Why It’s On Our Shelves
A limited heavily smoked English single malt whisky, created from four different cask types and restricted to just 1,002 bottles.
Produced in Norfolk by English Whisky →
Produced by The English Whisky Company at St George's Distillery in Norfolk, Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion brings together whisky matured in four different types of cask. Exactly what those casks are hasn't been disclosed, leaving the finished whisky to tell the story.
And there's quite a lot going on.
Black cherry, vanilla custard and wine-like richness meet bonfire smoke on the nose. The palate develops with ripe cherries, molasses, gingerbread and soft vanilla, before the darker fruit gradually gives way to wood and lingering smoke on the finish.
Adding a little water changes things again, intensifying the smoky character and bringing forward deeper woody notes.
Bottled with natural colour and without chill filtration, this is a limited Norfolk whisky made for those who like their single malt firmly on the smoky side.
What does The English Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion taste like?
As the name suggests, smoke is a defining part of this whisky, but it isn't the only thing you'll find.
Nose: Black cherry, vanilla custard and wine-like richness accompanied by bonfire smoke. Adding water intensifies the smoky character.
Palate: Ripe cherries, molasses, gingerbread and soft vanilla. A little water brings more smoke and deeper woody notes.
Finish: Long and smoky, with the dark fruit gradually fading to leave wood and lingering smoke.
It's a combination of dark fruit, sweetness, wood and smoke rather than simply smoke for smoke's sake.
What does 'Heavily Smoked' whisky mean?
A heavily smoked whisky is one in which smoky aromas and flavours form a significant part of the finished character.
Smoke can express itself in different ways – from bonfires and wood smoke to earthier or more medicinal characteristics depending upon the whisky.
Here, The English Whisky Company specifically describes bonfire smoke, which becomes even more apparent when a little water is added.
What does Cask Fusion mean?
In this release, Cask Fusion refers to whisky from four different cask types being brought together to create the finished expression.
The English Whisky Company hasn't revealed exactly what those four cask types are.
Rather than focusing on an individual wood or previous cask contents, the interest lies in how their different influences combine – producing the mixture of fruit, sweetness, vanilla, wood and smoke found in the finished whisky.
What casks are used for Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion?
That's deliberately something of a mystery.
The whisky is a combination of four different cask types, but the individual casks haven't been disclosed.
What we can tell you is what they collectively deliver: black cherry and ripe cherry fruit, vanilla, molasses, gingerbread, wine-like richness, wood and plenty of smoke.
How limited is The English Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion?
Only 1,002 bottles of this Small Batch release were produced.
That makes it a genuinely limited bottling rather than an ongoing expression from The English Whisky Company's core range.
Once this particular batch has sold through, it won't simply become a permanently available whisky.
Where is The English Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion made?
It's produced at St George's Distillery in Norfolk, home of The English Whisky Company.
St George's Distillery has played an important part in the revival of English whisky production, producing English single malt here in Norfolk.
So while the four cask types might remain a secret, there's no mystery about where the whisky itself comes from.
Should you add water to Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion?
It's certainly worth trying.
Taste it neat first, then add a small amount of water and see what happens.
In this particular whisky, water is noted for intensifying the smoke on the nose and bringing additional smoke and deeper woody characteristics to the palate.
Trying it both ways gives you an opportunity to see how the whisky changes in the glass.
Is Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion chill filtered?
No. The English Heavily Smoked Cask Fusion is non-chill filtered and bottled at its natural colour.
Why we like it
There's an interesting contradiction at the heart of this bottle.
The English Whisky Company tells us that four different cask types have gone into it – and then declines to tell us what they are.
Normally we're rather keen on knowing exactly where things come from. But here, we quite like the mystery.
What we do know is considerably more important: it's a heavily smoked Norfolk single malt, with dark fruit, molasses, gingerbread, vanilla and wood sitting alongside all that smoke.
And with only 1,002 bottles produced, this particular combination isn't going to be around indefinitely.
Producer: The English Whisky Company
Distillery: St George's Distillery
Origin: Norfolk, England
Style: Heavily Smoked English Single Malt Whisky
Casks: Fusion of four undisclosed cask types
Character: Smoky, dark-fruited, sweet and woody
Release size: 1,002 bottles
Filtration: Non-chill filtered
Colour: Natural colour
Availability: Limited Small Batch release