Best of Wines’ Blind Tasting Competition #1

Posted on 29 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Earlier this month Best of Wines hosted a Blind Tasting Competition. With Nils, the resident whisky geek, being a former member of the Usquebaugh Society, and said Society stopping their version of the competition, Nils took over and hosted this last year and now once again.

He was kind enough to send me a sample pack, and with the competition being some ways behind us, I thought it was time to give it some more exposure, and go through the drams had.

Of course, I suck at this, so don’t expect many good guesses, except for the last one. Also, for Nils, don’t expect my ratings to be consistent with what I entered in the competition. As with all my ratings if the review is placed some time after the whisky was tried, there’s the ‘how well do I remember this one’ factor that rounds the corner, so things might be adjusted with a few points here and there.

My friend JP also bought a set, and we went through these samples on a few nights. Our guesses didn’t always align 100%, and that resulted in a slightly different result. He had some points for age, while I had some for the region, and so on.

Bunnahabhain 6, 2014-2021, Dechar/Rechar Hogshead 10750, 59.9% – Ultimate

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
There’s smoke and quite some oak on the nose. Pretty barley driven and a whiff of coastal salinity. Some sea weed, maybe. Very island-like, with quite some earthy peat. A light whiff of sherry with a hint of dark chocolate and some dried fruit.

Sip:
The palate is initially rather light, but quickly brings a peppery tingle. A weight kind of sherry in the background, with earthiness, dried fruit and some chocolate. Mocha, even. Quite some oak, earthy peat, bonfire smoke and a bit of sea weed.

Swallow:
A very long finish, with more sea weed and pepper. There’s barley again, but the earhty flavors, the dried fruits and the whiff of chocolate linger too.

I picked up on the peatiness, but not on the ridiculous ABV. As in, I figured it was a cask strength whisky, but not that it was close to 60%. Also, I went with the wrong Islay distillery. What I found interesting is how much impact the dechar/rechar had, with this having many more layers of flavor that I’d normally attribute to a six year old whisky. Very good indeed!

88/100

My guess was an Ardbeg, of a higher age. Some points for the region, at least!

Macduff 12, 2008-2020, Sherry Butt, 55.1% – Electric Coo Series

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Sherry and American oak, with hints of pastry cream and dates. Orange peel and some fatty citrus scent. Vanilla in the background. Barley and a little bit of minerals. Some apples and slate, perhaps. Black tea with milk in the background.

Sip:
The palate is a bit more dry than I expected and that note of black tea comes more to the front. Together with some chili peppery heat. Oak, more dried fruits with plums and dates. Chocolate orange wedges, orange jelly and some vanilla.

Swallow:
The finish isn’t overly long with fruity sherry, quite some sweetness with orange chocolate wedges. The jammy sweetness lingers longest, and the fierceness of the palate is gone very quickly.

This one, while not bad at all, didn’t do too much for me. It did taste like a fairly generic sherry matured whisky, and knowing what it is now, I don’t think that’s wrong.

85/100

This one is still available for € 80.

With this one I went with Arran, since this more or less aligned with how I perceive their sherry casks.

GlenAllachie 10, 2010-2020, Chinquapin Barrel 4557, 62.4% – OB

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A lot of focus on the barley in a very old-fashioned style. I guess there’s quite some age to this, hessian. Some brioche buns, so a slightly sweet bready thing. With a bit of time there’s some beery scent too. Freeze dried strawberries.

Sip:
The palate carries on down the old style hessian, straw and barley. There’s quite some alcohol burn in the form of lots of white pepper and sharp oak. It doesn’t really mellow with time, but there’s a hint of some sweet fruits behind the heat. Banana, strawberry, brioche.

Swallow:
The finish still has that funky flavor of hessian, and leaves the barley and straw for a more ‘baked goods’ style. Sand biscuits, banana, white pepper, oak, pie dough.

