Our two distillers, Joao Pereira and Daniel Wright, were tasked with finding some of their favourite casks of whisky from which to select the latest Distiller’s Choice release. They landed on two beautiful casks of 11-year-old wheat whisky - casks 16 and 17. Out of everything else, these two stood out.

They were tasted several more times, to try and split them and select just one to release, but Dan favoured one, Joao the other. After much deliberation, we decided to see what they looked like together. And together they were even better than apart. They were born together, so it’s no surprise that they worked together. The resulting marriage is full of lovely espresso, chocolate, and coconut notes.

Distiller’s Choice Wheat Whisky is distilled from the mash bill we use for Adnams Triple Malt Whisky in our core range. It consists of 60% Wheat, 35% Barley, 5% Oats. It has been maturing in single, second fill American oak casks for 11 years before it was bottled.

On the nose you’ll find coconut and caramel, alongside roasted notes like bonfire-charred wood, tobacco and burnt coffee - as if the water was a little too hot for your brew. On tasting, there is chocolate, espresso and spice, balanced by flavours of biscuit and caramelised toffee, which fills the palate with a creamy texture that carries on through to the finish. The caramel and honeyed notes linger, along with notes of liquorice and allspice.

PROFILE

Colour: Golden Amber

ABV: 49.7%

Age Statement: 11 Years Old

Aroma: Coconut, Caramel, Roasted Notes, Tobacco, Charred Wood, Bonfire, Burnt Coffee

Taste: Espresso, Caramel, Biscuit, Spice, Chocolate, Spicy

Finish: Caramel, Honey, Liquorice, Allspice, Creamy,

It would be remiss of us not to reflect on the fact that this is our first Distiller’s Choice release since the passing of our head distiller, John McCarthy. Some of you may know that John learnt distilling at Adnams. Starting as an engineer, he studied and learnt how to distil as part of the commissioning of the distillery in 2010. Joao and Dan then learnt from John, so very much carry on what John taught them. He’d be extremely proud that they now get a chance to build on that legacy, with this Distillers Choice release. We love that the final selection has combined both of their choices; it’s unintentionally symbolic of the way they have rallied together.

“It’s been extremely exciting for me and Joao to go through the very difficult process of tasting multiple barrels of whisky to pick something special to join our long line of fantastic Distiller’s Choice products and to have our names proudly displayed on the bottles,” said Dan.

“However, it’s hard to not think about John McCarthy, who dedicated a lot of hard work, time and passion to creating this fantastic whisky. We just hope we have and continue to make him proud and that his legacy lives on here at Adnams.”

Our Distiller’s Choice Wheat Whisky launches ahead of the English Whisky Festival, which takes place on Saturday 22nd November at The Bond in Birmingham. Returning for a 4th year, the event celebrates all things English Whisky. It’s a chance to dive into the fascinating English whisky scene and meet founders, distillers and key team members from distilleries large and small. We’re looking forward to sharing this latest release with explorers of English Whisky.