This is the third installment in our JFEX 2023 series. Before exiting the exhibition, I made a final stop, at a booth run by Belgian Owl Distillery. I was fortunate to have done so.
Lambic, yes. Chocolate, of course. Mussels in wine, no doubt. Waffles, indubitably. French fries…well,…controversial. But whisky? Whisky? No, no one associates whisky with Belgium…YET!
The distillery is located in Hesbaye, a region in eastern Belgium, quite distant from such whisky/whiskey epicenters as Scotland, Ireland, Japan, and Kentucky, but perhaps a new center of activity for the “water of life” is in the process of being established.
Belgian Owl is pale lemon in appearance and has a certain degree of viscosity. It is fragrant with noticeable and exceedingly pleasant honey notes. I also identified some woodiness in the form of vanilla. There is a hot nose-feel from the alcohol, when sniffed neat. It is smooth and pleasantly oily on the palate, where the honey and vanilla come through once again. The finish is long. The addition of a little water altered and enhanced the olfactory experience considerably: floral notes predominated like flowers blooming in a spring field.
More information about the Owl can be found at their website: http://www.belgianwhisky.com/
Drinking Japan 