Whisky and art collaborations are nothing new - we've seen everything from Macallan's "Masters of Photography" series, to Glenfiiddich's "Arists in Residence" program, to Glenmorangie's more recent efforts with Azuma Makoto. My view of these has always been the same - they can be fun, sure, and when the collaboration "fits", even great, but fundamentally the underlying whisky has to be good. At the end of the day, you can't drink art!
Thankfully, Cask88's latest collaboration with Britain's legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman not only brings the fun & feels like it "fits", it also involves some fantastic whisky!
Dubbed the Cask 88 x Ralph Steadman Whisky Correspondence Course, the series is intended to take drinkers on a journey of Scotland's distilleries via illustrations from Ralph Steadman's 1994 memoir "Still life with Bottle: Whisky According to Ralph Steadman" adorning bottles of "exquisite, greatly aged, unique single malts from the finest distilleries in Scotland".
Starting (fittingly) with Part One, the series kicks things off with 3 single cask bottlings, available individually by the 700mL bottle or as a set of 3 x 50mL miniatures:
The team at Cask88 were kind enough to send me a miniature set for review, and I've gotta say, this is one of the most impressively designed "sample sets" I've ever seen - right down to the ink pot sample bottles. Sure, it's all about the whisky inside, but opening this certainly brought a smile to my face.
Cask88 x Ralph Steadman "Whisky Correspondence Course" Bruichladdich 31yo (50.6% ABV, 31yo, Refill Hogshead #2258, Islay, Scotland, £565 / $5,650HKD)
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Colour: Light golden sunset.
Nose: Light and fruity - grape skins, pear & peach, followed by subtle vanilla hints.
Palate: Oh now we're talking - Tropic Thunder! Passionfruit, lots of pineapple, some guava and apple. Grapefruit, vanilla & pear notes too. It's a tropical fruit basket, with perfectly balanced sweetness.
Finish: Largely follows the palate - tropical right to the end, when a cooling subtle mint note kicks in.
Colour: Light golden sunset.
Nose: Light and fruity - grape skins, pear & peach, followed by subtle vanilla hints.
Palate: Oh now we're talking - Tropic Thunder! Passionfruit, lots of pineapple, some guava and apple. Grapefruit, vanilla & pear notes too. It's a tropical fruit basket, with perfectly balanced sweetness.
Finish: Largely follows the palate - tropical right to the end, when a cooling subtle mint note kicks in.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). Beautiful.
Cask88 x Ralph Steadman "Whisky Correspondence Course" Arran 24yo (44.7% ABV, 24yo, Oloroso Hogshead #1556, £565 / $4,250HKD)
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Colour: Rich amber gold.
Nose: Creamy strawberries & raspberries, with a spray of orange zest, and underlying chocolate hints.
Palate: In line with the nose, sweet strawberries and raspberries, then maple syrup, walnuts, peanut brittle, strawberries again (with cream this time), and more of that chocolate.
Finish: Long and full of dark chocolate and oranges, with a slightly bitter raspberry note.
Colour: Rich amber gold.
Nose: Creamy strawberries & raspberries, with a spray of orange zest, and underlying chocolate hints.
Palate: In line with the nose, sweet strawberries and raspberries, then maple syrup, walnuts, peanut brittle, strawberries again (with cream this time), and more of that chocolate.
Finish: Long and full of dark chocolate and oranges, with a slightly bitter raspberry note.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). Arran around this age can be very good, and this is no exception.
Cask88 x Ralph Steadman "Whisky Correspondence Course" Glenburgie 24yo (55.2% ABV, 24yo, 1st Fill Sherry Butt #9316, £300 / $3,000HKD)
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Colour: Deep copper.
Nose: Funk, slight sulphur note, chocolate-coated cherries and sour gummies - something I only occasionally find on well-serried whiskies, but a note I really enjoy.
Palate: Rich, unctuous and funky. Oak, but balanced with savoury sherry notes, mature oranges, coffee beans, rooibos tea and ripe raspberries, with a slight bitterness after some air.
Finish: Long, warming coffee notes with some berries, and oak funk.
Colour: Deep copper.
Nose: Funk, slight sulphur note, chocolate-coated cherries and sour gummies - something I only occasionally find on well-serried whiskies, but a note I really enjoy.
Palate: Rich, unctuous and funky. Oak, but balanced with savoury sherry notes, mature oranges, coffee beans, rooibos tea and ripe raspberries, with a slight bitterness after some air.
Finish: Long, warming coffee notes with some berries, and oak funk.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). Lots going on here, and it all works well together. Really enjoyable.
I have to say, I was expecting one, maybe two of these casks to be standouts, but didn't expect all 3 to be so good. All very different (fruity, moderately sherried & very sherried), but all excellent.
The Cask 88 x Ralph Steadman Whisky Correspondence Course is available directly from Cask88 in the UK, or from Dram Good Stuff in Hong Kong (pricing and links above).
Cheers,
Martin.
