WhiskyHeroes by Brave New Spirits

WhiskyHeroes is the latest whisky range from Brave New Spirits. As the name of the Glasgow-based independent bottler suggests, these releases are bold, adventurous, and full of character. Each whisky has a unique label with artwork designed in-house. The labels are fun, colourful, and they all tell a story.

Brave New Spirits is a fairly new company, but in just three years they have accomplished a lot. Their portfolio includes five unique whisky ranges with many award-winning releases, available worldwide. They also use their experience to help others on their whisky journey, anything from whisky bottling and labelling services to the supply of whisky casks and spirits.

I know there has been some confusion amongst consumers on the differences between the whisky collections, especially now with the new WhiskyHeroes. I hope this blog post will help to shed some light on the differences between the whiskies.

WhiskyHeroes

This range covers both single-cask and small-batch whisky releases, which are mostly bottled between 52 and 58% ABV. All releases will only be matured in either ex-bourbon or -sherry casks. The current sherried releases were matured in an ex-Pedro Ximénez hogshead or an Oloroso butt, however, in the future there may be other sherry styles used as well. By using only bourbon and a selection of sherry casks, they can make a clear distinction between WhiskyHeroes and their other whisky collections.

WhiskyHeroes has eight releases at the time of writing, of which all but one are single malts. The one other being a Lowland single grain matured in ex-PX casks from Cameronbridge Distillery (and it sold out pretty rapidly). In fact, now that I come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen a single-grain scotch whisky aged in a sherry cask before coming across Brave New Spirits! It certainly seems like something brave and new.

Learn more about the types of sherry available. Sherry Styles Explained

WhiskyHeroes Whisky Review

I was kindly gifted some samples to try, and I have selected Deep Creatures of the Lake, An Eerie Silence, The Awakening and The Haunting Songs to include on this blog post to offer you a bit more variety. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of the wide range of flavours available in the WhiskyHeroes collection.

Deep Creatures of the Lake

This recent gold medal winner (Spirits Business Awards) is a small-batch peated 10-years-old Highland single malt, distilled at Loch Lomond Distillery. Matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 58.1% ABV.

Colour: Very pale yellow

Nose: Floral honey, dandelion, apple peel, grassy, salty toffee, Scottish tablet, I didn’t get any smoke

Palate: Red apple, lemon zest, lingering smoke, malty, apple strudel, warming ginger, fennel seeds

Finish: Quite short, malty biscuits, oats, apple peel

You get more of the smoke on the palate, but it is by no means heavy on the peat. Also, I’m quite surprised the ABV is 58.1% as it really doesn’t feel that strong. A little time in the glass helps to get more out of the aromas. I was hoping for a slightly longer finish.

The Awakening

This Speyside single malt was distilled at Linkwood Distillery and matured in an Oloroso butt for 13 years. Bottled at 53.3% ABV.

Colour: Gold, dark yellow

Nose: Creamy caramel, nougat, fresh cherries, Madagascar vanilla, Lion candy bar, waxy citrus peel

Palate: Chocolate coated nuts, red berries, orange peel, caramel sauce, Twix

Finish: Brown sugar, nutty

This needed some time in the glass to open up but with the higher ABV that is expected. I was taken down the memory lane with this one, all those chocolate bars! Even if it may sound sweet it really wasn’t sickly in any way and I feel the berry and citrus notes added freshness.

An Eerie Silence

Speyside single malt from Miltonduff Distillery. Aged 13 years in first-fill Oloroso sherry hogsheads. Bottled at 53% ABV.

Colour: Dark gold

Nose: Dark grapes, Amarena cherry syrup, raisins, plums, coffee cake, homemade redcurrant cordial

Palate: Nice heavy texture, prunes, warming spices lingering on the palate, toffee sauce, orange marmalade, lingonberry jam

Finish: Caramel, Toffifee (German sweets), hazelnut

This one sticks to the glass well. Lovely rich notes on the palate and the texture felt heavier than with the previous drams. Nice balance of rich dried fruits, sweet caramel and tart yet fresh notes of lingonberry and marmalade.

The Haunting Songs

This is another recent gold medal winner, a peated small-batch release from Caol Ila Distillery. Aged 12 years in first-fill Oloroso sherry hogsheads. Bottled at 51.6% ABV.

Colour: Yellow copper

Nose: WOW! It’s like I’ve travelled to Finland to enjoy a fish lunch. Smoked salmon in sour cream on a crispy rye bread, smoky mackerel, creamy beetroot salad (typical in Finland), sour cream & onion Pringles dust, tomato chutney

Palate: Grilled white fish, Cullen Skink, burnt orange (on top of a grilled fish), potato & onion foil parcels cooked on BBQ

Finish: Kumquat – this was BNS own tasting note and it makes so much sense, I was struggling to pinpoint what it was, that fruity yet tart and tangy flavour and kumquat makes sense! Also a little ashy.

