Michiel Wigman not too long ago offered two new bottlings, each 2011 distillates. One is a Macduff in his They Impressed sequence which characteristic portraits of inspiring individuals by Hans Dilesse. Secondly there’s a Secret Islay single malt matured in a Port barrique.
Macduff 2011 (52,3%, Michiel Wigman ‘They Impressed’ 2021, 194 btl.)
Nostril: bready notes, candy apples, hints of yellow plums and gooseberries, properly combined with some lamp oil and waxy touches. Gingerbread and nutmeg cookies. Wee coppery notes and worn leather-based. Natural tea within the background. It’s a reasonably delicate and pretty earthy type of sherry.
Mouth: candy and spicy, with riper, jammy fruits now. Oranges and raisins, hints of toffee. Walnuts and caramelized hazelnuts, with a very good dose of tangy ginger and nutmeg once more. Mid-palate it will get develops candle wax and leafy notes.
End: medium, nonetheless candy and spicy, with some warming oak and a peppery glow.
A very autumnal whisky, with a sherry cask that introduced sweetness and spices to the desk. That is accessible for spherical € 130 from Wigman’s Dutch Whisky Connection. That’s some huge cash for a ten 12 months outdated expression from a hardly respected distillery, however not less than it feels rather a lot older and it’s pleasantly unmodern. Above all fascinating whisky.
Then onto a rosé whisky with a flashy color… (extra so than the image suggests)
Secret Islay 2011 ‘East meets West’ (53,3%, Michiel Wigman & The Malt Affair 2021, Port barrique, 200 btl.)
Nostril: in actual fact sure, not as drowned in Port as the color would counsel. Gentle hints of pink (straw)berries and pomegrenate but in addition citrus fruits. Then some dry peat smoke units in, with leathery notes, seaweed, bacon and coastal sea breeze. Pharmacy notes and a agency mentholated oaky contact. Liquorice root.
Mouth: peppery oak and natural notes at first, earlier than shifting to seaweed, brine and dry smoky notes. There’s a touch of pink fruit sweetness, however the medicinal and natural facet is unquestionably greater. Maybe barely astringent at instances. Aniseed, liquorice and cough syrup. Chilly ashes. The sweetness and medicinal facet don’t appear to get alongside fully.
End: medium size, with smoke, liquorice and a biting edge.
My worst worry with Port casks is that they take over fully. Whereas it’s not the case right here, I don’t discover the wedding fully profitable both. I anticipated extra roundness from the wine so I used to be a bit stunned by the tough edge. A barely deviant Laphroaig maybe? Rating: 83/100
