tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36980632074080923542024-03-16T02:09:21.213+01:00SamuelWhiskySamuelWhiskySamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-17983713728674095972023-06-05T18:41:00.000+02:002023-06-05T18:41:07.394+02:00Svensk Whisky från Agitator – Argument: Islay PX 46%<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HWJk7c6z5uHbto_743M0v5fgckbTQjgqX8cTTiB3H3PngqZlY5T3IVFk7t77su4r0xLHMQnHRTc7RMEQVM79q_DgSumJ7YypEo--KiiXEqNMnOPYl7usayrzEPlC4z8aSEQcyd_yvrbkc1AyfLIxDBhPympX3P6BfRZ97X6RTX4AxcBJwY-usYrF/s2950/AIP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2950" data-original-width="2949" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HWJk7c6z5uHbto_743M0v5fgckbTQjgqX8cTTiB3H3PngqZlY5T3IVFk7t77su4r0xLHMQnHRTc7RMEQVM79q_DgSumJ7YypEo--KiiXEqNMnOPYl7usayrzEPlC4z8aSEQcyd_yvrbkc1AyfLIxDBhPympX3P6BfRZ97X6RTX4AxcBJwY-usYrF/w400-h400/AIP1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Vänner! I torsdags kom ett paket på posten som visade sig innehålla den kommande releasen från Agitator, nämligen det fjärde släppet i serien Argument i vilken man samlar experimentella produkter tillverkade i mindre volym (mindre volym än standardbuteljerna). De föregående släppen i serien har i tur och ordning inneburit slutlagring på fat av Kastanj, fulltidslagring på Småfat, och senast en whisky tillverkad av råg och korn slutlagrad på fat som tidigare innehållit Lönnsirap. Experimenterandet går i allra högsta grad vidare för denna utgåva med det läskande namnet Islay PX. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Receptet för den här utgåvan är som följer: råsprit tillverkad av torvrökt korn på 40ppm. Merparten är destillerad i Lågrefluxpannan (LR) och resterande del i Högrefluxpannan (HR). I mitt tycke ger LR en ren, tung, kraftig, jordig, och lite skitig råsprit, medan HR ger en ren, lätt och fruktig råsprit. För lagring har använts två olika fattyper: dels kvartsfat (130L) som först lagrat bourbon och därefter Islaywhisky, dels fat som först lagrat sherry av slaget Pedro Ximénez och därefter Islaywhisky. Innan flaskfyllning vattnades whiskyn ner till 46%. 6000 70cl-flaskor har producerats av denna utgåva och nu på fredag finns den tillgänglig i cirka 220 systembolagsbutiker. Ni finner produkten genom att klicka här.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">För att kunna dela med mig av lite exklusiva detaljer kring receptet hörde jag av mig till den alltid så hjälpsamma Oskar Bruno (Destillerichef) som gav mig följande info: 54% av innehållet är lagrat på kvartsfat, och resterande 46% på PX-fat av storleken 250L. Samtliga kvartsfat fylldes med råsprit från LR. 60% av PX-faten fylldes med råsprit från LR och resterande 40% med råsprit från HR. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Den här whiskyn fick jag möjlighet att provsmaka redan i mitten av april när jag besökte Agitators huvudkontor i Stockholm för att prata om kommande buteljering(ar) i vår <a href="https://agitatorwhisky.se/sv_se/samuelwhisky-no1/" target="_blank">fat-collab</a>, idéer kring framtida <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/p/provningar.html" target="_blank">whiskyprovningar</a>, och lite annat trevligt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30OALR7MPfcZeBwv-z7I3zV69uOUdbJoUZdUgpY7RoGthZ7ft_m-cAh8WfVDRI66vg2H9IELITeCfGEKOPy5Y9CvkRgchRvHglwNpzkqND4qSHa1y_GCoBbcNPxFj1TgtplVQbsq1xB28th_SYH-txwdRZOac_XveIdvV6vcxzWT2dTeFd5hk7YYI/s2812/AIP2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2812" data-original-width="2812" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30OALR7MPfcZeBwv-z7I3zV69uOUdbJoUZdUgpY7RoGthZ7ft_m-cAh8WfVDRI66vg2H9IELITeCfGEKOPy5Y9CvkRgchRvHglwNpzkqND4qSHa1y_GCoBbcNPxFj1TgtplVQbsq1xB28th_SYH-txwdRZOac_XveIdvV6vcxzWT2dTeFd5hk7YYI/w400-h400/AIP2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Då blev det mest att sippa litegrann så jag har verkligen sett framemot att få göra en lite djupare analys vilket det är dags för... nu! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Doft</b>:<br />När jag andas in försiktigt genom näsan vid glasets kant är de första dofterna en mix av sälta, hav, mentol, läder, och en bred, omfamnande och mjuk torvighet. Det här känns verkligen Islay! En djupare doftning med näsan ner i glaset ger svag maltighet, krämig vanilj, vaniljsås, och Crème brûlée med inslag av brynt smör och lätt lakrits. Jag känner också nånting fruktigt, men det är i allra högsta grad flyktigt… jag försöker sätta ord på det och landar i röda äpplen, torkad aprikos, rosvatten, och svarta vinbär i fjärran. Doftmässigt rör det sig sammantaget definitivt om en bas av Islay (dock ingen rökighet som dödar näsan) med en elegans och finess av somrig fruktighet som glittrar i det övre registret. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJSXNG169v0G2dX5ZZLD-1DRJxPxchykI_JZjJOYBmtIeQRABFvclvLkIL2r41lv5KFslnuOmFPP5JQi-rRES91nKVkIINgrw7kmGOzzodWB1YV5hA29Q61Qp9MXwQvJg1EySm0qTF-yaX_cpnB7_VTHbGmSbrAW1EJCVAsVf8ELLg22nhXnqe6cg/s1425/AIP3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1425" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJSXNG169v0G2dX5ZZLD-1DRJxPxchykI_JZjJOYBmtIeQRABFvclvLkIL2r41lv5KFslnuOmFPP5JQi-rRES91nKVkIINgrw7kmGOzzodWB1YV5hA29Q61Qp9MXwQvJg1EySm0qTF-yaX_cpnB7_VTHbGmSbrAW1EJCVAsVf8ELLg22nhXnqe6cg/w400-h400/AIP3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Smak</b>:<br />Definitivt Islay-stil: sälta, saltlakrits, bred och tydlig torv, och en lagom skitig jordighet. Alkoholen är otroligt fint integrerad och bär fram mjuk vanilj som övergår i maltighet. Alkoholen stiger i munnen, upp i gommen, och förbi swishar lätt viol. Ur maltigheten framträder först en söt rök med skira stråk av torkade fikon, det vattnas i munnen, och sen kommer torv och rök tillbaka och tar nu större plats än tidigare. En svartpepparlik kryddighet retar min tungspets medan den torviga maltigheten och den mjuka vaniljen långsamt klingar bort och avslutar smakresan. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Några summerande reflektioner</b>:<br />Ja det här var verkligen en doft- och smakresa! Det är lätt att bli lurad av elegansen i doften och tänka att det här nog kommer vara en lätt rökig whisky, men så är inte riktigt fallet. Röken, eller kanske snarare torven, tar rätt stor plats i smaken och tillsammans med maltigheten och vaniljen utgör den helt klart whiskyns tydliga bas. Det här är dock ingen brötig historia utan fruktigheten i både doft och smak bidrar med djup och skapar tillsammans med torven en komplex whisky som jag både vill sitta och fundera kring och analysera, och bara vill sippa på och njuta av. Gärna på sommarstället i Roslagens famn, med ljumma sommarvindar som sällskap och utblick över havet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slutligen ett stort tack till dom snälla människorna på Agitator för den fina möjligheten att recensera denna whisky innan släppet! For further and future updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted by <i>stating the source</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqw8gJlTOWPzKJDuwvBMcEoA46DWAPKi4HdGrjt2wvc-hax3D5bFbHdnAhQBtHFKv2k1Z8kdGStjq71YrLyItJaIET9W_YYiVRAiwnBh7BKT2dzmk2OHMXfs1zBXVRm4lcN6z7tuemgnDkuPRw6QFMfy_pCeBFAqgDbC8nmQM8Wkym1_-KFYRw53L/s4073/Agitator_IslayPX_Bottle_Highres.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4073" data-original-width="2716" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqw8gJlTOWPzKJDuwvBMcEoA46DWAPKi4HdGrjt2wvc-hax3D5bFbHdnAhQBtHFKv2k1Z8kdGStjq71YrLyItJaIET9W_YYiVRAiwnBh7BKT2dzmk2OHMXfs1zBXVRm4lcN6z7tuemgnDkuPRw6QFMfy_pCeBFAqgDbC8nmQM8Wkym1_-KFYRw53L/w426-h640/Agitator_IslayPX_Bottle_Highres.png" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bild med benäget tillstånd av Agitator</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-31294505577978495782023-04-11T18:56:00.004+02:002023-04-11T18:57:50.754+02:00#samuelwhisky10år – Del 4: mässor i massor och vägen dit<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXwacW5Qc9oRa008cnINgBAlb2sVNusqpm-im-seiEGMnzsEGrk2bIYHP57KqwUuQy8QPMcD2gKXRGyJyH5o3rphem9r3Wil3XyVToU1_4Ct4hxpuYDXOiwQmh-x-Zvhbq2zLTo9pIoaN8y5AiC5-GGwc8uzkGZCEowf9nXI75wSNHqS0a3UxTppK/s665/ma%CC%88ssor%20i%20massor.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="665" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXwacW5Qc9oRa008cnINgBAlb2sVNusqpm-im-seiEGMnzsEGrk2bIYHP57KqwUuQy8QPMcD2gKXRGyJyH5o3rphem9r3Wil3XyVToU1_4Ct4hxpuYDXOiwQmh-x-Zvhbq2zLTo9pIoaN8y5AiC5-GGwc8uzkGZCEowf9nXI75wSNHqS0a3UxTppK/w400-h400/ma%CC%88ssor%20i%20massor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Den 11:e oktober i år fyller SamuelWhisky 10år! Ett av sätten jag firar detta på är att den 11:e i varje månad fram till och med jubiléumsdagen posta retrospektiva nedslag i dom första 10 åren av SamuelWhisky. Genom att klicka <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">här</a> kommer du till bloggens startflik där du finner del 1-3 i artikelserien vilka i tur och ordning handlat om: vägen fram till bloggen SamuelWhisky, en sifferfixerad tillbakablick på mitt bloggande och mina tasting notes, min kärlek till och för Laphroaig.</i><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Knappt två år innan jag drog igång den här bloggen började jag arbeta på whiskymässor. Hur det kom sig att jag började jobba mässor land och rike runt är egentligen och från allra första början ett resultat av flera saker: mitt stora intresse för den irländska rökta whiskeyn Connemara, hårt arbete, och ren slump. Parallellt med att jag 2007/2008 fastnade för och nördade ner mig totalt i Laphroaig blev jag sugen på fler stilar av torvrökt whisky. I den svenska utgåvan av Michael Jacksons whiskybok vilket på den tiden var min vardagsläsning snubblade jag då över just Connemara. Precis som med Laphroaig blev det all in och i augusti 2009 startade jag FB-gruppen Connemara Clan (som jag 2014 ersatte med en <a href="https://www.facebook.com/connemaraclan" target="_blank">FB-sida</a> med samma namn). <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Samma år gick jag runt som gäst på whiskymässan i Örebro och delade ut egenhändigt producerade flyers till mässbesökare för att sprida ordet om Connemara och min fanclub Connemara Clan. Rätt som det var snubblade jag över en monter där Connemara fanns representerad! Jag presenterade mig för en person som arbetade i montern, berättade om mitt stora intresse för Connemara och att jag precis startat FB-gruppen, visade mina flyers och fick lämna en hög i montern så att dom kunde dela ut flyers till andra Connemara-intresserade. Ett år senare besökte jag örebromässan igen, letade febrilt efter Connemara-montern och hittade den hos Philipson Söderberg. Där stod Linda Nånting, Brand Ambassador för Cooley Distillery, och tog hand om bland annat Connemara. Vi pratade såklart Connemara i kvadrat</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16TNFAnJEz3wG2EgdS47PyQu8AaVfxUl0mBEGh1mZeIgggInOFEhC5sx0j4X8Vb9LcSbXlufiBb3KEtBCeBWZtQfmshWrA7fVEAdrU9ypZB_HKeWyujpM4B6JAW33DIRNSslnNW0DGqgi5p1ZVqFiUAOyZpFKrgCJ72pJjQOgMmcDyiM9-2T6rQlz/s1039/linda%20cooley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="1039" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16TNFAnJEz3wG2EgdS47PyQu8AaVfxUl0mBEGh1mZeIgggInOFEhC5sx0j4X8Vb9LcSbXlufiBb3KEtBCeBWZtQfmshWrA7fVEAdrU9ypZB_HKeWyujpM4B6JAW33DIRNSslnNW0DGqgi5p1ZVqFiUAOyZpFKrgCJ72pJjQOgMmcDyiM9-2T6rQlz/w400-h400/linda%20cooley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">och efter ett tag visade det sig glädjande nog att både hon och folket på Cooley Distillery hört talas om Connemara Clan (som vid det här laget hade ganska många medlemmar). En tid senare fick jag ett mail ifrån självaste Stephen Teeling på Cooley som mycket riktigt hört talas om klanen och undrade om jag var intresserad av att ta mig an en (ideell) ambassadörsroll för Connemara. När 2011-års örebromässa närmade sig fick jag sen ett mail ifrån David Ask på Berntson Brands som, på Stephens inrådan, frågade mig om jag ville hjälpa dom på mässan och ta hand om Connemara och resterande whiskey i Cooleys portfölj! Jag arbetade tre mässor åt Berntson; Örebro </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLQTJ-QeRMt7S7a8rho0GEIkfHRFwojxnaAJLzeO9YOUqhhV50LdMVHtgA8vnPYkhMFnrg3QUjPh0Pf5JrGJwd1YoZHcylk1wyKV9Eefn9I-ccG4hpQ6def2hRhqUA3h-KCpZeTQDkaj1P110lg_hwnsquJV9dU_3g6eKymvhAupmpQ_1DknWhdi_/s1423/fo%CC%88rsta%20ma%CC%88ssan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1423" data-original-width="1423" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLQTJ-QeRMt7S7a8rho0GEIkfHRFwojxnaAJLzeO9YOUqhhV50LdMVHtgA8vnPYkhMFnrg3QUjPh0Pf5JrGJwd1YoZHcylk1wyKV9Eefn9I-ccG4hpQ6def2hRhqUA3h-KCpZeTQDkaj1P110lg_hwnsquJV9dU_3g6eKymvhAupmpQ_1DknWhdi_/w400-h400/fo%CC%88rsta%20ma%CC%88ssan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Linköping (tillsammans med Jennifer Graham Brand Ambassador Cooley, Bruce Gordon Destillerichef Knockdhu, och Jerry Lindahl som med glimten i ögat kallade sig själv för ”en skribent av dignitet”), </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHTaNOI5AFqWOoJ2HFhCwjUaIjVtRWiGweawUTsSoMg0G5DzdLDvndAL0Z6-w2dUs4TurEApIgeYMfH37dlVYq7o8FMeo-G28wSa6fMoToKOjM0wB__nIFhfjGDfOjeh55ZJCQttJod-u33yWc3XSYMfMXeJtO040zA0D48KYpxUMGP9xPYBcKbyP/s671/connemara%20ma%CC%88ssa.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="588" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHTaNOI5AFqWOoJ2HFhCwjUaIjVtRWiGweawUTsSoMg0G5DzdLDvndAL0Z6-w2dUs4TurEApIgeYMfH37dlVYq7o8FMeo-G28wSa6fMoToKOjM0wB__nIFhfjGDfOjeh55ZJCQttJod-u33yWc3XSYMfMXeJtO040zA0D48KYpxUMGP9xPYBcKbyP/w350-h400/connemara%20ma%CC%88ssa.JPG" width="350" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jennifer skymtas i till vänster i bild...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">och sist ost- och vinmässan Chateau Grand Cru. När det började närma sig den sistnämnda mässan fick jag veta av Tommy Isaksson på Berntson att Cooley framgent skulle representeras av Edrington. Jag ville såklart fortsätta arbeta med Connemara på mässorna och hörde därför snabbt av mig till Edrington för att presentera mig själv, berätta om mitt stora intresse för Connemara, och att jag fanns tillgänglig om dom skulle behöva hjälp på mässorna. Den person jag fick kontakt med var Joakim Leijon och ni kan säkert tänka er hur glad jag blev när det visade sig att han var Brand Ambassador för… Laphroaig! Här hade jag både ren tur och satt på en hel del kunskap om två av Edringtons varumärken och kunde därför slå två flugor i en smäll; vilken förmån att få ta hand om både Connemara och Laphroaig på mässorna! När jag nu blickar tillbaka på åren 2012-2019 arbetade jag hela <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/p/om-samuel.html" target="_blank">33 mässor/mässhelger</a> åt Edrington med Connemara</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kVREigWUUp7zuEuhjhmUCY-8SMk8Ycqx1C7dmR32Mcawn1OwBtO18Iefnt1HE8fKWwLhN0TY-ziZI-HMwWbTa2rHmO3ozv8q567bw3SKM_8j0qNhnjHcf81i0WYgl6Mnfdb8kNN-kQX_OVqHXb3Th8SsR01Zvn_RESxgb_rCgVseUc54Lgqx5mUm/s960/connemara.