Wemyss Malts are a boutique whisky company with connections to the Wemyss family who hailed from Fife, Scotland. The Wemyss Land was used at the turn of the 19th century where a gentleman named John Haig built his first distillery on the island. Fast forward to the 21st century, and the range of Wemyss Malts are now award-winning with 3 of their blended malts receiving silver at the International Wine and Spirit competition 2011.
I was lucky enough to try 3 of their blended malts – The Hive, Peat Chimney and Spice King, where below you will find my tasting notes on each.
The Hive
The Hive 12yr – 40%
Only launched this year, The Hive is named after each whiskies predominant flavour, a trend that Wemyss malts use well. As with other malts in the Wemyss range, it had been developed in conjunction with the Scotch whisky writer Charlie Maclean.
On the nose, the sweet scent of honey is dominant which carries nicely onto the palate. A slight buttery scent is also present. The fresh flavour of the honey spread along the palate and gives a bit of a spicy kick near the end. A snip of vanilla is their but the honey is the main characteristic with this malt.
Spice King
Spice King 12yr – 40%
A silver winning malt, a bold, rich nose of sherry mixing with lemon zest but a slight harsh entrance on the palate. Bitter lemon and ginger flavours linger with spice notes and leads into an oak finish which leaves the mouth a little dry.
Peat Chimney
Peat Chimney 12yr – 40%
Peat Chimney won silver in the ‘Best in Class’ category at the International Wine and Spirits awards. Soft peat notes on the nose with an oily scent soon after with a hint of sea salt. Heavy flavours of peat do mellow out as it comes to a finish, with a ‘peat chimney’ smoke on the after-taste.
The range is very good and I like the way each name gives you a subtle indication of what you should expect. It’s simple, but genuinely effective! Wemyss also produce a range of Single Cask which I’ll hopefully come across one day!
Check out and purchase the above bottles from Wemyss Malts here - http://www.wemyssmalts.com
© David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
