Forest Distillery Blended Whisky

let’s begin

Hailing from a family owned and operated distillery in Macclesfield, Forest Distillery Blended Whisky is a wonderful malt.

Family First

The Forest Distillery is owned by the Bond family, who first opened it out of their kitchen. They live in Macclesfield and the brand is named after the Macclesfield Forest where they forage their botanicals. Their Forest Distillery Blended Whisky is a new addition to the family.

If it sounds all a bit quaint, that’s because it is, but in the best sense of the word. They have a wonderful local feel, owing to their origins and the fact that they still make the gin with a small team.

Although rather than being in their kitchen their still has grown a bit and they now have a team of 5 to operate the stills in a 17th century stone barn in the middle of the glorious forest surroundings.

Their gin has been recognised around the world and is the only gin to have been awarded two separate double gold medals
at the San Francisco World Spirit Awards.

As well as foraging for local botanicals the brand also source their bottles locally, having them hand made out of Staffordshire porcelain.

They are treated so they don’t absorb moisture or stains and their Forest whisky is inlaid with actually gold.

The bottles are worth investing in themselves and add another dimensions to an already intriguing brand.

The Forest Blended Whisky

As well as their award winning Gin, the Bonds have now ventured into whisky blending. Their first iteration is a combination of malts aged 8 years and more. They have been finished in a 50 year old wood, Oloroso sherry casks for a few months.

It’s a very promising start from Forest’s first foray into the whisky world.

Tasting notes for the Forest Distillery Blended Whisky

The nose opens with lots of sweetness, bringing out chocolate and caramel, with a bit of depth that gives us fudge and black treacle. There is a tart note of lemon that goes perfectly with sweet caramel and chocolate.

The palate is big on the oak notes. The wood is really drawn out and full of vanilla and cinnamon notes.

Cereal notes of oats and barley are joined by damp grass and wood. Rich herbs come through which add a little bit more refinement to the overall flavour.

The sweet chocolate notes remain throughout the palate and go really well with the cereal flavours. Vanilla comes through
to tie everything together.

The finish lingers on wood, with a hint of fruit and sweet milk chocolate.

This is a brilliant edition to the Forest Distillery family and will please their whisky love fans as well. It has all the hallmarks of a great dram and is well worth keeping an eye on.

Let us know what you think of this blend in the comments. Love it/hate it? Tell us your thoughts!

Tags: Blended Malt WhiskyForest DistilleryManchester

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.