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="716" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kVREigWUUp7zuEuhjhmUCY-8SMk8Ycqx1C7dmR32Mcawn1OwBtO18Iefnt1HE8fKWwLhN0TY-ziZI-HMwWbTa2rHmO3ozv8q567bw3SKM_8j0qNhnjHcf81i0WYgl6Mnfdb8kNN-kQX_OVqHXb3Th8SsR01Zvn_RESxgb_rCgVseUc54Lgqx5mUm/w299-h400/connemara.JPG" width="299" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>och Laphroaig </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKX_QnSJ7EaGTF2J82PYBM5Dnc8dzyKvIaHoinQZ3XGsOYyNwb3R1w47jltamnaIsnjh46fhmytnNNOK20YUTdx0MMNwrrqxhHvX7Nif3jJRtiEGdOP1vKIHVCf0jQNvONeiJCu-n-2EpGb8HUgGFKPzxu3GlxIKKqU9bEakF-KP4gC1Xuh-nG72b/s1536/fo%CC%88rsta%20ma%CC%88ssan%20i%20sthlm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbKX_QnSJ7EaGTF2J82PYBM5Dnc8dzyKvIaHoinQZ3XGsOYyNwb3R1w47jltamnaIsnjh46fhmytnNNOK20YUTdx0MMNwrrqxhHvX7Nif3jJRtiEGdOP1vKIHVCf0jQNvONeiJCu-n-2EpGb8HUgGFKPzxu3GlxIKKqU9bEakF-KP4gC1Xuh-nG72b/w400-h400/fo%CC%88rsta%20ma%CC%88ssan%20i%20sthlm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SBWF 2012, min första mässa för Edrington</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">som huvudfokus, och jag lärde mig också massor om, och utvecklade både intresse och kärlek för Bowmore, Highland Park, och The Macallan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnV7mZmOMDOaF72aHmEl0pZxPBJ42QCnBxGVbStAzF90NBRtNZPonjKl7Axj2fyJddpTEJscogYPN_REjWUa8KOPQmpCZ-BNEtwUH18-iiboOUnoHV17FteSpbxPduQoA1z5rMSzQPeqqkTHDWtK1LpP42dnhYEKcdhzZ-RjIhGP3x9Hiu0Oku27h2/s1984/laffe%20bow%20och%20HP.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1984" data-original-width="1475" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnV7mZmOMDOaF72aHmEl0pZxPBJ42QCnBxGVbStAzF90NBRtNZPonjKl7Axj2fyJddpTEJscogYPN_REjWUa8KOPQmpCZ-BNEtwUH18-iiboOUnoHV17FteSpbxPduQoA1z5rMSzQPeqqkTHDWtK1LpP42dnhYEKcdhzZ-RjIhGP3x9Hiu0Oku27h2/w298-h400/laffe%20bow%20och%20HP.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">En minst sagt trevlig trio</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Att det höll i sig så länge som åtta år har jag, utöver min kärlek för Laphroaig och mässarbete, Edringtons fair coordinator Dani Skaff att tacka för. Gång på gång fortsatte han ringa in mig på mässjobb efter mässjobb och han var alltid öppen för när jag ville jobba färre mässor eller när jag ville jobba fler och fler, tack Dani! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFRCObBmhlBXTvtodo1aiwR_JP_FKm55epqe-ge-OJ3SPAacC5SrC3urBLmv_bloIz6oUEOrCSjq20-jfFEe-MJAddwS9eDPd2FFDZOj7ADw8CefPvbgC8Um817Wy7Mzuvf4Zrcm5dEaOeXi281tWAHwmTQuxM3Q1AgjcBhvTElYtjGyny1ztIAMY/s3264/dani.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFRCObBmhlBXTvtodo1aiwR_JP_FKm55epqe-ge-OJ3SPAacC5SrC3urBLmv_bloIz6oUEOrCSjq20-jfFEe-MJAddwS9eDPd2FFDZOj7ADw8CefPvbgC8Um817Wy7Mzuvf4Zrcm5dEaOeXi281tWAHwmTQuxM3Q1AgjcBhvTElYtjGyny1ztIAMY/w400-h300/dani.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dani vid Scapa 2016</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Men vad är det då som är så kul med att jobba mässor?! Den frågan är enkel att svara på: allt! Jag älskar att möta och prata med människor</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRM8HcAckewVizJu2TxjS8NRRtrZXTsqNovo2I9YAj7yEJBHF0OLly7DZDmSuifFOiGOl20mJy2r4G_Np7LcNkSH5EZNBuKi5mm86S_qpIjCcyQfUsU-XTl2FMcELimIhekkGLDjqaEtUEP8JREMcHV1AtcZb2EM134n1VlUSv1Xv7VskJoZVnAZI/s1125/goda%20va%CC%88nner%20i%20o%CC%88rebro.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1125" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRM8HcAckewVizJu2TxjS8NRRtrZXTsqNovo2I9YAj7yEJBHF0OLly7DZDmSuifFOiGOl20mJy2r4G_Np7LcNkSH5EZNBuKi5mm86S_qpIjCcyQfUsU-XTl2FMcELimIhekkGLDjqaEtUEP8JREMcHV1AtcZb2EM134n1VlUSv1Xv7VskJoZVnAZI/w400-h296/goda%20va%CC%88nner%20i%20o%CC%88rebro.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Möte med Mathias och Brunte på Örebromässan</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcw2otw-bDPkwCa_bJQbxzNHoPjGoJTm-YuEOMaj4DdXKqPSkryE97ruEFmAmxotRwY5UyeQBhqM1XDMUxbAM3_gkjAjVeKYQ8CKwb_rWO_wMS0kt7IpqTHS2HcSzSvp7wdYM8YaaUjnhHAbcsY3BetJvhj35V8mHF2PHveDIiaWd8MN4qfIxDRgo/s720/tiina.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcw2otw-bDPkwCa_bJQbxzNHoPjGoJTm-YuEOMaj4DdXKqPSkryE97ruEFmAmxotRwY5UyeQBhqM1XDMUxbAM3_gkjAjVeKYQ8CKwb_rWO_wMS0kt7IpqTHS2HcSzSvp7wdYM8YaaUjnhHAbcsY3BetJvhj35V8mHF2PHveDIiaWd8MN4qfIxDRgo/w400-h400/tiina.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tillsammans med whiskylassien Tiina på Linköpingsmässan</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI7m1ICXr-2Gih1UdWnlpN5vjuC34tTy34mO1RPJqw1CcJyvyLrsvrsgscDQHZwE61IzRkF6S2JjXitgGloAbLMR2XtToErs4D9a30rE7FTBcsz11N1gjg0-ub3GOv9R9hZHwn18TXOveu2Uu_DkZCpGC50Wl-fYRpGL7yRp7aw4tl8N7DdimP5Vs/s1080/goda%20va%CC%88nner%20i%20sthlm.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1080" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI7m1ICXr-2Gih1UdWnlpN5vjuC34tTy34mO1RPJqw1CcJyvyLrsvrsgscDQHZwE61IzRkF6S2JjXitgGloAbLMR2XtToErs4D9a30rE7FTBcsz11N1gjg0-ub3GOv9R9hZHwn18TXOveu2Uu_DkZCpGC50Wl-fYRpGL7yRp7aw4tl8N7DdimP5Vs/w400-h355/goda%20va%CC%88nner%20i%20sthlm.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roland Fire och Patrik Ice på Destillat Stockholm </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">jag älskar att få berätta om whisky jag själv älskar, att få representera ett eller flera fantastiska varumärken, och att få svara på lätta som svåra och kluriga frågor om whiskyn ifråga. Man vet aldrig vad mässbesökaren på andra sidan montern kan eller inte kan om whisky i allmänhet, eller om produkten i synnerhet: hur den tillverkas, hur den är lagrad och vad det är som gör att den smakar som den gör. Jag älskar också när det är så fruktansvärt mycket att göra, när whiskyn säljer så bra, att man knappt hinner prata. Jag älskar helt enkelt det hårda arbete som mässjobb faktiskt är. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDyWSrTkHqKg53KN-lpBf4ilZn_XaiD4ps68dxdUNXwzLNmuXF4qP4HfhGOC76UzkALek0EtwT_oZgkDzhn7mjYsdD-L7B-D4NUsMNIVg3WEnFuDVBmDFpPXgrh_BOIRceGMQnChCfT86LCk_RaY-7ohGwOISja7ZDpeiOfp5VDzj2LaiRu2rRI0u/s1099/massor%20att%20go%CC%88ra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="1099" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDyWSrTkHqKg53KN-lpBf4ilZn_XaiD4ps68dxdUNXwzLNmuXF4qP4HfhGOC76UzkALek0EtwT_oZgkDzhn7mjYsdD-L7B-D4NUsMNIVg3WEnFuDVBmDFpPXgrh_BOIRceGMQnChCfT86LCk_RaY-7ohGwOISja7ZDpeiOfp5VDzj2LaiRu2rRI0u/w400-h400/massor%20att%20go%CC%88ra.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Och även om jag kanske inte älskar att efter avslutad mässa packa ner montern och allt i den, är det få saker som slår att efteråt sitta ner och i goda vänners lag äta en god bit mat, dricka nåt gott, och lägga upp fötterna för vila, aaaah!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRMDKtbYApT6vxaBsMZr1KoKOtbpPpcGcZTL4HqSPvnb9VEG4-IPM36EOgHOL_syjN5hduR3gt5hy1Yl5DGhnf6uJncTmIQnb5SkqhW9_gWXQZbhvQzN0bmvK9vnlNxYWlUhrwkI_qYvyqjqsExd8u8e1rRFDMh9kJSuOs7MvrCxJu0dpWc5YaBlc/s640/mat1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRMDKtbYApT6vxaBsMZr1KoKOtbpPpcGcZTL4HqSPvnb9VEG4-IPM36EOgHOL_syjN5hduR3gt5hy1Yl5DGhnf6uJncTmIQnb5SkqhW9_gWXQZbhvQzN0bmvK9vnlNxYWlUhrwkI_qYvyqjqsExd8u8e1rRFDMh9kJSuOs7MvrCxJu0dpWc5YaBlc/w400-h400/mat1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0zv1-MnScqBnJyqdycMDs7BNws7X0VBK9RywlQMsJLzVEAdtm0zDcxeREB1oRYsiNCDYmJHa1E16lK_6YBp5exHh_s3Yog17ZuaHE6_73HJy3EKn80dcLB6Nrg05TSqoXLejzHJ3isZcXJA9YH4Uuz-HefpjBKfP9LGaMgnMtbr2K_LKKQhDWX2S/s2448/ra%CC%88kmacka.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0zv1-MnScqBnJyqdycMDs7BNws7X0VBK9RywlQMsJLzVEAdtm0zDcxeREB1oRYsiNCDYmJHa1E16lK_6YBp5exHh_s3Yog17ZuaHE6_73HJy3EKn80dcLB6Nrg05TSqoXLejzHJ3isZcXJA9YH4Uuz-HefpjBKfP9LGaMgnMtbr2K_LKKQhDWX2S/w400-h400/ra%CC%88kmacka.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I fallet Edrington har det också varit så himla roligt att under flera år få arbeta i montern med samma människor, lära känna dom och känna att man gör någonting riktigt kul tillsammans: jag pratar såklart om järngänget Stefan, Tessa, Timmy, Filip, och Dani. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLges_enPmC7cYX33BGr1cS1ZByxobRPrKbUYp5jBg5Szf-pFIJg8BQsB0p6ysQrRmNrVAUo5Apw-URjBg581uTq73eOiqxTe8OBy9eruwXMVcm1Scz-Buy0cYQ1JkMQP6KQGfXQu9hm8_ajyb7NQ05J5LMATrC6RKEne-oTtAv_PYg1uazp1n8PbE/s647/ja%CC%88rnga%CC%88nget.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="647" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLges_enPmC7cYX33BGr1cS1ZByxobRPrKbUYp5jBg5Szf-pFIJg8BQsB0p6ysQrRmNrVAUo5Apw-URjBg581uTq73eOiqxTe8OBy9eruwXMVcm1Scz-Buy0cYQ1JkMQP6KQGfXQu9hm8_ajyb7NQ05J5LMATrC6RKEne-oTtAv_PYg1uazp1n8PbE/w400-h400/ja%CC%88rnga%CC%88nget.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Järngänget på en av alla SBWF-mässor</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dessutom har jag också haft förmånen att då och då få arbeta med branschfolket. Jag tänker då särskilt på Brand Ambassador för Beam Suntory Malts, Joakim Liljekvist (och våran eviga diskussion om vilken Laphroaig som är rökigast, för att efter några år komma fram till att jag pratade om torvighet och han pratade om rökighet)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8Hm6sBNFCKeF0A2Bfavjj1Ao1QSWqJ6BQwKCCWL3MjK7-3Lc7uWgA0x5pwC_aQgS31BcAUFukkZ9L-aOLJOupq3H9Ap1VkmzwLoxhTFpF8poNDAxBTcp7dpw9D55L9BeTug3PDhsGOCeUM97OBshnq0euu9YDOcVJViMVQPJagxfP8_bmOmXR5_A/s960/joakim.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8Hm6sBNFCKeF0A2Bfavjj1Ao1QSWqJ6BQwKCCWL3MjK7-3Lc7uWgA0x5pwC_aQgS31BcAUFukkZ9L-aOLJOupq3H9Ap1VkmzwLoxhTFpF8poNDAxBTcp7dpw9D55L9BeTug3PDhsGOCeUM97OBshnq0euu9YDOcVJViMVQPJagxfP8_bmOmXR5_A/w400-h400/joakim.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">men också på Danielle Mckerrell (Laphroaig)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptuS3BrNJHa00Ibe2UfLxglyR73yOiPH6kKqXxM61yUZCPAfW5oF88ArPu4h_v5TkqDI-TbDmlk8xG-BY_UHDXCgQ4ZUeP95Hdk4LBpAJ2j5h96W-3iFHjsHO3KaW1bwdMPbE8esbqBRCVIguq_0BezdIsygO0NwYN-TPHjVPmcxte5KJ5BhsMU07/s570/danielle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="570" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptuS3BrNJHa00Ibe2UfLxglyR73yOiPH6kKqXxM61yUZCPAfW5oF88ArPu4h_v5TkqDI-TbDmlk8xG-BY_UHDXCgQ4ZUeP95Hdk4LBpAJ2j5h96W-3iFHjsHO3KaW1bwdMPbE8esbqBRCVIguq_0BezdIsygO0NwYN-TPHjVPmcxte5KJ5BhsMU07/w400-h400/danielle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vicky Stevens (Laphroaig)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoJzcRpo_yCe3L1hpDzjYMGy34qd5eOGqailXPK-s2rCxViCZT2fgMuKdpNCL1xvK3QbJCCh5AFcokpD0Kcl1CxBaOYZHwUNNCew2Sw2wBOs0h9OyCUG-CfDcOv02_Mq-MneQ088Kz7eNqq1XjB1VKQISRQUAMX1LKF8dSr2FJ2H84sFHtEOlsZ4n/s2048/vicky.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoJzcRpo_yCe3L1hpDzjYMGy34qd5eOGqailXPK-s2rCxViCZT2fgMuKdpNCL1xvK3QbJCCh5AFcokpD0Kcl1CxBaOYZHwUNNCew2Sw2wBOs0h9OyCUG-CfDcOv02_Mq-MneQ088Kz7eNqq1XjB1VKQISRQUAMX1LKF8dSr2FJ2H84sFHtEOlsZ4n/w400-h300/vicky.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sietse Offringa (The Macallan), Cat Gordon (Bowmore), och sist men inte minst Martin Markvardsen (Highland Park)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyJI8Q3KmBnW4easEy28iOLdV7ZSby11QOmkDawGAyFpbCCrCNrV9vly3v1Ei1mkT_wS4KtnJ-KHUvfC8dKnAI0ijzKvx70kW4L-eaNdCAfYofh9hFmMxIO1FneF-cPDLyneBkDSw_bcODeK8fWxz2z3QmrXA7GoatxutsONyRGawbzvUWRnZvxko/s2048/martin%20och%20jag.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyJI8Q3KmBnW4easEy28iOLdV7ZSby11QOmkDawGAyFpbCCrCNrV9vly3v1Ei1mkT_wS4KtnJ-KHUvfC8dKnAI0ijzKvx70kW4L-eaNdCAfYofh9hFmMxIO1FneF-cPDLyneBkDSw_bcODeK8fWxz2z3QmrXA7GoatxutsONyRGawbzvUWRnZvxko/w300-h400/martin%20och%20jag.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Så många fina och roliga minnen har jag</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90uiPshugJbKuwjSlqFRMiesduy88h493hnQAJCagE4o4LUllMhNJGyYzKlAZBAPisPJZtZqZQgl7jbwv6uG739Q8tCs-d7EuQti22-8iuSw-M5TTdtCuwGaqElSqTrF5qE5XB5ZYUahpli-THA6kA_svlspjOcHgsmP5nHNDjUtNzxwKgJhfimWn/s960/vicky%20martin%20och%20jag.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90uiPshugJbKuwjSlqFRMiesduy88h493hnQAJCagE4o4LUllMhNJGyYzKlAZBAPisPJZtZqZQgl7jbwv6uG739Q8tCs-d7EuQti22-8iuSw-M5TTdtCuwGaqElSqTrF5qE5XB5ZYUahpli-THA6kA_svlspjOcHgsmP5nHNDjUtNzxwKgJhfimWn/w400-h266/vicky%20martin%20och%20jag.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">och så många goda whisky har jag smakat, både från tiden på Berntson och tiden på Edrington</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5CXLwg70Um8NwVmfS3mOjczH3Bv4SGMIYUcXma_7WkNlDrmbCWD5rsZ8p3nvoPpyyHhwO6VfYfHu6o94H0iSv3d0eSbpHj77LycLAl970JQIoSd4ZwKVUMrMZ_ee71dAfQO1ZBRowwNiOFexcCTkGSsgCzM5EBqaipsjv3TRi1LQRjCfdxBkTdTt/s691/hp30%202012.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="691" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5CXLwg70Um8NwVmfS3mOjczH3Bv4SGMIYUcXma_7WkNlDrmbCWD5rsZ8p3nvoPpyyHhwO6VfYfHu6o94H0iSv3d0eSbpHj77LycLAl970JQIoSd4ZwKVUMrMZ_ee71dAfQO1ZBRowwNiOFexcCTkGSsgCzM5EBqaipsjv3TRi1LQRjCfdxBkTdTt/w400-h400/hp30%202012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">På SBWF 2012 smakade jag HP30 första gången, <br />då kostade den "bara" 3000kr :)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Och nu, eller rättare sagt sedan 2021, har jag den stora äran att få arbeta mässor för Agitator; Sveriges om inte världens mest spännande whisky och destilleri! Skål för det och skål såklart för <i>mässor i massor</i>!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbW8Hqx7mQz3yHhwTqH9bjnyIdwasM7MuCH2riQvEGDAHPrdxPhJAb-VI-jriBIHU2EfNsLZYZzQPBBAxKGao386ojfwwqUQ3wOmudqOJQHHmq58QA-QfdG38QMMFUzlmCCkMHT8m4O1ozWQsFzm99TRBa6weeKMW5EEtDpd26CpK3rOBhFTtwQK_/s1440/agitator%20ma%CC%88ssa.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbW8Hqx7mQz3yHhwTqH9bjnyIdwasM7MuCH2riQvEGDAHPrdxPhJAb-VI-jriBIHU2EfNsLZYZzQPBBAxKGao386ojfwwqUQ3wOmudqOJQHHmq58QA-QfdG38QMMFUzlmCCkMHT8m4O1ozWQsFzm99TRBa6weeKMW5EEtDpd26CpK3rOBhFTtwQK_/w640-h640/agitator%20ma%CC%88ssa.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tillsammans med Operatör Maria och Destillerichef Oskar på SBWF 2022</td></tr></tbody></table>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-64570154932611504272023-03-11T20:57:00.002+01:002023-03-11T20:57:28.978+01:00#samuelwhisky10år – Del 3: Omisskännliga Laphroaig i mitt hjärta<div style="text-align: left;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmW1xYgFHCpHXijdRbwvzUHb7x_fiQWFWcTYB06BUgsg3O6yViIKIfZMg0Kc8_vghY96Ff7Mzv_UYkwc1ljCnFkc0ewZ1AnYj5qluQdlkiDD2ypyYecYggu2MY3P_hTms9yCqmP3mc7RHu02mdOYadRkMTXDNzocCYvBhN228J0fUbwPuoVlqOyqN3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmW1xYgFHCpHXijdRbwvzUHb7x_fiQWFWcTYB06BUgsg3O6yViIKIfZMg0Kc8_vghY96Ff7Mzv_UYkwc1ljCnFkc0ewZ1AnYj5qluQdlkiDD2ypyYecYggu2MY3P_hTms9yCqmP3mc7RHu02mdOYadRkMTXDNzocCYvBhN228J0fUbwPuoVlqOyqN3=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Den 11:e oktober i år fyller SamuelWhisky 10år! Ett av sätten jag firar detta på är att den 11:e i varje månad fram till och med jubiléumsdagen posta retrospektiva nedslag i dom första 10 åren av SamuelWhisky. Totalt blir det alltså 10 specialinlägg för 10 år. Del 1 i artikelserien finner du <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2023/01/samuelwhisky10ar-del-1-vagen-fram-till.html" target="_blank">här</a>, och Del 2 <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2023/02/samuelwhisky10ar-del-2-hojdpunkter-i.html" target="_blank">här</a>. </i></div></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Det finns ingen whisky som varit en så stor del av mitt liv som Laphroaig. Och när jag skriver liv då menar jag naturligtvis både mitt whiskyliv och mitt liv-liv. I den mån dom nu är möjliga att separera, vilket dom svårligen är eftersom SamuelWhisky är en så stor del av mitt liv. Jag vill till och med gå så långt som att säga att min kärlek till och mitt intresse för Laphroaig är en stor anledning, om inte den största, till att jag startade och har hållit igång SamuelWhisky; som jag berättade om i Del 1 i den här artikelserien var Laphroaig Cask Strength min väg in i den förlovade värld vi kallar whisky, med startpunkt 2002 och med nystart 2007 hade jag den ena Laphroaigianska upplevelsen efter den andra och till slut var jag, fast. