The Western Cape is legendary for its vineyards and wine estates, but it surely is also considered the house of South African whisky. Positioned in Wellington (simply exterior of Cape City), the James Sedgwick Distillery is chargeable for the creation of South Africa’s most well-known whisky manufacturers: Three Ships and Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky. For good measure, what is probably South Africa’s second most well-known whisky, Boplaas Whisky, can also be produced within the Western Cape.
Incidentally, stopping by the James Sedgwick Distillery for a tour and a whisky tasting is one thing I can extremely suggest – particularly in the intervening time, as guests at present have the possibility to bottle their very personal whisky! I’m unsure how lengthy this chance shall be obtainable to members of the general public, because it’ll seemingly depend upon obtainable inventory, however for now you’re in a position to decide on between bottling your very personal 14-year-old Bain’s single grain whisky (completed in ex-PX casks), or bottling your very personal Three Ships 11-year-old peated single malt (completed in Acacia casks, an uncommon kind of cask that’s additionally distinctively South African).
On a current tour of the distillery, I used to be lucky sufficient to pattern their newest whisky: the eighth official restricted launch of the Three Ships Grasp’s Assortment. It’s a gently peated 13-year-old single malt, which was initially matured for 8 years in American oak casks, after which completed for five years in seasoned Cape Ruby casks. Cape Ruby is a sort of fortified wine from South Africa that’s similar to Portuguese Ruby Port. Simply 5 casks of this whisky had been lastly chosen for this launch, which is bottled at 53.6% ABV, so it packs fairly a hefty punch.
It’s a really current launch – the primary 400 bottles solely went on sale on-line final month, on the thirty first of Might. I truly ended up shopping for one in all these bottles myself. Trying to buy a bottle by way of their grand opening sale turned out to be a little bit of a chaotic enterprise. Given the enormity of curiosity this sale generated, getting by their on-line system was an train in endurance. But, it looks like it didn’t take too lengthy for a lot of the obtainable bottles to get snapped up.
It’s doable that the hype from the distillery’s promoting did the trick, but it surely’s additionally doable that Three Ships Whisky is a bit more on everybody’s radar than it has beforehand been. Earlier this 12 months on the World Whiskies Awards in London, the title of the “World’s Greatest Blended Restricted Launch” went to Three Ships for its 12-year-old Double Wooden expression. This resulted in hordes of folks dashing out to purchase themselves a bottle of this award-winning whisky, and it’s now develop into not possible to search out anymore. Not less than, I haven’t been capable of finding it wherever, and it’s not obtainable from the distillery. I’d tasted and loved this specific whisky a number of years in the past, so I’d observed it on the market at varied shops over the previous few years. It was additionally a restricted launch, so just like the 13-year-old, there have been additionally a finite variety of bottles produced. It was launched in 2021, so it remained on cabinets for fairly a while. It’s fascinating to see how rapidly profitable an award can change the way in which individuals view a whisky… or maybe it’s simply how a lot they’re prepared to spend on a bottle of whisky?
To return to the 13-year-old Cape Ruby single malt: there are a complete of two,394 bottles obtainable, so even in the event you missed out on the preliminary on-line sale, it shouldn’t be too tough to get your fingers by yourself bottle. Its present retail value is $64 (roughly the identical value as Glenmorangie’s pretty current 12-year-old Palo Cortado launch). For the sake of comparability, there have been 2,760 bottles of the 12-year-old Double Wooden, and so they remained comparatively extensively obtainable in South Africa for round three years… however I assume it’s onerous to foretell precisely how fashionable a whisky shall be.
Along with its hefty ABV, this newest single malt from Three Ships can also be non-chill filtered, and pure color, so there’s a lot to love proper off the bat.
Three Ships Cape Ruby Cask End 13 Years – Evaluate
Color: Wealthy mahogany.
On the nostril: Initially candy and fruity, strawberries. A faint floral observe, paying homage to rose-flavoured Turkish delight. Cinnamon flavoured sweet. Some furnishings polish. There’s additionally one thing barely tart lurking within the background, maybe a touch of marmalade. The gentlest suggestion of woodsmoke, so light I’m nearly unsure it’s even there.
Within the mouth: A particular sweetness, like hardboiled sweet. Some buttery toffee. A touch of ripe crimson fruit, and an earthy hay observe. Extra woody flavours. Very faint woodsmoke. Fairly a dry mouthfeel initially, however with the addition of some drops of water the whisky turns into a lot softer and oilier in texture.
I discovered that I detected a particular dill observe from my empty glass.
Conclusions:
I loved this whisky. It has a fancy vary of fascinating aromas and flavours that work effectively collectively. But, I need to admit that I used to be a bit hesitant to purchase a bottle, even after having tasted it and understanding that I preferred it. The value of whisky on the whole retains on going up, however this specific whisky was put in the marketplace at a straightforward $16 greater than any of the opposite Three Ships restricted releases. It’s, nonetheless, 13 years previous, so the worth bump could be as a result of these further years of maturation. In the long run, I’m not sad to have made my buy and to have the ability to take pleasure in revisiting this whisky.
Rating: 6/10
There may be additionally a niggling thought at the back of my head that I’m simply unsure what the longer term holds for Three Ships Whisky. Grasp Distiller Andy Watts, the person chargeable for this newest launch, truly retired from the James Sedgwick Distillery in 2021. He’s remained a advisor for the enterprise, and we’ve continued to see some nice whisky popping out of the James Sedgwick Distillery, however there’s no information so far relating to who – if anybody – shall be stepping in to fill his footwear. I can’t assist however really feel that the longer term is a little bit unsure, particularly in gentle of the current acquisition of Distell (the corporate who owned the James Sedgwick Distillery) by Heineken, as they appear to be primarily keen on Distell’s cider manufacturers.
