vink whisky triple wood lifestyle

Vink Whisky Triple Wood (2020)

There’s a new Dutch whisky in town and after recently having published an article about it for Whisky Passion, I thought it was time to now share my actual review of Vink Whisky Triple Wood. But first a little background on the people behind the brand, which includes the founders of Kever Genever and the master distiller of De Tweekoppige Phoenix.

Ruben Wolvekamp and Sebastian Kolstee are two of the driving forces behind Vink Whisky, which is Dutch for finch. That’s right — the songbird. Six years ago they disrupted the genever world trying to entice a younger audience with their contemporary style. Not just in terms of packaging, but also in terms of flavour. While Kever Genever initially led to some skepticism, it’s now on the back bar of many renowned establishments. Ruben and Sebastian have a similar vision for Vink Whisky, with one important difference.

“When we launched Kever Genever we went against the tide”, Ruben explains. “Genever reminds many people of their grandparents, but whisky has an entirely different reputation. No matter which retailer I visit they always tell me there’s demand for Dutch whisky.”

Indeed, Dutch whisky is slowly gaining traction. Although there’s only one brand with international recognition (Millstone), we’ve seen many new distilleries pop up over the past decade or so. One such distillery is De Tweekoppige Phoenix, led by father and son Arthur and Allard Kruijt. They’ve been producing a wide assortment of drinks, ranging from gin and genever to liqueurs and vodka. And previously they’ve also released their own whisky.

De Tweekoppige Phoenix also does contract distilling, which is how Arthur, Allard, Ruben and Sebastian once met. Kever Genever was a joint production. Now they’ve teamed up again to create Vink Whisky. Their goal is to produce an accessible whisky and they’re aiming at a similar young audience that served Kever Genever so well.

“Vink Whisky might not be exactly what a hardcore whisky geek is looking for”, says Ruben. “But that’s okay. We want to lower the threshold and attract a new audience to the whisky category. With Vink Whisky we want to convince millennials to grab a whisky instead of another craft beer.”

Vink Whisky has aged for three to seven years. It’s not a malt whisky, but rather a mixture of barely, rye, corn and wheat. Although barley is by far the most used grain. Vink Whisky matured in a first-fill ex-bourbon casks, a refill bourbon cask that was previously used to mature Scotch whisky AND an former Bordeaux red wine cask made from French oak. So, not your average cask recipe.

vink whisky triple wood tweekoppige phoenix

Vink Whisky Triple Wood (42.7%, OB, 2020)

Nose: Musty, malty and with some subtle fruits (apricots), as well as aniseed and a touch of cough syrup. Also notes of oak, almond oil and hazel nuts. Finally a whisper of milk chocolate and buttermilk.
Taste: Arrives on a distinct note of menthol and cough syrup, followed by gentle spices like black pepper, but also some resin, varnish and sandalwood. There’s a whisper of cocoa powder too, with just a touch pickled lemon. Somewhat oily and fairly rich, especially considering the low ABV.
Finish: Lingering spices, raw oak and aniseed. Ending on notes of red apple skin. Medium in length.

Score: 82

I’m not sure if I’d call it accessible or approachable, which sometimes equates a slightly bland whisky. That’s not the case with Vinky Whisky’s Triple Wood release. If anything it is out of the ordinary and quite unique. This might be a good bet if you’re into pot still Irish whiskey or maybe enjoy a decent rye whisky.

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