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw5CcOT2eCoXULWYMVGeOoXBaknkmw2UtECWzTINq2PQHYQxIOoGW8LT4EyPhHtyt_sPyJq_h2qP5eFK20TWFwTPYiJowp9b6orsfFavOHO_90zyou5QddQPDd0NPuvSl3WKrKH1WvGcz6ide76gyvfBjAdgyJj2jsrxe62b3SZUv6HOZ_iYKajrAU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="278" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw5CcOT2eCoXULWYMVGeOoXBaknkmw2UtECWzTINq2PQHYQxIOoGW8LT4EyPhHtyt_sPyJq_h2qP5eFK20TWFwTPYiJowp9b6orsfFavOHO_90zyou5QddQPDd0NPuvSl3WKrKH1WvGcz6ide76gyvfBjAdgyJj2jsrxe62b3SZUv6HOZ_iYKajrAU=w278-h400" width="278" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Det slog som sagt fullständigt slint i mig och jag snöade totalt in mig på Laphroaig. Jag köpte, provade, samlade och läste på om Laphroaig. En rad Laphroaigprovningar (och andra provningar) i egen regi ledde mig fram till att med start 2011 börja arbeta professionellt som <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/p/provningar.html" target="_blank">provningsledare</a> och mitt intresse för och kunskap om whiskyn och destilleriet Laphroaig ledde mig i sin tur till den fina möjligheten att på whiskymässor ta hand om just Laphroaig för Edringtons räkning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL_VkhYlptRZ_XUdYh8MlesHKw4DRR0V5F65uN_MU-9uj5gY5XuWL3wRToAdIjHQuLHILS2IRb8EKQXavkhoRPyzSMKyA9jW1tEUE5W_mpXs5o9zMPser-dAVwxDFOSCeLkZJRVrpAmr-A3lLB3gt6EotIK7_UrtYKZ7hHU-SKsQ1r3e5p_mq-eBUF" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="1000" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL_VkhYlptRZ_XUdYh8MlesHKw4DRR0V5F65uN_MU-9uj5gY5XuWL3wRToAdIjHQuLHILS2IRb8EKQXavkhoRPyzSMKyA9jW1tEUE5W_mpXs5o9zMPser-dAVwxDFOSCeLkZJRVrpAmr-A3lLB3gt6EotIK7_UrtYKZ7hHU-SKsQ1r3e5p_mq-eBUF=w640-h350" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Det här kanske låter lite konstigt men om sanningen ska fram har jag faktiskt svårt att sätta fingret på exakt vad det är med Laphroaig som jag gillar så himla mycket, både i sig själv och i förhållande till andra torvrökta whiskys, i världen i allmänhet och i Skottland i synnerhet. Och det är väl så det är med kärlek överhuvudtaget, man vet att man älskar någon eller något och det är inte så lätt att säga varför, man bara vet. Och på ett sätt är det flera saker som man kan försöka och ibland lyckas med att beskriva och på ett annat sätt är det bara… allt. Dofterna, smakerna, namnet, typsnittet, flaskorna, buteljeringarna, etiketterna, designen, destilleriet, platsen, människorna, historien, storyn, framtiden. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie7hAI-bG9PCJLu5TZpxPB4si4ltSAK6XJOHGZc-WDzjyaFSEFaXzAyRGVC4_qHUngdKQ9BzYzfVSk4GrUIvMUqaS5_b-qNOvKrGQm9xTqyP13RwzwmzfYA5ovF_UP-bXZ9YiLTxJozO4t-X7PRV8mOyh3nQzsVJcgcX5SRveHo667stWahZDDADuT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie7hAI-bG9PCJLu5TZpxPB4si4ltSAK6XJOHGZc-WDzjyaFSEFaXzAyRGVC4_qHUngdKQ9BzYzfVSk4GrUIvMUqaS5_b-qNOvKrGQm9xTqyP13RwzwmzfYA5ovF_UP-bXZ9YiLTxJozO4t-X7PRV8mOyh3nQzsVJcgcX5SRveHo667stWahZDDADuT=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Och trots att jag rabblat alla dessa saker jag gillar så himla mycket med Laphroaig så känns det ändå som att det är något jag inte kan sätta ord på… ni förstår. Om jag ändå ska försöka sätt ord på min upplevelse av själva drycken Laphroaig skulle jag säga att det är någonting med den där kompromisslösa och ömsom feta ömsom mjuka torvröken i både doft och smak som bara klaffar med mina sinnen på nåt sätt, och som jag bara hittar i just Laphroaig. Sammantaget tycker jag verkligen att det ligger mycket i (marknadsavdelningens) tidigare slogans: <i>Love it, hate it, there is no in between.</i> <i>No half measures</i>. Men den bästa är ändå: <i>Unmistakably Laphroaig</i>.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Allt det här är anledningen till att jag köpt, provat, recenserat, samlat/samlar, läst på, och älskat så mycket att presentera och prata om Laphroaig på mässor. Med Laphroaig som huvudfokus har jag arbetat hela 33 mässor/mässhelger.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj90jHdNoLtviTo4Slp8HpIfKTUvfr5g82hnZjMtWSLxfFmHfrbO0_9PbSjabX6k9GjITYUCu3dVZSUptPK8f8ElvHD29PfXiiIjdcc_5v8VjoUnTxK9LD9jL8jEeQUQehSWfOho2AyNQJy5bNJNDEq7ffV56cVlwWDo4qsqDfwVP9-78etB4uLh63s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj90jHdNoLtviTo4Slp8HpIfKTUvfr5g82hnZjMtWSLxfFmHfrbO0_9PbSjabX6k9GjITYUCu3dVZSUptPK8f8ElvHD29PfXiiIjdcc_5v8VjoUnTxK9LD9jL8jEeQUQehSWfOho2AyNQJy5bNJNDEq7ffV56cVlwWDo4qsqDfwVP9-78etB4uLh63s=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jag älskar till och med Laphroaig så mycket att <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2017/08/whisky-honeymoon-part-1-visiting.html" target="_blank">min och frugans smekmånad</a> gick till (bland annat) Laphroaig, och vilket fantastiskt fint besök det var och vad underbart det var att äntligen vara på plats!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAxx2IRxUjiuCQJu9u3J3PnMzPJ8f9gExifsmdZCO8MHlmiwR4ifUo_4HBGng8O3QRlakziOMDcl4uWcwUb2ZxhmIQ57j3W4rCFa6CwKFzeuFxma9eqLVzYtRM52Jf6JQGccRgDvynwi3VImyxmtEvLVD6TbRFtDuObTtIMYFA0tjg1JA9N7gnzAjZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAxx2IRxUjiuCQJu9u3J3PnMzPJ8f9gExifsmdZCO8MHlmiwR4ifUo_4HBGng8O3QRlakziOMDcl4uWcwUb2ZxhmIQ57j3W4rCFa6CwKFzeuFxma9eqLVzYtRM52Jf6JQGccRgDvynwi3VImyxmtEvLVD6TbRFtDuObTtIMYFA0tjg1JA9N7gnzAjZ=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Som provningsledare har jag gjort mer än en handfull Laphroaigprovningar och självklart smugit in Laphroaig i en mängd provningar på andra teman. Av dom Laphroaigprovningar jag gjort är det den jag höll i den 18:e december 2013 på Red Brick i Karlskoga (där jag arbetade som provningsledare under fem år) som ligger mig närmast om hjärtat. Varför? Jo när jag jobbade örebromässan det året fick jag av Vicky med mig en present: ett fatprov av nioårig Laffe dragen direkt ifrån ett 1st-fill bourbonfat med den härliga fatstyrkan 58%.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUjf86BkwLKHXNNsP_3AAsDDdyafHCzyACfxoTx3i6bSB-BiY-QL1NrIUxfcmWqSwttSvB5zFZu5aSNTQttIbeBGHns_AjzMvU4Oky78D3zeJ97zcGViz-Hsm0qp_qZURmCaACrMrDQgPQT58qJS1eZhMVEexDIRxIzay--4F6AqH86mi9JR9K9Zq6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUjf86BkwLKHXNNsP_3AAsDDdyafHCzyACfxoTx3i6bSB-BiY-QL1NrIUxfcmWqSwttSvB5zFZu5aSNTQttIbeBGHns_AjzMvU4Oky78D3zeJ97zcGViz-Hsm0qp_qZURmCaACrMrDQgPQT58qJS1eZhMVEexDIRxIzay--4F6AqH86mi9JR9K9Zq6=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Som ni säkert kan tänka er satt den riktigt fint som avslutning på den i övrigt mycket trevliga linan!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEhsqZ9h0rr45-2MFLoz0xpXq9GYa_9YtZ0YyMzDeZxOJHdkHcB4hSsh1GUeLHRlGiXgApZhWYBXb0lTUlnTsni1qteQn-q7ne9jRhOrCCOF1ZP_X1sk7F0HFiiILBv0-JPGmprR0Fa1MctJ5jkkxLIgkL49gLLFYmdTf0JNOqbZB5cmNkO4cNKFee" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEhsqZ9h0rr45-2MFLoz0xpXq9GYa_9YtZ0YyMzDeZxOJHdkHcB4hSsh1GUeLHRlGiXgApZhWYBXb0lTUlnTsni1qteQn-q7ne9jRhOrCCOF1ZP_X1sk7F0HFiiILBv0-JPGmprR0Fa1MctJ5jkkxLIgkL49gLLFYmdTf0JNOqbZB5cmNkO4cNKFee=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Om du nu tagit dig ända hit kära läsare vill jag ge dig chansen att få ett litet trevligt och gott Laphroaig-kit i brevlådan. Berätta för mig i kommentarsfältet till det här inlägget på facebook vilken Laphroaig som är din favorit bland dom officiella buteljeringarna. Bland de läsare som kommenterar slumpar jag ut ett kit som jag skickar till en lycklig person. Skål!!</div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-33707234643793754222023-02-11T19:41:00.003+01:002023-04-10T17:07:24.562+02:00#samuelwhisky10år – Del 2: höjdpunkter i bloggandet och mina mest lästa tasting notes<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Den 11:e oktober i år fyller SamuelWhisky 10år! Ett av sätten jag firar detta på är att den 11:e i varje månad fram till och med jubiléumsdagen posta retrospektiva nedslag i dom första 10 åren av SamuelWhisky. Totalt blir det alltså 10 specialinlägg för 10 år. I Del 1 i artikelserien skrev jag om vägen fram till SamuelWhisky, en bakgrundshistoria kring hur det kom sig att jag började blogga. I denna andra del gör jag en kvantitativ tillbakablick på mitt bloggande och mina tasting notes</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Det var alltså den 11:e oktober 2013 som jag på FB startade bloggen SamuelWhisky. FB-sidan har tre huvudspår som tillsammans utgör allt det som har med Samuel och Whisky att göra; mina tasting notes, mässorna jag arbetar på, och provningarna jag genomför. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">På bloggens startflik, som du nu läser ifrån, är huvudspåret mina tasting notes och den 6:e-11:e oktober 2013 la jag först upp några äldre recensioner av whisky som jag tidigare postat i andra kanaler på FB. Mitt första originalinnehåll var den 12:e oktober, en tasting note av anCnoc 35yo som jag provade jag under Stockholm Beer & Whisky festival.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfktyfyZql4ZK3BvwXgdy9mRBUBZP9Tr0WTt0SozR-238o-BSBhU8ZiY-EOGqJv034iEXUXn-iAVyaQcMqOV1g-LChkenhEvxBMeGyfzysk0OqtoiZiZd-Y6hO_lIdAbduS_tkVdxzhjzzCscIQHLec-iRoAKV-8DN9mDyOugOCA8iH8W8C5gbZSR/s855/anCnoc%2035yo%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="635" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfktyfyZql4ZK3BvwXgdy9mRBUBZP9Tr0WTt0SozR-238o-BSBhU8ZiY-EOGqJv034iEXUXn-iAVyaQcMqOV1g-LChkenhEvxBMeGyfzysk0OqtoiZiZd-Y6hO_lIdAbduS_tkVdxzhjzzCscIQHLec-iRoAKV-8DN9mDyOugOCA8iH8W8C5gbZSR/w298-h400/anCnoc%2035yo%20(1).jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">FB-sidan har i skrivande stund mer än 1500 följare och bloggen har hittills haft över 221k besök. Under 9 år har jag recenserat i runda slängar 150 whisky (vilket alldeles säkert är i lä i förhållande till mina bloggarkollegor). Mina tio mest lästa recensioner är:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. Smögen – Single Sauternes Cask 57,3% (augusti 2015), 2080 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Smögen – Single Bordeaux Barrique 61,3% (mars 206), 2240 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Svenska Eldvatten – Bruichladdich 2006 9yo single fresh ex-oloroso sherry hogshead no. 1339 (maj, 2016), 2600 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Smögen – Single Cask 51/2011 6yo 64% (maj, 2018), 2690 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Laphroaig – Lore (september, 2016), 2990 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Smögen – Triple 5 yo 54% (februari 2017), 3280 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Springbank – 14yo Borbon Wood 55,8% (november 2017), 3390 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Box/High Coast – 2nd Step Collection 03 51,3% (april, 2017), 3420 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Box/High Coast – Dálvve 46% (november, 2016), 4170 läsare</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2016/10/highland-park-single-cask-6403-and-2121.html" target="_blank">Highland Park – Single Cask 6403 & 2121 för Sverige</a> (oktober, 2016), 6170 (!) läsare.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Extra roligt med förstaplats-recensionen är dels att den är publicerad just den 11:e oktober, dels att den lästes hela 3163 gånger under dess första månad, wow!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaS1lUDFZ0133S1jz7yKKclEhYJeKenmVdo2kYHEQSvhTPhxQvDnTOTEGBXVMCssjUBrUlcUzHv_zoXfOcC_9Dbafv3uwRPMdx7OXPXO4cqlHWH0Vx1S8ysbN8pgkLlx2bMjb9FD-DjOIqzzG-NThtSjROqwQtAssiNyjpjbb07N6IWV7EFTA_HYV/s320/hpSC1-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaS1lUDFZ0133S1jz7yKKclEhYJeKenmVdo2kYHEQSvhTPhxQvDnTOTEGBXVMCssjUBrUlcUzHv_zoXfOcC_9Dbafv3uwRPMdx7OXPXO4cqlHWH0Vx1S8ysbN8pgkLlx2bMjb9FD-DjOIqzzG-NThtSjROqwQtAssiNyjpjbb07N6IWV7EFTA_HYV/w400-h400/hpSC1-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mitt mest gillade inlägg på FB, med 225 gilla-markeringar och över 6100 personer nådda, är ifrån när jag i september 2022 arbetade för Agitator under SBWF:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteVYS5Zz59-u9bCtCpKEgj24j2mexG8YLZAJkeNS9E_NM7v0FajRtcNl5D3wyqSHJ1ss7E2GIc4XYOBuT-BVvByE4rZ__4hrpZAPF5Ni1QNTF3o1NSBgfM_Myjtv6ibOJ5WX867AQazkY7fBRqHz8n4QzoI0oyL0vIdr2uwbs1k87J6E1W1e40TJy/s1293/sw2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteVYS5Zz59-u9bCtCpKEgj24j2mexG8YLZAJkeNS9E_NM7v0FajRtcNl5D3wyqSHJ1ss7E2GIc4XYOBuT-BVvByE4rZ__4hrpZAPF5Ni1QNTF3o1NSBgfM_Myjtv6ibOJ5WX867AQazkY7fBRqHz8n4QzoI0oyL0vIdr2uwbs1k87J6E1W1e40TJy/w410-h640/sw2.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">På insta är det här, med 100 gilla-markeringar, mitt mest gillade inlägg när jag i september 2018 arbetade med Laphroaig (åt Edrington) under SBWF: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aUzbTNLNxAwogBBJ9ZTcbAOpHEPVPcmiLC1OoUxjd1oram2Iv3OPUhnz1q6qzgnvOjgDOWZFiK81wvKQ_F26FKAaZYISDZa2aPvnTdXJqkzn4IXjsp3zCpijN58XMG3HuVvVG5Yd1f1nnn4GCtaSuNvMXztBMfMD6-2rd6bdmD2sagL5Nr0Kh_Z0/s1234/sw2b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aUzbTNLNxAwogBBJ9ZTcbAOpHEPVPcmiLC1OoUxjd1oram2Iv3OPUhnz1q6qzgnvOjgDOWZFiK81wvKQ_F26FKAaZYISDZa2aPvnTdXJqkzn4IXjsp3zCpijN58XMG3HuVvVG5Yd1f1nnn4GCtaSuNvMXztBMfMD6-2rd6bdmD2sagL5Nr0Kh_Z0/w430-h640/sw2b.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">För att ta del av den mer kvalitativa sidan av mitt whiskybloggande, bland annat hur jag brukar gå tillväga när jag recenserar whisky, får ni gärna läsa <a href="http://www.whiskytower.se/samuel-karlsson-samuelwhisky" target="_blank">den här intervjun</a> med mig som gjordes av kollegorna på Whiskytower. Skål!! </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghW5mbkbpF_leh0MBGY7ahb9XJAM6E0NErnEzMC9znvcyaHIxaOVQ62mlAvOSRvtNQlGabD7wb9N9wso72S5CDcYdbNDJCWzdIe09jzAxl8TQ6Cp6nhifqw64uSu9Hcjvar3MP5guWule9jCpzXs84_DQell1oMTgBD2XqpZPpAakKUcXE21CFxTS/s1024/2-1024x681.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghW5mbkbpF_leh0MBGY7ahb9XJAM6E0NErnEzMC9znvcyaHIxaOVQ62mlAvOSRvtNQlGabD7wb9N9wso72S5CDcYdbNDJCWzdIe09jzAxl8TQ6Cp6nhifqw64uSu9Hcjvar3MP5guWule9jCpzXs84_DQell1oMTgBD2XqpZPpAakKUcXE21CFxTS/w400-h266/2-1024x681.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Besök på Box/High Coast juli 2014. <br />I glaset 2yo "Försmak – sherryfat" på 54,1% </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-91499705294165131352023-01-11T18:11:00.008+01:002023-04-10T17:06:16.616+02:00#samuelwhisky10år – Del 1: vägen fram till SamuelWhisky<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7hw-enXfTXvVMk8Ksom-SVjAENXAVnbIERpqj6kiEC0D8yunjeHvnDHin5ApJV0YgeiAFV9YkXjjXqgsHJiiqAaQR0FlNyuo7XeMv25JbimiRCtYFTVowBJmMy1SI90lQUzTFBwE-NbDBHNADqnKhB0Ov6ABHjFeC2WhH2p6mJWtu-fCwr99UfqjH" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="414" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7hw-enXfTXvVMk8Ksom-SVjAENXAVnbIERpqj6kiEC0D8yunjeHvnDHin5ApJV0YgeiAFV9YkXjjXqgsHJiiqAaQR0FlNyuo7XeMv25JbimiRCtYFTVowBJmMy1SI90lQUzTFBwE-NbDBHNADqnKhB0Ov6ABHjFeC2WhH2p6mJWtu-fCwr99UfqjH=w278-h400" width="278" /></a></div><i>Mitt whiskyintresse startade hösten 2002, när jag pluggade mitt andra år på en folkhögskola. En kväll skickade en folkisvän ett kryptiskt SMS där det stod att jag skulle infinna mig i skolans bibliotek på tisdag kl.19 iklädd kostym. Det visade sig att jag blivit inbjuden till ”Tisdagsklubben”, en klubb som sammanträdde på just tisdagar och provade whisky tillsammans under enkla, trevliga, och glada former.