British wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd has announced the launch of The Collective, an annual release of spirits which brings together a group of like-minded distillers.
The Collective #1: The Pioneers is centred around ‘Pioneers in Sustainability’ within the spirits industry and spotlights ten distillers who are dedicated to making exceptional spirits “whilst caring for the future of the planet.”
Berry Bros. & Rudd will be releasing a series of ten bottlings to showcase these spirit producers from around the globe:
- Oskar Bruno – Agitator 2018 Single Malt Swedish Whisky
- John Stirling – Arbikie 2017 Single Grain Scotch Whisky
- Alex Bruce – Ardnamurchan 2017 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Peter Bignell – Belgrove 2016 Single Rye Tasmanian Whisky
- Matthew Farmer – Glen Wyvis 2018 Quarter Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Jean & Amy Pasquet – Jean-Luc Pasquet 2017 Petit Champagne Cognac
- John Letts – Oxford Artisan 2019 Single Rye English Whisky
- Annabel Thomas – Nc’nean 2017 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- David & Fiona Boyd- Armstrong – Shortcross 2017 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
- Matt Hoffman – Westland 2014 Madeira Finish Single Malt American Whisky
Each has been selected by Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits Reserve Whisky Manager, Jonny McMillan, in collaboration with Mr Lyan, a well regarded bartender, who share “passion and knowledge for both sustainability and exceptional spirits.”
“There is no set path on the sustainability journey, nor one single solution,” said McMillan in a prepared statement. “The beauty of Collective #1 : The Pioneers is that each distiller has taken a different approach to sustainability, with the strength being in the diversity and combination of practices, making a whole entity, with continuous learnings.
“We looked to find a broad spectrum of producers from various traditions of whisky and cognac making with each distiller taking a slightly different approach to sustainability, some focusing on soil health and regenerative farming, others on lowering energy use or green power. For each distiller there is a different solution that fits the location and character of their distillery, together they form a great overview of what’s going on with environmentally pioneering producers.”
Each whisk(e)y from The Collective #1 is priced at £125.00 and cognac at £75.00, available to purchase from 27th September 2023 from Berry Bros. & Rudd (bbr.com), Master of Malt (masterofmalt.com) and Royal Mile Whiskies (royalmilewhiskies.com).
Other information and official tasting notes for each follow below.
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Agitator 2018 Cask #741 Single Malt Swedish Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 57.7% ABV
- Few distilleries push production boundaries like Stockholm’s Agitator. Led by Oskar Bruno, the distillery offers vacuum distillation and endless experimentations with yeast, barley and wood. Energy efficiency is equal to quality in their mindset, making this one of Europe’s greenest distilleries.
- Produced with 40ppm barley and fermented with a Saison yeast, buckle up! The nose is near overwhelmingly complex, dried mushrooms, forest floor, peat smoke, wonderfully umami. The palate is pleasantly dirty, bringing notes of new leather, pink wafer biscuits, garden bonfire with a pleasing coastal backbone. Smoke and dried fruit linger on a stunned palate. Idiosyncratic brilliance, distilled by either a madman or a genius.
Arbikie 2017 Cask #69 Single Grain Scotch Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 58.3% ABV
- Founded by the three Stirling brothers on the family’s East Coast estate, sustainability has been at the heart of Arbikie’s production from day one. From the distillery’s ground-breaking use of hydrogen fuel to their carbon positive crops, Arbikie is truly a leader in green distilling.
- Sweet aromas of Icelandic rye bread, honeyed sponge cake and cloves open the bouquet with some nutmeg emerging with time. The palate is lively and joyous, showing sweet rye spice, crème brûlée and dark chocolate cookies. It is immensely quaffable. Baking spice and dry rye come in waves over the finish. Scotland isn’t known for its rye whisky but if this dram is anything to go by, it soon will be.
Ardnamurchan 2017 Cask #374 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 59.7% ABV
- The prestigious independent bottler, Adelphi, prioritised sustainability when building their distillery in the wilderness of Ardnamurchan. The distillery runs on hydroelectric, solar and biomass power managed from its own forestry. The result is a heavily textured, peated style whisky tipped to become a West Coast classic.
- The nose opens with vibrant aromas of bacon fat and cocoa powder lunging from the glass. The palate follows suit with flavours of smokey bacon, farmyard, tea leaves and warm blackcurrants. It is a masterclass in peaty complexity. More dark cocoa shows on the finish with lingering smoke. This is a powerful statement from the young distillery, perhaps Brora’s baby brother.
Belgrove 2016 Cask #170216 Single Rye Tasmanian Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 61.1% ABV
- Pete Bignell not only grows his own rye on the farm but even built his own stills which are direct fired from used chip fryer oil. This farm distillery is an almost entirely closed loop with bio-oil being the only input and whisky the only output.