This was so strange but all in a good way! Anyone who has followed me long enough, probably won’t be surprised when I say this was my favourite of these four releases. It’s fishy, kinda dirty yet very easy sipping. And I love sour cream. And I secretly love Pringles (I know, I know, the packaging is the worst for the environment and there’s probably zero actual potato in there but…).  Look forward to returning to this!

Other Whisky by Brave New Spirits

All whisky collections from Brave New Spirits include both peated and non-peated releases. These are non-chill filtered and without colourings or other additives. They clearly disclose the distillery (when allowed) and each range has its own label design/story and individual bottle shape. The names usually have clever nods to the distillery in question, although I think sometimes you need to channel your inner Sherlock Holmes to get the clues!

Cask Noir

The Cask Noir range takes its inspiration from classic films and novels. These single malts and single-grain whiskies have been aged in interesting and unusual casks and never* in ex-bourbon or traditional sherry casks (that’s only for WhiskyHeroes). These casks can be anything from rum to tequila to red wine. Previous casks include Chateau Potensac red wine, Rivesaltes, Madeira, Marsala, Côtes du Rhône and more.

*There has been a few previous releases aged in ex-bourbon/-sherry, but this won’t be the case in the future.

Whisky of Voodoo

This collection is made up of small-batch single malts, single-grain and ‘teaspooned’* malts. All labels declare the region of origin and the main characteristics and include an age statement (usually 6–18 years old). Whisky of Voodoo is always bottled at cask strength, and they mostly use ex-wine and first-fill sherry casks for maturation. Previous casks included Bordeaux wine, Tawny Port and Oloroso.

*Teaspooned is a term used when a blended malt is made up of a huge majority of one single distillery, sometimes 99.9% of it, with just a tiny amount of something else spooned in to protect the anonymity of the distillery.

Cask Masters

So far, Brave New Spirits have had three releases under this category. These are rare and exclusive single casks – the ultimate luxury. Always bottled at cask strength and without colourings. The first three were a 31-year-old first-fill Oloroso sherry from the Glenrothers Distillery, a 32yo Macallan (Oloroso hogshead) and a 33yo first-fill American bourbon-matured whisky from Tormore Distillery.

Volume Brands

Volume Brands are more traditional in terms of style, packaging, and bottling strength. These single malts, single grains and blends are aimed mainly at specific markets in Asia and Latin America – hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. These are by no means lower quality – many are award-winners too! – just aimed at a different audience. The range includes Royal Cabinet (20yo blended scotch), Lighthouse (blended scotch), Celtic Revival (12yo single malt), The Highland Shepherd (NAS single malt), Ecosse G (12yo single grain) and a few other bottlings.

Overall

There is certainly plenty to choose from when it comes to the Brave New Spirits portfolio, and I can understand why it may seem a bit confusing at first, with such a high number of releases. However, each category is very different when it comes to the design and the wood policy. I hope this article will help with the navigation at least a bit.

The name Brave New Spirits really says it all. These are innovative releases, and they like to experiment (hence the wide array of bottlings) and push the boundaries. Whisky doesn’t have to fit in a certain mould, and many (modern) whisky drinkers like the uniqueness of the label designs and the stories behind them. The more colours, the better, I say!

In fact, I’ve been told a team of 30-something people are all involved in selecting the whiskies. There is no one blender, but the team gather to sample and taste-test before bottling. They all have their say in the naming of each bottle and they bounce ideas off each other. The labels are designed in-house with several people’s input. I really appreciate this kind of workplace where despite their own initial roles, everyone is heard and listened to, and you really are part of a team of equals. This type of environment sparks creativity, which clearly shows in everything they bring out.

Quick recap:

• WhiskyHeroes: Single-cask and small-batch releases, always matured/finished in bourbon and sherry casks
• Cask Noir: Single-cask releases, matured/finished in more unusual/exotic wine or spirits casks
• Whisky of Voodoo: Small-batch releases (single malt, single grain, teaspooned), often using wine or first-fill sherry casks
• Cask Masters: Rare and older luxury single malts
• Volume Brands: More traditional single malts, single grains and blends (in terms of style, packaging, bottling strength) – main markets for these are Asia & Latin America, HoReCa and supermarkets

Want to shop the latest WhiskyHeroes? See Inverurie Whisky Shop, Cask & Quay, Stirk Brothers, Gauntley’s of Nottingham, The Vintage House, Hedonism Wines, Tyndrum Whisky (Green Welly Stop) & The Whisky World (London). 

How familiar are you with Brave New Spirits whisky range? Have you tried any WhiskyHeroes releases yet?

---

Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Brave New Spirits.