Reviews of affordable whiskies with some entertaining tales along the way…
The Whisky Reviews sample cupboard is bulging again and it’s about time I did something about it. With that in mind, I’ll be publishing a few extra reviews this week featuring some very interesting whiskies from the fine folks at Watt Whisky. In the past, I’ve tended to batch indie releases together in one or two reviews, but this time I thought it might be fun to publish each one, one day at a time. I won’t be going into much backstory in these reviews, they’ll be straight-to-the-point opinions with no fluff. If you’d like to know more about the distillery or bottler, check out the links after the main review. Kicking things off is a Watt Whisky Glasgow single malt that’s been aged five years in a sherry butt and bottled at 57.1%.
*Full disclosure: the sample featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.
Watt Whisky Glasgow 5-year-old single malt
Smell: You notice some spices first. Ginger and cinnamon spring to mind. There are some dried fruits like raisins and currants. Figs. Treacle. A little toffee. There’s also some oak but the youth of the spirit means there’s some of the malty character there too. Orange and lemon. There’s a char note that could almost be mistaken for very light peat smoke.
Taste: The first sip brings sherry and no small amount of oak. The weight of the spirit is noticeable and it’s a little drying on the finish. On repeat visits, there are raisins and sultana, cocoa and ginger. Pepper. Coffee. Water dials up the fruits. There’s even a wee peachy note. Chocolatey flavours come through after it’s sat in the glass for a while.
Thoughts: The malts from Glasgow Distillery tend towards the oaky side and this is no different. Even at five years old the cask is very much driving things with lots of sherry and warmth. The result is a whisky that feels older than it is. Despite the prominence of the oak, however, it isn’t all one-way traffic and especially with water added, you can find some spirit character. It all makes for an enjoyable dram that shows plenty of sherry but stops short of overdoing it.
Price: £69. The asking price might put some off, especially when the whisky is of such a young age but buying casks from new distilleries doesn’t come cheap. Anyway, the whisky feels older than the number on the label. A good dram that I’d be happy to own, although obviously a bit happier if I was paying £10 or £20 less.
Further reading:
You can read about my 2019 visit to Glasgow Distillery here: https://ascotonscotch.com/2019/03/04/glasgow-distillery-company/
For more on Watt Whisky visit: https://wattwhisky.com/