The Chinquapin (no, not the chestnut, the small type of oak named after the chestnut) really worked a wonder here. It took this GlenAllachie and made it taste much more funky, and much more complex than I would have expected. I did a full review here.

Strangely, my notes don’t really line up at all. Not sure what is happening here…

89/100

I went with Benromach due to the funky and old fashioned notes. At least I had the region correct!

Tune in tomorrow for another batch, and the day after, and the day after.

Posted in Bunnahabhain, Glenallachie, Macduff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Friday 2021, 22yo, 49.2% – The Whisky Exchange

Posted on 26 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

At The Whisky Exchange, they’ve become quite adept at creating traditions. Apart from hosting some festivals, they also release some very special limited releases that I always look forward to. The same is true for their Fine Christmas Malt, and their Black Friday whisky.

This year is no exception, apart from the fact that Brexit has made it ridiculously challenging to get bottles sent across the pond. I should rephrase that in some way, because the shipping is not exactly the issue. The problem arises only in the delivery and the accompanying bill for additional customs, excise and clearing costs that have to be paid upon delivery.

If that was no issue, I would have ordered a bottle of the Christmas malt, without a shadow of a doubt. And now, like they’re trying to rub it in, there’s the Black Friday whisky. Last year I didn’t get a sample so I don’t know what that one was about, but in the years prior this actually was a great deal.

Unlike previous editions, where there was some information with which to find out which distillery the whisky was from, this year there’s only the region given. Speyside, which only narrows things down by about 50%. Still some 50-ish options left. Maybe tasting the whisky will give us some idea?

Sniff:
Floral notes, with straw, orchard fruits and a bit of sweetness. There’s a slightly acidic note like dried passion fruit, granny smith apple. After a while a gentle note of wood and brown bread starts coming through. The floral notes are quite meadowy, wild flowers and grass – like.

Sip:
There’s a gentle arrival,but there’s a swift hint of white pepper to follow it. The palate is dry, but the acidic fruity notes are present too. Apple, passion fruit, maracuja. Some oak, straw, grass and some poppy seeds.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same line. Dry, with quite a lot of orchard fruits. Some oaky notes, and some floral ones too.

TWE states “It’s something that made us smile when we first tried it” on their announcement page for this whisky, and they’re not wrong. This one isn’t as ‘unique’ as their Christmas malt is this year, but it fits nicely in line with the Glenburgie from 2019 for Black Friday.

It’s a complex dram with a nice layering of flavors. The lighter style of fruitiness, with some wood and pepper notes make for an easy drinking dram that has a lot to offer if you sit down with it and give it some time.

88/100

Available from the moment of publishing for about 15 minutes, if previous releases are any indication of things… It’ll set you back £ 110.

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Longmorn 17, 1992-2010, 1st Fill Bourbon Cask 48431, 53.6% – Adelphi

Posted on 25 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

With a friend of mine being one of the Longmorn Brothers, it’s no surprise that I occasionally find a sample of the distillery’s whisky on my shelf. And for some reason, Longmorn generally comes from samples. I can’t remember if I ever had a bottle of my own.

Longmorn has always been rather popular with afficionados, which also made the independent bottlings rather expensive. And that’s where you have to go, since the official range from the distillery consists of the ‘Distiller’s Choice’ and the regular 16 year old. I don’t think I’ve had the first, and the latter isn’t too good. Not bad, but also not something to write home about.

Image from Whiskybase

So, this Adelphi one. The one people squint for, when reading the label, but that goes for every Adelphi single cask bottling. Not too many bottles came from this cask, just 112, which is rather low for a 17 year old bourbon cask. But in the end, I got to taste it, and that’s what matters to me.

Sniff:
Some fruits with a very heavy character. Baked tropical fruits, peach, date, almonds too. Quite rich, but still rather gentle.

Sip:
Summery with a lot of fruit, mostly. Some black pepper, but lots of peaches, dates, with almonds. Some dry oak, sweet pastry notes.

