This is a rather unusual vatted malt, as it’s a vatting of Japanese malt whisky from Yoichi and Scottish malt whisky from an unnamed Islay distillery. The latter is probably Caol Ila, from the simple fact that that is the Islay malt most readily available, but it may be one of the others even so.
Blind tasting.
Nose: Newly lit barbeque (charcoal lighter fluid and fire). Lightly smoky and quite a bit of vanilla. With water I get red Hubba Bubba (chewing gum from the 80ies), and some barbequed meat.
Palate: Clearer smoke, but some charcoal lighter fluid here too. Baked apples. Water emphasises fire and ashes, but with an underlying sweetness.
Comments: You’d think that charcoal lighter fluid would be negative as a tasting note, but as it provides images of summer and barbequeing it’s not unattractive. Otherwise the whisky is not quite interesting enough and at the same time not quite peatmonstery enough to become a new favourite, but it’s quite drinkable.
Hjärta was bottled specifically for the Nordic countries, but was also available at the distillery.
Nose: Wood and orange marmelade. Yellow apples. Water adds a flowery touch, but also dark chocolate and lemon.
Palate: Lightly perfumed, oak, orange marmelade. Dark chocolate on the finish. Water emphasises the oak and brings out malt, or rather husks.
Comments: Does not win my heart, though it’s not a bad dram. Apart from being cask strength, a plus in my book, I don’t know that it’s any better than the standard 12 years old. Well, it has a nice box, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Nectar d’Or has been finished in Sauterne casks. Blind tasting.
Nose: Acetone and oak, lightly perfumed and quite bourbon-y. But then, after some time in the glass: Raspberry jam and pancakes. With water it developes a trace of wax or Play-Doh and burnt matches.
Palate: Oaky perfume, faint bitterness, burnt sugar. Malt and orange marmelade. The marmelade turns to berry jam once water is added.
Comments: On first sip I was hesitant, but after some time in the glass it’s quite nice, really. Not something I’d buy a whole bottle of, perhaps, but I’d not say no to another dram.
A parallel tasting of the old version of Highland Park 12 years old, bottled in the late eighties at 43% abv, against the current version of Highland Park 12 years old, also bottled at 43% abv.
Highland Park 12 years 80ies to the left, Highland Park 12 years 2013 to the right
Colour: The old version is considerably darker than the new one. But as they are both undoubtably coloured with E150, this doesn’t tell us much (except, perhaps, what impression the distillery wants us to get when looking at the whisky).
Old version
Nose: Sweet woodiness, wax or Play-Doh, milk chocolate, plum in Madeira and ashes mixed with grain dust. Water brings out citrus, lemon and lemongrass, but also some other herb. Thyme?
Palate: Play-Doh, orange peel and orange marmelade, honey.
New version
Nose: Wooden notes, but lacking the sweetness of the other. Somewhat barren vegetation, juniper trees and non-flowering heather. After a while in the glass it releases some congeners and appears younger, but with a little water this disappears and I get citrus and a hint of smoke. After even more time I suddenly get “krumkaker”.
Palate: Rougher than its older cousin. Oak and some sort of dried spice. Orange marmalade on the finish. With water I get chocolate, but a dark and somewhat bitter variety. Some lemon and citrussy notes.
Comments: It is interesting to see how different these are, but that there are still common threads. For example they both react to water by releasing citrussy notes. The new version gives the impression of being younger, which will count against it for a lot of people, and it is wholly lackig the waxy notes I found on the old version. To someone who loved the old version, the new “design” will probably seem all wrong, but I think I prefer it (marginally). Both are excellent “standard whiskies”, neither is a perfect ten. I would not complain being served a dram of Highland Park 12 years old (no matter what decade you purchased the bottle) but somewhere with a wide selection I would be likely to look for something more exciting.
Nose: Immediately some gin notes, juniper and a hint of liquorice. That disappears after a while and instead I get orange, milk chocolate and eventually malt. Water brings out pear ice lollies and vanilla.
Palate: Orange chutney (is there such a thing?), in other words: Spiced orange marmalade. Grain dust and a little metal.
Comment: I like it. I’d love a top-up and would even buy a bottle if the chance offered.
From Old Pulteney’s Lighthouse series, which is only available at Travel Retail. Noss Head is from ex-bourbon casks. Blind tasting.
Nose: Curry, coriander and garam masala. With water I also get green apples, malt and rock dust.
Palate: There is something curryish on the palate as well, but also malt and vanilla.
