Okay, the folks that came up with the name could’ve tried a little harder, but nonetheless Professor Cornelius Ampleforth has given us a drink we’d gladly partake in this holiday season. Much like their previously featured Bathtub Gin, the Proprietary Barley Spirit Drink is distilled using old techniques, this time that of treating their whisky casks with a rich syrupy flavoring called Paxarette. The Proprietary takes the centuries-old technique and reduces Pedro Ximenez dessert sherry until it looks like black treacle, and then mixes it with the finest 10-year-old sherry cask-matured Speyside single malt whisky. The combination produces a syrupy material perfect for the upcoming holiday season. The sweet, creamy drink will coat your tongue with toffee and molasses goodness and features hints of nutmeg and brandy butter. Forget spiking the eggnog for Christmas, go for the real alcohol with Professor Cornelius Ampleforth’s Proprietary Barley Spirit Drink — available at Master of Malt for $78 (£49.95).
This drink is pure mad professor material – bonkers but it might just work, especially over the Christmas period. Ten out of ten for inventiveness and keeping old traditions alive. Great packaging too.