suggest that Mark and Kate should continue their unification of Campbeltown malts with other ‘stuff’. I for one would be very interested to see what it’s possible for them to conjure up.