Spirit Thief Distillation Co. 'Nearly New York Sour' Whisky in Isolation 53%abv 30ml

Like Horny Pony, one of the good things inspired and born out of the shit show that was the global pandemic was the blog Whisky in Isolation written by Justin Farmer. Now Whisky in Isolation has become an independent bottler and is not just laying down standard casks but filling their own cask selections and playing around with unusual cask finishes to try out some funky new things. Nearly New York Sour is the first release made from Spirit Thief distillate aged in 3 small French Oak Shiraz casks and then re-racked in a Bourbon cask to add vanilla sweetness and to mellow and round out some of the tannins, spice and slightly rough edges that are often apparent in whisky matured in small red wine casks. 

Description and Tasting notes from the independent bottler:

Thought to have been first made in the 1880s by a bartender in Chicago, before being made popular by a rival bartender in Manhattan, the New York Sour is a classic bourbon-based whiskey sour taken up a notch both visually and in flavour by the addition of a float of red wine.

For our first release, we have turned the cocktail on its head. Three French Oak Shiraz casks, which were part of an internal experimentation to look at the differences between oak and wine varietals across a set of casks, have been married together as our base. With 3 summers of maturation behind them, they were transferred to a 120 litre Bourbon barrel, which previously held Buffalo Trace, to finish the whisky for a further 12 months.

One of only 120 bottles

Distillery Tasting Notes:

Nose: Marzipan, orange blossom, cinnamon and candlewax.

Palate: Red liquorice, pecans, apricot danish and buttery vanilla pastry.

Finish: Lemon sherbet, anise, Manuka honey and lingering pear drops.

Our Tasting Notes

Nose: Banana chips and orange marmalade with savoury, almost earthy, undertones.

Palate: Pink lemonade, Turkish delight, cola bottle lollies and vanilla custard.

Finish: Sweet maraschino cherries with a hint of yuzu and grapefruit.