Soho Selection
What’s new-make spirit and why should I care?
New-make spirit – and, in our catch-all, grain spirits too young to be called whisky – is rarely bottled but almost always delicious. Here’s what it is, and why we get so excited about tasting it.
One of the most thrilling things in whisky is the distillery tour. The chance to see where it all begins. The opportunity to stand in the very spot where some of our favourite whiskies start life. And, if you’re lucky, the chance to taste the new-make spirit.
New-make, by its very definition, is the name for the newly made spirit as it comes off the still. It’s always water-white and colourless. It’s a word most commonly associated with Scotland – in the US you might hear it called white dog, moonshine, or white lightning. And it’s the most authentic representation of distillery character.
While it’s usually pretty punchy (undiluted, spirits usually come off a pot still around 75% ABV), new-make is also delicious. There’s all that good stuff from the grains and fermentation, all those aroma and flavour compounds – or congeners – from upstream production. It’s the profile that the distiller has literally chosen using the distillation process. And with new-make, we get to experience all of that before the spirit is filled into a barrel.
Because, in the UK at least, to be called “whisky” the spirit needs to be aged in a wooden cask for at least three years. These pre-whiskies? A very fun chance to experience what’s going on during production.
Outside of the distillery gift shop, it’s unusual to find new-make spirit (or indeed, “pre-whiskies” aged for less than three years) to buy. Bottlings do exist, but they’re pretty few and far between. Which is why when the Milroy’s team came across casks of Clynelish and Bowmore, both aged for less than a year and just over a year respectively, they HAD to be bottled.
These Soho Selection releases really get under the skin of Clynelish and Bowmore. Both distilleries are rightly recognised as icons. And they’re both super distinctive. Clynelish is known for its waxy, fruity character, while Bowmore is praised for its beautifully balanced Islay peat smoke. So it’s incredibly exciting to get to try these spirits as close to the still as you can get.
It’s the most authentic representation of distillery character.
Clynelish 0 Year Old
The releases follow the hype that came with the inaugural release of Clynelish 0 Year Old. It was a hit, selling out in seconds. Luckily for fans, it was only a partial cask bottling. While that first expression was aged for just three months, the rest hung out in oak for a further eight months. Trying both side-by-side is a fascinating comparison.
Bowmore 1 Year Old
Then there’s Bowmore 1 Year Old. Wild, untamed and powerful, it is a vibrantly bold take on Islay’s oldest distillery. But go beyond the peat smoke and there’s all manner of tropical fruit freshness. It’s Bowmore like you’ve never tried it before – and it’s supremely fun.
New-make, in many ways, is proof that great spirits come at all stages. But more than that, tasting it gives us remarkable insights into the very essence of a distillery’s character. See a bottle? Snap it up. You might be surprised by the flavour and aroma secrets you find.