Single Malt Peated 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel 'Full Cask' No 635
⏳ Drinking Window
Enjoyable immediately upon release; once bottled, it does not mature further and can be savored over many years.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Smoked blue cheese, slow-roasted barbecue pork belly, dark chocolate fondant
✨ Technical Specifications
Holyrood Distillery's 'Full Cask' series represents a bold, modern exploration of Lowland single malt whisky, bringing distilling back to Edinburgh's historic heart. This peated expression, matured in a first-fill bourbon barrel, showcases the distillery's innovative spirit. While Lowland whiskies are traditionally known for being light, grassy, and unpeated, Holyrood challenges these conventions by introducing heavily peated malted barley into their mash bills. The use of a first-fill bourbon cask infuses the smoky, phenolic spirit with rich layers of vanilla, toasted coconut, and sweet caramel, creating a dramatic tension between coastal peat smoke and sweet American oak. This represents an exciting chapter in Edinburgh's rich brewing and distilling heritage, which dates back centuries to the monastic breweries of Holyrood Abbey.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2019 by Rob and Kelly Carpenter alongside former Macallan master distiller David Robertson, Holyrood Distillery marked the return of single malt whisky distillation to central Edinburgh after nearly a century of absence. Housed within a restored 1830s railway goods shed beneath Arthur's Seat in the Lowlands, Holyrood operates with an innovative, flavor-first distilling ethos deeply informed by Edinburgh's historic brewing heritage. Rather than conforming to traditional regional conventions, the distillery experiments extensively with diverse malt varieties—including heirloom, chocolate, and crystal barleys—along with an array of specialty brewing, wine, and sake yeast strains. Utilizing washbacks with extended fermentations and tall copper pot stills, Holyrood captures distinct ester and phenolic profiles before aging spirit in meticulously selected casks. Benchmark expressions include their inaugural single malts Arrival, Ambir, and Embra, alongside singular single-cask trials showcasing red wine, sake yeast, and peated variants.