Swallow:
The finish is almost meaty with hints of barbecue pork, marinade, but also lots of fruit. Peaches, dates. Pastry, and some sweetness.

It’s almost Mortlach like with the meaty hints on the finish. What I also find surprising the amount of tropical fruits that I found in this one, while that normally is associated with sherry casks. Although, if I remember correctly (from reading about it) Longmorn new make is rather tropical.

Anyway, a pretty decent dram, but not something I’d shell out € 220 for, and that’s what it’s going for nowadays. I bet this was less expensive 10 years ago, but with Adelphi, you never know.

87/100

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The joy of philosophy. Of whisky.

Posted on 24 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I recently read a whisky book written by Billy Abbott. Some of you may know him from his exploits at The Whisky Exchange. Others may know him from his frequent but-not-so-punctual visits to Maltstock.

Of course, I wanted to review said book, but when my friend Jason B. Standing did, the need for me to write my own was gone. He sums things up nicely, and I agree with every point made, except the reference to Peter Jones and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s not even that I don’t agree, but I simply have no clue what he’s on about.

Anyway, with permission:

The challenging thing about when one of your best mates publishes a whisky book is how is it possible to review it with any sense of objectivity?

Well, the beauty of this being a personal blog is that I don’t HAVE to be objective – and can just get on with espousing my enthusiasm for what Mr Billy Abbott has done with his first foray into the published word, “The Philosophy of Whisky“.

Billy describes this as more of a pamphlet than a book, and weighing in at a slender 112 pages it’s clearly not the in-depth scholarly work you might expect from someone with such dedication and knowledge on the topic. As an introduction or primer, however, it’s truly an exemplar of the class.

Being able to – ahem – distill the topic of an overview of the main facets of whisky down to a book this slim is an artform in its own right… With neither Billy or myself being predisposed to brevity, I’ve marvelled at how he’s achieved it here: and all in a light and easy tone which my brain chose to self-narrate in the voice of Peter Jones as the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.

The book is easily consumable, but full of quality, well-researched information alongside a healthy dash of opinion – geared toward providing people with what they need to get on with the business of exploring and enjoying whisky. It’s welcoming, non-excluding, and practical. If you’re looking for a grimoire of arcane minutiae with which to impress your whisky nerd buddies next time you see them, this ain’t it.

I think Billy really has done a magnificent job on this, and I hope it helps him establish the momentum to bestow us with another book in the not-too-distant.

If you want to know more about, or read more of Jason, check out his blog!

The book is for sale through any place that sells books, if you order it. The big online sellers have it also, of course.

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Secret Highland 14yo, 2006-2020, Refill Sherry Hogshead 65, 53.2% – Whisky-Doris

Posted on 23 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I have a bit of a soft spot for pretty labels. Especially these Art Nouveau, absinthe style labels are things that always peak my interest. Luckily, I’ve tried enough whisky to not just go blindly by said label, but when I’m on the fence between two bottles, it can be the deciding factor.

Of course, sometimes I find things pretty that others don’t particularly like, such as the new Ben Nevis 10 label. To me that looks ridiculously stylish, even though it resembles a wine label more than anything else.

Image from Whiskybase

Anyway, when this one came out about a month ago, with it being a Clynelish according to the newsletter, and its label, and the acceptable price tag, I didn’t have to think for very long. Of course, the bottle-share being completely filled up in a reasonable amount of time also helped.

Sniff:
It’s rather austere, with hints of slate and apples. A whiff of apple skins and the waxiness of it. Some oak and vanilla.

Sip:
The palate brings a bit of sawdust, and fresh black pepper. Slightly mulchy, with hints of wax, apples and something slightly more austere.

Swallow:
Still dry on the finish, with a bit less crisp notes. Old bread, beeswax and some vanille.

