UK Drinks Distributor Maverick Drinks is proud to announce the launch of Darkness! – a range of exceedingly dark single malt and single grain whiskies with an enormously punchy, unashamedly brazen character. These so-called “sherry monsters” are sourced from Scotland’s top distilleries and are gloriously dark in colour thanks to the use of small, specially crafted sherry casks for finishing. The range is the first of its kind. The casks used to make Darkness! previously held some of Spain’s top sherries, including Pedro Ximénez – the sticky, sweet dessert sherry, and Oloroso – the semi-dry, nutty delicacy. These casks bring a deep colour as well as wonderful sherry flavours such as Christmas Cake, rich spice, prunes, raisins and dates. The small size of the casks allows more wood contact with the whisky, increasing both dark colour and rich flavour dramatically.
The Darkness! range includes spirit from Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Notable bottlings include the delectable 21-year-old Ardbeg, finished in Oloroso sherry casks, a 16-year-old Clynelish, and a sublime Macallan finished in a Pedro Ximénez cask. The range doesn’t aim for sophistication, but instead is made up of big, bold “sherry monsters”.
The stunning labels for Darkness! are beautifully foiled and embossed, and were hand-illustrated by Tom Lane – designer of the very popular Bicycle Playing Cards, as well as the artwork for the accompanying book for Heston Blumenthal’s Fantastical Feasts.
The first two expressions to be released are A 15 year old Benrinnes and a 15 yo Macallan:
Darkness! Benrinnes 15 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish – 50 cl – 52.9% abv
RRP £59.95 ($101); Darkness! Macallan 15 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish – 50 cl – 52.3% abv RRP £109.95 ($186)
