Released in 2020, Whiskymaker's Reserve No. 2 was the second release in Dhavall Gandhi's cask-strength Reserve series and leaned noticeably further into red-wine-cask territory than its predecessor. Where No. 1 was all dark sherry and leather, No. 2 is a ripe orchard and berry affair — brighter, fruitier, still unmistakably Cumbrian.
Bottled at 60.9% ABV, the marriage brings together sherry and red wine casks into a single composition that Gandhi described as an evolution rather than a repetition. The Lakeland spirit — produced on the banks of the River Derwent at Bassenthwaite — has that characteristic oily weight which can carry wine-cask influence without collapsing into jamminess, and here it does so beautifully.
The nose is pure autumn patisserie: crushed raspberries, bramble jelly, baked plum, a curl of dark chocolate. The palate is velvety, with red berries, treacle tart and a swell of Christmas pudding spice rising from the sherry casks beneath. At full strength the fruit is dense and saturated; water opens it into something more floral, almost rose-petal.
The finish is long and gently tannic, fading on blackcurrant leaf and bittersweet cocoa. For collectors following the Reserve series in sequence, No. 2 is the moment you realise Gandhi is sketching an identity for English whisky that has nothing to do with imitating Scotland — and everything to do with making the most of Cumbrian water, patient marrying and carefully chosen casks.
Where No. 1 felt like a grand opening statement, No. 2 feels like a whiskymaker already confident enough to follow his instincts and trust his spirit. Limited, cask strength and bottled with minimal intervention, it is the kind of release that reveals new facets across successive pours — worth opening slowly, and savouring even more slowly.