</i> Tisdagsklubben hade funnits i många år på folkisen, nya medlemmar bjöds kontinuerligt in i klubben i takt med att dom medlemmar som pluggat på skolan under längst tid avslutade sin utbildning, och på så sätt säkerställdes klubbens fortlevnad. Whiskyprovandet var upplagt i ordinarie träffar då en medlem ansvarade för inköp, presentation, och att leda provsmakningen av en whisky. När några möten passerat och vi gått laget runt med varsin whisky var nästkommande möte en så kallad ”uppslutning” där vi provade den periodens whisky i en lina. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jag minns tydligt den träff då whisky som dryck verkligen gjorde ett starkt intryck på mig; en av medlemmarna hade inhandlat Laphroaig Cask Strength, jag tror det var den gamla ”Green Stripe”-utgåvan. Ojojoj, vilken känsla, smak och upplevelse det var med den där feta torvröken. Laphroaig tog mig med storm!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">När tiden på folkhögskolan kom till sitt slut förlorade jag det sociala sammanhanget kring whisky under några år. Jag pluggade på en annan folkhögskola, och började sen studera till musiklärare på musikhögskolan vid Örebro universitet. 2007 hände det, jag minns att jag stod vid tavlan i studentpentryt, tillsammans med en viss Lars Karlsson (sedermera Quality manager & Asia sales manager på High Coast), och skummade igenom en lista över vilka som blivit antagna till de olika musikutbildningarna. Mina ögon fastande vid ett namn jag kände igen: Fredrik N. Min gamla vän från Tisdagsklubben skulle börja studera på musikhögskolan!! I denna stund visade det sig dels att Fredrik och Lars kände varann, dels att även Lars varit medlem i en whiskyklubb på den folkis han hade pluggat på. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_vugIWzKySL0MikHU-MnbW8HOzEs4N1pEMEf51wQ6FHMrAk0XL407-0JBoakqJmBxkVsowTdibLHdbLBBpm2Gcuwd_uIZO3zSJTfWiBEb0F2Y93pcRXRzXxeZGBiCjx-fi-Aq9hkKH1Qp0PvEQZHHxhGE-E3dAZVt77tOyapaX91k5qtIqgcqycQE" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_vugIWzKySL0MikHU-MnbW8HOzEs4N1pEMEf51wQ6FHMrAk0XL407-0JBoakqJmBxkVsowTdibLHdbLBBpm2Gcuwd_uIZO3zSJTfWiBEb0F2Y93pcRXRzXxeZGBiCjx-fi-Aq9hkKH1Qp0PvEQZHHxhGE-E3dAZVt77tOyapaX91k5qtIqgcqycQE=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fredrik och Lars</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Med detta konstaterat startade vi 2007, tillsammans med dom två andra goda vännerna och musikhögskolestudenterna Carl och Emil, en whiskyklubb med det ödmjuka och på inget sätt högtravande namnet Örebro Akademiska Whiskysällskap (ÖAW). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm4CisAGoqHJ0bW482M43P-UuPZyDHpuEJuGPATzydeO_VLgMwkpk_xmEPngV-h3ijQVD4EXkarIXPfKaPfh_HVT3kwK94VJFohJU8B4A1w9pbxif2kPww-G6g77wtcq-GXs2MZ3fj0sk_vAmKpN1v-l8tHWyliEyaQN0MMThteMygAxTDRxXFnYr-" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm4CisAGoqHJ0bW482M43P-UuPZyDHpuEJuGPATzydeO_VLgMwkpk_xmEPngV-h3ijQVD4EXkarIXPfKaPfh_HVT3kwK94VJFohJU8B4A1w9pbxif2kPww-G6g77wtcq-GXs2MZ3fj0sk_vAmKpN1v-l8tHWyliEyaQN0MMThteMygAxTDRxXFnYr-=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emil under en kväll med amerikanskt</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Upplägget på vårt whiskyprovande kopierade vi rakt av från Tisdagsklubben. Under ett par år av träffar provade vi oss igenom en stor mängd whisky, till en början främst standardutgåvor, men i takt med att vårt whiskyintresse utvecklades och personliga preferenser utkristalliserades ökade nörderiet och så småningom började vi prova mer spännande whisky. Vi skrev ner våra tasting notes på post it-lappar och jag minns att jag för varje provad whisky satte in mina lappar vid respektive destilleri i boken ”Bonniers stora bok om Whisky” (Michael Jackson). Mina tasting notes blev mer och mer detaljerade och väldigt fokuserade på just doft och smak och inte så mycket på bedömning i bemärkelsen att sätta betyg eller poäng.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnyzpMBJv4aXZ81sOuz7wWEcAFPUOAose72MrjXGOzAs-z1v1OCHIODceKALfreiy4p4yWCFeB4jPPIKh8MzN-qd9dzZTWpz5Q5JsI_JnwbnovlxwtnsI87wm_knpmTp8E4lTTZ-Fye2EkC-ElJ2uVD2R_2ZcpBL_kKBSK-58MxGccslNpC4cFjmdh" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2935" data-original-width="2935" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnyzpMBJv4aXZ81sOuz7wWEcAFPUOAose72MrjXGOzAs-z1v1OCHIODceKALfreiy4p4yWCFeB4jPPIKh8MzN-qd9dzZTWpz5Q5JsI_JnwbnovlxwtnsI87wm_knpmTp8E4lTTZ-Fye2EkC-ElJ2uVD2R_2ZcpBL_kKBSK-58MxGccslNpC4cFjmdh=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boken har jag fortfarande kvar, här uppslagen på Laphroaig :)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I bakhuvudet kom jag ihåg det starka intryck som Laphroaig CS hade gjort på mig, och på jakt efter samma upplevelse betade jag av dom Laphroaig som fanns på bolaget; 10:an, Quarter Cask och 15-åringen. Alla var såklart goda och jag blev mer och mer intresserad av Laphroaig, men jag fick inte riktigt samma känsla som jag fick den där gången i Tisdagsklubben. Då fick jag nys om Vintage 1989 17yo på 50,3% som skulle släppas för Feis Ile. 750kr kostade den vilket var den ditintill dyraste whisky jag köpt. Under en av våra träffar i ÖAW hade jag med mig 15-åringen och som en bonus och överraskning plockade jag fram och öppnade 1989:an. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsm0d1oRKAR32FAzvtAeWK28ut5JhJo0xvMdzWqRILsSWW3KsyezSxX_k6cq3fDXiU7jg0mybyl_xxv-GkixBDUgZZaL2OJkzHKqI-HE-OG6b7NElH9zLRUn8SJ59QPNkrazwKLWMH2Lk5FPiYsQtYaZmuLnayDC5DJ7r_R4ezIQdOVe_b55BtMEmz" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="368" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsm0d1oRKAR32FAzvtAeWK28ut5JhJo0xvMdzWqRILsSWW3KsyezSxX_k6cq3fDXiU7jg0mybyl_xxv-GkixBDUgZZaL2OJkzHKqI-HE-OG6b7NElH9zLRUn8SJ59QPNkrazwKLWMH2Lk5FPiYsQtYaZmuLnayDC5DJ7r_R4ezIQdOVe_b55BtMEmz=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calle och Samuel</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Vilken känsla vi fick, vilken smak, och vilken otroligt fin stund det var! Efter ännu en Laphroaigiansk upplevelse av rang slog det fullständigt slint i mig och jag snöade totalt in på Laphroaig. Därefter köpte jag alla officiella standard och specialbuteljeringar jag hade råd med (bland annat Laphroaig 30yo som på den tiden fortfarande gick att inhandla på flygplats för ”bara” 2000kr!). Parallellt blev jag sugen på fler stilar av torvrökt whisky och i Michael Jacksons bok snubblade jag över den irländska whiskeyn Connemara. Även här blev det all in och 2009 startade jag FB-gruppen Connemara Clan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixAf-4OKU0qtGG4Y2VS8llR0a0ZVSoX4QzvpaQFM40Xxei7JPXFf0OWvDWXc0KrvKW3C2k8pGap0xH1eDpO7rZIf4vl3Ez52HJHOQM63JDUakBqOZUuBU6KCko5LHp7Q_N5Qt5ncTvBn_aNFLZHT8hSIXMVJ5U4m6_8bGOrluSpfNv1x_gM-u_qw2j" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixAf-4OKU0qtGG4Y2VS8llR0a0ZVSoX4QzvpaQFM40Xxei7JPXFf0OWvDWXc0KrvKW3C2k8pGap0xH1eDpO7rZIf4vl3Ez52HJHOQM63JDUakBqOZUuBU6KCko5LHp7Q_N5Qt5ncTvBn_aNFLZHT8hSIXMVJ5U4m6_8bGOrluSpfNv1x_gM-u_qw2j=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ett inköp som gav oss en extra trevlig träff!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Med start 2008 gjorde jag en handfull whiskyprovningar i egen regi (”privatprovningar”) för whiskyvänner och -nördar i min närhet, och 2011 kom jag in i whiskyns förlovade värld på allvar; jag blev tillfrågad om jag ville vara provningsledare och hålla i whiskyprovningar på The Bishop Arms i Örebro. Samma år arbetade jag min första whiskymässa i Örebro där jag tog hand om Connemara och resterande whiskey ur Cooleys portfölj åt Berntson Brands. Våren 2012 började jag arbeta som provningsledare på puben Red Brick i Karlskoga. När Connemara flyttades över till Edrington 2012 kontaktade jag dom med frågan om jag kunde få ta hand om Connemara och Laphroaig åt dom på mässor, och just så blev det. I den här vevan hade jag så smått börjat recensera whisky och postade några tasting notes på destilleriers FB-sidor. Jag började också dokumentera mina provningar, och dom mässor jag arbetade under, på min egen FB-sida. Till slut hade jag ganska många bollar i luften och jag kände att jag behövde någon sorts plattform för allt som hade med Samuel och Whisky att göra. Sagt och gjort, den 11:e oktober 2013 startade jag, på FB, min blogg SamuelWhisky, och dagen därpå postade jag det första originalinnehållet, en recension av anCnoc 35 yo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVXRkoxzRF6j0-bFCdyD1atV49VsMjoM1e-DLizUkrYJ3V9mL9WUxgsS1MCJiK4SRv8VRIFWiyh_ko-I2V7G2pr-0rqkAtOLGpUPtaiVjERyTx6PiQZxJ4lX7FIVXaOV2Jt0Bl9IT3Qj9haIv8y37yscJRWYAviv3hNY8yQ37CtIi84hcZtzkabKXK" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="453" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVXRkoxzRF6j0-bFCdyD1atV49VsMjoM1e-DLizUkrYJ3V9mL9WUxgsS1MCJiK4SRv8VRIFWiyh_ko-I2V7G2pr-0rqkAtOLGpUPtaiVjERyTx6PiQZxJ4lX7FIVXaOV2Jt0Bl9IT3Qj9haIv8y37yscJRWYAviv3hNY8yQ37CtIi84hcZtzkabKXK=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tobermory med sin härliga ton av mandelmassa</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-64282657183046987372022-03-21T18:11:00.004+01:002022-03-21T18:15:06.819+01:00The 3rd release of Whisky from Swedish Distillery Agitator – Argument: Småfat 46% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5IlBsnsQD2chZmcruC3WvdJ2M_I0USZFt5J0qIaqy_7Ky3pi5ihz6VeEukOTDGVqgXvX3jF67pLSJrd5q3fxHGvgPRc5-U9dLof5MtJyEYg6nY_C91NhtOlj4qOwWzpXVSowP0y9KYfuEfh98NiPcJXOzeAFQob1PaOCTyAbR81CFQrG0ZZGZ5KsW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5IlBsnsQD2chZmcruC3WvdJ2M_I0USZFt5J0qIaqy_7Ky3pi5ihz6VeEukOTDGVqgXvX3jF67pLSJrd5q3fxHGvgPRc5-U9dLof5MtJyEYg6nY_C91NhtOlj4qOwWzpXVSowP0y9KYfuEfh98NiPcJXOzeAFQob1PaOCTyAbR81CFQrG0ZZGZ5KsW=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div>Friends! Friday last week I once again received a package from the people at Swedish distillery <a href="https://agitatorwhisky.se/" target="_blank">Agitator</a>. It contained their two upcoming releases, Argument: Småfat (”Small casks”) and Rök (”Smoke”), and today I'm bringing you my review of Argument: Småfat.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recipe for Småfat goes like this: only peated newmake this time, 70% of the barley used held a peating level of 30ppm, and the remaining 30% was peated to 40ppm. Nine parts of new make were taken from the Low Reflux Stills and one part was taken from the High Reflux Stills. The newmake has been matured in three kinds of Småfat all being 130 litres in size, widely known as <i>quarter casks</i>. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oskar Bruno (Distillery Manager) was kind enough to share with me the detail that the new make was divided between the three types of casks in the following way: 50% was filled into bourbon casks that previously matured whisky from Islay, 20% was filled into american oak sherry casks, and 30% into virgin chestnut casks. Oskar also shared with me that the age of the whisky is slightly above 3 years and 2 months. 6000 70cl bottles at an ABV of 46% were produced. Here in Sweden this whisky will be released at the state monopoly this Friday and you can view the product by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/agitator-4041501/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok, time to analyze!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>Nose</b>:<br />My nose is met by a calm and beautifully soft and rounded peatyness. Incredibly soft in fact, and there are elements of both sea/minerals and moist leather. I also detect a tad of smoke (firewood) and very light traces of popcorn butter, but most of all soft tar with light traces of asphalt (think Terva Leijona). While the base consists of the hitherto mentioned the following delicate top notes are also present; warm vanilla with a slight citrus fruit acidity to it (leaning towards orange more than towards lemon), flambéed pineapple, a whiff of raisins, and peated cucumber water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqtsLsnPg9qHMM9elA6p6_xzGrQrenmCEFX38kywuik5I35lOApTDdQ4g6i0kr71eM5kTZMP8bNxie1Q5O9Itr87hI_BptHMhcxv1FJb4ctHGnGgyitIyrqlUUWHdh3X2oy1_yX1QVRoQ79GEUpt2L6aQGqKHm7iEsPwH5sycgj-hxO-c42R0zx8Ge" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqtsLsnPg9qHMM9elA6p6_xzGrQrenmCEFX38kywuik5I35lOApTDdQ4g6i0kr71eM5kTZMP8bNxie1Q5O9Itr87hI_BptHMhcxv1FJb4ctHGnGgyitIyrqlUUWHdh3X2oy1_yX1QVRoQ79GEUpt2L6aQGqKHm7iEsPwH5sycgj-hxO-c42R0zx8Ge=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:<br />Starts off on saltyness and a peat that bursts into an instantly dry/tanninic feel. My tounge is touched by an archipelago rope and I’m eating a spoon full of peated barley porridge. Some smoke rises to the roof of my mouth. The peatyness calms down and the dram shifts quite fast into the aftertaste; almonds and pistachios lightly touched by flames on a grill (”barbecue”), slightly salty vanilla, a barley-esque vanilla with light traces of lemon peel and sweet liqorice (hints of sackcloth) that lingers on for around twenty seconds or so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiowYeKN-oWfUdtfoWoeD2qdyhxmYmH1IWT-nN6v8ARFBeqDiuTpzrZPyqD-H6GlOrAwFrh93vU6o6RZTdh7RfDAF_qDUDWz3r9edIbZJ_RJmcmUjPp93knjb18JWVuM4ImqZ9yReIjLEm0VlJKOS8saE9kaBtIuE6HWH5x0AqJ4l5xuK38ze2o1Ckp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiowYeKN-oWfUdtfoWoeD2qdyhxmYmH1IWT-nN6v8ARFBeqDiuTpzrZPyqD-H6GlOrAwFrh93vU6o6RZTdh7RfDAF_qDUDWz3r9edIbZJ_RJmcmUjPp93knjb18JWVuM4ImqZ9yReIjLEm0VlJKOS8saE9kaBtIuE6HWH5x0AqJ4l5xuK38ze2o1Ckp=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:<br />The nose is indeed very complex, lots of interesting scents to find and ponder upon. The 46% ABV is perfect for nosing and there is an extraordinary balance between the strength and the scents. The taste is in contrast very straightforward peaty with basic and robust elements and a short to medium long aftertaste. The 46% manages to give the initial flavors something of a cannonball start that is a feast to the sensory buds. To echo my two previous reviews of whisky from Agitator, I must once again say that it is simply remarkable to be able to craft such a mature and tasty whisky with such a young stock that this in fact is. Simply flying colors and in my book their best release so far! Finally, it is my belief that the taste profile of this whisky will appeal to ”the great” whisky drinking ”masses” more than the taste profile of Argument: Chestnut perhaps did. Those of you out there who like an explosion of flavors will probably like Argument: Chestnut more, but those who prefer balance, but with an oumph, will like Argument: Småfat more. From this perspective then it’s truly the perfect allrounder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Agitator for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For further and future updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted b<i>y stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDFoLWu7VVK2C_Gu7pq8-bYC8UhPT5LkJUYJrSppTmwlef6cQBtuh7Nb0Ll9kMyjP_MUf8fZfT_qeyN_6Ielun8Zi6EnWJZD3bWcN8u2gEzeg-vsP73iDloVNjKQXhNfCAmYebWNJi5DmndDBiv_McOz7UjXFRIxeem3txyDR1NREdEoLdc-qVe5iV" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDFoLWu7VVK2C_Gu7pq8-bYC8UhPT5LkJUYJrSppTmwlef6cQBtuh7Nb0Ll9kMyjP_MUf8fZfT_qeyN_6Ielun8Zi6EnWJZD3bWcN8u2gEzeg-vsP73iDloVNjKQXhNfCAmYebWNJi5DmndDBiv_McOz7UjXFRIxeem3txyDR1NREdEoLdc-qVe5iV=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With permission through Agitators press-release</td></tr></tbody></table></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-1954569266878385352021-11-22T18:43:00.002+01:002021-11-23T13:00:02.250+01:00The 