A truly local release with just 66 bottles available from Halls in Campbeltown by the bottle and the Ardshiel Hotel by the bottle and the dram. Noted as a combination of whiskies from more than one Campbeltown distillery, the expression has been bottled from the remains of a hogshead of the Campbeltown blend – the rest of the juice is currently residing in the rather funky Clarendon rum cask that was also released as part of this batch of Watt Whiskies. Might as well use what you’ve got to hand!
Nose: Vegetable oils and pan fats sit with a fruit salad composed of apples, pears and white grapes. Then they’re all cooked in foil in an engine compartment (as you do). Cream cheese and hay add a slight funkiness to proceedings whilst gooseberry fool and vanilla cream patisserie provide welcome sweetness. Dilution offers a weirder journey with wire wool, decade old Nescafe and a puff of exhaust fumes. Funky and fun.
Taste: Thick and mouth-coating with a real combing together of fruitiness and industrialness. Orchard fruits are drizzled with lemon to prevent them turning brown, whilst smoked cream cheese and water-logged hay join lamp oil, wet earth and gingerbread men. Still funky. Water adds softness which straddles oiliness and creaminess, together with notes of green bananas and tutti-fruity chews.
Finish: Medium with freshly brewed coffee, barnyard and fading fruity sweetness.
Irrespective of whether this is heavier on the Springbank or the Glen Scotia elements – this is fun throughout. The blend is well-composed and doesn’t take itself too seriously – there’s more than enough no matter your preferences for Campbelton whisky. Oh and it drinks really nicely for the ABV and can take a splash of water too. Bonus. I really look forward to the results fo the remainder of the original hogshead.
Review sample provided by Watt Whisky