I remember when the first 3D films came out. Naturally. It wasn’t actually all that long ago. But at the time it was huge.
Then in the last 18 months, my attention has been turned to another 3D phenomenon – 3D printing. It’s fascinating, ground-breaking and exciting. And it’s getting more and more coverage.
So when the boys at CaskStrength (Neil Ridley and Joel Harrison) said they were coming out with a 3D whisky I couldn’t help but be excited. What on earth would they be on about in this case?
Well…take a look at this video…it may help to clear things up in your mind. Don’t worry…I’ll wait…
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Right, you back? In truth, you’re probably not at all any clearer on what all this is about so here’s the low-down.
Caskstrength has been releasing a series of whiskies, one for each letter of the alphabet. The last one – a Cutty Sark for ‘C’ – came out in March and I checked it out in this post here.
Recently, Joel and Neil moved things forward to the ‘D’ range. And, in order to make note of the 3D trend, they cleverly made a blend of three Diageo whiskies: Dailuaine, Dalwhinnie and Dufftown. This was done with the help of the affable Dr Matthew Crow, one of Diageo’s master blenders. Dear oh dear there was a dollop of Ds in that paragraph.
To keep in with the 3D theme, the whisky’s bottle was designed with a 3D label (viewed through the 3D glasses that come with it) and the back of each bottle included a QR code that gives the people that buy it access to a 3D packaging design that can be printed at London-based 3D print specialists iMakr.
As always, I was impressed with the sheer amount of fun they had in both launching and talking about this new release. Neil and Joel are nothing if not joyfully quirky in their approach to whisky and I respect them loads for their skill in having this approach.
I, unfortunately, missed the proper launch of this whisky due to a cold, but have had a chance to sample it. Here’s what I thought:
Caskstrength 3D whisky: 56.4%:
(c): Golden honey
(n): At first, a heady mix of green grass and fresh citrus along with gooey butterscotch, marzipan and baked pears. Then more butter and some floral notes. Quite sweet but balanced. Yum! As it relaxes in the glass, more of those citrus notes flow through, but they’re laced with white sugar. With water, more oranges and some pink peppercorns and a bit of pink grapefruit came out for me.
(p): Much richer and drier on the palate than expected from initial nose with a great, coating mouthfeel. Some dried almonds, followed by orange peel and a savoury-sweet fennel/aniseed note, along with buttercups and fresh blades of grass. Surprisingly gentle for the ABV with just a nip of a kick around the sides of the palate. With water, it eases into itself, giving off some really interesting floral notes (jasmine?), along with concentrated grapefruit juice and pith.
(f): Dried cherries and/or cranberries. With water, becomes slightly more bitter/tannic on finish but stays fruity.
In conclusion, a stellar, fruity, balanced might of a dram. Loads of mouthfeel and a great flavour progression on the palate make this a winner for me. Damn Delicious Dearies!
