Filey Bay STR Finish

• ABV: 46%
• Age: NAS
• Bottling: OB
• Category: English single malt whisky
• Cost: £60
• Origin: Spirit of Yorkshire distillery
• Vintage: 2016

What they say

Introducing our latest release: Filey Bay STR Finish.

Distilled in 2016, this ‘field to bottle’ single malt spent years maturing in bourbon casks before transferring to be ‘finished’ in shaved, toasted and re-charred red wine barriques, which came from sunny Rioja vineyards in Spain.

Light and floral, with layers of summer berries and vanilla ice cream, there’s a sweet and oaky spiciness that hints at a fantastic glass of Spanish red wine.

“Filey Bay STR Finish is totally different from anything we’ve released so far. It takes the citrus and caramel flavours from the bourbon casks and weaves them with the red fruits of the Rioja barriques, creating a complex whisky with spice and depth that’s also light and floral.”

Joe Clark, Whisky Director, Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery

Official tasting notes:

Light, floral, and fruity with notes of summer berries, vanilla ice cream, orange chocolate, and toasted oak.

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: Chardonnay Gold (6/20)
• Nose: Sweet, fruity and floral, honeysuckle, apple & mango, lashings of vanilla custard, some apple strudel, buttery cocoa
• Taste: Medium bodied, thick/syrupy on the palate, mango, raisin, woodland berry jam, chocolate digestives and some extra pencil shavings, touch of ryebread
• Finish: Long, tannic, woody oak, cask char and red fruits.

Overall

Definitely my favourite of the tasting, I recoiled slightly at the STR – or shaved, toasted, recharred barrel currently in use far too much with new distilleries for my liking, however this is a red herring here as it is the barrels former (red wine) occupants that really has an impact on the final product.

Score 83/100

Don’t take my word for it:

Bloggers submit link to your review