King’s Inch is a single malt whisky from Glasgow. The spirit was designed by Jim Swan (see Macaloney’s, Nc’Nnean, Cotswolds, Gouden Carolus and lots of extra) and produced by Jack Might (head distiller at Glasgow distillery).
The mom firm Brave Spirits already had a gin and ventured into whisky round 2017. They selected to work with West Coast barley, the Anchor DY502 yeast and a slim spirit lower.
King’s Inch began with a core expression, round 5 years in age, a mixture of first fill Kentucky bourbon barrels and first fill Oloroso sherry casks. A pleasant change from the anticipated STR casks. At present we even have an opportunity to strive two unreleased bourbon single casks and the lately launched Single Cask Sherry Version.
King’s Inch – Single Malt (46%, OB +/- 2022, 5000 btl.)
Nostril: crisp and alluring. Quite a lot of Granny Smith apples and lime at first. Then biscuity notes, vanilla custard and ginger. An attention-grabbing trace of cement or plasticine as properly. The bitter apple turns into a baked apple. Refined raisins and delicate spice, however in any other case hardly influenced by sherry casks.
Mouth: good weight with a giant malty core, bringing muesli, oats and delicate peppery notes to the desk. Then hints of honey and raisins. Gentle natural notes, nutmeg and liquorice as properly. It develops a delicate chocolate word in the direction of the tip.
End: medium, fairly spicy (pepper) with a imprecise malty sweetness.
Whereas not very outdated, many of the tough edges are polished out already. A good sip and a pleasant start line for the model. The spicy (even barely feisty) edge helps to interrupt out of the basic ‘Dr. Swan design’. Accessible from the on-line store or retailers like Grasp of Malt of HTFW as an example.
King’s Inch – Single Malt (62,1%, OB 2022, single bourbon cask #80)
N: related freshness, extra in the direction of vanilla and pastry sweetness now. Hints of toffee and white chocolate. Nonetheless apple and pears. Much less advanced however very correct. M: once more somewhat exemplary for a younger malt from a great bourbon cask. White pepper, ginger and vanilla icing. Candy lemons and toasted malt. The wooden turns into louder in the long run. F: medium, peppery, with a barely grassy edge. 〉〉〉 Barely boring, however a top quality cask that shows simple vanilla sweetness. Rating: 79/100
King’s Inch – Single Malt (67,9%, OB 2022, single bourbon cask #97)
N: rather more closed. A lot much less candy as properly, this exhibits extra of that mineral trace of gravel and recent grist. M: virtually completely on oats and muesli, combined with white pepper and liquorice. The drier a part of the spectrum. F: fairly lengthy, with prevailing peppery and grassy notes. 〉〉〉 Whereas fairly slim and scorching, that is the extra attention-grabbing cask of the 2 when it comes to flavour profile. That stated, they did a great job in mixing bourbon casks with sherry within the core expression. Rating: 81/100
King’s Inch – Single Cask Sherry Version 7 yo 2015 (58%, OB 2022, Oloroso cask #53, 586 btl.)
Nostril: it’s been some time since I’ve had such a meaty, sulphury sherry expression. , a unclean bin, mulching leaves and a touch of fermenting fruits. Then hints of Marmite and a beneficiant dose of treacle. It does cool down after fifteen minutes, transferring in the direction of brown sugar and toasted oats.
Mouth: a number of savoury notes once more. Cooked meat , mushrooms and Marmite, in addition to miso sauce. Roasted nuts, crushed black peppercorns, chocolate and a humorous trace of mulled wine. Raisins and wintery spice set in, nevertheless it’s laborious to recover from the meaty aspect.
End: lengthy and peppery, with a touch of raisins.
Not my sort of sherry cask. Deciding on this as the primary single cask launch is a missed alternative, in my humble opinion. Accessible from the on-line store or retailers like Grasp of Malt of HTFW as an example. Rating: 72/100