This is one of those weird whiskies that are not overly interesting on one hand, but since they still are rather typical for a Clynelish tend to out-perform others based on that alone. It’s one of those things that Springbank, Lagavulin and Clynelish tend to do.

So, I guess that’s my assessment of this whisky too. It’s a pretty good whisky, better than most, and it does Clynelish things, which is very good. On the other hand, it’s utterly predictable, has zero surprises and that makes it a bit forgettable.

Well, zero surprises is a bit understated, there’s one surprise. I couldn’t detect the sherry cask influence, and would have sworn this was a bourbon if I didn’t know any better.

87/100

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Four Roses 12, 55.7%, Limited Edition Small Batch 2020

Posted on 22 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Every year a batch of this limited edition is released, and every year they’re rather popular. At least, that used to be the case. For some reason, the 2020 edition that came out last year didn’t do too much initially. In The Netherlands, this was still available after several weeks, so either it stayed under the radar for a while, or there was a huge increase in availability…

Anyway, of course it sold out eventually, and now it’s starting to pop up at inflated prices. Initially this went for € 180, but it’s now at almost double that in shops, and € 250 in the secondary market.

Of course, € 180 is quite a lot of money for a bottle of booze, but this limited stuff, this popularity and this level of quality is not priced out of its own range. Compared to some bourbons out there, this is actually the more affordable of the bunch, at this level of quality.

Let’s find out more…

Sniff:
Rich and complex, without being very sweet. Slightly rye like with quite some spices and crusty bread. There’s a note of mint, it’s not very sharp, but does show the corn and the oak. A whiff of ashes too.

Sip:
The palate does bring some heat. A bit of peppery heat, with tree bark and oak shavings. Very dry, with a hint of baking spices, pepper, corn starch. Minty, and dry, again not unlike lighter rye whiskies.

Swallow:
The finish is dry enough to start salivating, and sweet enough to be quite rich. I’m getting some peaches too. They were there before, but it increases towards the end.

I tried this whisky before in one of Norbert’s tastings, at which point I wrote slightly different tasting notes. Apart from my palate being a rather fickle thing, there might have been some difference in that being from a fresh bottle, and this from a nearly empty one.

There’s the light peppery note that is woven through this whisky to keep you attentive, and while I did get more baking spices and minty notes here, I found there was quite a lot of tropical fruitiness on a previous assessment.

However you put it, this is rather great whisky.

90/100

Posted in - American Whiskey, - Bourbon, Four Roses | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Nordic Casks #1, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Posted on 19 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A little while ago, ‘The Nordic Casks’ were released by London bottler Berry Bros. & Rudd.

The Nordic Casks is a set of four different whiskies from, you’d never guess, the Nordics. Single cask bottlings from a distillery in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. I guess that only leaves Iceland (Eimverk Distillery) in the dust, for now. The ‘#1’ suggests there’s more to come in the future.

Initially I though I would do a bottle-share with all four of them, but one of the whiskies sold out rather quickly. What also didn’t help was that the bottles were rather expensive, clocking in at € 170 each.

Keep in mind that, while rare and quite unique, we’re still talking about pre-teen whisky here.

But, I kept checking to maybe do a share with only the three available bottlings, because I was intrigued. A minuscule amount of research told me there were sample sets available too and, to my surprise, they were actually decently priced.

As in, you pay € 35 for 4x3cl, and some quick math brings that to € 204 per bottle, which is nowhere near what I expected of such a sample set. Generally, the difference is far larger.

So, a sample set was bought. Samples were poured on a quiet night. Tasting notes were written. Apart from ordering by ABV, I didn’t do any preparation, to go in with little bias or expectation.

Kyrö 2016-2021, Barrel 16037, 54.6% – Berry Bros. & Rudd

Image from Whiskybase

Kyrö is Finland’s entry in the Nordic Casks, while also being the only whisky of the set that’s not a single malt. Kyrö distills rye whisky, which peaks my interest straight away. Rye is a commonly used grain in Finland and Scandinavia, so in a way they stay a bit more true to their provenance being a Finnish distillery.