2nd release of Whisky from Swedish Distillery Agitator – Argument: Chestnut 46% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5RmU36VgpofMXZUN8noxSWdKSvfzj4dlkLHQXTk3Ek3bxnxsPYRHQlbLqiV5Btk7o8x5DQwVL9HmntG6LFLRKmJeBJmhwn7tXcYVvg0VR-YFQ2DxpiBtNu3HVUcXocNWxAQCnY35CK4/s2189/kastanj1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2189" data-original-width="2189" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5RmU36VgpofMXZUN8noxSWdKSvfzj4dlkLHQXTk3Ek3bxnxsPYRHQlbLqiV5Btk7o8x5DQwVL9HmntG6LFLRKmJeBJmhwn7tXcYVvg0VR-YFQ2DxpiBtNu3HVUcXocNWxAQCnY35CK4/w400-h400/kastanj1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Friends! As you probably remember I reviewed the first release from Swedish Distillery <a href="https://agitatorwhisky.se/" target="_blank">Agitator</a> two weeks ago (if you haven't read it please do so by clicking <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-1st-release-of-whisky-from-swedish.html" target="_blank">here</a>), and today I bring you my review of... you guessed it, their 2nd release! <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This release has been named "Argument: Chestnut". This should of course not be interpreted as arguing or fighting about chestnut wood. It should be interpreted and understood as stating ones case for the use of casks crafted from chestnut wood in whisky making. The general info in the press release states that the whisky in question had its initial maturation on regular bourbon casks and was then finished for a little more than a year on chestnut casks. As usual, when able to, I love sharing some more specific info with you my dear readers and so, just a few hours ago, I once again had a wee chat with Oskar Bruno (Distillery Manager) and our conversation resulted in the following info regarding recipe etcetera:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This whisky has been crafted from a mix of unpeated and peated new make. The peated component holds 30ppm and consists of three styles equally large in parts; one part distilled in the Low Reflux Stills, one part distilled in the High Reflux Stills, and one part that is a mix of the two. The liquid first spent more than two years in 200 litre 1st-fill bourbon casks, and was then transferred to 150 litre virgin chestnut casks for a finish. All in all we are talking about 28 chestnut casks. While 22 of them contained the peated component and enjoyed a finish of more than one year, 6 of them contained the unpeated component and enjoyed a finish of four months. The oldest component was filled into (bourbon) casks in the end of March 2018, and the youngest component into (bourbon) casks in the beginning of October. The casks were emptied at several different points in time; around the end of September and the beginning of October this year. The 28 casks gave 6000 70cl bottles at an ABV of 46%. Here in Sweden this whisky will be released at the state monopoly this Friday and you can view the product by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/agitator-4041401/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, this is a release that I've really been longing to taste and review ever since I heard about it. Why? Well firstly because I find chestnut to be a really exciting kind of wood for maturing whisky, and secondly for this reason: as you know by now I am involved in a <a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2019/11/cask-collaboration-with-agitator-first.html" target="_blank">cask collaboration project</a> together with the folks at Agitator and two of the casks in our collab is made from Chestnut, and so I find it very interesting to find out what style and profile this official distillery bottling of chestnut matured whisky from Agitator will have. Ok folks, it's time to analyze!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A wonderful and enticing nose that’s full of both light and heavy scents. On the light side we have blossoming flowers, mainly white roses but also something that makes me think of pink flowers… to specify flowers is not my strong side so maybe it’s best to describe it as scents in a flower shop. On the light side we also have sweet lemon and squeezed/smashed redcurrants. There is a roughness in the berries that makes me think of red currant leaves but it doesn’t really come through quite that heavy. Speaking of heavy, on the heavy side of things we have dark raisins (as in a medium heavy sherried whisky) and a light hint of fragrant milk chocolate. There is actually also something reminding me of ”soft gingerbread”-cookie bordering on a truly mouthwatering vanilla! Digging deeper there is some kind of leather in the distant. In the base of the heavy side is a very light peatyness that interestingly has a clear element of firewood/fireplace/embers to it. A whiff of salt soft liquorice flies by. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6A6C2MV8rxksZVKs-4HZOktBEVxIc_CxZrBMYg7td9so3MYdrw0iv7TEk9VSoJnkyHt3BS8L7W_HeLMIvVUSAzwwwCIdp9rq-w-TSjd0E7LZ1d4wMmY4MqFtVwW7kxJH5F-nwp9n6H6U/s2798/kastanj2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2798" data-original-width="2798" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6A6C2MV8rxksZVKs-4HZOktBEVxIc_CxZrBMYg7td9so3MYdrw0iv7TEk9VSoJnkyHt3BS8L7W_HeLMIvVUSAzwwwCIdp9rq-w-TSjd0E7LZ1d4wMmY4MqFtVwW7kxJH5F-nwp9n6H6U/w400-h400/kastanj2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lot more peat than I had expected there to be judging from the nose, very, very nice! The peatyness is <i>broad</i> and at the same time <i>light</i> in style. Immediately after the peat leather-y almond paste makes its entrance and along comes medium heavy and rich tannins. The tannins never quite fade out but quickly morphs into fried/caramelized slices of lemon, orange flavoured milk chocolate, and slightly burnt vanilla. In the aftertaste something red from the nose appears very briefly (redcurrants or flowers?), and the light firewood peat echoes back and forth in a wonderful way.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once again, it is simply remarkable that a whisky this young can taste so old and mature! Nothing youngish to be found whatsoever, not on the nose, not on the taste. The nose is soft and has a medium complexity, and even though it’s not super complex I still find myself nosing, nosing, and nosing it over and over for a long time... I really like the taste and I’ve said before that chestnut maturation, to me, comes through as a kind of mix of bourbon maturation and european oak sherry maturation, the best from two worlds! The chestnut finish has made the perfect amount of imprint on the whisky. If included in a blind tasting for semi-whiskynerds I am convinced that a majority would categorize this whisky as sherry matured. On the taste I especially enjoy the fruity elements and the evident but light firewood peatyness that in no way is in the background. Both for the nose and the taste the chosen ABV is perfect and provides great balance. I believe that while this whisky is probably targeted more to the whiskynerds than to ”the great” whisky drinking ”masses” the taste profile will definitely appeal to both groups. The latter group may, in the beginning, be a tad scared off when reading chestnut on the label, but in time, with information and explanation, they will also build up the guts to buy and try a bottle. And, the cost of 599 swedish crowns for a 70 cl bottle of top notch swedish whisky definitely makes the decision a whole lot easier! Finally, thinking about the fact that this is just the 2nd release of whisky from Agitator, and that it tastes so good, makes me both smile in my heart and long for the future releases to come. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Agitator for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For further and future updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wEnoxzgkqwLiKKGbmDu5cFF-K9XaOeQmKAJeXupoyMxSh7p5jkx7C3hyLf9owO8yUY1RGqxT-ctq09gpMiAsOzrXd6XPTimWpYqLUuDY1QbpCedV97EPjNbulfCcDlG8OdDnYU0apfY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wEnoxzgkqwLiKKGbmDu5cFF-K9XaOeQmKAJeXupoyMxSh7p5jkx7C3hyLf9owO8yUY1RGqxT-ctq09gpMiAsOzrXd6XPTimWpYqLUuDY1QbpCedV97EPjNbulfCcDlG8OdDnYU0apfY/w291-h640/kastanj3.png" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-13516983414763790042021-11-08T18:24:00.001+01:002021-11-08T18:24:20.509+01:00The 1st release of Whisky from Swedish Distillery Agitator – Single Malt Whisky 43% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFw2bPMXmtK047naOshwf9znCGDakAo0Xtrb154Nu6TVzIygN4n2s7V3bkiIlUySfuc7E3K5Pz4UDwdCEZ5KFziL9EfGH-Ld_3OKNT7BlS7du4HqnxHPizUboL589zYr8AfjwRFAnLj8/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2046" data-original-width="2047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFw2bPMXmtK047naOshwf9znCGDakAo0Xtrb154Nu6TVzIygN4n2s7V3bkiIlUySfuc7E3K5Pz4UDwdCEZ5KFziL9EfGH-Ld_3OKNT7BlS7du4HqnxHPizUboL589zYr8AfjwRFAnLj8/w400-h400/ag1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends! Earlier today I received a package from the people at Swedish distillery Agitator. Yes, the package contained their two upcoming releases (!) and this evening I'm bringing you my review of the first release. To freshen up your knowledge on Agitator, their production method, and what sets them apart from basically any single malt distillery around, please read the first part of </span><a href="https://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-visit-to-swedish-distillery-agitator.html" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">this article</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> and regarding their philosophy (if you will) please have a look at their website </span><a href="https://agitatorwhisky.se/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. </span></div></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first release from Agitator has simply been namned "Single Malt Whisky". The general info that has been spread through press releases etcetera lets us know that the whisky in question has been matured in four different kinds of casks; bourbon, sherry casks, new american oak, and chestnut. In search of more specific info for you my dear readers I had a wee chat with Oskar Bruno (Distillery Manager) just a few hours ago. Our conversation resulted in the following info regarding recipe etcetera:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The whisky has been crafted from a mix of unpeated and peated new make (30ppm barley). The casks predominantly used for maturation are 200 litre 1st-fill bourbon, full time maturation. A portion of the whisky has been matured in new (virgin) american oak 200 litre, and this is where it gets interesting: 50% of the new american oak casks were of the wave stave kind, and the liquid in them enjoyed a full time maturation. The liquid in the rest of the new american oak casks started out in 1st-fill bourbon casks and then enjoyed a finish of more than one year in the new american oak casks of regular kind (non wave stave). The sherry casks used were 130 litre american oak, and the liquid in them enjoyed a full time maturation. The chestnut casks used were 150 litre, and also here we are talking about a finish; the majority of the liquid filled into these casks enjoyed a one year finish in them and/but in some cases the finish time was four months. The age of the whisky in this first batch is 3-3,5 years old and the number of bottles is 14000. Here in Sweden this whisky will be released at the swedish state monopoly this wednesday and you can view the product by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/agitator-5408901/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok folks, time to review! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03gooR5HP22KQRWvnbpE8ddj3tY6N4gUguFXn_6jS7GvdvhGgURNI8LsDkZ7slU8pAxni3-u0-XDqJPq-UKbT8P2v4gijvTfWf8b5Qdsc-7hdxFvaQ1YQW2O7VlcSQPCqdHJaWNE5Km4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2046" data-original-width="2047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03gooR5HP22KQRWvnbpE8ddj3tY6N4gUguFXn_6jS7GvdvhGgURNI8LsDkZ7slU8pAxni3-u0-XDqJPq-UKbT8P2v4gijvTfWf8b5Qdsc-7hdxFvaQ1YQW2O7VlcSQPCqdHJaWNE5Km4/w400-h400/ag2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very fresh and quite vivid scents! In the center layer is a malt-y/barley scent that is medium heavy and teams up with a rather robust vanilla. These two scents are intertwined in a really nice way. The layer above opens up slowly, more and more, with some time in the glass. Here we have <i>very </i>light citrus (or maybe even rhubarb acidity), a whiff of overripe pear, but most of all winter apples in apple pie (apples below a crust of sugar and butter baked oatmeal). Wow, as I nose the apple pie, oatmeal, and vanilla evolves more and more and there is lots of luscious vanilla and butter emerging, mmm! The bottom layer is actually the layer I first identified. Here we have the peat and there is a lot more peat than I had expected there to be from a standard-/core range-/house style-product point of view. I can’t really decide if I nose ”peat” or ”smoke”, so I simply have to conclude that’s it’s somewhere in between. On the other hand, the peat has a whiff of earthyness to it, so probably more on the peat side of things after all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB01k6k5Dyqrxp2sq9A8Vl03aPUaKiDphjK4cAFvZ7WU6tDlQO7JzzwAxtB0hfnucnmbxSeBTfKsMEMuH6dkH13CeAv6SBGH7oEVJ8fodI564SDZJDz_qSpa1cfD2Z3ZP4zWAkcudp7uE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB01k6k5Dyqrxp2sq9A8Vl03aPUaKiDphjK4cAFvZ7WU6tDlQO7JzzwAxtB0hfnucnmbxSeBTfKsMEMuH6dkH13CeAv6SBGH7oEVJ8fodI564SDZJDz_qSpa1cfD2Z3ZP4zWAkcudp7uE/w400-h400/ag3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wow, judging from the style of the nose I did not see this coming; the taste actually starts off on a lot of <i>sherry sweetness</i> (dates and raisins), and it’s quite peaty indeed! It then moves on into oaky vanilla (american oak style) with a hint of light liquid honey. Then comes the malt/barley with a lovely oaky/woody spicyness to it. A dryness comes through and at the same time the peat shows itself for real and it does so in an elegant way. In the aftertaste the peat slowly fades away and the vanilla and dryness has a final bump.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcaR4hoSo66Rc43buloWDrPlJfaazhEqbWqHr0YAJ1pbyuPfcgUeifj9S5WvJr87eeb93yZ-1xhy0hn-G_k8N3e4PnZ_3tKMXH-xZtitS3u0pyTSm2ijEDM-OFzBV99mDmFoWw7IN-3o/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2046" data-original-width="2047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcaR4hoSo66Rc43buloWDrPlJfaazhEqbWqHr0YAJ1pbyuPfcgUeifj9S5WvJr87eeb93yZ-1xhy0hn-G_k8N3e4PnZ_3tKMXH-xZtitS3u0pyTSm2ijEDM-OFzBV99mDmFoWw7IN-3o/w400-h400/ag4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful package that the samples arrived in!