Belgian distillery Filliers recently started the sixth chapter in their history, with Benoit Filliers as the next generation in the company management. He’s clearly looking at things with an open mind, showing a lot of enthusiasm. Recently the distillery launched two new expressions: Filliers 15 Year Old and the Cask Strength expression which we’re having today. The 15 Years sticks to the recipe of the cornerstone 10 Year Old, but the cask strength version is slightly different because it replaces Oloroso with Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
While Filliers installed two copper pot stills from Forsyths in 2018, the whisky on the market today still comes from their copper alembics, also used for their other core product: traditional genever. Even though it’s a double distilled single malt, these alembics give the spirit a character that is different from Scotch.
Filliers has been investing heavily in sherry casks, with a very rigid acquisition policy. They’re all bought from one supplier, they’re all first-fill European oak and they’re almost exclusively Oloroso. Their warehouse houses the oldest sherry matured Belgian whisky, but due to the cask management it’s one very specific style of sherry, with less variety than most Scottish distilleries can offer. This PX version is a nice exception to this rule.
The bottle comes in a unique, elaborate packaging. It uses snap fasteners to attach the lid to the bottom, which also doubles as a nice display stand. The bottle itself has a great premium feel as well, world class really.
Filliers Single Malt – Cask Strength – Pedro Ximénez (58,5%, OB 2024)
Nose: strong sherry aromas, in a very cask-driven way. Plenty of cigar boxes and fresh sandalwood, with hints of shoe polish and whiffs of nail polish. Then a sweeter side comes out, on raisins, figs and dark honey. Some baking spice too (black peppercorns, ginger, nutmeg), along with dark chocolate and raisins. It’s actually a bit less sweet than I expected – the loud woody character even overpowers a wine as sticky as PX. Hints of heavily steeped black tea and aromatic pine needles after a while.
Mouth: still very much influenced by the European oak, which adds a lot of dryness on top of the PX darkness. Chilli heat, plenty of pine needles and juniper. Plain oak shavings too. Spices all over – think cinnamon and ginger, with a hint of marmite, roasted nuts and quite some tannins. Then tobacco leaves, juniper and a feeling of wholegrain bread as well. Very firm and robust.
Finish: long, with roasted coffee beans, walnuts, plenty of citrusy spice but still too much woody notes overall.
Overall this could fool you into thinking you’re drinking a rye whisky from Oloroso casks, because of the generous spicy notes. The genever alembics and the loud European oak make this whisky stand out, but together they’re also the Achilles heel of Filliers, in my opinion. I’ve tried their next-generation pot still whisky directly from the cask, and although it’s much younger it’s already more enjoyable. Now all they need to do is start buying American oak sherry casks and / or refill wood. Interesting times coming up at Filliers, with the right ideas Benoit could turn this into Belgium’s own GlenDronach.