HIP - first releases - Tomintoul, Bowmore, Invergordon and Foursquare
From the HIP website
We are an independent whisky brand based in the heart of Scotland (Stirling), founded in 2026 with a clear goal: to bring accessibility to independent bottling. We offer carefully curated small batch releases in 20cl formats, removing the cost, commitment, and risk that often come with discovering new whiskies and other premium spirits, so people can drink better, not bigger.
Our name comes from the flask-style bottle our spirit is presented in, as well as our against-the-grain attitude. We are short, sharp, and straight to the point, just like our bottlings - compact, considered, and built for discovery
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Tomintoul 12 - 46%
Matured for 12 years in refill Sherry butts, before bottling at 46% at natural colour and without chill filtration
Tasting notes
Appearance: Chardonnay in colour, forms a thin line which beads before slowly falling as thin, oily legs
Nose: Lemon citrus, vanilla, runny honey and a touch of coconut cream
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, lemon zest, malted milk biscuits, vanilla pods, white pepper
Finish: Mildly tannic oak, white pepper and a touch of crystallised ginger
Summary: Light, summery and pleasant but a bit one dimensional. Not sure how many times the refill Sherry casks were used but I would have said ex-Bourbon if I hadn’t read the label
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Bowmore 13 - 46%
Matured for 13 years in refill bourbon barrels, before bottling at 46% at natural colour and without chill filtration
Tasting notes
Appearance: Yellow gold, forms a thick line before falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Quite closed at first, new mown grass on a lawn mower blade, petrichor, softly herbaceous
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, damp leaf litter, subtle peat smoke and white pepper
Finish: Freshly cut wet peat, musty forest floors and white pepper
Summary: Bowmore is the one Islay distillery I’ve never managed to really connect with, despite many drams and multiple visits. This isn’t a bad whisky, although the damp peat note was bordering on stagnant pond a little too much for me, it’s just not a profile I enjoy.
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Invergordon 28 - 46%
A single grain whisky, matured for 28 years in first fill Bourbon barrels, before bottling at 46% at natural colour and without chill filtration
Tasting notes
Appearance: Bright gold, forms a thin line which beads before falling as thin, oily legs
Nose: Vanilla, soft caramel toffee, icing sugar, desiccated coconut and touch of oak
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel. Crème Brûlée, Honeydew melon, coconut toasted teacake sweets and white pepper
Finish: Tropical fruit notes come to the fore, together with a subtle agave-like note, ginger and white pepper
Summary: A very decent ex-bourbon matured grain, the extended maturation adding much to the complexity. I may not be the world’s biggest grain whisky fan, but I will admit to quite enjoying this one
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Foursquare Barbados Aged Rum 14 - 53%
A barrel aged rum from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados, matured for 14 years before bottling non-chill filtered and at natural colour
Tasting notesAppearance: Burnished gold, forms a thin line which beads before slowly falling as thin, oily legs
Nose: Tropical fruit, banana being most prominent together with flat Irn Bru
Palate: A tropical fruit-fest with an emphasis on banana, together with Crunchie bars and more of that Irn-Bru from the nose
Finish: Decent length, loads of tropical fruit together with a punch of fiery ginger
Summary: I’m not a rum drinker these days but I really enjoyed this one. Due to the very generous sample size I also made myself a Rum & Coca Cola at the same time, I can definitely say it works remarkably well.
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Overall:
To be honest, when I first saw these I was struggling with the concept and the target demographic. Instant impact of the images brought back memories of my youth where quarter or half bottles of vodka would be snuck into parties and gatherings for a drink when nobody was watching. Even the cost, a very reasonable £19.50 across the range, didn’t help dispel that initial impression.
However, having had these in my possession and tried them out, I can honestly say I really get it. This 20cl format gives you the opportunity to try a single malt, grain or rum in ways that a 5cl miniature doesn’t allow, whilst also limiting the financial risk inherent in buying a full bottle of a new whisky or other spirit. As someone who reviews whiskies, being able to try these in multiple ways to find out what works, and what doesn’t, is a real benefit.
Getting on to the spirits themselves, I have to say I found the two single malts a touch disappointing for different reasons. The Tomintoul just didn’t excite me at all, whilst the Bowmore had notes I find unpleasant in a whisky. Then again, they both prove the point of the format, if I’d paid for these I wouldn’t be half as disappointed as if I’d bought full bottles.
Anyone who reads the blog on a regular basis will know I have an aversion to grain whisky, but the Invergordon was a pleasant surprise. It’s still not something I would buy, but I certainly wouldn’t refuse a dram.
As for the Foursquare rum, this was a revelation for me, and by far my favourite of the four bottlings. I’ve had rums in the past but was put off by a particular well-known brand which started off great but developed a huge acetone note after a couple of weeks of being open, to the point where it was undrinkable both neat and in cocktails.
The 20cl format of this Foursquare gave me the chance to try this both neat and as the base for longer drinks, and I have to say it makes the best rum & coke I’ve ever had. I wasn’t as keen with ginger ale but to be fair that probably had as much to do with the poor quality of the ginger ale at hand.
It was actually the quality of the rum which raised the only question I had around this format. These bottles only come in a 20cl format, so what happens if you really enjoy one of them and would like a full bottle? OK, they’re only £19.50 but it could work out quite costly to buy multiple bottles if a 70cl format wasn’t available.
That said, I really do think the brand is on to something here, and I’ll certainly keep an eye out for further releases with interest.
If you would like more information on this range, or HIP whisky, follow the link to the company website
Transparency: Received free of charge for independent review, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial.