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A very complex nose for being this young! In terms of scent-evolvement and maturity on the nose I definitely think of an age around 10 years old. As you can see my notes on the nose is a bit longer than my notes on the taste. From this you understand that the taste is not as complex and diverse as the nose is. I do however think that the taste is very, very mature and I definitely think of an age of say 7-8 years old. Adding to my reflections on the taste it’s absolutely worth to mention that there is great balance in this whisky, both between the main flavours and in relation to the choosen ABV. 43% ABV works really good. There is also great balance in terms of peatyness; it is there, it is obvious, but it doesn’t take over. All in all this is a really good whisky on its own. Furthermore, this is a very, very good first release, and definitely the best first whisky from a swedish distillery that I’ve tasted so far. It is remarkeable that a whisky this young can taste so old and mature. There are no typical signs of young (swedish) whisky; no yeast, no sulfur. Taking the general style of this whisky into account I believe that it will appeal both to the nerds and to ”the great” whisky drinking ”masses”. The latter especially so because of its perfect balance between ABV and peatyness. Both these tow groups of people will of course be thrilled to hear that the whisky has been bottled in 70 cl bottles and that a bottle only costs 479 swedish crowns. A job well done to the team at Agitator. Skål! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Agitator for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here,</a> and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d1j2WC_E31fN62ICc3m0DPxyrkyseDahdllp43eBnshXz6LNR1QWb6WK4v2viqK9xVPFJ0p4Y00bUeTqJ6TATmfyO_W8nGb6ubSyX8lzMpKb9CVGEO9Hui0vykfAgSmJWb7yRqmYONw/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d1j2WC_E31fN62ICc3m0DPxyrkyseDahdllp43eBnshXz6LNR1QWb6WK4v2viqK9xVPFJ0p4Y00bUeTqJ6TATmfyO_W8nGb6ubSyX8lzMpKb9CVGEO9Hui0vykfAgSmJWb7yRqmYONw/w289-h640/ag5.png" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-84027550915458985702021-10-26T19:14:00.003+02:002021-10-26T19:14:51.451+02:00Swedish Whisky from High Coast Distillery – The First Ten Years 52% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rvgFWVll_LRXIk4OiYm4OcUjQu6if2oIU1pvZ6MjdikypHuSJ_bsi7YHQ4y5ky-cOjPaoSWcoN27ws60MDu-e6A1URBl-9UL65yho4BjPW1GTCuKN93La6zuCmEnlRisHI_dggyczK4/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2801" data-original-width="2801" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rvgFWVll_LRXIk4OiYm4OcUjQu6if2oIU1pvZ6MjdikypHuSJ_bsi7YHQ4y5ky-cOjPaoSWcoN27ws60MDu-e6A1URBl-9UL65yho4BjPW1GTCuKN93La6zuCmEnlRisHI_dggyczK4/w400-h400/HC10a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends! A week ago I received a package from <a href="https://highcoastwhisky.se/" target="_blank">High Coast Whisky</a>. To my great joy it contained a trade sample of the first 10 year old whisky being released from the distillery! Not very long ago Smögen Distillery released their first 10yo and I’ve really looked forward to and waited for High Coast to do the same. They’ve named this whisky ’The First Ten Years’ and it is a tribute and celebration of just that; the first ten years of the distillery, its history and exciting journey so far.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recipe for this whisky is a follows: in the beginning of 2011 new make made from unpeated barley was filled into five bourbon barrels and was left to rest for a period of 4,13 years. The whisky was then transferred into seventeen 55 litre american oak casks that previously held Pedro Ximénez sherry (the PX sherry had spent 12 months in the casks). During the first two days of september this year the whisky in the PX casks was emptied and mixed together with whisky from one bourbon barrel (for the sake of balance). The strength was then reduced from 61,25% ABV (vatting strength), to the predetermined 52% ABV. The whisky was neither chill-filtered nor colored. On the 2nd of september this year the whisky was bottled into 2088 50cl bottles.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here in Sweden 1400 bottles will be released at the state monopoly this Thursday and you can view the product by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/the-first-ten-years-4103702/" target="_blank">here</a>. The remaining 688 bottles are destined for markets in Europe and Asia. Ok folks, here is my review:</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sugar-y sweet, warm, and fat vanilla (reminiscent of egg yolks agressively whipped fluffy with white sugar), and short whiffs of tangerine pulp are the immediate scents. Below this a dark, luscious and quite full-bodied dram reveals itself with the aid of raw sugar, high quality marzipan dipped in chocolate (marzipan pigs perhaps?), a hint of newly ground coffee beans, and lightly peated butter. In its style the nose of this whisky is <i>damn</i> close to perfection, if not for a very slight whiff of yeast. Overall however this whiff is no disaster per se; while my nostrils interpret it as yeast (perhaps coming from something in the distilling process, and/or a slight touch of "sulphur" (?) from the PX-casks) someone else might simply interpret it as unbaked bread rolls (lying on a baking sheet ready for the oven) with a hint of sweetness from almost-ripe green apples.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pi-uZC5CH1UsPhhbyeFjoPWcZtq_NoKvkjL_nMMO3a1RhVd2xr_H5L4jjqVTl4Pi6APAL7HRlZtTNiU-SlDP-viXmc9Z1WlxsFNg8qTd3UAlfDUFJOriMUbUeKdID0UwKObUYGp-SQ8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2607" data-original-width="2607" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pi-uZC5CH1UsPhhbyeFjoPWcZtq_NoKvkjL_nMMO3a1RhVd2xr_H5L4jjqVTl4Pi6APAL7HRlZtTNiU-SlDP-viXmc9Z1WlxsFNg8qTd3UAlfDUFJOriMUbUeKdID0UwKObUYGp-SQ8/w400-h400/HC10b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very, very nice taste! A beautiful rose hip sweetness with citrus infused vanilla fudge begins the taste. After that we have moist almond paste, raw sugar (as if from cubes), and dried but moist figs. Especially nice is the leather and cocoa that follows, and they both contain a beautiful hint of earthy vanilla-esque peatyness. In the aftertaste I find dark firm/viscous honey and a nice warming feeling in my mouth and chest. <i>Very good</i>. The chosen ABV is absolutely perfect and not only carries the flavors but also assist them in coming to the very front of the palate with great balance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrdMGT4qff7ObkurCvvPZcNc7wcWt8KS1u3RX7krYI_pURXu703zfZJjG5OhJJJ5tpV8vqX2MiRNL22j9l6aTZwuD6HtyuYGiQUljBdHe_Z65Lckftz98zfN6Ei8NdmjzK6vD_00SrRs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2288" data-original-width="2288" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrdMGT4qff7ObkurCvvPZcNc7wcWt8KS1u3RX7krYI_pURXu703zfZJjG5OhJJJ5tpV8vqX2MiRNL22j9l6aTZwuD6HtyuYGiQUljBdHe_Z65Lckftz98zfN6Ei8NdmjzK6vD_00SrRs/w400-h400/HC10c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all: no yeast on the taste, that’s good. Here in Sweden there has been quite a debate on whether 1650 swedish crowns for a 50cl bottle of 10yo swedish whisky is too expensive or not (in other words: is this whisky "worth" that kind of money?). The answer to this question is of course individual and highly personal. In my opinion this is definitely one of the best releases from High Coast Whisky so far. It is not very complex, it is easy to analyze, and it is very, very good, both on the nose and the taste. Since I was prepared to pay 1495 swedish crowns for ’Bländande’, also that whisky a special, limited, historic, and good-tasting swedish whisky, ’The First Ten Years’ from High Coast Whisky is at least equally good as Bländande. So yes, for me it’s worth the money. Sláinte!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at High Coast Whisky for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtbRMAMNReUUACUvd2u9QX_E01fjZ5X01gQQRd2Lk7Po99V71P_BtcyaIuVWTLjB-B7rFX3NLP0H5PhcvdU5PSMLb1pUg2kCFxKDqgSnVIINcFqiojMW4KnTclESfZI8Vk9Og4PR_-8Y/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="715" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtbRMAMNReUUACUvd2u9QX_E01fjZ5X01gQQRd2Lk7Po99V71P_BtcyaIuVWTLjB-B7rFX3NLP0H5PhcvdU5PSMLb1pUg2kCFxKDqgSnVIINcFqiojMW4KnTclESfZI8Vk9Og4PR_-8Y/w389-h640/HC10d.jpg" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from highcoastwhisky.se</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-10329418658309625362021-07-15T16:55:00.001+02:002021-07-15T16:55:27.661+02:00Cask Collaboration with Agitator – first tasting notes of 3yo Whisky!!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfs2YG-QwPveNdLSgW-2kr2pnMfC3KxRZ1-R4Gfz0huChYMeR_BYGD1EPIEl4dR5egufktefTou7Fj3ZqYzQKF7-R6GVvoLecVeytQdWpSPA2Cq_ZxHlujIpC_1wqbG3483dKdwpIER1o/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfs2YG-QwPveNdLSgW-2kr2pnMfC3KxRZ1-R4Gfz0huChYMeR_BYGD1EPIEl4dR5egufktefTou7Fj3ZqYzQKF7-R6GVvoLecVeytQdWpSPA2Cq_ZxHlujIpC_1wqbG3483dKdwpIER1o/w400-h400/ag3+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! I'm writing this blogpost to you during vacation at my wifes familys summer cottage situated in the beautiful archipelago of Roslagen, truly the perfect place to deliver an update on the cask collaboration project between Agitator and myself. On may 4th the spirit in the casks included in the project actually turned 3 years old, hence we are now dealing with... <i>Whisky</i>! 😛</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so today it is my great pleasure to share my first tasting notes of samples of whisky from some of the casks in the project! For this blogpost I asked the Distillery Technician at Agitator, my dear friend Christian, to draw samples from two of the casks. The samples arrived at my place in the end of june and I spent roughly two hours last Thursday reviewing them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to read up on what makes Agitator such an interesting and groundbreaking whisky distillery, as well as exactly what our collaboration entails, please click <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2019/11/cask-collaboration-with-agitator-first.html" target="_blank">here</a> and take part of this previous article of mine and you will get a good introduction to it all. The general details are as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>The new make recipe used for our collaboration was made from peated barley (30ppm), 58% from the High Reflux stills, 42% from the Low Reflux stills. The new make was filled into Bourbon barrels 111-116 at a filling strength of 55,1% ABV on the 4th of May 2018. The details of the samples reviewed in this blogpost are as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Sample no.1</i>: drawn 210609 from 1st-fill Bourbon Barrel no.114. 56,9% ABV.</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN8bFts08QBnCF4M0Il5-ZCFjRuvApc5HvpbijzRKqcEU3luXzhj0Tao8tlw9AzZN2VPzTgxJYD4cSz4BeYp4iPHjyJFWs7Q8WuZjjyYhd9rpsyZTQAlIYwAI8VtImg24BpmPIgyvaWo/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFN8bFts08QBnCF4M0Il5-ZCFjRuvApc5HvpbijzRKqcEU3luXzhj0Tao8tlw9AzZN2VPzTgxJYD4cSz4BeYp4iPHjyJFWs7Q8WuZjjyYhd9rpsyZTQAlIYwAI8VtImg24BpmPIgyvaWo/w400-h400/ag3+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cask 114, picture taken by Christian during sampling</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Sample no.2</i>: drawn 210609 from Cask no.1531, a 130 litre Virgin Chestnut (“quarter”) cask. 57,99% ABV (spirit transferred 191031 from 1st-fill Bourbon barrel no.111).</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fCG8alQ_kaiUxA9_X7yrCR-XiI2s7BKqYncUES1rN5D-ZfUe4kTuPNhF5eU615bM4-FOStn5BqiFdi3cnNQ-SRmXJnJRS4vRApQU_6fFu6Rwnaa8B8J2ZsLYmihQ5q0l62R3_NKBd-I/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="655" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fCG8alQ_kaiUxA9_X7yrCR-XiI2s7BKqYncUES1rN5D-ZfUe4kTuPNhF5eU615bM4-FOStn5BqiFdi3cnNQ-SRmXJnJRS4vRApQU_6fFu6Rwnaa8B8J2ZsLYmihQ5q0l62R3_NKBd-I/w400-h400/ag3+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cask 1531, picture taken by Christian during sampling</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ok folks, below you find my notes, thoughts, and impressions! </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxdb7_IBdkF4Zsn7KFJna4i-bifVxBFxMybMed2gRMi-85S7Bd2_C13xZ4iTXVRMio1HxQhMA3EDKd4Avho6IDZTi_OBK3rWZHCndX7-kXQV8cm-O4uVlIVdKLC3F9-nJkfzu__3ccrU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxdb7_IBdkF4Zsn7KFJna4i-bifVxBFxMybMed2gRMi-85S7Bd2_C13xZ4iTXVRMio1HxQhMA3EDKd4Avho6IDZTi_OBK3rWZHCndX7-kXQV8cm-O4uVlIVdKLC3F9-nJkfzu__3ccrU/w400-h400/ag3+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sample no.1, nose</b>:<br />At first nosing, immediately after pouring, the instant scent was peat with a zing of alcohol to it. After letting the whisky (yay, <i>whisky</i>!) breathe in the glass for a couple of minutes or so, I find that the scents are really deep! In the first layer there is a soft and medium bodied warm vanilla that’s teaming up with the sweetness of vanilla fudge (cube candy). There is also melted butter reminding me of of the <a href="https://www.ica.se/recept/drommar-715488/">cookies drömmar</a>, and also evident vanilla custard. In the second layer I find fruitiness; soft pear lemonade and a mix of full-bodied lemon and orange peel with hints of zest. In the third layer everything is very robust: we have grassy and heavy peat (highland peat), metal (industrial peat), old leather intermingling with fat almond paste, sweet and soft liquorice candy, alcohol fumes that are smooth but present, and finally a light touch of gunpowder and/or post fire cracker/fireworks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLTkd-eo0GQ_-8zYTa0hPDTx44xR273To05DXOW6AYRcJImYlgVLirgYqd_8AcMsuFmmG7AevS06GwtmNG66o2hkhCCDHGWGDN_1PxgoJqhWpLTeJGD0eUaA91wE6kUdoUO0Rcrnhav0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLTkd-eo0GQ_-8zYTa0hPDTx44xR273To05DXOW6AYRcJImYlgVLirgYqd_8AcMsuFmmG7AevS06GwtmNG66o2hkhCCDHGWGDN_1PxgoJqhWpLTeJGD0eUaA91wE6kUdoUO0Rcrnhav0/w400-h400/ag3+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sample no.2, nose</b>:<br />Ooh, nosing this one really makes me want to taste it immediately! (have, to, recist… trying, really, hard…). Well, this is the real stuff folks! Medium woodiness, cigar box, cedar wood, a slight whiff of cinnamon stick, old coastal/peated whisky matured in european oak sherry cask, dark red cherries, lemonade (mixed strong) made from cherries and blackcurrants, an acidity from dark fruits, a wonderful presence of medium heavy silky subdued peat, old earth floor cellar with traces of light mould. Wow, just wow. Appears as to be whisky matured for a long time (15yo?), and that my friends is just absolutely bonkers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>Sample no.1, taste</b>:<br />Starts off on a really wonderful, and quite powerful, peatyness. The peat is both sea-salty, grassy (very much so), and has citric/acidulous elements. Furthermore the peat is dry, quite a heavy dryness actually. The alcohol is strong. Before the dryness of the peat hits my mouth with all its intensity there are whiffs of an elegant and enticing vanilla creaminess playing alongside just a whiff of honeydew melon. Very interesting indeed, judging from the nose of the whisky I did actually not at all think that it would be this peaty. I’d definitely say that the peatyness plays the first violin here, and I am surprised that the fruitiness that I found on the nose was not given more “room” here in the taste. