The Firkin Whisky Co

The Firkin Whisky Co. doesn't take itself too seriously. When your single malt is this good, you don't need to be pretentious about it. 

The whisky speaks for itself.

Mike Collings could have retired with an incredible track record in whisky. He had created Johnnie Walker Blue & Green Labels, The Classic Malts, Rare Malts, Distillers Edition, Flora & Fauna series, Cardhu and Royal Lochnagar. That’s pretty good as far as CVs go.

He’s been working in whisky for 50 years. You couldn’t blame him for packing it in and putting his feet up. That would have been the sensible thing to do. But Mike is many things. Sensible isn’t one of them. Mike stirs the pot. He thinks about things differently and always asks: ‘what if …’.

So, he found himself enjoying a few drams in a Tokyo bar thinking: what if I created a whisky that was unique on the single cask single malt market.

So he did. And it's Firkin awesome whisky.

Every cask is different because of its maturation location and type of wood and cask. That’s part of what makes selecting whisky for Firkin so great. Each whisky is recasked into a Firkin custom double oak that was seasoned with a soulmate wine.

Then we play the waiting game.

Casks develop at different speeds. There might be a practical reason for this, but making whisky is an art, not a science. The whisky is ready when it’s ready, and that’s about it 

It takes time and patience to produce a Firkin awesome single malt. But it’s worth it.

Mike Collings, Firkin's founder, created Johnnie Walker Blue & Green Labels, The Classic Malts, Rare Malts, Distillers Edition, Flora & Fauna series, Cardhu and Royal Lochnagar.

Mike tests each cask every six months. Something other bottlers don’t do or can’t do. Tasting every six months isn’t hard yards, no one is going to feel sorry for poor Mike having to taste all that terrific whisky. But it is how he ensures Firkin has its a unique depth of flavour.

Firkin is a hand-crafted and premium whisky. But all that really matters is that it tastes great. And this is a Firkin awesome single malt scotch whisky.

We want to cut out the heart. Like the bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The distiller’s art is to capture the heart of the whisky. Think of it as the best part of a salmon, the best distillers leave the head and the tail.

The Tullibardine 2012 that goes into Firkin 49 tugs at your heartstrings. We match it with a mix of Oloroso & Amontillado sherry. The result is soft and nutty. Firkin 49 has the subtle richness of Oloroso and the nutty dryness of Amontillado. It’s amazing.

Whisky evaporates from a maturing cask at about 2-3 per cent per year. It’s called the angel’s share. In Scotland, 105 million litres of whisky evaporate from their casks each year. That’s 200 million bottles. They must be some thirsty angels.

After 10 years, a whisky cask loses 30% of its contents. So, it really is Firkin Rare. But it’s worth it. We take Aultmore 2010 matched with a Tawny Port. After some patience, it becomes a whisky that is both succulent and rich. No wonder the angels take so much.