Shortcross Malt & Pot Still and Berry Bros & Rudd Pioneer Series

We finally have an official review of Shortcross whiskey here on Causeway! I have technically reviewed actual Shortcross whiskey here before but I didn’t score them as they were for a Belfast Whiskey Week tasting box and so weren’t really representative of the final products David wanted to release, rather they were a window into how things were progressing whiskey wise on the Rademon Estate.

I have though given my thoughts of the Rye and Malt releases at 46% abv and cask strength over on Dramface and found them to be really rather good whiskies that are well worth exploring, the cask strength especially.

I have a lot of time for David and the team down in Shortcross. David is always very open with sharing what they are doing and why they are doing it. His passion for making great whiskey his way and that as an avid enthusiast he’d also want to drink, is really inspiring. It means that as a consumer we know that no shortcuts are being taken when it comes to Shortcross products.

Much like Echlinville and Killowen, not having share holders to answer too means that the whiskey production is always a passion project rather than solely being about profit. Of course profit is important, we want these distilleries to keep going especially in the turbulent financial times in which we live and where recently we’ve been hit by a litany of distilleries either going in receivership or bringing production to a hopefully temporary halt.

So let’s keep supporting, as best we can, these diamonds of distilleries that are providing us the amber nectar that we love to drink as enthusiasts. 

Today I’m looking at two expressions from Shortcross, one under their own label but bottled for the Belfast Whiskey Week festival and one bottled exclusively for the wine and spirits merchants, Berry Bros. & Rudd.

The Malt & Pot Still was released for the 2023 Belfast Whiskey Week as a festival exclusive but has since made it onto the core range, now known as the Distiller’s Duo. It’s a blend of single malt and single pot still whiskies that are matured solely in ex-bourbon barrels for at least 5 years. Non chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at 46% abv it was released at £55 per bottle. The Distiller’s Duo is available on the Shortcross website for the same price.

The Berry Bros. & Rudd release was launched in 2024 under The Collective #1: The Pioneers. This launch comprised 10 spirits from around the world that are centred around sustainability. A single pot still distilled in 2017 and matured in cask #48, it was bottled on 25/07/2023 and gave a total of 264 bottles at a strength of 55.1% abv. The maturation was full term virgin oak and it was roughly 5 years old at bottling. It’s still available on Master of Malt for £122 a bottle.

Let’s Taste.

Shortcross Malt & Pot Still 46%

Nose: Salted butter, dry hay, vanilla fudge and orchard fruit. A little lavender biscuit and pencil shavings. Dried ginger and copper.

Palate: A nice texture to this - toffee apples, stewed pear, lemon and grapefruit zest. Cereal husks, milk chocolate and nutmeg. A pleasing peppery spice before leading to toasted oak.

Finish: Short to medium with a pot still spice gripping your gums, some dried green herbs and ginger infused toffee.

Score: 6 out of 10

Picture courtesy of Master of Malt

Berry Bros & Rudd Pioneer Series Shortcross 55.1% abv

Nose: A super nose on this - dried mango, lime wedges, tinned pineapples and green apples. Lots of caramel and all butter pastry. Cinnamon and clove rock sweets. Some toasted oak makes an appearance too. Water brings out green papaya, cloves and brown sugar.

Palate: Lots of cereal notes plus plenty of oaky spice. Initially dry on the palate but oily and mouth coating. 2nd sip and the pot still grip is there with creamy butter, vanilla and icing sugar covered pastries followed by pleasing clove, cinnamon and dried ginger. Walnuts, lime wedges, green apple and pineapple. Water again releases brown sugar and baking spices.

Finish: Medium length with caramel covered apple tart, warming clove and ginger along with cereals and oak.

Score: 7 out of 10

Overall: 

I've yet to experience a bad whiskey from Rademon Estate Distillery and David and Co have some great things hidden away in their warehousing. The Malt & Pot till is another interesting and solid whiskey that isn't 'innovating' by using yet another wood finish, focusing instead on the mashbill and full wood maturation. Definitely worth a look although I still would champion their Rye & Malt Cask Strength as their best core release to date.

The Berry Bros & Rudd pot still is an excellent dram that again shows that young whiskey that is meticulously crafted can drink well beyond its years. In fact maybe we just need to stop thinking about an age statement as a perceived statement of quality. Rather pay attention to the distillery and their methodology and the presentation of their final products. 

Shortcross whiskey will probably never have the economies of scale to be as ‘cheap’ as the big players in an RRP sense but the quality they produce is for me well worth paying the extra for. As our wallets get strained further I suggest paying for quality rather than sub par quantity, pay for an experience that will pull you in, make you think about your drink rather than vanilla boredom.

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