A trio of whiskies with smoke at their core, each offering something special.
Available from the bar while stocks last!
When: 14th May 2025
Where: Thirsty
Host: Elliott Drinks Whisky
There were two important outcomes of early planning and discussions with Thirsty, when proposing the idea of my club to them, that have led to this flight, and to the launch event to try it. First, and fairly straightforwardly, I hoped I could curate flights for their whisky menu. Either using bottles already on the bar, or by selecting some especially to buy. The other aspect was a desire to mix in smaller tasting events to the club calendar. Using one such small event to launch a flight fits perfectly, and so, here we are. Though when I was initially shortlisting whiskies for the May club event, I hadn’t quite got a flight in mind.
With my hosting and organising experience gained from years on the committee of the Cambridge University Whisky Appreciation Society, striking out for myself, and now with the club, I’ve researched a lot of line-ups and bottles to go into them. And usually, those bottles are 700ml in size because it lets you plan for a well-turned-out event. More times than I can count, I’ve found a fantastic-sounding bottle… that was only 500ml, meaning it doesn’t quite stretch to all the guests. Knowing that I was planning for a small event, this time I targeted exclusively those smaller bottles, which opens up a whole new tranche of releases.
Looking at my shortlisted whiskies, trying to balance styles & costs, and not draw too heavily from one producer or another, it occurred to me that rather than just a smaller tasting, I could craft a flight. From the bottles I had already chosen as interesting, there was a clear weighting towards the smokey segment of the flavour wheel, so the “Small & Smokey” flight was born.
Although it is presented in a definite order, I would encourage you to keep some in each glass and compare all 3 in any order you choose after your first pass through.
The Whisky
(Click on the images to buy a bottle)
Atom Brands – Burnt Ends
Blended Single Malt Scotch & American Rye Whiskey – 45%
Justification: Softened, sherry smoke to start
The first in a series of experimental blended whiskies from Atom Brands (the group behind Master of Malt, Boutique-y whisky, Drinks by the Dram). With marketing dripping in BBQ sauce, including the look of the bottle, this is something quite unusal: a blend of peated single malt Scotch whisky, finished in sherry casks, and Tennessee Rye whiskey.
With no age statement, and no indication on the source of the Scotch it’s difficult to say any more. Other bottles in the range include a mix of peated Highland whisky with Bourbon, and a bottle that has Islay whisky plus Rye, blended with Highland whisky plus Bourbon; so it’s definitely possible that the Scotch we have here is from Islay too.
Initial notes: Sweetness with a good smokey finish. Sherry jam, salt, toast. Bitter. A little aniseed.
Returning after #2: Sherry and brown sugar more profound. Clearly weaker.
Returning after #3: Paprika, caramel, oak pepper, burnt toast, almost ketchup.
Douglas Laing – Big Peat’s Finest 7yo
Islay, Single Cask, Single Malt Scotch – 48.4%
Justification: Archetypal peat
Douglas Laing have been releasing all manner of Big Peat variants since 2009. It was the first in the independent bottler’s Remarkable Regional Malts series of blended whiskies, which now contains 6 different brands, each showcasing a different region of Scottish whisky production. Big Peat focuses on the Inner Hebridean island of Islay: the ‘home’ of peaty whisky.
Islay doesn’t solely produce smokey whisky, but it does make up most of what it produces, and the most famous exports certainly are. I didn’t feel this flight could really justify its existence without a bottle from Islay. This single cask release from Douglas Laing’s Old Particular range is also branded with the Big Peat character front and centre. That would imply that the source of this spirit is likely one of Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg or Port Ellen (as the components of all Big Peat blends). However, the 2016 vintage of this 7 year old whisky rules out Port Ellen, as it wasn’t in operation back then. And the tasting notes likely rule out Bowmore, so my guess would be an Ardbeg, or maybe Caol Ila.
Initial notes: Lots of smoke in the glass, earthy, chalky. Touch of wet tarmac. Lemongrass.
Returning after #3: Hot, fluffy smoke. Chippy chips. Coffee granules towards the end.
Returning after #1: Proper smoke.
TBWC – St Kilian 5yo
German Single Malt Whisky – 53.1%
Justification: Non-peat smoke source
I am a sucker for non-traditional whiskies – distilleries experimenting and pushing boundaries to give us flavours and styles we didn’t know we needed. I am frankly stunned that more distilleries aren’t experimenting with alternative sources of smoke, given how vital to our environment peat is. That’s not to say people aren’t burning all sorts of things (so far I’ve tried whiskies smoked with nettles, manuka wood, elephant dung, scrub oak, birch, to name just some), I’m just amazed more people aren’t trying these things out.
St Kilian distillery, named after one of three Irish monks who brought distilling to the area in the 7th century, was the biggest whisky distillery in Germany until 2024. It was also designed with whisky making in mind; the founders, passionate about the traditions of Scotland, bought their stills and washback from Scottish producers. Though this bottle represents a definite divergence from any Scotch you’ll find. That Boutique-y Whisky Company have sourced, from St Kilian, a 5yo beechwood smoked single malt whisky aged in a Danish cherry wine cask (which held that wine for at least 30 months). So we’re ticking both the unconventional smoke and unconventional boxes here!
Initial notes: Bakewell nose and a sour cherry finish. Pastry. Delicate, fragrant smoke, but drying, a bit of polish.
Returning after #1: Chocolate & cherry. Almonds
Returning after #2: Big chocolate notes. Fruity Haribo
Honourable mention for the cheesy nosing note found around the table.