I first came across Spirit of Yorkshire’s Filey Bay Single Malt Whisky at Scottish Fest in Costa Mesa, CA several years ago. ImpEx Beverages (Filey Bay’s importer) has sponsored the whisky tavern at the festival for many years, and that year Yorkshire founder David Thompson spent time in the booth pouring and describing the whisky. I was immediately impressed by Filey Bay and what David was doing, and we spoke for quite some time. Probably more time than what a single festival attendee deserved, but, as I said, I was impressed, and David just as willing as I was to converse.
Over the next couple years, Filey Bay remained high on my radar, even appearing prominently in the first episode of my new docu-series about farm-to-bottle and farm-to-table producers, From Field to Flavour, which premiered earlier this year. For no discussion of Filey Bay is complete without bringing up that Spirit of Yorkshire is a true farm-to-bottle distillery, farmers first, distillers second, employing a true regenerative agriculture ethos.
Such locality, such terroir, such practices are so integral to Filey Bay’s flavor and such a huge part of everything that makes Filey Bay Filey Bay that not to mention their existence would be lacking.
Despite loving the Flagship, I haven’t had the good fortune to sample the distillery’s other bottlings (although I have had an independent bottling… perhaps I will write more on that in the near future). So you can imagine my enthusiasm when the opportunity arose to try another bottle in the core range, in case Filey Bay’s STR Finish.
Just like the Flagship, the STR Finish began maturation in ex-Bourbon barrels, but diverges from its sister offering by being finished in scraped, toasted, and recharred red wine barrels from Spain. The STR clocks in with an ABV of 48% and is produced with a solera-like approach, again mimicking the Flagship bottling.
While the Flagship is reviewed elsewhere in this issue, with so many similarities between the two bottlings (same farm, same initial maturation, same approach) except for that all-important finishing, I have included my own notes on the Flagship as a comparison point for the STR.
Filey Bay STR Finish
ABV: 48% (96 proof)
Color: Warm bronze, several shades darker than the Flagship’s bright lemon yellow.
Nose 93/100
One is immediately hit with spice. Not the exotic spices of diverse cuisine, but the spice of a rich, tannic red wine. Even if I had not known that the STR was finished in Spanish red wine barrels, I immediately thought of tempranillo. After that initial redolence of spicy tannin the nose transitions into aromas of black cherry. With the Flagship I experienced bright citrus notes (particularly lemon) followed by tropical scents and a hint of mint, so the influence of the red wine barrels lands very pronounced.
Palate 94/100
Dark fruit rules here as the whisky once again exhibits a high degree of influence from those red wine barrels. A complex fusion of plum and black raspberry plays against a steady backbone of baked goods. The flavors immediately fill the mouth before settling on the back of tongue, almost the complete opposite of the Flagship, which starts at the tip of the tongue before filling the rest of the mouth with an arousing fullness, lemon and orange juice and vanilla, but still with that baked bread backing track.
Finish 91/100
The STR lingers on lovely accents of wildflower honey, not too sweet but rich and robust. If honey had a savory side, this would be it. This is quite the contrast from the Flagship’s creamy vanilla and milk chocolate notes, but equally delightful.
Adding Water
The addition of water to the STR tones down the spice on the nose but adds in elements of burnt orange and cream, as opposed to more herbaceous aromas on the Flagship. The water rounds out the plum on the palate and introduces a subtle shift from black raspberry to blackberry while switching the whisky’s focus to the tip of the tongue (I find with water the Flagship delves into hitherto inexperienced umami, almost grilled white meat elements). Both the STR and the Flagship come full circle, with the STR initially delivering burnt orange before landing on biscuits and the Flagship reintroducing the lemon from the top.
Overall 93/100
