Whittaker’s First Edition English Single Malt
English Whisky 2024 First Release | 48.3% ABV
The English Whisky Festival 2024
I remember, several years ago, having a conversation with a work colleague about whisky. The guy I was talking to was a bit younger than me, but not by much. Anyway, when I told him that I was into single malts, he gave me this slightly perplexed look. When I asked him why he thought that whisky was a strange thing to be into, he said: “Whenever I think of whisky, I think of old men in studies full of books, sitting in leather armchairs. You just don’t seem like the sort of guy who’d be into that sort of thing.”
This perception of whisky as an old man’s pastime is as irrelevant in 2024 as the idea that whisky is something that belongs in the clubhouse of your local golf course, or something that’s meant to be swigged from a hip flask whilst shooting grouse on a Scottish moorland. While I’m sure that both pastimes can be improved with the addition of whisky, my point is that most of the people who have come to whisky in the last five or six years, have a very different perception of it. Gone are the days when whisky was something synonymous with country clubs, or stuffy old men in wax jackets. In 2024, whisky is modern, innovative and dynamic. It’s no longer something that belongs exclusively to Scotland or Ireland, either.
Never was this more apparent to me than a few weeks ago, when I attended the 2024 English Whisky Festival in Digbeth, Birmingham. For those of you who don’t know Birmingham, Digbeth is an area very close to the centre, that speaks both to Birmingham’s industrial heritage, and its identity as a modern, multi-cultural city. Running through the centre of Digbeth is a huge Victorian viaduct, in the shadow of which sit hundreds of red brick warehouses and factories, many of which now serve as spaces for artists, musicians and other creatives. The area is replete with vintage clothes stores, nightclubs, bars, and even a film studio. It’s also home to Birmingham’s graffiti community, as well as the Custard Factory; fifteen acres of restored Victorian factories which used to be the site of Bird’s Custard, and which have now been repurposed and play host to independent shops, restaurants, an independent cinema and an arcade bar.
Needless to say, the decision by the organisers to host the English Whisky Festival in such a vibrant location, seemed to almost deliberately underscore the fact that whisky – or at least, English whisky – is very much a modern, dynamic thing. Rewind the clock ten years and I’d have struggled to name more than one English distillery. There was St George’s – now named The English Whisky Distillery – and that was about it. England and whisky were about as synonymous with one another as England and warm weather. And yet, here I was, about to enter an event with thirty English distilleries in attendance.
Anybody who’s been to a whisky festival can testify to two things: firstly, that the time disappears a lot quicker than you think it will, and that secondly, you have to pace yourself. The first whisky I tasted after entering the venue was from Bimber. It was a single cask, cask strength exclusive, and although I took a photo of it, it came out blurry on my phone. So, other than that, I can’t give you any details. What I will say is that it underscored the fact that Bimber has a very distinct profile. Prior to this one, I’d only ever tasted one Bimber before, but I immediately recognised that distinctive, fruity quality that characterised the other Bimber I’ve had.
The rest of the festival passed quickly and, unfortunately, I didn’t keep track of all the whisky I’d tried. Circumstance were there, so I got to taste a couple of expressions from them, as well as an expression from Cotswolds distillery, which had been bottled by Berry Bros and Rudd. The Cotswolds’ expression had been matured in port casks and was, from memory, 7 years old. It was tasty, but at £110, it wasn’t cheap, so I didn’t pick up a bottle. I also tried some expressions from Yorkshire’s Cooper King, Cornwall’s Penrock Distillery, who are making sour mash whiskey (interesting, but at 43%, it could have done with a bit more ABV), and Wire Works.
I have to say that for me, White Peak (Wire Works) was one of the standout distilleries in attendance. I tried three of their expressions and they were all excellent. I ended up picking up a bottle of their regular Bourbon Barrel expression which I know is readily available but which, for me, was also the best of the three that I sampled.
Around halfway through the day, I attended a masterclass with Spirit of Birmingham. Although Spirit of Birmingham are yet to release their inaugural expression (I believe that it’s slated for 2025), we did get to try a sample of their whisky. First impressions were solid, although it was only a small dram that I sampled, so I can’t really comment beyond that. The masterclass, which was focused on debunking whisky myths, was informal and relaxed, and included a blind tasting of three drams, one of which was a 25yo Glenfarclas.
