Single Barrel 01: XO Cognac Finish

An extremely limited release of NED Whisky drawn from a single barrel which had been seasoned with XO Cognac.

This is the first time we’ve released a single barrel of whisky and the 450 bottles that it yielded is our smallest release to date.

When the opportunity to get hold of some stunning, and rare, French XO cognac came up, we grabbed it with both hands – not to bottle the cognac, but to season selected barrels of our whisky.

We barreled the cognac into one of our new American oak casks and matured it until the wood was redolent with rich orange, apricot fruit and mellow cognac toffees.

Then we chose a single reserve barrel of NED whisky to undergo a final maturation in the cognac seasoned barrel. This is that whisky.

Each bottle is individually numbered. The final bottling strength was decided by a blind tasting where 46% was determined to be the optimal marriage of cask sweetness and NED structure.

TASTING NOTES:

Aroma: Fragrant dried fruit, raisins and sultanas, caramel.
Taste: Sweet ripe fruit, notes of grapes and raisins, fine oak, dried spice.
Finish: Lingering mouthfeel/long finish of toffee.