I have never been a fan of Dr. Who. It is essentially the same plot every week. Alien monster arrives, Dr runs about a bit, spouting nonsensical gibberish, points sonic screwdriver at some gizmo, day saved.  Been the same now for nearly 60 years, and 13 doctors. The latest Doctor is, of course a lady, and it was very controversial (allegedly) when she was unveiled. Shake things up a bit. She too runs about, points screwdriver at the “Wiggley doodaa drive” and aliens disappear. Same old same old. The thing is I actually really want to like the Dr, because I like all the sciencey stuff. On my bookshelf is a book called “The science of Dr Who” which sets out explain if the stuff in the show is physically possible. Obviously, the language is basic and allows an idiot, like me, to understand what’s being discussed but it is fantastically interesting.

The theories are really complex, not least the idea of time which is rather weird, because we think it moves along very regularly but, in fact, can quite flexible. Einstein proved this more than a century ago. Now Imagine my curiosity when I picked up a bottle of Hinch distillery Double wood and saw proudly displayed on the bottle “The whiskey that understands time!” Really? Because it is quite a complicated concept.  The whiskey doesn’t even need Stephen Hawkings “Briefer history of time?” It can get the original. That’s a hell of a claim to make, are we to assume the bottle is going to point a sonic screwdriver at us. Maybe the Whiskey can tell me why there are 60 seconds in a minute, never found that one out.

The Whiskey, when it is not pretending to be a Timelord, is a blend of malt and grain whiskey aged for 5 years in a mix of ex bourbon casks and virgin American oak and it makes big claims that it doesn’t really deliver on. This is a sourced Whiskey and tastes similar to others on the market but costs considerably more. It’s not distinctive enough to stand out and in what is beginning to become a very crowded market that is a problem.

Nose- Baked Apple, runny honey, Malt 1.5/3

Palate- Vanilla, Rich tea biscuit, touch of citrus 1.5/3

Finish – Short, pepper, Almonds 1/3

Value for money – 0/1

Total 4/10

Bespoke Whiskey tastings are available for events contact via ulsterwhiskey.com