EXPERIENCE N.11 // PEACHY
EXPERIENCE N.11 // PEACHY
You can read all about the technical side of this whisky on the main website. We endeavour to make the 'behind the blend' section an opportunity to get up close and personal with the blending process... it's a space we allow ourselves to geek out a little, talk some deep whisky lingo without censoring ourselves. But between that and the short descriptions we write to introduce the blends we always feel there's a bit missing... more to say. And usually it's the unpacking in full of the concept around the blend which we've by this point come to obsess about. So these short blog posts are an opportunity to offer a little more insight into the blends - at a human level - if not a technical level.
A SLIGHTLY STRANGE WAY TO CREATE WHISKY
Experience N.11 was a whisky that came together on the blending table through the deployment of a systematic approach toward creativity. It might not sound all that inspiring but give us a moment to explain: As part of us getting to know the samples we’ve got to play with we assemble a large, grid like tasting matrix that crudely sets up combinations to be systematically worked through. Whilst there are ‘eureka moment’ flashes of inspiration we’d be kidding ourselves (and you) if we said that that is how every interesting flavour combination is arrived at. What we found, was that by giving ourselves a framework in which to put whiskies through their paces we were constantly surprised at how exciting the results were.
This system that we’ve created to compliment the human intuition and ‘sparky’ side of blending we actually consider a form of curiosity. It’s a creative safety net ensuring that we don’t miss any opportunities to create something spectacular with the samples we have that nobody had thought of. It protects us against biases toward ‘what should work’, age, origin or cask type and instead evens the playing field for our samples allowing us to assess them purely on their sensorial merits.
PEACHY! Fruit forward and full of charm.
We often get caught up in describing our whiskies but as soon as this one came together one word emerged that covered all the bases. Why overthink a good time? We stuck a postit note on top of the glass that simply read PEACHY! - and the name stuck.
Peachy is how it tastes, how it feels, and the general vibe that the aromas contained within stir in the imagination. It's a sunny disposition and a sense of optimism bottled. Perhaps it's our own memories of carefree summers spent at relatives houses, or the comforting aroma of ripe soft fruit triggers cravings for summer - but something about this whisky contained a contentment that was contagious. Another smiling whisky sort of vibe.
It’s funny how liquids like these can contain so much emotion. But the samples that made the blend that became Experience N.11 all had a certain charming optimism to them. They were happy-go-lucky ingredients that hung together well, had rather pleasing taste profiles and created an overall impression of buoyancy and energy that set the tone for almost every conversation we had about these whiskies and the resulting blend. Even in the difficult moments of trying to get this blend to where we wanted it to be, there was a sort of joy in the making of it.
We’re always grateful that we’re able to do spend time doing what we are doing. It’s been a life long dream for us. Experience N.11: ‘Peachy’ is a whisky for those small moments of everyday celebration. The feeling you get when you glance up and see that the sun is putting on a great sunset. Not enough to have you organising anything for - but those everyday moments of minor wonder that are there to be enjoyed.