If anything, it served as a humbling reminder as to just how easily my palate can be deceived when I have no idea what’s been put in front of me. I didn’t feel confident enough to guess out loud as to what I was drinking, but I’ll admit that had I taken a punt, I’d neither have guessed that it was old nor sherry matured. Red face aside, it was a fun event. Spirit of Birmingham is not only Birmingham’s first whisky distillery, but is also my local distillery, so I’m looking forward to following their journey.
Whisky festivals are a great way to get a general overview of the direction that the industry is taking, and the English Whisky Festival was useful in that respect as well. Key takeaways for me were that English distilleries, on the whole, tend to favour natural presentation and higher ABV. The majority of the whisky I tasted was bottled at 46% or above, with many being bottled at cask strength. Of the two bottles I bought, one was bottled at 53.4% and one at 48.3%. Both are core range expressions.
On a less positive note, I also noticed a distinct lack of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry matured expressions. This isn’t surprising, but personally, I’m still on the fence when it comes to wine casks. At one stand, I tried a whisky that had been matured in no less than seven different casks types, most of which were dessert wine. When I asked, jokingly, if there was any type of casks that they hadn’t used in the vatting, the guy manning the stand said, “it’s young whisky, so we use lots of active casks to try and get as much flavour as possible in.”
This is completely understandable, and I commend the honesty, but I still think it’s a shame. For me, there’s something about the rich decadence of a good sherry cask, and the honest simplicity of ex-bourbon, that can’t be beaten. It’s no coincidence that the two bottles I ended up coming away with, had both been matured in ex-bourbon. They were by far and away the best whiskies I tried that day.
My final takeaway is this: in English whisky, sustainability and local produce are a big deal. The most obvious example here are Cooper King; a Yorkshire based distillery that’s powered exclusively by renewable energy, but there are others. Both Eller’s Farm Distillery and Circumstance, for example, are B Corp Certified. Clearly many newer distilleries are keen to embrace sustainability, and to my mind, this can only be a good thing.
The whisky that I’m going to review here was the final dram that I tasted that day. I’ll admit that I was all whiskied out by that time, and was ready to go home, but my friend who I’d attended the festival with suggested that we just have one more. I wasn’t about to argue, so we ambled over to the Whittaker’s Distillery stand.
Prior to that day, I’d never heard of Whittaker’s Distillery, and I’d hazard a guess that many of you reading this won’t have either. The owner of the distillery, an American who’s now based in Yorkshire, poured me a dram of their 2024 First Edition, an expression which, he explained, had initially been matured in first fill ex-bourbon casks, before being transferred to quarter casks, which had also held bourbon.
The second that I put my nose to that glass, I knew that it was something special. Bear in mind as well, that I’d probably tasted about twelve whiskies already that day. Palate fatigue is real, and at that moment, I was in the throes of it. Still, this whisky jumped out of the glass.
What I will say is that it isn’t cheap (not that whisky should be cheap, but you know what I mean). I believe that this is their inaugural release and admittedly inaugural releases do tend to command a premium, but even so, £75 for four and a half year old whisky is relatively expensive.
That being said, this is small batch stuff, made from expensive barley (in this case Golden Promise). More importantly, if you ignore its age and judge it on its quality, it’s well worth the asking price. Because this is stunning stuff. There was no way that I could leave the festival without grabbing a bottle. In fact, since buying that first bottle, I’ve since been online and bought a back-up, it’s that good.
Review
Whittaker’s First Edition, English Whisky, 48.3% ABV
£73 paid
I already mentioned that I’ve since bought a back-up bottle of this expression, and when I went on Whitakker’s website to order it, I noticed that there was also a cask strength version. Unfortunately, it’s marketed as a collector’s item and is priced at £199, so it goes without saying that I haven’t bought a bottle.
I’m not sure where they’ve plucked that number from, but £199 for a four-and-a-half year old whisky from an unknown distillery is, let’s be honest, utterly ludicrous. Hopefully, moving forward, we might get to try some cask strength whisky at an affordable price from this distillery, because I’d love to taste it. This is the sort of whisky that should be opened and enjoyed.
Back in the land of the sane, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. This 48.3% version cost me £72.99 at the festival, although online it generally goes for about £75. According to the information on the distillery website, it’s a vatting of six casks, all of which were first fill-ex bourbon. Those casks were then re-casked into quarter casks (also ex-bourbon), before being bottled.
