Filey Bay Moscatel Finish

• ABV: 46%
• Age: NAS
• Bottling: OB
• Category: English single malt whisky
• Cost: £60
• Origin: Spirit of Yorkshire distillery
• Vintage: Undeclared

What they say

Filey Bay Moscatel Finish is a big moment for Spirit of Yorkshire: it’s our first ‘finished’ release.

This field to bottle single malt was initially matured in 200L bourbon casks (filled in 2016), before being transferred to 250L Hogshead barrels from Spain that had held Moscatel for 10 years prior to this. The use of bourbon casks followed by Moscatel barrels to finish creates a really interesting flavourful whisky. Still light and soft like our previous releases but with an added depth, more layers of fruit and sweet spices. There are 6000 bottles of this release available.

Whilst sherries like Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso are well known in single malt whisky maturation, Moscatel is much more rare and unusual. Moscatel grapes are known for floral aromas (orange blossom, jasmine and honeysuckle) as well as citric notes like lime and grapefruit. The grapes thrive in sandy soil and Moscatel vineyards are close to the beaches in the sherry region of Spain – making it a perfect match for our Filey Bay whisky, made here on the Yorkshire Coast.

Official tasting notes:

Soft, spicy and warming with notes of honeycomb, orange marmalade, dried fruits and cocoa.

What I say

Sampled during the #FileyBayWhisky tweet tasting hosted by Steve @thewhiskywire and Spirit of Yorkshire distillery. Flagship is their entry level single malt whisky

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Champagne Gold (3/20), medium, oily tears and legs.
• Nose: Fresh and fruity, peaches, orange juice, marmalade with stem ginger, some buttery granary toast too, sweet vanilla cream later
• Taste: More neutral, sweet and spice balanced, slightly fuller-bodied, syrupy almost, peach and pear, honey, caramel, cinnamon and allspice.
• Finish: Medium, rhubarb and custard.

Overall

Another tasty expression, moved more into stone fruits thanks to the Moscatel finish, plus plenty of honey and syrup sweetness too, whilst retaining core distillate flavours too.

Score 82/100

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