Sniff:
There’s a lot of oak, surprisingly so for a four or five year old whisky. Somehow, I also get notes of birch wood. Lots of spices, and while it might be suggestive, it does smell ‘Nordic’. Moss and stones, pine cones, ferns and peppermint. Some citrus, with dark, crusty bread.

Sip:
The palate is very dry and woody, and woodsy. So not only tasting of wood, but also of the woods. Undergrowth, leafy greens, dark bread crust. It gets a bit syrupy with some time. Notes of chocolate covered orange come forward.

Swallow:
From syrupy back to spices, but gentler than before. Ferns, slate, moss, pine cone, snow and peppermint.

I’m not sure what it is with rye whisky, but it can’t do much wrong with me. And while I already love American rye, it seems that non-American rye (except Canadian, I’m still very much unconvinced by that) does exceptionally well too. Zuidam, Amrut, and now Kyrö.

The combination of the spices, the foresty notes and, on the palate, the orange and chocolate work really well. It’s not as youthfull as I expected, but it’s not all wood driven either. A very, very good rye whisky.

88/100

Fary Lochan 2014-2021, Barrel 6, 60.9% – Berry Bros. & Rudd

Image from Whiskybase

Denmark’s entry comes from Fary Lochan Distillery. I tried an earlier whisky from them eight years ago, so they’ve been at it for a while. While that previous sample didn’t really convince me, that was of a very early batch so I expect them to have progressed since then.

What makes this one more interesting, is that the malt isn’t dried with hot air, or even peat, but by burning nettles from the surrounding forests. That’s definitely a first for me!

Sniff:
It’s very youthful, and while there’s a certain green-ness, it still is rather traditional for a single malt in style. Notes of barley, vanilla and straw. A hint of stewed strawberries, and milk chocolate. The longer it sits in the glass, the dryer it gets.

Sip:
The palate is dry still, with much more green, plant like notes than on the nose. Obviously there’s a bit of youthful fierceness, with strawberry jam, custard, straw and barley. The smoke is very timid, and imparts leafy notes, but isn’t as ‘out there’ as I expected.

Swallow:
The finish takes the next step on the road of nettle-smoked-ness. The dryness goes in the direction of dry crackers, with spices and barbecued rosemary.

While there are some interesting notes due to the nettle smoking, I hoped the other notes would be slightly less traditional. When a whisky is made following the Scottish production process, things generally get a bit stereotypical, and therefore less unique. I feel that’s my main complaint here too.

Not a bad whisky by any means, but also not something I’ll remember in a year.

84/100

High Coast 2013-2021, Sherry Hogshead 1384, 60.9% – Berry Bros. & Rudd

Image from Whiskybase

I spent some time searching my blog for reviews of High Coast whisky, or Box, because the distillery was named that before the changed their name a few years ago.

As it turns out, this is a new one for me. The Swedish entry comes from the Nordic country that, I think, has been making single malt the longest, with Mackmyra being around for quite a while already.

With this being the only sherry matured whisky of the set, it will obviously stand out in that regard. Let’s find out how, exactly.

Sniff:
There is lots of sherry and dried fruit on the nose, apricots, dates and peaches. I also get notes of almonds with some clove and tree bark.

Sip:
The palate is sharp, and feels sharper than the Fary Lochan, even though they are at the same ABV. Lots of chili peppers and less fruits. More straw, grain and grass than on the nose. Dry wood mulch.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more gentle than the palate was, with lots of fruit again. Still quite oak driven, much like the nose, so quite mature in that regard.

I’m a bit on the fence on this one. On one hand it tastes surprisingly mature for such a young whisky, although with 7 or 8 years in oak that’s not too surprising. On the other hand, it tastes like the cask has already taken over. While I’m not one to scoff at a good sherry cask, and this is such a good sherry cask, I would have loved to be able to taste the spirit itself a bit more.

