[Review] Berry Bro's & Rudd - Sherry Cask Matured blended malt Scotch whisky 44.2%

A bit more sherry this month with a bottle I had never come across or even heard of before. This is a blended malt whisky from Berry Bros & Rudd, which means it is a mix of more than one single malt without the addition of any grain whisky. It was aged in ex-Sherry casks and all you get from the label on the bottle is that it is "blended from the best Sherry butts". No more information on the types of sherry or the age of the whisky. It is pretty rich in colour, nose and palate so I would go for a mix of Pedro-Ximenez and Oloroso. I doubt the liquid in the bottle is too old but that does not necessarily matter (still wish they had put an age statement on the label!)

The bottle was very reasonably priced at £32 and the presentation was very good -I am guessing no chill-filtration or addition of E150 took place (despite the dark colour)- so I did not hesitate long before taking the plunge. But was it worth it?

As I mentioned above, the presentation for this blended malt is very good and the colour is quite impressive for a blended malt. It is very dark with some ruby red tinge. The whisky is also presented at 44.2%, which is nice compared to lots of standard 40% offerings.

Nose: Sherry of course, rich with some dark fruit, prunes and raisins, some nutty notes too, brown sugar and treacle. There is also some younger fresher notes with hints of citrus fruit. I also get some more unusual notes such as metal, leather, old oak and a little tar. Fantastic!

Palate: Sherry again, dark fruit, prunes, nutty and dry, bitter chocolate, coffee, caramel and brown sugar . There is some spiciness to it and some bitter orange too. Not quite as rich and thick as I was expecting but still very moreish...

Finish: Lasting, warming and fruity with notes of espresso, oak spice and sherry. Some sweetness but quite drying and still some bitter oranges lingering at the end.

With water: With just close to 1/2 a tea spoon of water, the nose becomes fresher and fruitier but with a bit more acidity. The palate loses some of its depth in my opinion. The finish gets a bit spicier. I am not actually sure the water has improved it for me. I guess a couple of drops could do the trick but no more!

Overall, I feel this is a great discovery and a great bottle for the price. It is a nice little Sherry bomb which definitely tastes of quality. I think I will have to start searching for another bottle as I not sure this one will last very long...