Leidsche Singel Malt
Batch 2
Leidsche Singel Malt Batch 2: A big bang again!
"On the 12th of January in the year of our Lord 1807 a powder ship exploded at the Steenschuur in Leiden."
It is the fun story of Leidsche Singel Malt that is repeated on the boxing of Batch 2.
And no, it is not spelled wrong. A singel is a form of a canal that can be found in cities like Leiden and Amsterdam. So Leidsche Singel Malt is a fun play on that word.
Previously, or rather two years ago, I reviewed Leidsche Singel Malt. A BenRiach on ex Laphroaig cask. And then there was a silence around this brand.
Since I know the managing director of Singel Malt BV, I knew something was brewing and I was able to pre-order the Batch 2, which comes from a different distillery. And then I waited.
Until today. My doorbell rang and when I opened the door, Tom, the managing director of Singel Malt BV stepped inside with my two pre-ordered bottles of Batch 2. We opened one immediately and sat down to discuss this whisky, but also the future plans for Singel Malt.
Singel Malt started as a fun project of Tom, who is an IT entrepreneur that loves whisky. His office is located in a building that houses all types of start-ups and smaller companies and since he is a big enthousiast, he was asked to host a tasting.
One tasting became two, two became three, etc. Up until a point where several entrepreneurs decided to invest in a cask. Tom did some research and then got the cask for the first Leidsche Singel Malt. After the unexpected success of experiment number one, they decided to give it a more professional approach and invested in not 1, but several casks to be bottled and currently own several casks waiting to be bottled.
A pre-order list was shared amongst their followers for batch 2 and if you like what you read here today, it unfortunately almost completely sold out. (At the time of writing, 5-6 bottles were still available. If you are amongst the first to read this, go visit them at singel-malt.com.)
But no need to worry, the pre-order list of Batch 3 is already available.
Not known yet what whisky will by bottled for Batch 3, I already signed up.
(You can do so as well, by pre-ordering here.)
Will the future be just batches of Singel Malt? Well, a quick scoop, Angels Share Holders, the company behind the Singel Malt brand is working on a second line of product. Since Tom could not tell me too much about it, I can't share much more. But the bottom of the barrel has not been reached yet by this company!
And now what you came for. The whisky. Was it worth the pre-order?
Before you read my notes, I'm going to give a spoiler: Yes, yes it was.
The whisky is distilled at the Ardmore distillery and has aged for 5,5 years on a bourbon cask. At first sight this sounds like a very young whisky.
Bottled at 46%, this non chill filtered whisky is a welcome surprise despite the age.
The color is a golden yellow that my photo's did not manage to capture. A waltz round my glass leaves the whisky sticking a bit to the sides before dripping in medium thick legs back into the liquid.
On the nose there are already so much things to find: some malts, some dusty vanilla, fresh pears and apples, ceder wood and a tingly note of prickly smoke.
In the back of my nose I even get some raspberries and white grapes.
The taste was what suprised me: It has a medium thick viscosity that really touches all parts in you mouth. Like I mentioned to Tom: I could feel it sticking to my teeth.
At first, you get fresh fruits going in, then in the back of your mouth, the smokiness arises with a light sour note, pulling your cheeks a litle inward. Then it flows back forward with some notes of candy and rum soaked currants. I even get some light cacao notes.
The finish is a very long one. The smoke adheres to your palate in a pleasant way for a long time, accompanied by some honey and apple.