Little Pomona Art of Darkness 2018

Art of Darkness is our annual experiment with extended barrel maturation. 2018 was a near-perfect growing season and the fruit from our home orchard was as good as we’ve seen.

This bottling is a blend of Ellis Bitter (98%) and Foxwhelp (2%), spontaneously fermented in tank before being racked into three whisky barrels – one island, one highland and one bourbon – and left for 16 months before bottling, still and dry, without any additions or filtration.

Golden yellow, sweetly aromatic, it’s layered with fruit, embracing the entirety of the apple from skin to core as well as heady scents of barrel, perfume and spice. Ripe tannins, with the feel of wet slate, so typical of the vintage, build and persist through the finish.

This is a classy, bold expression of apple and barrel, brilliant now but likely to be at its peak between 2022–2028.

Drink cool but not cold, with salty blue cheese, rich, earthy lentil dishes or a fine rib eye of beef.

750ml bottle, 7.7% ABV