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The Fisherman's Retreat

Bottler
Ramsbottom, United Kingdom

Whiskies (24)

24 The Fisherman's Retreat whiskies are currently listed on Whiskybase.

Whiskybase Rating

81.00

Average of all ratings

Whisky Reviews

83.5 / 100 rating
Size 700 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 254866
MDSpringbank scored this whisky 83 points Expert Junior

  • Nose
    84 84
  • Taste
    83 83
  • Finish
    81 81

88 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 64.8%
Stated Age 10
Id 206288
man2392 scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

Nose: beef bouillon, umeboshi plums and damp sawdust, salt baked candy-striped beetroot, crushed sea shells and pebbledash, milk bottles and jamon serrano, cranberry, maple and macadamia cookies, candy cigarettes
Palate: cashew apple and soursop, smoked mackerel and white port, quince marmalada, prawn heads and printer paper
Finish: camphor, iron filings, flaked rust and rosehip jelly, scallops and gochujang, braised fennel, there's almost a vegetal peat in the background, juicy mouthfeel because of the booze

With water
Nose: iodine and marasca cherries, crushed pink peppercorns and fingerling potatoes, prawn cocktail kettle chips, seasalt ruby chocolate and crystallised rose petals, marigolds and jicama, new zealand yams
Palate: cherry syrup and oak chips, tamarillo and blackmint, hotsmoked salmon
Finish: mesquite and cherry stones, barbecue ashes and peanut milk, asofoteida and salmiakki

83.5 / 100 rating
Size 700 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 254866
holborndrinker scored this whisky 84 points Connoisseur

I suspect that there will be a wine cask finish somewhere in here - if so it has blended well with the distillate - a decent dram that is well worth trying out if you're ever in that part of the world.
  • Nose
    84 84
    At first it smells quite floral, but that soon settles down to more of an oaken note, although there is a sweet note that drifts in.
  • Taste
    84 84
    The mouthfeel is good - there is a slight oily nature to it - in terms of taste it is quite refined with notes of pear drops, some sweetness, but then a slight acidity at the death.
  • Finish
    83 83
    Medium finish - there is more sweetnes, a little burn from the alcohol but then the slightly discordant acid note.

88.25 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 206289
holborndrinker scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

Bruichladdich seems to work well with most wine casks - it seems to marry well. Even though the abv has been reduced on this, it still has plenty of poke. Well worth a look in.
  • Nose
    The nose is strong - you can smell it almost before it heads the glass - fruity, although if I were asked to pick the colour it reminds me of I would say saffron yellow.
  • Taste
    The mouthfeel is good - just enough body for it not to be watery - the wine cask comes through - like a dry white wine, although the alcohol comes stomping in with a peppery aftertaste that makews it obvious this is a whisky.
  • Finish
    Medium - the peppery note lingers a while, but I find myself being drawn back to it.

88 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 64.8%
Stated Age 10
Id 206288
Lorion scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

A bit too much pressure on the palate, otherwise really successful. 86 points.
  • Nose
    Light smoke. A hint of a creamy cheese. Some dough.
  • Taste
    First fruity, then comes pressure. The tongue tickles. Smoking apple.
  • Finish
    Long, warm. Fruity.

84.64 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 220263
87.13 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 54.6%
Stated Age 10
Id 225901
84.64 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 220263
DramblersAnonymous scored this whisky 75 points Expert Junior

Nose was good, as described by others, starts off well in the mouth but turns into a confused mess with a sour note that doesn't sit for me.

86 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 60.4%
Stated Age 9
Id 218954
83.5 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 59.1%
Stated Age 4
Id 236982
86.22 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 65%
Id 117972
Emsmalt scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

  • Nose
    86 86
  • Taste
    87 87
  • Finish
    86 86

81.5 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 4
Id 237685
holborndrinker scored this whisky 84 points Connoisseur

I'm starting to think this is an under-rated distillery - had some crackers from this. This is decent, taking the sherry well. Worth trying, and if youget to Ramsbottom the food is really nice too. Recommend.
  • Nose
    82 82
    Light, a hint of spice, mineral sweetness.
  • Taste
    85 85
    The mouthfeel is pleasant - quite thick - there is a strong hit of sherry, with the wine cask being overpowered by it, a very moreish dram.
  • Finish
    84 84
    Medium - the sherry lingers, but it puts a smile on my face and I immediately fancy another dram.

87.13 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 54.6%
Stated Age 10
Id 225901
holborndrinker scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

Sometimes a wine cask adds little, but here the whisky seems to shine through, rounding off the sweetness. Overall a decent dram.
  • Nose
    An unusualnose - old shoe leather or an old briefcase, fruit, slightly dirty - a proper dram.
  • Taste
    A pleasant mouthfeel, the wine cask adds a note of fruity sweetness, there is a pleasant burn from the alcohol itself, which balances the sweetness.
  • Finish
    Medium - the alcohol seems to linger along with a turbo charged wine note.

