Bains Single Grain South African Whisky, 70 cl

Product Information

Shiraz is a red wine cultivar with a distinct smoky flavour. In some parts of the world, it is referred to as Syrah. Shiraz wines generally have smoky, peppery, spicy and ripe plum and berry flavour. We went away on holiday, and I took some whisky with us. I have been loving the Bain’s 15 yo and was keen to try the Bain’s Shiraz Cask finish 10 yo whisky.

I first tasted the regular release of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky a few years ago as part of an international whisky tasting that I co-organised. Bain’s is from South Africa and so it added not just another country, but another continent to the line-up. It had other things going for it too, as it was well reviewed, balanced the budget for the tasting, and seemed to be a good opening dram because it is a low ABV single grain. The parent company for Bain’s is Distell, which also has brands such as Amarula, Savanna and Hunter’s Dry. In 2013 it bought Scotch whisky producer, Burn Stewart Distillers. The whisky from the distillery pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain. He was the pioneering pass builder who planned and built Bain’s Kloof Pass. The Pass connected Wellington to the inland Cape areas and is one of the most scenic routes in the Cape.PALATE: Spicy with bits of oak intermingling with the sweetness and treacle notes. After adding water, more winter spices come through. There are cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg on the palate. The oak is also more pronounced. It is not a ‘big mouthful’ whisky but is smooth and easy drinking.

The first time I tasted the Bain’s 15 yo whisky was about five years ago at The Only Whisky Show when Andy Watts had some in a beautiful decanter hidden underneath the table at his Three Ships stand. PALATE: The first sip has loads of drying red wine and tannins. Big and bold and a bit overwhelming. The alcohol doesn’t burn, but you know you are drinking a high ABV dram. I did however look at the level of my bottle about two weeks after buying it and it was nearly empty. That was enough to convince me, it is divine and not a skewed rating based on my love for JSD.The other day I reread the blog post I wrote at the end of 2017 , where I was lamenting that there is only the standard Bain’s single grain whisky available. Even though Distell had older whisky available in casks, they were reluctant to release more liquid as the brand was still relatively small.