June 2021
In the UK we’re starting to see signs of summer and the frivolities that come along with that. Whilst it is amazing to be slowly allowed to visit people and interact with whisky folk socially again, I would implore you to exercise caution and take it easy when returning to the real world.
This month has been somewhat contrasting for my reviews as we have three whiskies all releasing within a rolling year and one that released in 1980s.
In any case, as usual, I will list the runners up for this months accolade in order of release and finish up with the winner below.
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Runners Up
First up this month is the new core Single Malt release from the Dingle Distillery. These guys are relatively new to the distilling scene but they’re under the expert eye of ex Glen Moray Master Distiller Graham Coull. So far, they’ve released a bunch of limited expressions detailing their journey to a core range and now we’re finally here.
Honestly, this was a VERY close second place for me this month and probably could be interchangeable with my favourite on a number of days in a week as my mood changes. But decide I must and I ultimately chose the one I preferred on more occasions.
Thanks to Dingle for sending this over for review. It can be purchased directly from Dingle here.
Next up we have a relatively new addition to the Mackmyra Seasonal Range. The Jactlycka is an autumnal dram thats been inspired by foraging for those late year berries. A portion of the barrels use have been ‘seasoned’ with a Swedish berry wine.
I greatly enjoyed this dram, but its not my favourite thing Mackmyra have ever released and it’s been pipped here purely by price. It is still widely available though so if you’re interested in trying it you can pick it up from Really Good Whisky Company.
Last of the runners up is a real treat. Friend of the channel Mark Littler sent me this Suntory bottling from the 1980s to try. It was absolutely fascinating to try something from that age, well before Japanese whisky was as mega popular as it is today. That said, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by it.
Back in the day it would have been a very reasonable bottle. But fame and glory have risen this bottle into the lofty heights of unobtainable….that is unless you know someone like Mark.
For me, it tastes like a sub £50 bottle so I do not recommend it for drinking purposes at all and therefore it did’’t really get a look in for top spot this month. Mark seems to think its a solid investment at the time of writing though, so if that’s your bag, check out Marks channel.
Top Dog
The winner this month is the first core release from Kingsbarns Distillery, Dream to Dram.
As a fresh new distillery you might be forgiven for assuming they would head down the, no seemingly standard, STR (shaved, toasted & recharred) cask route. And for some part of it they have. Where this differs, however, is they have used a reduced proportion of STR casks and allowed their young malt aging in more traditional barrels to have a larger influence on the final product.
What we have then is something a little lighter than most STR releases, something I would consider important for a Lowland whisky. And very refreshing it is too.
Very drinkable and, perhaps more important, very affordable and available. Grab a bottle from Really Good Whisky Company today.
