Vor etwa zwei Wochen konnten wir bereits über den Velvet Fig 25yo von Wemyss Malts berichten, der zu diesem Zeitpunkt im Wemyss Cask Club erhältlich war. Schon damals erfuhren wir vom deutschen Importeur Alba Import, dass dieser Blended Malt auch in Deutschland erhältlich sein würde. Nun scheint dieser Zeitpunkt sehr nahe gerückt zu sein, da Wemyss Malt eine offizielle Presseaussendung zur allgemeinen Veröffentlichung des Velvet Fig 25yo ausgesendet hat, die wir untenstehend veröffentlichen.
Der Blended Whisky, dessen Basis aus fünf im Jahr 1994 gefüllten Sherryfässern aus nicht genannten Destillerien der Speyside und Highlands besteht, und zusätzlich unter anderem 29% ungetorften und im Jahr 1988 destillierten Whisky aus der Islay-Destillerie Bunnahabhain enthält, sollte also in Kürze beim Händler Ihres Vertrauens zu finden sein.
THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF VELVET FIG BY WEMYSS MALTS NOW AS A 25 YEAR OLD LIMITED EDITION RELEASE.
Wemyss Malts continues its 15th Anniversary celebrations this year with the triumphant return of Velvet Fig in the form of a 25 year old Sherry cask blended malt composed from casks of Highlands, Speyside and unpeated Islay whiskies.
Velvet Fig was Wemyss Malts first limited edition blended malt released back in 2014 and received its flavour led name in reference to the rich flavours from the sherry cask maturation. The release was hugely successful and Velvet Fig later went on to win the Best Scotch Blended Malt at the 2015 World Whisky Awards. The original Velvet Fig is now sadly finished (except perhaps for a few bottles squirreled away by savvy whisky fans) and is still often fondly remembered and talked about among Wemyss Malts fan. With such fan reverence Wemyss Malts tasked themselves to bring back Velvet Fig and continue their exploration into sherry cask matured malt whiskies.
In 2019, Isabella Wemyss, Production Director for Wemyss Malts secured 5 casks of exceptional 1994 vintage sherry cask matured malt whisky from undisclosed Highlands and Speyside single malt distilleries and the blending team used these as the base to develop the new premium age statement Velvet Fig recipe.
Blender and Brand Manager for Wemyss Malts Steven Shand commented:
“With the Speyside and Highland casks as the base of the whisky we set about combining additional old casks of whisky from our stocks to add a velvety body, richness and complex wood tannin. By carefully selecting and adding several 1988 vintage casks of unpeated, sherry matured Bunnahabhain’s as the final 29% of the recipe we were able to achieve an aroma, flavour and body that did justice to the Velvet Fig name.”
The resulting whisky is an exquisitely fruity, rich and complex malt whisky with aromas of antique wood, vintage leather and velvety flavours of dark fruits and chocolate. It has the natural colour of deep copper and has been bottled non chill-filtered at 42.3%abv and carries a 25 year old age statement.
The whisky was unveiled at Wemyss Malts 15th anniversary celebration at Gosford House on the 4th of February and was initially preview released to Wemyss Malts Cask Club members. The release will be available in the UK, EU and Asia as of the 25th of February with a suggested retail price of £126 in various spirits retailers and from wemysmalts.com.
Wemyss Malts Cask Club members will be posting their own reviews of Velvet Fig Aged 25 Years via Instagram from Monday the 24th to Thursday the 27th of February. You can find out what their thoughts are by following @wemyssmalts and the hashtag #WMCaskClub.
