Circumstance Distillery’s English Whisky – gone in under ten minutes!
On very rare occasions I get the opportunity to sample a whisky which basically doesn’t really exist anymore!
A strange experience indeed and such was the case with Circumstance Distillery based in Bristol who released their inaugural English Whisky onto the UK market earlier this month and it sold out in under 10 minutes!
Only 500 bottles were available …..
With only 500 bottles available, Circumstance English Whisky was available to buy directly from their distillery website for £60 – if you were lucky!
This single grain whisky was created from malted barley (85%) and unmalted barley (15%) that was processed by hand at Warminster Maltings. The grains were fermented on a French saison yeast for an extraordinary 14 days.
It was distilled in an 1800L hybrid still with a copper whisky hood and copper 4 plate column and then matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks at the distillery for over three years.
There is a lot more to whisky than single malts. Creating a mash bill that contains more than just malted barley requires some real skill – which our team have an abundance of. This inaugural whisky release is an important milestone, but our journey continues.
A single grain rye whisky and a single grain wheat whisky should be ready for release in near future. Watch this space…
– Danny Walker: Co-founder
This single gain whisky glows a golden straw colour with aromas of scrumpy cider, lemon zest and milk chocolate. On the palate there is a hay like sweetness with cream soda and some wonderful delicate spice. The mouthfeel is oily and creamy. The finish is zesty with a hint of savoury.
Circumstance Distillery believes “It’s ready when it’s ready”
Modern whisky distilleries don’t just rely on casks, they build flavour in their whisky from the start with carefully selected grains, carefully selected yeast strains and long fermentations. The results speak for themselves.
At Circumstance Distillery we are at the forefront of modern whisky and at the forefront of English whisky.
– Liam Hirt: Co-founder and Managing Director
Circumstance Distillery kindly sent me a sample to try – lucky me! So thanks very much circumstance.com / @andcircumstance!
So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …
Tasting Notes – Circumstance Single Grain Whisky (44.5%)
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Nose: Sweet tropical fruits with added green apple, lemon citrus and caramel fudge.
Palate: Creamy, oily mouthfeel with vanilla fudge, apple and delicate tropical fruits. Finish: Warming, smooth spice which gradually grows in heat but that cane sweetness and caramel stays close for good measure. Overall: A light dram, both in colour and taste. It’s full of flavour and character though with crisp fruits, warming spice and tropical flavours all combined rather nicely – no wonder it sold out in under ten minutes! |
Once again, many thanks to circumstance.com (@andcircumstance) for sending me a drop or two of English Whisky history!
About Circumstance Distillery
Our distillery in the heart of Bristol is considered to be “”Britain’s most innovative distillery” (- Master of Malt)””.
Our highly motivated team work long and hard to get as much great flavour into their spirits as they possibly can. To achieve this we use organic mash bills, beer and wine yeast, and long open fermentations.
Spirits are matured in a variety of ways using a variety of woods. We use first fill ex-bourbon casks, virgin casks, seasoned casks and charred english oak spindles. Maturation is all about a balance between the new make spirit and the wood.
We are very proud of our flavoursome new makes and as such some releases are considerably “younger” than traditional whiskies or grain spirits.
We believe it’s ready when it’s ready.