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVn4AY9gLhHx8PrWPwOhf0sr-5Sl2HkV52hozuD_9OkgJBAqzLROTC6CjIxbmRQB-Q_AIjALz_fopJpSC3nnFSQvVKCIVteYl6tLolCtvkkcUUAug1kTe_m87RxioLBKWxqHy4aSYTko4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVn4AY9gLhHx8PrWPwOhf0sr-5Sl2HkV52hozuD_9OkgJBAqzLROTC6CjIxbmRQB-Q_AIjALz_fopJpSC3nnFSQvVKCIVteYl6tLolCtvkkcUUAug1kTe_m87RxioLBKWxqHy4aSYTko4/w400-h400/ag3+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sample no.2, taste</b>:<br />Completely bonkers for sure and absolutely the real stuff, I simply cannot believe that this whisky is just three years old! There is a punch from the alcohol, but it is not an alcohol taste that at all signals that this whisky is young or “un-mature” (as is often my experience with the alcohol in other young Swedish whiskies that I’ve tried). Almost everything present on the nose is present in the taste (the exceptions are cinnamon stick and mould in cellar). In addition there is also milk chocolate, a seducing honey-esque vanilla that is very dark indeed, and traces of violet candy and cold rosehip soup in the distant. Also, the peat is stronger in the taste than it is on the nose, and all in all this whisky really does taste very much like an old coastal/peated whisky matured in european oak sherry cask, but with the addition of a nice bite of woody tannins wrapping it all up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:<br />As I’ve said a couple of times in this post, and many a times in my different previous posts on Agitator, I simply can’t believe that the low age of this stuff noses and tastes so much older than it actually is (very mature). My favorite out of these two so far is absolutely the chestnut which could be bottled very soon but at the same time it is by no means "over-matured". The bourbon one could also be bottled soon but I think I will give it a little bit more time in the cask in order for it to become more elegant and "simmer down" just a tad on the peatyness. In conclusion, wow! As soon as I have had my 2nd shot of c19-vaccine I'll visit the distillery straight away to check up on the progress/further maturation and discuss with Oskar and Christian the different possibilities for doing some bottling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For further updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted by <i>stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLj3vF4EK1bqKZXyepc_q5omxxBVO94jBHD04JSVLlzKiYEgs7lRQJrRwZSyRNqO_ZVFxPx7A2zFLczjmNPpDjNFevLbk2ZhSTDl75xgHb4GuTDCcKrApdAV89BMJshfjK2X7n69Daoo/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLj3vF4EK1bqKZXyepc_q5omxxBVO94jBHD04JSVLlzKiYEgs7lRQJrRwZSyRNqO_ZVFxPx7A2zFLczjmNPpDjNFevLbk2ZhSTDl75xgHb4GuTDCcKrApdAV89BMJshfjK2X7n69Daoo/w640-h480/ag3+7.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Picture taken by Christian during sampling</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-37358651103845634652021-05-26T15:08:00.002+02:002021-05-27T13:58:12.089+02:00Swedish Whisky from Smögen Distillery – "Dante", 10 years old!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNr8MINC04xZdFUesqJyUoVECFA1f8vmfFO-CN1me0zg9MijmE1AmoLCmO2hF2-W6B6nYxTxdaE8hmK0wOQuP-1W6cBcVTBSWt2LAzCGl_BMCvlXwHRvcDZeGy4Kwk9PSdbkS265-JU0/s2048/dante1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNr8MINC04xZdFUesqJyUoVECFA1f8vmfFO-CN1me0zg9MijmE1AmoLCmO2hF2-W6B6nYxTxdaE8hmK0wOQuP-1W6cBcVTBSWt2LAzCGl_BMCvlXwHRvcDZeGy4Kwk9PSdbkS265-JU0/w400-h400/dante1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends! The day before yesterday I received a package from Pär Caldenby, the Distillery Manager/Master Distiller at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/smogenwhisky" target="_blank">Smögen Distillery</a> and to my great joy it contained a trade sample of the first ever 10 year old whisky from the distillery! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This whisky is a tribute to, and has been namned after, Pärs and the distillerys bloodhound <i>Dante</i>. The text in the picture below is written on the side of the label of the bottle as well as on the side of the box/carton:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-NcjNo3gsyT1Q6XvRjDnC-kpW5anoqpGQ6O53o8J6UkY1fSdIuYGaPGd7LhgV6ax4lABnPnyYpaj51hNJZLiQqtKlZ_B8L0oHPYwrub9LcpbNbxfsWHqET-vLCehLp-kRU2cTzz6waQ/s1227/dante2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1227" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-NcjNo3gsyT1Q6XvRjDnC-kpW5anoqpGQ6O53o8J6UkY1fSdIuYGaPGd7LhgV6ax4lABnPnyYpaj51hNJZLiQqtKlZ_B8L0oHPYwrub9LcpbNbxfsWHqET-vLCehLp-kRU2cTzz6waQ/w400-h270/dante2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This pic belongs to Pär/Smögen Whisky.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recipe for this whisky is a follows: in april and may 2011 newmake made from <i>lightly peated</i> barley (10-12 ppm) was filled into four 1st-fill Sauternes barriques (french oak, 225 litres each). Three of the casks had been very lightly roasted and one had been roasted to medium/medium plus. In may 2021 the whisky was bottled at cask strength 57,8%. Roughly 1560 bottles have been produced in total out of which 1296 will be available tomorrow at the swedish state monopoly through a so called web-launch. The whisky can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/smogen-4090802/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-fX7JaPvpprWIAqFQltFPhESxEyuM6kL8I0iC9jxVkbsrfcfrlb0jZjd-R98LItXlqCezsB5MNOmmDcv6YgXT3hJvom78zNNmvxsKxVdfsQFIEdyKqXxuk07ntvlJNrdgNPKYG1mFmc/s828/dante3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-fX7JaPvpprWIAqFQltFPhESxEyuM6kL8I0iC9jxVkbsrfcfrlb0jZjd-R98LItXlqCezsB5MNOmmDcv6YgXT3hJvom78zNNmvxsKxVdfsQFIEdyKqXxuk07ntvlJNrdgNPKYG1mFmc/w320-h320/dante3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A part of the beautiful bottle label. Pic belongs to Pär/Smögen Whisky.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, the time has come for some analyzing!</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The surface showcases a beautiful mix of subdued lemon peel and yellow raisins! Below, everything is very, very silky and smooth; we have vibrant leather, green mint, barleywater (almost ”porridge” in fact) and thick, creamy almond paste, and mouthwatering white chocolate with an earthy base of vanilla. Wow! Surrounding everything is an incredibly well-rounded and smooth peatyness with just a tad of sweet liquorice bordering on black tea (earl grey style).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jLv-WNojTvNioIj7zl0K06Rr6edNmW288ciuuyfD9gILxMSfj0pl7is5URnKAz0iMMrnWax5WVaw2ImG_D4vFgbr2_vWBNMuMP-zqQRUJdSNmg3LZI2pkp77xaG-CQe9kV-rq2KJEDk/s2048/dante4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jLv-WNojTvNioIj7zl0K06Rr6edNmW288ciuuyfD9gILxMSfj0pl7is5URnKAz0iMMrnWax5WVaw2ImG_D4vFgbr2_vWBNMuMP-zqQRUJdSNmg3LZI2pkp77xaG-CQe9kV-rq2KJEDk/w400-h400/dante4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>: </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Starts off on medium salt-yness and moves on quickly into a brief sugar-y sweetness that in turn transforms into sugar coated lemon sponge cake with a kind of ”dirty” or ”broken” vanilla style to it. The vanilla hides dried grass (on bog) with a hint of sweet sackcloth in the upper register. This then moves on into a dry and somewhat spicy (”hot”) black pepper. It is actually now that the peat makes its entrance, and it is much more heavy than I had expected! The peat and the alcohol fumes rises to the roof of my mouth realeasing dusty sea salt and soft smoke with a tendency towards very light gunpowder. A delightful creamyness with a hint of orange marmalade and ashy pinneaple makes my mouth water and these are the last tastes before everything slowly fades away and calms down leaving the tip of my tounge slightly dry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is very mature and has a depth that I could nose for a very long time. The nose actually feels a lot older than 10 years, perhaps something like 15? The rough style of Smögen whisky really comes through in the taste, especially so in the late tastes and the 10 years on casks has not quite restrained this rough profile. Even though we are talking about lightly peated barley this whisky really tastes like a classic Smögen whisky with lots of ”Character, charisma and quality”, and as mentioned has a lot more peat in it than what I expected based on my impressions from nosing. Tastewise it is very hard to say where the main tastes end and the aftertaste begins. The transitions are really nice and subtle and I’d say that it is precisely this that defines maturity. All in all, regarding maturity, I think that the scents on the nose are more developed and refined (more mature) than the tastes and as previously said, it will take several years on cask to further restrain the tastes of a Smögen Whisky.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to Pär for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KEsE0j2Uxm7D5tNac5Ck6D-sBGo6O64VwJkrtWpKDJ3ZY6zkG2nMkBK6jvd3gmpxPKfOGByUW0bNu72oR9ezkhOW-i28df9DfeotmdQPURNveR3Fo2lnLPU3P7Rqk5vVJTzBfbPGhfY/s1336/dante5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KEsE0j2Uxm7D5tNac5Ck6D-sBGo6O64VwJkrtWpKDJ3ZY6zkG2nMkBK6jvd3gmpxPKfOGByUW0bNu72oR9ezkhOW-i28df9DfeotmdQPURNveR3Fo2lnLPU3P7Rqk5vVJTzBfbPGhfY/w396-h640/dante5.jpeg" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pic belongs to/borrowed from systembolaget.se</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-54637166172569105222021-03-14T15:23:00.006+01:002021-03-14T15:25:06.925+01:00Swedish Whisky from Hven Distillery – St Raphael 40,9% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eK665r8mncorsdpznPSeZyu_Os6i0FYgRtgUncNX5rp_vaoEFkXk_BpLEAM4Ri40ORBMi87KmXEFDN6iAn13tWnUiW8UvcvUmIke9j89SiWAtu2DZrouayqNcMChq5efEK3Iik7eEIE/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eK665r8mncorsdpznPSeZyu_Os6i0FYgRtgUncNX5rp_vaoEFkXk_BpLEAM4Ri40ORBMi87KmXEFDN6iAn13tWnUiW8UvcvUmIke9j89SiWAtu2DZrouayqNcMChq5efEK3Iik7eEIE/w400-h400/rafael1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! Today I bring you my review of and thoughts on a soon to be released whisky from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spiritofhven" target="_blank">Hven Distillery</a> called <i>St Raphael</i>, the first release in their new series called Seven Angels. The recipe for this whisky goes like this: in 2010 new make made from unpeated malt was filled into a total of six casks out of which five are french oak casks from Allier that have previously matured Italian wine; two Cabernet Sauvignon casks, two Merlot casks and one cask that matured a sweet wine made from the grape variety Vespaiola. The sixth cask in the mix was an american oak cask that previously matured Vodka from Hven Distillery. The whisky was bottled at (watered to) 40,9% ABV. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all the six casks gave 2302 (50cl) bottles out of which 1600 will be available at the swedish state monopoly this tuesday (16th of March). The product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/spirit-of-hven-4088502/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok folks, let's do some reviewing!</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsraGEYupejz4EAXi_GI-ptIqoqPegyKotI2ymx1ZvJ3lk9jTXhEH7H-urZDaXJAKSPGAcZfuB064_btepsp-Xoi9DQJA8vC4lyX7S9RgIqPpIko-_FSWpn65VQrweZ8Es_SS-3JEDnQ0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2045" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsraGEYupejz4EAXi_GI-ptIqoqPegyKotI2ymx1ZvJ3lk9jTXhEH7H-urZDaXJAKSPGAcZfuB064_btepsp-Xoi9DQJA8vC4lyX7S9RgIqPpIko-_FSWpn65VQrweZ8Es_SS-3JEDnQ0/w400-h400/rafael2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When taking the screwcap from the bottle and pouring the whisky into my glass, there are instant whiffs of crispy citrus flying by alongside the red candy in bassetts wine gum. Nosing lightly into the glass I find very smooth and elegant scents of even more citrus now intermingling with homemade blackcurrant juice. Shaking the glass vividly and nosing properly there are more rich, deep, and full-bodied scents coming through; in the first layer there is elderflower, dryness as if coming from blackcurrant leaves, and licorice. In the second layer there is dark and rich vanilla with hints of overripe banana, tobacco (sweet cigarillos), and chocolate fudge. The low ABV makes this whisky easy to nose and at the same time it seems to both let through and support the scents in the bottom layer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqnD4vg1m6hk0cyu2oVbyxREb0UVCJAVn7wvBfVOKKu4mVAvX-GuLnxJHNt3Ef1Y3Mlgr60p7Ac_M4KQIx3rp9DqM_i8xOt7U5T4ObZ3sYorugUfAz0In0T9DX9lTcav23ujUMaSD6Iw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqnD4vg1m6hk0cyu2oVbyxREb0UVCJAVn7wvBfVOKKu4mVAvX-GuLnxJHNt3Ef1Y3Mlgr60p7Ac_M4KQIx3rp9DqM_i8xOt7U5T4ObZ3sYorugUfAz0In0T9DX9lTcav23ujUMaSD6Iw/w400-h400/rafael+extra.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well folks, it’s sweetness and dryness at the same time! The sweetness is a bit sugar-y and definitely has both an elderflower and a sweet licorice feel to it, almost sweet and ”sour” actually. The dryness consists of medium heavy tannins, a spicyness that I just can’t seem to pin down, lemon peel bitterness, and almond paste that somehow seems a bit ”angry”, ”agressive” or maybe fire-y. When the dryness and the spicyness has calmed down and the aftertaste enters there is first a fast peak of elderflower coming through, then a tad of rubber, and finally it ends very quickly indeed on vanilla with elements of citrus fruit seeds, chocolate, and a whiff of coffee beans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWANWygyx8R3w6evowSByvWCCk3rpkMGkCrbWuPxNW8e6Wb45DLl2JTfnYOpRt8jeAbMrrfwlAfIklr3oLautnSFGg2pxk69lc5DYwEqbn133-OYwSucoGfkBivHplsdN0VMj1EsYUm3c/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWANWygyx8R3w6evowSByvWCCk3rpkMGkCrbWuPxNW8e6Wb45DLl2JTfnYOpRt8jeAbMrrfwlAfIklr3oLautnSFGg2pxk69lc5DYwEqbn133-OYwSucoGfkBivHplsdN0VMj1EsYUm3c/w400-h400/rafael3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The best thing about this whisky is the nose, It’s both intriguing and interesting and there are elements and layers that can easily entertain you for half an hour. Also, the ABV, albeit low, really does carry the nose and those beautiful scents in the second layer. The taste however is all in all a bit to fast for me. Also, in my taste the dryness is too much in focus and when the aftertaste enters the whisky fades out too fast and ends on tasting just… plain and simple good whisky. For the sake of the taste (and aftertaste) I would have wanted a higher ABV, but I can guess that at the blending stage that option was probably opted out since it would have resulted in even more dryness and tannins. Summing up: this is not a bad whisky, it’s just not as good as I had hoped for (basically all of the whiskies I’ve tasted from Hven to date have been really good and so my expectations were rightfully set high). Its flaw is the dryness, a dryness that sadly makes the taste rather one-dimensional.