This Manx Whisky is the third small batch release from the tiny whisky distillery on the Isle on Man. It is completely a product of the island – the grain is grown, winnowed, malted, milled, distilled and matured on the Isle of Man. There is full traceability and visibility of each batch.
Batch Three uses a barley variety called Planet harvested in 2020 from the local Ballavell Farm. Distillation (2.5x) was undertaken in their small 100-litre still between March and May 2021.This four-year-old bottling is from a single cask #4 – a first-fill bourbon firkin. A firkin is more commonly used in the beer industry and is around 40 litres in capacity.
The Manx Whisky Company was founded in 2019 by Magnus Grinneback and Scott Young. They created a small distillery with the intention of making whisky in a very traditional way on the Isle of Man. This sits in the Irish Sea between the coasts of England to the east, Scotland to the north and Northern Ireland to the west.
All the barley used for production is grown on local farms on the island, including some heritage varieties. All malting is completed at the distillery site using a rather unique system, the stills are direct-fired, and maturation takes place in a small outbuilding. The first cask was filled in December 2020 and the inaugural bottling, Batch One, was released in December 2023. Manx Whisky Co. Batch Two was released in November 2024.
Manx Whisky Co. Batch Three was bottled at the cask strength of 56.4% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. Only 68 50cl bottles were released in May 2025 for £82 via allocation direct from Manx Whisky Co.’s website, manxwhisky.com. They, of course, sold out immediately.
Our Tasting Notes
This whisky is pale in colour but big on character. On the nose there is an incredibly vibrant initial aroma of orange sherbet. This is refreshing and appealing as warming spice notes follow quickly behind. There are red apple and youthful tropical fruity notes, icing sugar sweetness, and delightful fresh oak. Malty biscuits bring warmth and roundness.
On the palate this whisky has a light mouthfeel. There are initial inviting flavours of malt and yeast like fresh bread dough. Yeast melds with vanilla paste creating a Chantilly cream feel. This broadens with fruitiness and sweetness. Think of crunchy crisp red apple, bitter orange marmalade, caramel, and heather honey. Add in a touch of melted chocolate too.
There is distinctly oaky and woody spiciness, like freshly sawn oak wood plus drying clove and cinnamon spice. Finally an unsurprisingly youthful pepperiness. The finish is relatively short and full of the wood spices and toffee apple sweetness. The maltiness also comes through well.
What’s The Verdict?
The initial nosing of this whisky took us by surprise. It has such vibrancy and appeal. There is no excusing that this is young whisky and that brings with it youthful pepperiness and bags of fruitiness. However, thanks to slightly smaller casks this whisky has interacted surprisingly boldly with the wood giving plenty of oak and spice characteristics.
The distillery character is an enchanting one. The small batch nature and the attention to detail comes through in the flavour of the whisky. As we have mentioned before, this distillery is one to watch. Batches are hard to come by but in our opinion completely worth the effort.
