London Distillery Company New Forms Fino English Single Malt Whisky, 70cl
New Forms is a trio of single cask releases from The London Distillery Company, each one taking the distillery's single malt and finishing it in a different cask. This is the Fino edition: London single malt finished for 8 months in a first-fill fino sherry hogshead #9001, bottled at 61.4% Alc. and limited to 347 bottles.
Eight months in a first-fill fino sherry hogshead has added candied citrus, stone fruit and a touch of salinity, a lighter and drier sherry influence than the richer oloroso style.
Nose: Candied lemon peel, golden plum, ripe nectarine, peach blossom and rose petal, with grape leaf, toasted porridge, brown butter, sweet baking spice, a hint of coconut and damp oak.
Palate: Bright citrus peel and tropical fruit juice, then white pepper and clove, a little ground coffee, toasted oak and a touch of salinity.
Finish: Well-browned peach loaf, with stone fruit, citrus oil, dusty oak and toasted baking spice lingering.
We think this is the most distinctive of the three: fino casks are used far less often than oloroso or PX, and the savoury, slightly saline edge sits very well against the London spirit's stone fruit. At 61.4% Alc., add a decent splash of water; it opens up the candied lemon, plum and peach.
The casks behind New Forms were filled at the original London Distillery Company, London's first whisky distillery in over a century when it began distilling in 2011. Whisky maker Matt McKay now chooses and bottles that stock in small releases. Tasting the three New Forms side by side is a rare chance to see how much a single cask finish changes one spirit.
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