High Coast Solera 02 – 56%

It is unusual for Solera bottles to be offered in the whiskey world. Not real ones, anyway, although there are some Solera offerings that offer a sharing experience. Now the Northerners of High Coast have put their own stamp on this classic Spanish system for salting and developing quality spirits. This is already the second bottling of the Solera series.

A Solera system is based on the continuous blending of younger and older spirits, increasing complexity. This means that each bottling contains a small amount of whiskey from the very first batch. In our case, High Coast set up a six-story system in one of the warehouses. At the very bottom are the solera casks, in this case 225 liter Swedish oak casks. The whiskey is bottled from these casks. Above that are five tiers of so-called “criaderas” with bourbon casks containing 200 liters of decreasingly aged whiskey. The top Criadera is the youngest, and new distillate is refilled here with each bottling from the bottom solera cask. The kegs of each floor are refilled after filling from the kegs above (see illustration under “Further information”).
In a way, it’s not just blending different ages of whiskey and different batches of distillates. With High Coast Whisky it is also different seasons and climates that blend over a long period of time to create a unique picture – a tasteful, nuanced shadow of our riverside location.

Official Tasting Notes:

• Flavour: Oak, nutmeg, vanilla, coconut, ripe pear
• Palate: Honey, clove, anise seeds, fudge, green apples
• Finish: Vanilla, black pepper