- The nose immediately makes clear that this glass contains a huge, characterful dram. Farmyard aromas introduce rye dough, spiced vanilla, popcorn and warm gingerbread. These flavours are only magnified on the palate with burnt sugar and salted caramel cascading into rye beer, shortbread and clove. Spice lingers on the finish. This is an immense, intense and unique offering from the distilling folk hero of Tasmania.
Glen Wyvis 2018 Cask #1501/1502 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 53.9% ABV
- In 2015, GlenWyvis became the first Scots distillery to be founded as a Social Enterprise, running for the good of the community. Set on a picturesque ridge at the foot of Ben Wyvis, the distillery utilises hydro, solar and biomass energy in its production.
- Vibrant aromas of fresh fruit sing from the glass with honeyed cantaloupe melon, warm gorse and zesty green apples. A zap of citrus opens the palate, bringing spiced pears, soft vanilla and more crisp apple. Pine wood and cinnamon dance together across the finish. This is a wonderfully invigorating Highland malt and would be perfect to enjoy in a crisp breeze on the summit of Ben Wyvis.
Jean-Luc Pasquet 2017 Cask #72 Appellation Cognac Petite Champagne Contrôlée
- RRP £75.00
- 40% ABV
- Jean Luc Pasquet is one of Cognac’s leading organic producers, first embracing organic agriculture in 1998. His style is terroir expressive, producing crisp, distillate driven Cognacs. This Petite Champagne is a vatting from the 2016 and 2017 vintages.
- Aromas of luscious, aged Sauternes and fruit sorbet drift from the glass, building with time into a crisp minerality. The palate is heavenly. Flavours of fruit salad chews, peach skins, apricot and mango all with a squirt of lime juice, dance with perfect balance massaging the senses. Peach, bubble-gum and sweet sake notes linger on the finish. This is exceptional and a prime example of a meticulous producer working in tandem with nature to create a world-class spirit.
The Oxford Artisan 2019 Cask #21 Single Rye English Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 54.5% ABV
- The Oxford Artisan Distillery uses regenerative agriculture to create a whisky with terroir like no other. Their Head of Farming, John Letts’ continuous grain cropping technique ensures each field’s revived heritage grain population is unique and able to adapt to any climate and flourish.
- This refill cask allows the rye distillate to sing with enticing savoury aromas of white chocolate, Danish rye bread and dark chocolate on the nose. The palate brings out more full-bodied rye notes, alongside citrusy Japanese Miyagawa, poppy seeds and spice. Few producers put as much thought into their grain and this dram serves as testament to that wisdom.
Nc’nean 2017 Cask #198 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- RRP £125.00
- 57.3% ABV
- Founded by Annabel Thomas and opened in 2017, Nc’nean has become Scotland’s first carbon neutral distillery. The distillery uses 100% organic barley and utilises its own forestry to fuel a biomass boiler. Few other distilleries can be said to be leading environmental ethics in distilling with the same passion as Nc’nean.
- Luscious green fruit aromas rise from the glass with animated notes of pear drop, wine gums and tinned pineapple emerging with time. The palate shows more weight with excellent balance of fresh orchard fruits and some fermentation driven tropicality. A wave of marzipan and coconut follow with the addition of water. This is a wonderfully characterful Highland dram with plenty to say both inside and outside of the glass.
Shortcross 2017 Cask #48 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
- RRP £125.00
- 55.1% ABV
- Built within the beautiful Rademon Estate by David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong, Shortcross is a true labour of love. Their passion for quality spirit, Irish tradition and of course the estate itself shows in all they do. All the energy for the distillery comes from the estate’s own solar and hydro.
- This Irish Pot Still explodes out of the glass with an incredible array of fruits. Notes of dried pineapple and mango, grapefruit fizz and lemon oil all astound the senses. The palate shows a masterful balance of wood and fruity distillate. The powerful, oak-driven vanilla flavour integrates perfectly with honeyed tropicality from the spirit. Clove rock and cinnamon rolls over the finish. The term ‘fruit bomb’ barely does justice to describing this magical pot still whiskey.
Westland 2014 Cask #6235 Single Malt American Whiskey
- RRP £125.00
- 53.0% ABV
- Since its inception in 2010, Westland has deservedly become the biggest name in American single malt and is always pushing the boundaries in pursuit of quality. Global acclaim not quite being enough, Westland are now pioneering research in barley sustainability.
- The nose offers juicy notes of ripe pawpaw, apricot and luscious oak as an inviting glimpse of what’s to come. The palate is notably thick, showing phenomenally firm structure with apricot jam, mango, brioche and fudge coating the mouth. Fruit and nut chocolate flavours linger on the finish with a moreish sensation. This is a masterful pairing of supreme spirit and oak from one of the USA’s finest distilleries.
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