Impression // Waterloo Distillery: The Brancardier, The Nurse, The Surgeon
To all those distilleries and breweries who dare to release their first expressions in 2020, I salute you! It takes balls releasing your products in an abysmal year for the industry: no festivals, no physical events whatsoever. I was sent 3 samples of the upcoming whiskies by the Waterloo Distillery, all referring to that one battle that I can’t remember the name of…
Text by Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Photography is © Waterloo Distillery and © Adrien Cordier
A Rich History
1815, the year Napoleon got his come-uppance during the battle of Waterloo, as it is known in history books. However, that is not entirely accurate, as it should be called “The Battle NEAR Waterloo”, as it was fought in a place called Mont Saint Jean (Sint-Jansberg), a hamlet very close to Waterloo.
Why am I telling you this? Well, because todays topic on the blog is directly linked to that battle, as the whiskies that I tasted for this review were distilled and matured at a farmhouse called “La Ferme Mont Saint Jean”, which also houses a museum, giftshop, and brewery. And since 2017, a micro-distillery as well.
Yes, the memories of that tipping point in European history are kept very much alive in a variety of products using the “Waterloo” name. After a beer, there’s also Waterloo whisky now, but it isn’t just a cash grab for unsuspecting tourists (of which there were almost none this year). No, the people at the Waterloo Distillery, a family-run micro-distillery (which also produces gin) with backing from the Anthony Martin-group, decided to use the rich history of the farm as a base for their products.
The Waterloo Whiskies
For the past 3 years, Waterloo whiskies have matured in the cellars of the Knights of Malta, located at the Ferme Mont Saint Jean, which during the battle also housed a field hospital. The Waterloo Distillery used those historical events by naming their 3 expressions after 3 crucial jobs in a field hospital: the brancadier, carrying wounded soldiers from the battlefield to the field hospital, the nurse, who are responsible for first aid, and the surgeon, whose job it is to safe those that are in worst shape.
These 3 jobs are now honored in the first 3 expressions from the micro-distillery. They were matured for 3 years in former whisky casks from the Scottish Highlands, and were bottled at 46% ABV. As mentioned above, these have a very limited availability, as they were made at a micro-distillery which is still in its early days. After all, distillation started in 2017…
The Brancardier (46% ABV) - Single Grain
My first impression when I poured the sample that I was sent, was that I had to give this one some time to air. At first, I got plenty of alcohol in the nose, a sign of a very young spirit. After a couple of minutes, however, scents of sweets, fruits, and particularly red apples, were starting to show themselves.
The palate is rather mild, maybe even a little dry, with the same fruity notes as in the nose, some vanilla, even a bit of malt, and then a short finish. Pleasant, yes.
The Nurse (46% ABV) - Single Cask Grain
I moved on to the second expression of the trio, which has been also matured for 3 years in undisclosed Highland Scotch casks. What struck me was that this expression is more mellow in the nose, and less straightforward than the previous expression. There’s a very subtle sweetness in there, and there are hints of baking spices. I suspect that this is one of those expressions that gradually reveals itself. Sadly, my samples were too small to properly explore the expressions (hence the “Impression” in the title), not to mention actually comparing them to each other by using a system.
The flavors continue in the same line as the scents. A little bit of spice, a little pepper, but with a drier finish, albeit still short. This expression has as texture that I would describe as ‘watery’, in the sense that there’s nothing to ‘chew’ on, and that it’s a very ‘easy drinker’.
The Surgeon (46% ABV) - Single Cask Malt
Moving on to the final expression in the trio, I noticed that it resembled the second expression more than the first. The same texture, an almost ethereal collection of scents, followed by a very light flavor pattern with ‘a dash of vanilla’, ‘a whiff of malt’, ‘a sprinkling of wood notes’. All very light and delicate, and to a palate that is used to the more robust and flavorful expressions, a tad disappointing. Surprising, as well, since the ABV is the same and casks that were used are also ‘undisclosed Highland Scotch’ casks.
Conclusion / Disclaimer
Writing about new distilleries is tricky. You know the products are very young, and you know that maturation is often the key to these things. That’s why I’m wondering which Highland Scotch casks they used for which expression, and also what their new make (their distilled product before maturation) tastes like. I have the sense that there’s potential for The Brancardier and The Nurse, but at the moment I’m a bit underwhelmed by The Surgeon. That’s why I don’t understand the price range for these bottles. In order of reviewing, you pay 55 euros, 75 euros, or 95 euros for 50cl bottles. My consumer mind would pay for the 55 euro bottle because I wanted to support the Belgian whisky industry. But that’s it.
But then I would ignore my whisky-loving heart. I had to remind myself that this is a very young distillery, and that they are still in their ‘crowd-funding’ phase, with limited batches and the desire to use their profits for expansion of the distillery, allowing them to buy new and better equipment and bid on casks that yield perhaps a higher reward.
There’s passion in this, I’m sure of it. There’s also the link to history, there’s also the massive set of guts to release a Belgian whisky in 2020. There’s a desire to improve and reward backers with more and better whiskies in the years to come, including an oloroso finish! So keep that in mind if you pass by Waterloo in 2021. Support the small guys, and help them out in realizing their plans.