Life's too short to be serious
Life is for seriously good whisky
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.
About Firkin Whisky Co
Our Firkin Four
Personalise your bottle
Looking for a gift for a whisky lover? Whether you're looking for something to mark a special birthday or Christmas, a wedding or anniversary, a promotion or retirement, or you simple want to say thanks in style - we've got you covered.
Rare, end of outturn, releases
Collectors' Corner
Looking for Imperial Tribute?
Imperial Tribute is a truly voluptuous malt whisky. It is a marriage of richness, subtle spice and elegant complexity.
The bottle is wrapped in handmade paper from Nepal and tied with an Italian silk ribbon.
Each bottle is individually numbered & personalised.
Rare and downright drinkable
The Firkin Whisky Co
Born in Japan. Bred in Scotland. Enjoyed by an increasing number of people, Firkin is a fresh approach to Malt Whisky.
Everything about Firkin, from the name to the tasting notes, is different. Firkin is a tad zany, and a bit mischievous.
Firkin is about enjoyment, being self-effacing and poking good-natured fun at some of the more pretentious malt stuff out there. Life’s too short to be serious. Life is for seriously good whisky. So, relax, pour a dram, and explore what Firkin has to offer.
The Founder
Mike Collings
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.
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Our whisky is always
Matured in custom oak casks
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.
Our whisky is always
Created with soulmate wines
The Firkin approach is to create unique double oak barrels that use two types of oak and mature the whisky in a soulmate wine cask.
The first type of cask is American oak from first-fill Bourbon. The second is new Limousin oak with a custom char. Master coopers combine the two types of oak into one barrel. The result is a cask with a unique oak profile.
But the Firkin Approach doesn’t stop at the wood.
Firkin matches the single malt with a fortified wine that accentuates and polishes the original whisky. It gives the whisky a depth of flavour, unlike any other whisky on the market.
Our whisky is always
Rare and downright drinkable
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.
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Water are we doing on Islay?
Islay water and whisky
Whisky only has three ingredients, and water is one of them. The other two are yeast and barley. You can’t have whisky without water. On Islay, you can almost cut the water with a spade. It’s peaty, brownish and runs off the peat bogs.
This excellent Islay water is pretty essential to make Firkin Islay. We pair Caol Ila 2010 with Marsala from Sicily, and the result is salty peat and smoke with softer spicy sweeter finish.
We're up to something fishy
The heart of the matter
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.
We ferment to do that
Turning beer into whisky
Then the magic of whisky starts by making beer. Seriously. Making whisky starts by grinding malted barley, mashing it with water and adding special yeast to let it ferment. This gives you distiller’s beer. It’s ale in a day’s work. Well, actually, the process takes 4-5 days.
The distiller’s beer is distilled and put into an oak cask to mature into whisky. We take a distilled Benrinnes and pair it with Madeira in a custom double oak barrel. The result is the rich and lively Firkin Ten whisky.
We came to say halo
Look in the whi..sky
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.
It's your whisky, you make the rules
Whisky tasting tips
Crystal is great if you're next to a fire. But a tulip shape helps you pick up more notes.
Adding a few drops of water loosens the flavours. You taste more.
Ice makes whisky colder. That’s no bad thing on a hot day.
Give your whisky a few good sniffs. You taste more with your nose than your tongue.
Don’t spit on anyone’s shoes. That’s rude.
Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise. We don’t think anyone should tell you how to enjoy your whisky. Drink it how you like it. It’s your Firkin whisky, after all.