Gimme Some Thyme
COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH
Gimme Some Thyme
Created by District House, LIverpool
Sauvelle is a small batch, handcrafted premium Vodka made in Cognac, France. Using French Winter Wheat as it ' s base, it is distilled once making it a traditional style of vodka. After distillation, a unique oak smoothing technique takes place where the vodka runs over Charred Oak, Chene de limousine & Cherry Wood, giving Sauvelle a full bodied, creamy smooth finish.
• 50ml Sauvelle Vodka
• 25ml Fig & Black Pepper Syrup *
• 15ml Pineau des Charentes
• 25ml Lemon Juice
• Fresh Sprig of Thyme
• Egg White
Method: Add all ingredients to a Boston glass. Dry shake without ice then shake again with ice. Fine strain.
* Fig and Black Pepper Syrup
• 250ml caster sugar
• 250ml water
• 20 peppercorns
• 6 figs
Method: Place all items into saucepan and bring to simmer for 1hr on low heat do not let boil. Before straining crush figs to extract all juices. Place in fridge to last for two weeks.
Their innovative spirit comes through most in their rare, experimental Octomore series, named after the local farm, owned by James Brown, where the barley, which makes up a third of its ingredients is harvested and the spring water used in Bruichladdich’ s distillation process is sourced from Brown’ s farm, too.
A new Octomore is released annually, each edition is an experiment, more smoke here, more peat there, but each is a challenge to the assumption that great whisky is old whisky. In 2008 the distilling team quietly laid down another“ what if?” What if we put 167ppm Octomore spirit into virgin oak casks? What would the combination of smoke-rich Octomore and sweet, honeyed vanilla derived from the great French oak produce
Historically, Octomores are five-year-old whiskies; this latest iteration octomore 7.4 is seven years. 25 % of it was aged entirely in virgin oak casks, while 75 % of it spent 3 years in first fill bourbon casks, followed by 2 years in virgin oak casks and then 2 more years in first fill bourbon casks
This was uncharted territory, the first time that spirit distilled from Scottish malting barley and peated to these colossal levels had been matured in fresh wood.
For seven years, head distiller Adam Hannett carefully managed the heavyweight flavour profiles in play during the development of this uber-experimental dram – and he has now released just 12,000 bottles at 61.2 %
Taking the cork from the bottle unleashes something unique. The room fills with the sweet, smoky aroma as the first glass is poured and you know this is the prelude to a whisky like no other. The smoke is powerful but tempered by sweet, rich oak, two heavyweights that complement each other- there is balance between them.
Its colour, for one a rich, slightly reddish caramel, like a sweet, hoppy beer might look owes everything to those unused wooden wombs. To the nose, an unwatered sample is decidedly high octane, with a woodsy, almost barbecue tinge. You’ ll know Octomore when, well, if you see it. The opaque black bottle is unmistakable and mysterious, as unusual as it is rare. Priced around £ 140 for a bottle or £ 15 for 25ml
During November and December its available at The Red Fox, Thornton Hough( www. redfox. pub) for Wirral Life Readers at £ 5 a dram – drop in and quote Wirral Life and enjoy a whisky that is pretty special and unique.
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