Comment: An unexpected nose and taste combination, I must say, but I rather like it. I need to try to get hold of another sample and try it again to see if it’s just my nose that’s out of whack today. And if this is how it appears to me consistently, I will probably try to get hold of a bottle, because this is unusual – but good – stuff.
Nose: A bit rough, you can smell its age. Pear lollies and spruce. Water adds bay leaf and lemon, rosemary and some congeners. More water tames the congeners and brings out the malt.
Palate: There’s something undefinably young on the palate as well, but it’s a well-balanced dram, with black pepper and wood, a hint of acetone and something fruity. Plums, perhaps? Water emphasises the acetone, but also provides peach jelly and more wood. With quite a lot of water it blossoms. The pepper is still there, but otherwise I get vanilla ice cream with lemon balm.
Comments: It presents as somewhat too young, but with enough water it’s quite nice. I remeber the Försmak edition I tasted at TWF as less congener-affected, but then that was a peated version and peat does conceal rather a lot. I’ve poured another and let it stand for half an hour or so to breathe, and that has helped a lot. I doubt I’ll add water now, it’s nice as is. The overall judgement is promising rather than perfect, but then I guess the destillery would agree, they have, after all, released it as an early days edition.
Nøgne Ø is getting better and better distribution in Norway after being taken over by the Hansa-Borg group. Even my local grocery store (quite small) has a decent selection of their max 4.7% abv. beers. Amongst them is the lastest offering Asian Pale Ale – a light refreshing ale with generous amounts of lemongrass (end quote).
It should be said that I’m no great fan of lemongrass and might be slightly biased when it comes to reviewing this ale.
Colour: Hazy deep golden
Nose: Fresh sitrus with a dash og malted barley and some wheat. The lemongrass is present without making a nuisance of itself.
Palate: Light, watery taste of lemongrass soup with some malted cereals. A slight bitterness hiding in the background acting all shy.
In summary: I won’t be purchasing this ale again, but I can see it going well with sushi and lighter asian foods. Or as a thirst quencher for those who aren’t biased against lemongrass.
In Dalarna, Sweden, a microbrewery was started a little over a year ago, Dalarado. The man behind it, Chris Slawson, a native of Colorado, USA, had started homebrewing with his best mate there. But his heart lead him to the Swedish countryside and the little town of Malung (pop. 5126). After brewing at home for some time with ever increasing quality the dream of a proper brewery started to grow. During the winter of 2012 things were set in motion and a 200 litre brewery was installed.
Today 800 bottles are produced each week, mainly of the tre standard brews: an American IPA, a Rye Pale and a Coffee Stout. To celebrate their one year anniversary they produced a limited edition beer – Dalarado The Year One, a belgish triple with chanterelle mushrooms!
Colour: Clear amber-yellow.
Nose: Smells like a low tone triple with a earthy tone in the background.
Taste: Ooh, this was strange. Sweet vanilla, mushrooms, strawberries, earthy/musty tones and a hint of yeast.
In summary: Not all there, but a fun experiment. The mushrooms gave the brew too much strangeness for my palate. Don’t see mushroom beers taking over the world anytime soon.
Times are exciting when it comes to Nordic whisky. This series of blog posts (in English) will sum up some of the most important news on the subject. Looking for news in Norwegian? See Nyheter.
Sweden: Two Swedish distilleries launched exciting expressions in Systembolaget’s June release on the 5th. Spirit of Hven released a single cask bottling, Sankt Ibb, fat 11-217, distilled from barley grown just outside the distillery. With only 273 bottles available, it was gone before you could blink. More interesting, as far as I’m concerned, Box launched their first whisky bottling (their earlier releases have been less than three years old). Box Pioneer was available in a batch of 5000 bottles, with a maximum order per person of 2 bottles, but even so, it was all gone by the end of the first day. I have two bottles waiting for me, and will publish tasting notes in due time.
Sweden: Talking about Box, the distillery has its own mini-festival, and it’s taking place on the 28th of June. Box Whiskyfestival features loads of masterclasses, a chance to tour the distillery, food and drink at the bar, including a festival beer, several whisky importers with their wares and live music.
Norway: The news of a planned distillery at Myken, north of the Arctic Circle, has garnered interest worldwide. Among others: Canadian Eye on the Arctic, Barents Observer and The Spirits Business. The distillery plans are part of a greater initiative to breathe new life into the community of Myken, The Myken Project. If this sparks your interest, there is a Kickstarter project in search of funding to make a documentary about the whole thing.
