Living Souls is the brand of a new bottler Whisky Souls Ltd, founded by three people with a track record at Douglas Laing, Tullibardine and Loch Lomond Group, among others. They released a first set of bottlings in November 2024 and they’ve already made a name among whisky enthusiasts.
So far they seem to prefer small batch releases and blended whiskies, rather than single casks like other bottlers. We’re trying the oldest expression from the inaugural batch, a 40 year old Blended Scotch. The components were married for a very long time (over 25 years) in a ex-Islay sherry butt. It is rumoured to contain about 40% malt whisky from Glenfarclas, Glen Garioch, Fettercairn and Blair Athol. The rest is grain whisky, Cambus and others.
Blended Scotch Whisky 40 yo (41,2%, Living Souls 2024, ex-Islay sherry butt)
Nose: a cognac-like fruitiness at first. Peaches, nectarines and apricots, with hints of pineapple. Really juicy, with a nice minty layer and hints of eucalyptus – perhaps remnants of faded peat. Orange peels and hints of mouth wash. After a while it becomes rather perfumed, think elderflower and whiffs of lavender. Great vibrance, easy to like so far, but this floral edge is a worrying development.
Mouth: easy-going, still lots of bright fruity notes, like pineapple and nectarines, with oranges and a hint of passion fruit. I would be delighted with these tropical notes if not for the clear soapy side that follows closely. Lavender and violets. Then also menthol, white pepper, grainy notes and a pinch of salt. Then a wee smoky puff, with a hint of herbal tea in the end. Pretty bright and hardly sherried, coming accross younger than the claimed age.
Finish: medium, with more perfumed notes, hints of liquorice, hoppy elements and a grainy edge.
Not the soapiest whisky ever – definitely not FWP territory – but nonetheless it’s hard to miss. Even though this Living Souls bottling has a lot going for it (tropical fruits, a skilfull composition and a mild price), soapy notes are the kind of thing that ruins the entire effort for me, even with just a small dose.
Are people starting to like soapy whisky, really?
The combination of floral soap and subtle smoke usually points to Bowmore but in this case it probably comes from the Glen Garioch component in combination with the ex-Islay cask. Both distilleries were owned by Morrison at that time. I believe Glen Garioch had a soap issue first (caused by linalool produced by yeast and long fermentation, in combination with faulty condensers), somehow taken over by Bowmore and Auchentoshan in the mid 1980s.
Apparently most (younger) whisky drinkers that never experienced 1980s Bowmore don’t seem to bother, as confirmed in a recent tasting where I got to try the Bowmore 21 Years Masters’ Selection (Edition 4). The brand ambassador proudly told us they had used a considerable amount of mid-1980s whisky for this composition – alarming information in my opinion – and indeed it clearly unfolded a soapy character. As I struggled to swallow and returned the entire glass, everyone else seemed to enjoy this floral element.
I notice a growing interest – or even appreciation – for this style. In my early days as a whisky lover, everyone seemed to hate Bowmore for this risk of soap (and their obsession with wine casks, I should add). However in 2020 Elixir Distillers released Islay Violets, the first bottling that deliberately put the spotlight on this style. It was quickly followed by Fiona Macleod from Master of Malt. Now the Chinese are replicating this profile because they love it.
Maybe it’s a kind of innate sensitivity for certain flavours, like cilantro? I don’t find cilantro soapy, so I accept the fact that there may be an audience that find this whisky floral but not soapy. To me this profile will always be a no-go though. I’d love to find out whether Living Souls hadn’t noticed, hadn’t bothered, or actively wanted to endorse this style by including it in their inaugural batch.