Whiskey Surprises

[IainB]

Whisk(e)y things you've discovered that surprised you..

For example, this weekend I discovered that Burritos with lots and lots of chilli are a near perfect match with Highland Park 21yo. Now that surprised me, and I've no idea why I tried it in the first place.

[JohnM]

It surprises me that I have twice as many whisky bottles than I thought.

[varizoltan]

just had some steel barrel aged whiskey today @ Charbay distillery

now that is what i call surprise

it was really good to

[PureDrop]

A bottle of Dungourney I'd forgotten I had

[Fionnán]

glad to hear you're having fun in california, Z... speaking of Charbay, you'll all get a surprise next month

[varizoltan]

glad to hear you're having fun in california, Z... speaking of Charbay, you'll all get a surprise next month

but that will not surprise me

[mawhinney]

My surprise - the discovery of not just a whisky(sic) but a distillery that I had never heard of. As every schoolboy knows, there are no whisky (legal) distilleries in the Outer Hebrides: the nearest is Talisker on Skye. Imagine my surprise, gentle reader,when after checking into a B&B in the Isle of Lewis I learned that there was a new whisky distillery (est 2008) only a few miles away and that they had just produced their first whisky (three years and one day old) last October. Abhainn Dearg is the name and to quote their literature "the first distillery in the Outer Hebrides in almost two hundred years...located on the western edge of the Isle of Lewis, it is remote even by Hebridean standards... most westerly distillery in Scotland."
I visited, tasted and bought. The buildings were formerly a fish farm and possess that attractive functional charm that one associates with fish farming. More importantly, of course, the location was chosen for the quality of the water in the Abhainn Dearg.
The whisky is 46%, non chill-filtered, and "bottled by hand". The bottles are 50cl. Matured in bourbon casks it is very light in colour ,"natural cask colour " states the label.
I found the whisky to be surprisingly soft and velvety for one so young, with a lovey biscuity-poteen taste. Very drinkable.
Price: £35 at the distillery, but Whisky Exchange et al seem to have only a signed limited(?) edition, same strength,at £150. Puzzling!
P.S. The Hebrides are a delightful place to visit/holiday in, and to find this was the icing on the cake. Go visit!