Until Scapa starts properly feeding the indy bottler world more readily, mysterious Orkney bottlings offer little wonder from their labels alone. This Watt Whisky non-Viking edition has spent its 8 years maturing in an ex-bourbon hogshead before being bottled at 57.1% ABV. Still available from The Whisky Exchange for £60.95.
Nose: Appealing from the get-go. Lightly smoked creamy toffee alongside desiccated coconut, crème caramel and vanilla buttercream. Smouldering hillside foliage runs throughout – that wispy ethereal note expected from this Orkney spirit – and most certainly delivered here. Dilution presents banoffee pie together with brand snaps and sunflower oil.
Taste: Much more oomph now. Crème brule, burnt toffee and velvety fudge lead into peppered cream whilst typically HP in-land smoke sits alongside underripe fruit from foam bananas and ripening peaches. Reduction is most beneficial – less peppery spice and far more ex-bourbon with coconut macaroons and vanilla cream piped buns.
Finish: Medium with char and delicate smoke together with sustained fruity distillate sweetness.
Elementary, elemental Orkney whisky that’s controlled throughout and given ample breathing space for both the spirit and the cask. The distillery itself has been putting out a range of higher strength, younger expressions recently – this Watt Whisky treads a similar path – but with a composition that outshines them. Simple and all rather effective.
Review sample provided by Watt Whisky