Fettercairn has launched the Vanguard Series — an ambitious three-year whisky collection designed to explore the boundaries of flavour and sensory perception.
Vanguard has been inspired by Master Whisky Maker Gregg Glass, who experiences synaesthesia, which means he associates colours with flavours, and writes his detailed whisky tasting notes in colour. This unique ability to ‘taste in colour’ led Fettercairn to explore how we experience flavour through the senses. “I tend to pick up sensory elements, particularly linking colour and texture to the flavour and character of the whisky,” explained Glass. “I capture that in my tasting notes, which show how the colours I experience change as the flavour of the whisky evolves.”
And so the Fettercairn Vanguard Series was born. The inaugural releases in this three-year collection are a non-aged Vanguard 1st release expression and a rare 29-Year-Old, the latter of which is limited to just 99 bottles worldwide.
My initial tasting of the releases, guided by Fettercairn’s malt whisky specialist, Andrew Lennie, aimed to evoke the senses. This unique tasting session began with nosing and sipping the whisky, followed by a watercolour exercise designed to capture the emotional and visual impact of the spirit.
I took my first sip of the Vanguard 1st release
, carefully considering the flavours and texture of the spirit. Removing the blindfold, I picked up the watercolour palette beside me. I began creating my individual label for the bottle, capturing the colours and shapes that the spirit conjured in my mind.
For me, it was filled with golden yellow shades, reflecting the warmth of the spices and vanilla, as well as the brightness of the tropical pineapple and fruit notes that Fettercairn is famous for. In terms of shapes, my tasting led me to circles, which, in my mind at least, represented the rounded, full flavour of the whisky.
This small-batch release, priced at £100 per bottle, spent 14 years laid down in ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred into hybrid casks made from American oak staves and heavily toasted Scottish oak heads. The use of Scottish oak gives Fettercairn whisky its signature tropical flavours and warm wood and spice notes, setting it apart from rivals.
The rare 29-Year-Old was next on the tasting menu. This time, my tasting was accompanied by a piece of music which was created as part of a collaboration between Barry Burns (from the Scottish rock band Mogwai) and award-winning singer/songwriter Kathryn Joseph. The unique piece of music, entitled Lorica, was written in partnership with Fettercairn, based on the duo’s impressions of the spirit and Gregg Glass’s colour-based tasting notes.
“In the development of Vanguard, I’d always listen to a huge range of music, which can have a huge influence on how I experience flavour,” said Glass. With music playing such a part in the making of the Vanguard Series, a composition dedicated to the spirit feels like a natural development.
“Kathryn and I have toured together and know each other well, but it was a fantastic opportunity for us to collaborate together on a unique piece of music,” said Burns. “We had a lot of fun taking inspiration from the colours and shapes of Gregg’s tasting notes.”
“It felt very quickly like all the elements of this made sense to me,” added Joseph. “How Gregg sees and hears the colours of the tastes, the beautiful stills of the visuals and the way that Barry is able to turn everything into perfect beauty.”
As Lorica played, I nosed and tasted the 29-Year-Old, taking in the aromas. This time, the shapes became waves, building and expanding as the spirit hit my palate. The colours were more earthy — browns tinged with copper — as they swept across the postcard-sized page.
This exclusive expression was initially matured in a refill bourbon hogshead for 25 years, before being transferred to an extremely rare Essencia Barrel from Bordeaux cooperage Demptos.
Known as ‘Pink Oak’, this exceptional cask contains high levels of carotenoids (naturally occurring pigments that degrade over time to create aromas and flavours), which imbibe the whisky with distinctive floral and fruit notes. In this rare 29-Year-Old the pink oak gives a distinctive strawberry note, which partners elegantly with Fettercairn’s house style.
Fruit-forward, with layers of floral and warming spices, it is a delightful dram that does Fettercairn justice.
“The Vanguard Series is all about how we experience flavour through the senses,” said global single malt whisky specialist, Andrew Lennie. “These two inaugural releases are still uniquely Fettercairn, but they push our house style in totally different directions to create something that really feels like a glimpse of the future.”
The first releases in the Fettercairn Vanguard series have set a high bar. I can’t wait to experience what’s to follow over the next few years in this intriguing series.
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