24/02/2023

Chapter 6

A chat with... Andrea Morisco (Morisco Spirits) - #2

Morisco Spirits, is an outstanding Italian Independent Bottler, and boutique to fine rare whiskies via their small online shop.

Founded by Andrea Morisco in 2021, still a relatively young brand but I am already a big fan of them.

I had in fact already mentioned them for the artistic merits of their labels in my Chapter 4.

We now had the pleasure to chat a bit more with the founder Andrea Morisco.

Let’s see what he told us…

Hi Andrea, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Please introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about your whisky journey so far.

My name is Andrea Morisco and above all else, I am a huge whisky enthusiast. I decided to make it my life by founding Morisco Spirits. My passion was born just over 10 years ago between pubs and clubs, but since 2016 I have refined my taste and started buying bottles for myself. In the past my historical-artistic studies led me to work in the world of the art market.

When and how did you join this growing industry?

My online adventure officially started in early 2020, but I had already started attending events and festivals a few years ago.

Now tell us a bit more about Morisco Spirits, what is it that makes it stand out in the whisky industry?

Morisco Spirits is the result of my taste and my research; it is something extremely personal, the story of my life through bottles. The hope is always to also meet the public’s taste, but the focal point and the will of my philosophy is to merge the past with the present to create the future. We use some phrases that often summarize our thoughts: “Passion is the engine”, “Taste it and enjoy the experience” and “Drawing inspiration from the greats of the past, we take a step towards the future” (which is also a clear reference to the glorious past of Italian Independent Bottlers).

Can you tell us what Morisco Spirits' target audience is?

Morisco Spirits is aimed at all those who have the desire to drink authentically.

Can you tell us how you select your casks, and anticipate anything about what we can expect to see next?

It’s not easy to start such an activity at such a time; we try to select products that can meet our needs in terms of quality. In a growing market, we want to keep prices affordable.

We will soon release a 15-year-old first fill Longmorn bourbon, for the future we intend to also bottle very young things but not for this qualitatively inferior.

What advice would you give to a beginner that is approaching this world and perhaps starting his/her own collection?

To range as much as possible; to discover your own tastes and refine them, the only way is to experience them.

Lastly, what is, generally speaking, your favourite whisky style (cask type, ageing, peated/unpeated etc.)? What’s your dram of choice at the moment and/or your go to drams on a Friday evening?

I don’t like heavy peat, but I love it when it’s perfectly integrated and non-invasive. I tend to prefer ex-bourbon maturations.

In short, give me a young Bowmore aged in ex-bourbon casks…

Official website: https://moriscospirits.com/

Drams

and more...

Today's drams

Longmorn 15yo, Stillness Series, 54.2%
Benrinnes 11 years, Marble Collection, 53,1%