Honestly, I don’t even know if this is an annual release, or this just pops up with regular Springbank batches. I’ve not kept track.
What Whiskybase can tell me, though, is that this is comprised of bourbon casks (75%) and sherry casks (25%). I remember there being editions before that were just sherry casks.
I had one a couple of years ago, and because I’m a professional and wanted to put a link here, I decided to look it up. Only to find out I never published my notes and they either are lost to the void of digital storage, or the neverending maze of analog storage (read: scraps, notes, notebooks, etc). So much for being a professional.
Anyway, I do remember that one being a little bit too sweet for me. Too much like cinnamon stewed pears, and while I like those, I don’t like that flavor in my hooch.
Hazelburn then. The triple distilled version of Springbank. From the same stills, with generally less smoke too. Let’s see what it’s about!
Sniff:
Rather malty, lots porridge and grains. Some oak too, and a whiff of clay. Some sweet peaches come through after that, with a whiff of dried apple too. Slate, basalt and some sand. Rather coastal.
Sip:
The palate is surprisingly intense for a below 50% ABV. Quite some peppery heat, with a rather viscous mouthfeel. Olive oil, linseed oil, with oak shavings. Quite dry because of the intensity. It does get a bit sweeter, and more mellow when you give it some time. Then it starts to showing what is there. Peaches, apples, pears, some cloudy apple juice too.
Swallow:
The finish has a little bit of the Springbank funk, so straw, hessian, some old carpets. Mostly it’s barley and bread, some fruit and some oak.
This one has it’s ups and downs, in regards to flavors. There’s specific things that come to the front on the nose, the palate and the finish. It’s rarely the same things though. It feels a bit inconsistent.
What it does have going for it, is that all aspects of the whisky are rather tasty (or they smell good in case of the nose).
87/100
Malt Fascination 