86/100

Myken 2017-2021, Barrel 15, 61.4% – Berry Bros. & Rudd

Image from Whiskybase

Myken takes the ‘nordic’ descriptor to the next level with the distillery being situated north of the arctic circle, and when it was constructed it was the northern-most distillery in the world. The distillery is located on a small island 32 kilometers of the Norwegian coast.

The distillery says they use different barley and yeast strains, as well as desalinated sea water for production. I might be a bit too cynical, because my first thought is ‘that is just water, then…’. But, I’m happy when distilleries diverge from Mauri yeast and whatever barley is the hype this decade.

Sniff:
Not surprisingly, it’s rather young on the nose, with lots of barley notes. I also get a bit of diesel and engine grease. Straw, some salinity and a kind of an aquavit lightness. Lowlands-like in style, without being flowery.

Sip:
The palate is strong and sharp with a surprising impact of oak after only four years. Lots of barley with many coastal notes too. Brine and salinity. Hints of vanilla, fresh oak shavings and black pepper.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more austere than the palate was, with an ‘ethereal’ feeling to it. It’s very crisp in a chardonnay way.

While they stick to the Scottish rules for producing their single malt whisky, this has more uniqueness to it than I expected after reading that. That they’re a coastal distillery is very clear throughout and with the rather ethereal spirit produced they are doing something quite unique. This one is very much to my liking!

87/100

While I’m not overjoyed by all of them, especially not at the price points they’re at, I wouldn’t mind having a bottle of some of the others. I’m eyeing the Kyrö and the Myken mostly. In regards to the nettle smoked Fary Lochan, I would love to try some other samples of this, but this specific cask didn’t blow me away, and felt less different than I was made to believe by others.

All in all, going through this set for € 35 is no punishment at all, and I’ve tried some really solid drams. Again, especially the Myken and the Kyrö.

All four whiskies are still available, but only three of them from Whiskybase.

Posted in - World Whisky, Fary Lochan, High Coast, Kyrö, Myken | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Clynelish 23, 1995-2019, Refill Sherry Butt 11242, 56.4% – Signatory

Posted on 18 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

At our last visit to the Hielander Whisky Festival, my father-in-law found another Clynelish he loved. He already has a weak spot for the distillery, and finding an exceptional one is always a treat.

Of course, you don’t spend € 200 on a whim, and by the time he decided he wanted the bottle after all, it had sold out. The search was on for a sister cask with similar statistics. This one is that sister cask.

He was kind enough to give me a sample, and turning forty this week was enough reason to sit dowhn for it.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A very old fashioned waxiness, with age-darkened oak. Dried fruits, but a lighter style of that. More apricot, peach and fig than plums and dates. Some honey sweetness with a more crisp note of pinecones and resin.

Sip:
The palate has a bit of chili heat, but the waxiness and dried fruits make it so that it’s never uncomfortable. Resin, candlewax, dried fruits, some pepper. Oak too, obviously. A hugely complex palate.

Swallow:
The finish keeps the slight heat with some fervor. It makes for an interesting finish that lingers mostly in your mouth, and not so much in your throat. Fruits, wax, resin,oak, pepper.

While I generally avoid sherry cask matured Clynelishes, because I vastly prefer the bourbon cask ones, this one is an exception to that rule. This does everything you want a Clynelish to do, and it does everything you want a sherry cask to do as well.

It wasn’t a hugely active cask, but it did impart flavors of dried fruit and a bit of honey sweetness. The combination with the waxy and resiny Clynelish works a charm. I absolutely love this!

91/100

Still available in various countries, starting at € 240

Posted in Clynelish | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Fine Christmas Malt 2021, 16, 53.2% – The Whisky Exchange

Posted on 17 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

It’s become an annual thing for The Whisky Exchange to release special bottlings for some holidays, or things that are seen as holidays. There’s the Christmas malt, and for Black Friday there’s been a release too, for the last couple of years.

