InchDairnie PrinLaws New Make Spirits
After a gap of almost 80 years following the closure of Auchtertool in Kirkaldy, the 21st century has seen a re-emergence of whisky distilling in Fife. Led by the opening of Daftmill in 2005 followed by Kingsbarns, Lindores, Eden Mill and InchDairnie, the industry is now thriving to the point there is even talk of Fife being made a separate region.
Situated in Glenrothes and opened in 2015, InchDairnie look to innovation as a means to generate flavour. For instance, using a hammer mill rather than the traditional roller mill to cope with different grains. You won’t find a mash tun on the site either, instead a mash filter is used allowing more starch and sugar to be extracted.
Add to that their use of a custom Lomond still for some of their distillation. This particular Lomond still has been designed with six plates inside its neck and gives them the ability to run at one specific strength throughout distillation. The distillery also has pot stills for complete flexibility.
From the distillery website
The Prinlaws Collection will be a collection of unique flavour-led distillates from different yeasts, cereals and oaks. Every year up to two weeks are isolated for one off single campaign distillations at InchDairnie Distillery – distillations that may never be repeated, meaning PrinLaws bottlings have the potential of being some of the rarest distillates to come out of Scotland.
PrinLaws Sour Mash New Make 72%
PrinLaws Sour Mash was produced by adding pot ale to the liquid from the mash filter which results in a more acidic mash. As a result of this pH change, together with additional nutrients from the pot ale, the yeast activity is improved leading to greater esterification.
Appearance: Colourless and viscous, forms a thick line before beading and falling as slow, thin legs.
Nose: Sweet and floral with a strong Ribena blackcurrant note.
Palate: More of that blackcurrant on the palate, a little floral and, as would be expected at this abv, alcohol forward.
Finish: Sweet, the blackcurrant lingers and is joined by a cereal note.
PrinLaws Wheat New Make 70%
Made using 51% malted wheat to 49% malted barley using the Lomond still.
Appearance: Colourless and viscous, forms a thick line before beading and falling as slow, thin legs.
Nose: The distinctive blackcurrant note is there, but slightly muted when compared to the sour mash sample. The cereal is also more of a feature and adds depth and body to the spirit.
Palate: Cereal and delicate blackcurrant, the alcohol heat is there but not as obvious as the sour mash.
Finish: Sweet cereal together with light blackcurrant.
Overall Summary: I’ve tried more than a few new make spirit samples in recent years, out of all I can honestly say these are easily the ones which surprised me the most. That strong blackcurrant note is very distinctive, highlighting the innovative processes they are using that give rise to greater ester production.
Both of these new makes have been put into first-fill ex-bourbon casks. It will be extremely interesting to see how the spirit interacts with the cask, and whether that delightful blackcurrant note is able to come through to form part of the InchDairnie profile.
A big thanks to Scott Sneddon, Distillery Manager at InchDairnie for such an interesting and informative private tasting.
If you would like more information on this whisky, or the InchDairnie distillery, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: this sample pack and tasting session was a competition prize. The author has no affiliation with the distillery, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial.
