Henstone Distillery - Virtual Whisky Tasting
As part of NEWAS (North East Whisky Appreciation Society) I had the opportunity to join an online tasting event with the distillery Henstone. Being a relatively new distillery, I hadn't yet tried any of their whisky to date, so I was eager to join the virtual tasting event and learn more about this distillery. 5 drams were delivered through the post and my Friday night was booked with approximately 20 other members who joined the online event. Whiskies poured, I was ready to learn and get tasting.....
About Henstone
Our tasting session was hosted by Chris Toller, one of the original founders of the Shropshire based distillery. Founded in 2017, Henstone has large family based approach which involves Chris and his wife Alex, along with their son Henry as sales manager and their daughter Flo as distiller. Chris informed us that whilst they are an English whisky, they have plans to move location to the England -Wales border, resulting in them releasing English & Welsh whisky, or will a decision need to be made...?
After a general history and run down of the roles involved within the distillery, Chris got us started on our lineup.
Dram 1
Henstone English Single Malt 5 year old
46% abv
ex bourbon casks
RRP: £85
Nose: floral and fresh fruits. Apples. Some light cereal notes. Delicate and understated.
Taste: The youth feels present to me on the palate, quite a lot of alcohol punch. There is wood tones, but possibly pine rather than oak. The dram is very dry and i find it quite bitter. There is a small amount of spice and black pepper at the finish.
Summary: This was popular amongst the group with most people giving the dram a thumbs up. Personally, I'm not a huge fan due to dry and bitter taste. I also take the cost into account with my personal scoring. Score: 4/10
Dram 2
46% abv
RRP: 59.95
Nose: Dark chocolate, coffee beans, the oloroso finish is complimentary and not overbearing. Honey sweetness.
Taste: Feels thicker on the palate. Sweet caramel notes. Leather, coffee beans, sea salt. A touch of spice and again the bitter finish, likened to that of Gin is certainly present once again.
Summary: More flavoursome, the oloroso influence adds more sweetness and depth. The new make character is still present throughout. The group mostly liked this one, as did I. Score: 6/10
Dram 3
46% abv
full maturation in ex-red wine cask.
RRP: 59.95
Nose: Strong forest fruit influence. Red grapes, honey and sea breeze.
Taste: Thick on the palate, I get oak, digestive biscuit and a touch of spice. Fruits are present but somewhat subdued. I get the faint taste of red berries and some dark chocolate, but again its subtle. There is a clear Henstone character which is proving present in all of their whiskies, and most seem to be enjoying it, but unfortunately I am not. I'm struggling with the dry, bitter, gin taste which is present in each of tonight's drams.
Summary: This comes highly rated by and there was some anticipation from the group over this particular dram from our some of the group members who had tried it before. Some went straight online and bought it immediately after tasting this. So there must be something there which people are enjoying. Maybe i just need more time with it. But Whisky is about personal palate and opinion, and personally i preferred the oloroso cask. Score: 5/10
Dram 4
46%
3 yrs in Jim beam casks before transfered to an ex-peated quarter cask finish for 20 months. (Islay casks - coal ila or laphroaig??)
RRP: 59.95
Nose: Orange peel, ashy smoke and almost certainly crunch nut cornflakes.
Taste: subtle honey and digestive biscuit again. Crunchy nut cornflakes are in my head now and they continue from the nose to the palate. The peat influence isnt medicinal or meaty, its just pure ash. Its not a strong influence of ash smoke, its certainly subtle and once again the finish is dry and bitter.
Summary: I thought Id love this. Secret Islay peated cask influence - yes please! But unfortunately there just wasn't quite enough depth for me. All very subtle in terms of a bit of sweet and a bit of smoke, but neither enough to really grab my attention and wow me. Score: 5/10
Dram 5
41.5%
RR: 37.95
A 'Bourbon Equivalent’, produced using 68% corn, 16% wheat and 16% barley mash, it is distilled in a pot/column hybrid still and matured in new American oak casks.
Nose: Floral and perfumey. Honey notes and vanilla essence.
Taste: Sweet caramel, honey and raspberry Fruitella sweets. Some spices and pepper. There is a hint of smoke here.
Summary: Its light on the palate but the extra sweetness offered is what makes this one quite enjoyable. A dry and bitter finish, it reminds me of the 5yr old but with added sweetness. Score: 4/10
Summary of the session
Overall, the lineup was largely enjoyed by the majority of the group. Chris was very friendly, informative and approachable and was very keen to educate us on the details of each dram and the processes involved. As states earlier, some of the drams went down so well, some members bought them immediately during the tasting event itself. I really expected to enjoy the ex- red wine cask and the ex-peated cask. I am a big peat fan and whilst I don't typically go for red wine finishes in my whisky, it came highly recommended by group members who had tried it before. Maybe, my palate wasn't on form tonight, but I felt a strong New Make influence continue throughout the lineup which caused a distraction for me. I am not a gin fan, and I felt I tasted gin in each of the drams tonight.
What's going good?
- I love what Henstone are doing with their website, very informative for each bottling where you learn about each maturation process and how many bottles are made for each batch etc.
- Chris as a founder and educator was superb, very informative, relatable and friendly.
- I'd say prices are fair - (although the 5yr old is a bit steep in my personal opinion)
- All whiskies are released at natural colour and non-chill filtered.
- Experimental with cask influence.
What could be improved?
- Personally, I'm not a fan of the labelling and design
- Whilst the whiskies are all 46%, I would love to see what a cask strength edition could offer.
Whilst I wont be buying any bottles based upon tonight's tasting, I remain open minded to trying them again and keeping an eye out for future releases.