To my huge surprise, a sample of said Christmas Malt arrived early this week, without any tax or customs shenanigans.

This year’s edition isn’t the big sherry’d stuff one normally associates with Christmas, but a well rounded blend of five casks of Highland Park. Three of these casks were hogsheads, while the other two are sherry butts.

Of course, Highland Park isn’t mentioned on the label, and in this case they haven’t even gone with ‘A Secret Orkney Distillery’

Sniff:
Surprisingly rich and fruity, which I didn’t expect for some reason. There’s a hint of flint and soot, with date pulp and apricot behind it. I’m getting rusty iron and apple too. Gunpowder and straw.

Sip:
The palate is somewhat more sweet, but has a note of black and white pepper for bite. It still has that fatty, sweet note of soot, with a layer of extreme minerality (apples, iron, flint) behind it. The way it bites, combined with the sweeter note is very interesting.

Swallow:
The finish veers back towards the nose again, with more focus on the flint and soot. The peppery bite lingers around the edges of your tongue with the apple and a slight honey sweetness sticking to the middle.

This is a very interesting whisky. It shows a profile I’ve not encountered before, or at least not in recent memory. While this might not appeal to everyone, I do think TWE has picked a high quality malt that shows yet another aspect of whisky.

Now, up to figuring out how to get a bottle or two my way, because this is great stuff!

It is currently available at The Whisky Exchange for £ 79.95. With a release of 2200 bottles, I don’t expect it to last very long.

89/100

Posted in Highland Park | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Springbank 37, 1970-2007, Sherry Cask 1344, 43% – Secret Treasures

Posted on 16 November 2021 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Zeewijck, a semi-local liquor shop used to have a discount on the last three days of the year. The age of the whisky is the percentage subtracted from the price. Of course, that usually added up to 20% discount, which is still a very solid bit off the retail price.

When I was there several years ago, I happened to find this in the back of a high shelf. Of course, a decade ago whisky wasn’t as expensive as it is now, and I ended up paying 10% of the price for which it is now available. That’s what I call a good deal.

When I turned 37, three years ago to the day, I decided to open the bottle and have some with a couple of friends. Now, I finally find it right to review this. The bottle is slowly nearing its end, but there’s still some left for tonight.

Now, keep in mind that this bottle holds a very special place in my heart, so take the review with a grain of salt. It’s a coastal dram, after all. Of course, this scoring almost 91 points on Whiskybase with over a hundred reviews says this is good liquid.

Sniff:
Not surprisingly, this is very gentle, with only 43% ABV and almost four decades in mellowing oak. There are hints of dark bread, old apples. Some slate, sand and basalt. A minor note of smoke comes by too. Even though it’s gentle, there is some intensity with a whiff of engine grease and quite a lot of fruit. Apple, pear, grapes, passion fruit, peaches and some nectarine.

Sip:
The palate shows more intensity of flavor than I’d dare hope initially. It’s old and low in ABV after all. A small note of Springbank funkiness with dried fruits. Apple, pear, passion fruit and a more crisp note too. Maybe some star fruit. Quite a good helping of oak, to no one’s surprise.

Swallow:
A long and big finish. It combines the nose and the palate into a well rounded whole. Oak, funk and fruit, with barley and old wood.

Without a doubt, this is the best of my open bottles. There is so much to discover here, that I find it hard to fault it at any point. And by ‘fault it’ I mean finding a reason to not simply give this 96 points or so. Of course, I’m slightly biased.

But, still, this is an epic whisky. It does everything I want from a Springbank, and the lower ABV works very well in combination with the great age. It results in a whisky that asks for attention but doesn’t demand it, so if you have it at a festival, it might get swamped. Sitting down with, and for, this is very rewarding though. An absolute stunner.

94/100

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