Just some of the Darkness range!
Maverick Drinks has gone over to the dark side with the launch of their latest range – Darkness! – a range of exceedingly dark single malt and single grain whiskies with an enormously punchy, unashamedly brazen character!
Commonly known as “sherry monsters”, these beasts are sourced from Scotland’s top distilleries.
With their amazing dark, brooding colour, attained through the use of small, specially crafted sherry casks for finishing, the range is the first of its kind.
The dark colour is achieved by storing the drams for 3 months in specially coopered 50-litre first-fill sherry casks.
The small size of the casks allows more wood contact with the whisky, increasing both dark colour and rich flavour dramatically.
These casks have previously been used to produce some of Spain’s top sherries, including Pedro Ximénez – the sticky, sweet dessert sherry, and Oloroso – the semi-dry, nutty delicacy.
These casks bring a deep colour as well as wonderful sherry flavours such as Christmas Cake, rich spice, prunes, raisins and dates.
The Darkness! range includes spirit from Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Notable bottlings include the delectable 21-year-old Ardbeg, finished in Oloroso sherry casks, a 16-year-old Clynelish, and a sublime Macallan finished in a Pedro Ximénez cask.
To finish off the look of these monsters, stunning labels have been designed, hand-illustrated by Tom Lane – designer of the very popular Bicycle Playing Cards, as well as the artwork for the accompanying book for Heston Blumenthal’s Fantastical Feasts.
Darkness! is available from Master Of Malt.
Take note of the bottles total – these ‘monsters’ will be gone in a moment!
Tasting Notes – Darkness! Benrinnes 15 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish
87 bottles
Darkness! Benrinnes 15 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish |
Nose: Vanilla and caramel toffee. Lovely dried fruits.
Palate: Slight oil, rich xmas cake with rich sherry flavours. Finish: Spicy and sweet comes together in a powerful but smooth hit. Hint of dryness and lemon. Overall: A beast of a dram but for all the right reasons. Full bodied, smooth, sweet spicy. It’s got it all and more! |
Tasting Notes – Darkness! Macallan 15 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish
88 bottles
Darkness! Macallan 15 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish |
Nose: Cherry, raisins and honey fudge
Palate: Very smooth with sweet sultanas, cake mixture and a slight woodiness. Finish: Modicum of spice blended with glorious sweetness. Short finish. Overall: A warming, classy dram made large with luscious sherry sweetness. Smooth and mature – a posh beast! |
Many thanks to Master Of Malt for the samples.
