Keeping the theme going and looking at around cask finish from Lakes distillery. To avoid repeating myself it’s probably an idea to check out the Wednesday post of you haven’t already: The One – Colheita Cask

That cask finish was a type of Port and Manzanilla is a type of Sherry. Specifically, its a Fino like sherry using the same production methods but comes from the Sanlucar de Barramed in the province of Cadiz in Andalusia. There is a bunch of different special varieties of Manzanilla which age in barrels for a long time even up to 30 years in some cases.

The Whisky

As before this is a blended whisky which includes some spirit produced by the Lakes distillery themselves as well as grains and malts from Scotland including some peated whisky from Islay. It’s bottled at 46.6%, is natural colour and non-chill filtered.

Given all those stats and the quite high ABV the price of around £35 is welcome in this market. The official tasting notes are below:

Plum jam, boiled sweets and aromatic woodsmoke on the nose with a touch of salinity leads to a palate of lightly stewed apples, candied ginger and a hint of lemon zest, with an uplifting, fresh and balanced finish.

Tasting Notes

Colour	Pale yellow
Nose	very tart apples, salty and an off route which is quite chemically and like kitchen cleaner
Palate	Missing much of an impression. Initially just a general fresh sea air but in the development we get cough sweets but just the liquid bit in the middle
Finish	That horrible cough sweet note comes back again and leaves a bitter drying experience that is quite unpleasant. Bitter wood and sap

Where Can I Buy?

Lakes Website – The One Fine Blended Whisky | Manzanilla Cask Finished – The Lakes Distillery

Master of Malt – The One

Final Thoughts

I opened this sample expecting to like and enjoy this whisky. The Port cask one was a genuinely good whisky but this I really disliked. Maybe its just the cask finish leaving a harsh wood flavour that I don’t like but its a confused product in my mind. It’s not impactful enough or well rounded enough to be a sipping whisky on its own but equally its also not characterful enough to be used in a cocktail where it will get drowned out.