86 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 9
Id 218955
holborndrinker scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

Wine casks can overwhelm a dram, but in this case it works well - the pirit seems to be improved if anything. Worth a trip to Ramsbottom to try some decent food and a pleasant dram.
  • Nose
    84 84
    Plenty of fruits with a hint of spice, the alcohol is slightly spiky in the glass.
  • Taste
    85 85
    A nice texture in the mouth - plenty of fruit again, but with a light acidity sitting in the background - the spice isn't obvious, but the alcohol comes through. Decent overall dram.
  • Finish
    85 85
    Quite a long finish - the alcohol lingers quite a while.

83.5 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 59.1%
Stated Age 4
Id 236982
man2392 scored this whisky 84 points Expert Senior

Nose: rum and raisin ice cream with glass cleaner, is it fruity or spirited, poached pears and white grapes
Palate: banana split and bubblegum
Finish: burnt Basque cheesecake

Nose: fresh water chestnuts and white chocolate, toasted coconut and golden kiwis
Palate: burnt raisins and crema catalana
Finish: allspice and clotted cream
2nd most drinkable of the night

Tasted as part of the Fisherman's Retreat vtasting

84.64 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 220263
holborndrinker scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

The cask is possibly a little too much as the DNA of the distillery threatens to become lost - a decent dram nonetheless - worth trying, if not perhaps buying.
  • Nose
    85 85
    Polish plum brandy, a peat bog, quite pungent like a cherry or dark fruit car freshner.
  • Taste
    85 85
    The wine cask is immediately apparent - plenty of red fruit notes, cut through by a bitter, sharpness that makes the mouth tingle. Almost too much cask.
  • Finish
    84 84
    The fruit almost coats the teeth, but there is a pleasnt mineral note to it.

84.64 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 10
Id 220263
man2392 scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

Nose: vegetal, cut grass and pine needles, lichen covered rocks with sea spray, creamy, wintergreen and raw pistachios
Palate: apricots and iron filings
Finish: chocolate covered coffee beans

Nose: jelly beans and jojoba,
Palate: citric acid, blue cheese and lime rinds
Finish: squashed flies and blue raspberry

Tasted as part of Fisherman's Retreat vtasting

87.13 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 54.6%
Stated Age 10
Id 225901
man2392 scored this whisky 85 points Expert Senior

Nose: mineralic, slate, jackfruit and custard apple, candy cigarettes and pandan custard tart and bursa figs, fresh honeycomb
Palate: richer mouthfeel, very oily, heather honey
Finish: a used lawnmower and carob paste

With water
Nose: dulled, dates. Softens with time
Palate: parkin and burnt porridge
Finish: sticky date pudding with orange oil and tea tree, and raisins

Tasted as part of Fisherman's Retreat vtasting

86 / 100 rating
Size 500 ml
Strength 50%
Stated Age 9
Id 218955
man2392 scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

Nose: chanterey melon, honeyed apricots, canteloupe and carrot barfi, stem ginger in syrup and fruit salad sweets
Palate: syrupy and caviar limes
Finish: fruit salad with chilli and persimmons
The nose really sells this, very oily spirit with massive legs

With water
Nose: cocoa powder and cocktail cherries
Palate: strawberry shoelaces and winegums
Finish: just tastes like a generic red wine cask, heat disappears

Tasted on Fisherman's Retreat vtasting

88 / 100 rating
whisky photo
Size 500 ml
Strength 64.8%
Stated Age 10
Id 206288
grinface Plus scored this whisky 89 points Connoisseur

A one dram or last dram whisky. After that, it becomes quite difficult to taste any nuances. I find the role of the wine barrel interesting. I think it might be responsible for the fruits. But I wonder if the bitter notes also have their origin there?

Full review with two others Rhinns and the Timetravellers Masterclass 2021: https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2022/11/17/stranger-laddie-2-rhinns-die-time-travelers-masterclass/
  • Nose
    89 89
    Extremely alcoholic at first. Somewhere behind it a green apple. It takes a moment, then the vapors settle. Then it's off to the cowshed, at full speed. A sweet honey-herb brew is also included. Tree sap and light fruits, some wood. There's a lot going on there!
  • Taste
    89 89
    Tantalising and numbing. The receptors must first adjust to what is coming. Spicy to hot but also nice and lemony is the first impression after calibration. Bitter notes and earthy notes. Also the sweet marinade from the nosing. Then comes pear jelly on burnt toast.
  • Finish
    88 88
    Almost a little blunt. The bitter notes dominate the mouth and only if you chew it properly, then you can pull out a few last remnants of fruit and peat.

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