What they say

Following the overwhelming success of the first release from its new, small batch collection, Fettercairn Distillery has unveiled Warehouse 2 Batch No.002 showcasing the treasures of its 14 dunnage warehouses, home to an array of exceptional maturing stock.

Limited to just 6,000 bottles, this spirit was distilled in 2009 and matured in a combination of first fill ex-American Rye barrels and first fill ex-Bourbon barrels.  Just 29 casks were hand selected to create this single malt, specially chosen from Warehouse 2, where high humidity combined with a relatively cool and temperate environment makes it mark on the maturing spirit.

Bottled at 48.5% ABV to enhance the signature character, Fettercairn Warehouse 2 Batch No. 002 showcases the distillery’s tropical style achieved from the distinctive copper cooling ring distillation process.  Natural colour and non-chill filtered, this single malt leads with sweetness and soft spice on the nose and excites the palate with layers of tropical and citrus fruits, complemented by sweet, warming richness and rounding off with cacao and coffee notes, making for a fulfilling yet intriguing taste experience.

The Warehouse Collection celebrates the talent, passion and commitment of the distillery team, coupled with the vision of the Master Whisky Maker in seeking unusual and interesting casks to craft these small batch releases.  Limited in number and availability, the Collection has already captured the imagination of both collectors and whisky drinkers with its striking look and transparent whisky making ethos.

With discovery a driving force at Fettercairn, this wonderful collection of whiskies invites drinkers and fans to explore the foundations of its ethos with full details of the cask make-up presented prominently on the bottle and pack of each release.

Gregg Glass, whisky maker, Whyte and Mackay said: “We were overwhelmed by the response to our first small batch release.  This second release takes us on a deep dive into further exploration of the unique Fettercairn flavour, as we have bottled spirit matured in ex American Rye barrels, allowing us to show a more experimental side to our approach.

“I never cease to be inspired and enthralled by the diversity and quality of the amazing stock we have in our warehouses, and this itself creates a brilliant canvas to work from.  The more I discover, the more excited I get about just what we can do as we continue to create exceptionally refined whiskies and offer something truly unexpected and different.”

Fettercairn Warehouse 2, Batch No.002 will be available at an RSP of £55 in key global markets including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France from August from selected specialist outlets.

Discover Fettercairn:  Rare, Pure & Enlightened

Official tasting notes

• Natural Colour: Beautiful rays of warm golden barley.
• Nose: Sweet honey, sugared almonds and soft spices married with tropical fruit notes and sweet vanilla.
• Taste: A wonderful myriad of flavours dance on the palate. Layers of tropical and citrus fruits are balanced by complex yet harmonised notes of sweet cassia bark, moist ginger cake and warming maple syrup. Light cacao notes then emerge alongside roasted Arabica coffee beans in a robust but refined expression that embraces both the beauty of our spirit and the finest influenced of hand- selected American oak casks.

What I say

The second instalment of Fettercairn’s Warehouse special edition series also hails from Warehouse No.2. This time Greg explained they discovered a parcel of Fettercairn maturing in ex-Rye casks, distilled in 2009 making these around 12 years old. To balance the spiciness of the Rye a similar parcel from 2009 matured in ex-Bourbon casks were used to add sweetness and temper the spice, after playing around with the marriage ratios a final balance of 38% Rye cask to 62 % Bourbon cask -matured spirit was used to produce this final expression.

• ABV 48.5%
• Age 12 Years Old
• Bottler Whyte & Mackay
• Bottling Official, Warehouse No 2
• Cask Rye & Bourbon Cask
• Category Highland single malt whisky
• Cost £55
• Origin Fettercairn Distillery
• Outturn n/a
• Region Highland
• Released 2021
• Vintage 2009

My tasting notes

• Appearance Light champagne gold (6/20), slightly oily, medium-fine tears and finer legs.
• Nose Soft and gentle, vanilla, herbal, rye and pumpkin bread, quite herbal, spicy and dry, sugared almonds and sweet pineapple.
• Taste Medium-light bodied, fruity and spicy, fresh pineapple with ground black pepper, herbal, cinnamon, sugared almonds, coconut, milk chocolate, bounty bars, mango reduction, Jamaican ginger cake, some fresh mint leaf, dill, cumin and anise seed.
• Finish Long, drying and spicy, for me the Rye spices came to the for here in the finish, minty.
• Overall Considering I find the standard 12 a little spicy in the tail I was a little apprehensive of the Rye maturation used here. It really accentuates other facets of Fettercairn’s spirit but surreptitious use of sweet and vanillic ex-Bourbon casks brings plenty of coconut and chocolate along for the ride making this one a real journey. Actually the more I tasted the more welcoming the spicy Rye elements were. Bravo!

Score 85/100

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