One of the original full size casks contained whisky made from Laureate, Maris Otter and Golden Promise barley, whilst the others contained whisky made solely from Golden Promise barley. The spirit was originally casked at 72% ABV, before being diluted to 63.5% for the finish in quarter casks. The whisky is non-chill filtered, and hasn’t had any colour added.
Nose
I already mentioned that this whisky felt somewhat expensive when I initially bought it. The second that I put my nose in the glass, though, any reservations that I might have about the price disappeared in an instant. Because the nose on this is stunning. If anything, this whisky serves as a testament to just how much a good nose can add to the overall experience.
The first thing that strikes me about the nose is how soft it is. Considering that this is young whisky, at 48.3% ABV, the nose isn’t abrasive at all. I get pineapple, honeydew melon, mango, apple, strawberries, honeysuckle and stem ginger. There’s also a light dusting of cinnamon and a touch of cream soda. I also get pear drops and various other boiled sweets.
Probably the most prominent note here, though, is jelly buttons – those blue and pink Liquorice Allsorts that are covered in hundreds and thousands. My dad calls them ‘horsecakes’, but I’ve also heard them referred to as ‘spogs.’ Anyway, Google tells me they’re called ‘jelly buttons’. Whatever you call them, they smell good, especially on the nose of a whisky.
Palate
Fortunately, the palate delivers on the promise of the nose. It’s a textural palate – soft and hazy, with virtually no alcohol burn. There’s absolutely no way that if you tried this blind, you’d guess for a second that it was four and a half years old, or that it was 48.3%.
I get black, Earl Grey tea, stem ginger and Gray’s Herbal Tablets - (another confectionary product that’s synonymous with my childhood). The jelly buttons that I mentioned on the nose also show up here as well. There are also tropical fruits – mango, watermelon, apple, pear etc – as well as a touch of white chocolate and plenty of boiled sweets.
However, perhaps the most interesting thing about this expression are the herbaceous notes I’m getting. I get rosemary in particular, but also thyme and even some sage. There’s some lemon balm here, and a tiny, tiny touch of lavender as well. For me, it’s this slightly herbaceous quality that really elevates this whisky. It just adds a dimension to it that, combined with the fruity and the confectionary style notes, really make it stand out. As such, it’s a complex whisky. More importantly, though, it’s absolutely delicious.
The Dregs
As I already mentioned, this was the last dram that I tasted at the English Whisky Festival, and although I knew it was good enough to buy a full bottle, I wondered as I went home on the train, whether it would really be as good as my initial impressions had suggested. Afterall, context is everything; tasting a dram at a festival, with friends, is very different to sipping a dram whilst sitting at home, alongside other whiskies that you’re already familiar with.
Thankfully, every dram that I’ve poured so far has been as good as the first. This really is stunning whisky. It’s difficult to compare it to anything else I’ve tried, but if you’re a fan of Glencadam 10, then this would probably be in your wheelhouse. It also reminds me a little of Longmorn’s 18 year old Secret Speyside expression, as well as some of the Fettercairn Warehouse expressions that I’ve had. More specifically, it reminds me of Bruichladdich’s Bere Barley 2009 expression, which was also very herbaceous.
A good whisky is like a good book; you just want to press it into the hands of those who you know will appreciate it; you want to tell anyone and everybody who’ll listen just how good it is. I’ve been drinking whisky now for close to two decades, and whilst whiskies that impress me still come along fairly regularly, it’s very rare that a whisky blows me away.
And yet, that’s how I feel about this expression. So far, I haven’t been able to pour a single dram and then move on. Every time I’ve tasted it, I’ve ended up pouring myself a second, and sometimes even a third. It really is fantastic stuff.
I’m acutely aware that giving a whisky such a high score will likely encourage people to seek out a bottle, and at £75, I’m also aware that the whisky needs to do a lot to justify its price and to live up to the praise that I’m lavishing on it. I have to speak as I find. So far, this is my whisky of 2024.
Whether it’s the golden promise barley, the use of quarter casks to enhance the flavour, the fact that the profile sits firmly in my wheelhouse, or a combination of all three, I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t reach past it.
Consider the fact that it’s from a distillery that’s barely out of the traps, and it seems all the more remarkable. It’s an expression that makes me excited to try more Whittaker’s releases in the future.
More generally, though, it’s an expression that makes me excited for the future of English whisky as a whole.
Score: 9/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FMc