The Lost Distillery Company

The Lost Distillery Company – Gerston

tabarakrazvi Leave a comment

NewImage

Distillery/Brand: The Lost Distillery Company
ABV: 46%
Colour: Gold

Nose: 23
Taste: 24
Finish: 23
Balance: 24

Review
So here’s a nifty little trick. Find out which distilleries closed in the last 100 years or so never to open again. Do extensive research and get an understanding of what their malts might have tasted like. Blend some malts together to recreate that whisky. And then proceed to blow me away!

Thank you Lost Distilleries for what you have undertaken for it is nothing short of brilliant!

I will not go into the history of the Gerston Distillery (1796-1882 & 1886-1914) but suffice to say they ran out of business after a good long run. The distillery was located in Halkirk in Caithness – a remote area in the far north of Scotland. So expect a lot of salty and briny peat in the mix.

Nose: Wonderfully sweet with a strong salty peat lash. Some vanilla and tropical fruits in the second breath and then a long lasting rosemary, five spice and thyme combination that stays on for hours and hours. A lovely beam act between sweet and spice.

Palate: The robust spirit is confident in it’s maturity. I am told there are spirits older than 20 years in this bottling. They don’t mention it but I’m told. The chocolate honey is smooth and silky with a smear of spicy plum jam. Really quite well balanced and lovely.

Finish: Satisfyingly long and full of spicy cocoa.

This is a treat to drink and I’m pretty sure the original was no where close to being such a class act.

Rating: 94

Advertisement

The Lost Distillery Company – Stratheden

tabarakrazvi Leave a comment

NewImage

Distillery/Brand: The Lost Distillery Company
ABV: 46%
Colour: Gold

Nose: 23
Taste: 23
Finish: 23
Balance: 23

Review
I was at this tasting recently and someone told me about The Lost Distillery Company. Quite genius actually. They literally imagine what closed distillery malts may have tasted like and go about recreating them. I think that’s one of the most creative ideas to come out of Scotland of late. And boy, do they do a good job!

This particular bottling of the Stratheden Distillery (1829-1926) is a throwback to the time the distillery served it’s whisky to smugglers and other illegal distillers in the area. Set in the centre of Auchtermuchty, the distillery was in the middle of flat farmland with the skyline dominated by the nearby Lomond Hills.

This one is made with a Lowland malt base and uses peat from Orkney.

Nose: Toffee sweet with a dominant creme brulee and butterscotch attack. Some dates, some almonds and a hint of something musky and floral. Quite generous in it’s approach.

Palate: Creamy smooth and is like stuffing your face with a fruit basket of apples, pears, oranges and bananas. All at the same time. Quite a colorful fruity pounding. One which puts a smile on your face.

Finish: Brilliantly long with a sugarcane essence.

These are beautifully crafted representations and, as I mentioned in another Lost Distillery review, there is no way the originals could have been this good.

Rating: 92