Experience N.18 // AWE

Anyone who has followed our journey will know that our blending approach follows a fairly established process aimed at uncovering unseen possibilities and flavour connections between samples.

"The Grid" (as we affectionally refer to this process) lays out our available samples in a systematic fashion, forcing us to appraise combinations that may not feel obvious. As a system to start our blending creative process, it recognises two truths: Firstly that intuition is not faultless when it comes to blending whisky, and secondly, that unexpected combinations often yield the most exciting and inspiring results.

Experience N.18 was a combination of flavours arrived at in this fashion. As soon as we nosed the combination within the glass (at 50:50 ratio) we realised we were holding something very special indeed.

Whereas our blending sessions are usually quite vocal affairs - this dram put a silence in the room, the aromas in the glass drawing us in and we nosed the sample. On the palate, the whisper that drew you in bursts into en explosion of flavour. It's layers upon layers of flavour give the impression of many components - when in fact, there are just two.

Glenrothes Distillery is a blenders dream, and this example came from a first fill Oloroso Sherry Butt with good, mid teen year maturity. The Invergordon Grain is significantly older, and we feel is responsible for the miraculous layering and 'opening up' that this whisky demonstrates in the glass.

We added a few drops of water and a different world emerged, even better than the last, with lighter and more delicate aromas appearing. We were left completely dumbfounded at this whiskies ability to transform itself with just a few drops of water, elevating an already excellent experience into something completely unique.

There's a paradox in this blend for us. If there was one whisky we could use to demonstrate the power of blending - taking two contrasting component parts and putting them togther to make something that is undeniably more complete, rounded and impressive; this would be it. But the hardest thing for us in preparing this blend was to resist the urge to tinker with the fairly rudimentary 50:50 ratio that we'd first experienced it at. As blenders we want to add, enhance, tinker in the search for improvements. But everything we tried felt that we were somehow eroding the bond that these who whiskies had formed at first contact. It turned out to be a very tricky whisky to balance at other ratios, so we settled on something very close to that original moment.

For us, this is a magical whisky, a complete mystery in terms of how it so perfectly illustrates that 1+1=3, and how the magical effect of a few drops of water in the glass offer additional layers and experiences for the drinker.

What's in a name?

We read an article about the emotion of awe, and how in our modern worlds it's being encountered less and less, but it's proven to be an important part of the human experience. Of course, as whisky makers, we think about conjuring emotions in liquid form and reflected that the very best whiskies DO impart that sense of awe. Sometimes it's in flavour alone, others it's a surprise or sense of wonder at how a certain flavour can be so magnificent, or defy explanation. This combination of words captures perfectly the sense of wonder we had whilst blending this whiskt. Indeed, such was the almost completeness of the whisky at first taste, we struggle to claim that we blended this at all. Instead, we merely guided these two whiskies together that taste entirely like they were made for eachother. The hardest thing of all was to simply do nothing, and let them demonstrate themselves the possibilities that lie within blending.

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