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Hven Distillery for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOjLshm7P9qRR6MEjGzF05gkjK58j3IHi-0ju-l6E0KMEnyA26zznebMrRo3dGK1S5wEulfJhL2HIfgxImmuHpW5FaYCgPXPxSx98ZMs85GEh8MXKQMXxFpCQQsORmgBPMaDUSLmGe4I/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOjLshm7P9qRR6MEjGzF05gkjK58j3IHi-0ju-l6E0KMEnyA26zznebMrRo3dGK1S5wEulfJhL2HIfgxImmuHpW5FaYCgPXPxSx98ZMs85GEh8MXKQMXxFpCQQsORmgBPMaDUSLmGe4I/w355-h640/rafael5.png" width="355" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic belongs to systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-41545574283780641272021-03-01T18:16:00.000+01:002021-03-01T18:16:08.276+01:00Swedish Whisky from Norrtelje Distillery – RoslagsWhisky 4x30 at 46,7% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyytOBYPcQCNjiW4U1OQ3HHNm9jkqWdMtoWeOEoubP1lXAl_PZCzFQMmwJpahwSd536MzV_rNm13U98AGazqq6Qxv140W07pFVdyvS_1FGv7GyJl1tcuLj4PnYImTsh9Gyc3X8wGd_cj0/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyytOBYPcQCNjiW4U1OQ3HHNm9jkqWdMtoWeOEoubP1lXAl_PZCzFQMmwJpahwSd536MzV_rNm13U98AGazqq6Qxv140W07pFVdyvS_1FGv7GyJl1tcuLj4PnYImTsh9Gyc3X8wGd_cj0/w400-h400/norrtelje+430a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! In late december last year the Sales Manager of <a href="https://norrteljebrenneri.se/" target="_blank">Norrtelje Distillery</a> kindly revealed to me that they were going to release yet another whisky here in Sweden, come the month of march. And about two weeks ago I found a package in my mail box that contained a sample of said new release, yay! This is the distillerys third release of whisky so far at the Swedish state monopoly. The label on the sample bottle gives us the following info about this bottling: Swedish organic unpeated malt was distilled in may of 2013 and on the 7th of april in 2014 was filled into four 30 litre oloroso sherry casks. The whisky was bottled on the 17th of november in 2020 at a cask strength of 46,7% ABV. No filtration or coloring was done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having reviewed the whisky I contacted the folks at the distillery for some details and this is a summary of what they shared with me: The organic barley was grown in the landscape of Östergötland and malted by Viking Malt in the city of Halmstad. The sherry casks used are made from european oak. The casks numbers are 29, 30, 31, and 32. While the filling strength of their new make is normally set to 60% ABV, <i>these specific casks were actually filled at 50%, as an experiment</i>. The four casks gave 165 (50cl) bottles in total out of which 140 bottles have been sent to systembolaget (the swedish state monopoly). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The whisky will be released through a so called web launch this Thursday (the 4th of march) and can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/roslagswhisky-eko-4089702/?" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok friends, below you will find my review!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Starts off on deep (medium heavy) notes of sherry. In the background we have apparent but by no means overpowering yeast with a slight touch of wood (more towards dark oak than new wood). Moving deeper into the nose I find elegant notes of moist dark raisins, a beautiful vibe of raspberry infused almond paste, orange chocolate pralines and/or orange zest with a slight touch of sweet (soft) liquorice candy. At the very bottom I find a malty honey-like vanilla sweetness with a touch of wet forrest leaves. The cask strength of this whisky is the perfect strength to nose and provides a great overall balance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAFGZDxLSXGoDOVyza-BKu5B4NiQdleHCMY3UxN_OKSnMUxufeJgPgvwHV1aMhQ5jwF2GmkZlE-slKrEb7WWPI5FUn7dmsXzvpFXe9MFhi3_5WgY10t6iMzsuLT9waQd6d80hKMLfN7E/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAFGZDxLSXGoDOVyza-BKu5B4NiQdleHCMY3UxN_OKSnMUxufeJgPgvwHV1aMhQ5jwF2GmkZlE-slKrEb7WWPI5FUn7dmsXzvpFXe9MFhi3_5WgY10t6iMzsuLT9waQd6d80hKMLfN7E/w400-h400/norrtelje+430b.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First impression: nice, second impression: mmm! Starts off on a medium heavy sherry style with a tanninic spicyness and a whiff of new wood that is quickly interrupted by a dry acidity best described as dark sugary lemon juice intermingling with red cocktail berries (Maraschino cherry). Beyond that we have honeydew melon moving into a soft malty sugary sweetness, a touch of slightly salty liquorice and finally a strong note of almond paste. In the aftertaste there is a reminiscence of peat and a slight touch of soft/velvety tar. The cask strength gives perfect balance also to the taste and for me this is a great strength for sipping. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is definitely the best whisky produced by Norrtelje Distillery so far! But it’s not only good from an evolution/progress perspective (meaning: in relation to their previous releases), it is also a good and tasty whisky in and of itself. What we have here is a straightforward unpeated sherry matured whisky with depth, elegance, and lots of interesting stuff to find and enjoy in the layers of both the nose and the taste. And even though the casks have not completely overcome the yeast on the nose I wouldn’t say that it is a disturbing part of the nose. I could find no yeast on the taste and I would definitely say the the casks/maturation do overcome the whiff of new wood in the beginning of the taste. And so, just as I did the last time I reviewed a whisky from Norrtelje Distillery I once again have the pleasure to conclude that they have taken a clear step forward, and this time it’s a big one. And hey, filling the casks with a 50% ABV new make might just be the right path forward!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Norrtelje Distillery for the great opportunity to review also this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU760rpAMO3cKtD7EA2tS2RI2c1nXhpZHrfqcic2DwU1lLZJdmiZja2-VSb92iGlSC3G9sDaAIYwu7R6C1fXtm8oXL_FOcFFf0Gq1OQ29KXrDhGXTmWutQ53kYIELG9BFXKHDglRYd28/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU760rpAMO3cKtD7EA2tS2RI2c1nXhpZHrfqcic2DwU1lLZJdmiZja2-VSb92iGlSC3G9sDaAIYwu7R6C1fXtm8oXL_FOcFFf0Gq1OQ29KXrDhGXTmWutQ53kYIELG9BFXKHDglRYd28/w443-h640/norrtelje+430c.png" width="443" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic belongs to systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-71233625073292639572021-02-21T17:25:00.000+01:002021-02-21T17:25:18.588+01:00Swedish Rye Whiskey (to be) – 2yo Blind Seal Whiskey at 46% ABV! <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMbgM8kBzu1jqWhpG0dgW2ba01WyrYwbxhMvAs0fEL_4yHfK9qG0ZlaCXHQWNi8VjdqfLY6e_qzZD4uE7jwmocyr2YXZWpWL6YiCExq-q6h92ZpUqKuOuWUCs0NMGFZN9mq-AKg702R8/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMbgM8kBzu1jqWhpG0dgW2ba01WyrYwbxhMvAs0fEL_4yHfK9qG0ZlaCXHQWNi8VjdqfLY6e_qzZD4uE7jwmocyr2YXZWpWL6YiCExq-q6h92ZpUqKuOuWUCs0NMGFZN9mq-AKg702R8/w400-h400/BS24a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike, once again I'm very fortunate to bring you my review of something really special and exciting! This wednesday Tobiaz Forsberg, the "Head Bootlegger" and intiator of the new and upcoming swedish whiskey brand <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blindsealwhiskey/" target="_blank"><i>Blind Seal Whiskey</i></a>, visited my neighbourhood to hand over a sample (corona safe). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, this was not any usual sample folks; about a week earlier, on the 11th of february he paid a visit to Swedish Distillery <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Agitator.Whisky" target="_blank">Agitator Whiskymakare</a> since it was actually already two years ago that he filled the first barrels of Blind Seal Rye-style distillate!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF66MfeoOAurLow-9dnBut66NvfSZS7C_e2J0jL8k8cCiHkT7G6qky0_MOKoYEXAyXWPvQqh6bhrOesEIi07AqaOJNDmd0i0pVv4JGTPkAb-ECOXleVgzp5cTngmFRV-pdF2UgvRlXcTE/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1775" data-original-width="1420" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF66MfeoOAurLow-9dnBut66NvfSZS7C_e2J0jL8k8cCiHkT7G6qky0_MOKoYEXAyXWPvQqh6bhrOesEIi07AqaOJNDmd0i0pVv4JGTPkAb-ECOXleVgzp5cTngmFRV-pdF2UgvRlXcTE/w320-h400/147258815_1878310772307803_8820187766635738531_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tobiaz filling the first barrels on the 11th of february 2019.<br />(Pic belongs to Blind Seal Whiskey).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, if Sweden was USA the maturing liquid in the casks would legally be whiskey, but since the EU has other rules we have to wait yet another year until there is actually whiskey in the casks. So, while visiting Agitator, Tobiaz drew a couple of samples for bloggers and friends to review, and I'm very honoured and happy to be one of them and to be able to review a sample of 2 year old Blind Seal drawn straight from cask(s) and watered to 46% ABV! But before reading my review, please first take part of <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2020/01/swedish-rye-whiskey-to-be-cask-sample.html" target="_blank">this article</a> to read up on Blind Seal Whisky in general and the recipe and production process of this liquid in particular. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok friends, let the analyzing begin!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDcaoXJm57c2u4Pqe7DYddy98_MIsh8FIMM-NAWmBpOQwjVuqNgsDUVFwLPm-tJm-clcuJj21Ab7Y5NND-vVzZ1tMLJEKJMHrS5v3XTQv_xFruImaTX2CK0-e4eX_q7XDI1-36BDNKwg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDcaoXJm57c2u4Pqe7DYddy98_MIsh8FIMM-NAWmBpOQwjVuqNgsDUVFwLPm-tJm-clcuJj21Ab7Y5NND-vVzZ1tMLJEKJMHrS5v3XTQv_xFruImaTX2CK0-e4eX_q7XDI1-36BDNKwg/w400-h400/BS24b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nosing at a distance the foremost scent is a velvety and soft (fudge-y) caramel/candy sweetness. There are also hints of melted butter and surrounding everything is an extremely mellow and very ”round” vanilla. The strength mediates calmness. When placing my nose into the glass, below the vanilla I find a whiff of slightly burnt wood. Shaking the glass properly a medium heavy rye spicyness and ashes (burnt out fire) appears accompanied by soft salt liquorice, a whiff of violet, ginger, mango, lemon peel, and then it’s boomerang time quickly back to the soft salt liquorice. A very complex and quite deep nose indeed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDqufF8w8KnVJHoYcefOLRHe8TWXUzGCKJIxX5-N2qY7ncPxJ_0BLiu7O8as7mT5189cdIrN6yfkl70GvvB5evQCoSysn3Gd486ACQl0L_YpVijXS2XCePUTeTMCdp3LVpegGkMtZEIE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDqufF8w8KnVJHoYcefOLRHe8TWXUzGCKJIxX5-N2qY7ncPxJ_0BLiu7O8as7mT5189cdIrN6yfkl70GvvB5evQCoSysn3Gd486ACQl0L_YpVijXS2XCePUTeTMCdp3LVpegGkMtZEIE/w400-h400/BS24c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>: </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Woooow, so thick, rich and creamy! At the center of the taste a "melted butter"-party is taking place (almost butter on salted popcorn actually), and we are dancing to a constant beat of spicy vanilla, saltyness, malted grain, and barbecue smoke that just keeps on rolling and rolling in my mouth as endless waves keep hitting the beach… In the early aftertaste there is a really velvet-y vanilla going on that evolves into a dry and medium-big almond paste and/or marzipan. Then, I’m gently hit by a lemon zest dryness, and in the actual aftertaste I really do have more a feeling of bourbon matured single malt than I do of rye whiskey. An interesting flavor journey for sure! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltiwGWuJXauDmyGrF6S4lFpQUwt0y0JXJQqq-Q-Kb4kCSM7_MOTMU6TPxXq0VrN_vxA-uRysiKl2WG_mflRl5HeFN2-XZ0UIVQcxGlfaBupQrsVC1gZITWY6D0tCGtNblKG5vVsWvP4o/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltiwGWuJXauDmyGrF6S4lFpQUwt0y0JXJQqq-Q-Kb4kCSM7_MOTMU6TPxXq0VrN_vxA-uRysiKl2WG_mflRl5HeFN2-XZ0UIVQcxGlfaBupQrsVC1gZITWY6D0tCGtNblKG5vVsWvP4o/w400-h400/BS24d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As said, the nose is very complex, lot’s of interesting stuff to find and this is a liquid that seems way, way older than 2 years old! The "industrial" feeling (gundpowder and metal) that was present in the nose of the 11 month old sample is gone and this I would say is a sign of even greater maturation than before. On the nose, the strength is very calm and you barely feel that it’s 46% and so I must say that I was a bit worried that the chosen strength would be "too weak" for the taste (meaning I thought that the strength would make the taste become ”thin”). This was gladly not the case, and for being bottled at only 46% and being only two years old the taste already shows an incredible richness and creamyness. To highlight the rye and the spicyness over the barley (that makes up 40% of the mash) though, I wonder if this should perhaps rather be bottled at say 48-50% ABV (?) Finally, I really, really like that there is a smoky/barbecue-y thing going on in the taste and that smoke sure makes this rye stand out. I absolutely can’t wait to try this liquid when it has turned three years old, very exciting times ahead indeed... And finally, a big thanks to Tobiaz for once again sharing a sample of your Blind Seal Whiskey with me at a work in progress phase, cheers! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GMwdR7qEb6Cs1V9lTud1YuVv3lgiFJw-KObu_VGFWr41c5o6bYy6TorwZ0YVHdBkCFnCHgDM4KQFClhMF0hKLQBgvp3VQ5lf5rEuh0M0FQWVwXXU1PRNybenh9VnoxANtB_agYxaaWI/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GMwdR7qEb6Cs1V9lTud1YuVv3lgiFJw-KObu_VGFWr41c5o6bYy6TorwZ0YVHdBkCFnCHgDM4KQFClhMF0hKLQBgvp3VQ5lf5rEuh0M0FQWVwXXU1PRNybenh9VnoxANtB_agYxaaWI/w400-h400/50748118_1231208263684727_4283999362570256384_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a <i>blind seal</i> folks! ;) <br />(Pic belongs to Blind Seal)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-23407655196520006902021-02-07T12:34:00.001+01:002021-02-07T12:42:08.123+01:00Swedish Whisky from High Coast Distillery – Alba 53% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceioqxg7Rz5ehsqTfMoM4Z0sVMYQ6JYo8HPNzUCEAy_cpKlrn6ngCj_LmtQVx8308zHeb6BPv2wgVzDS8In0yrcwvXZ2XyO39JzMWCHaEICV-DTlUJQc0sllJ_TpriGirJkIPIaf5SXQ/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceioqxg7Rz5ehsqTfMoM4Z0sVMYQ6JYo8HPNzUCEAy_cpKlrn6ngCj_LmtQVx8308zHeb6BPv2wgVzDS8In0yrcwvXZ2XyO39JzMWCHaEICV-DTlUJQc0sllJ_TpriGirJkIPIaf5SXQ/w400-h400/alba5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike, the whisky year of 2021 is finally up and running. For me it started out with </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/209340782576651/posts/1764549480389099/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">doing a Svenska Eldvatten tasting for Strängnäs Whisky Society</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, and now it's time for the first review of the year. The nice people at </span><a href="https://highcoastwhisky.se/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">High Coast Distillery</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> sent me a sample of their upcoming whisky </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Alba</i><span style="text-align: justify;">. You guessed it, the casks used are all made of american white oak. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The recipe goes like this: new make made from 44ppm malt was matured for 8,3 years in two versions of american white oak; 76% of the liquid in virgin american oak, and 24% in 1st-fill bourbon barrels. The whisky was bottled on the 19th of January at a strength of 53% ABV. The total number of bottles produced were 5044 (50cl bottles).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3600 bottles are reserved for release at the Swedish state monopoly Systembolaget this Tuesday (the 9th of January) and the product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/alba-4088702/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok folks, let's analyze!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrV-b_8PwuX5gPaVK5h4qbapeRfrBgOnC4FLIPT-v1HUNYpVuqN62jKOsuYmlJLiq_Evh3a0CgPz3FmZSoYwfPND8eF7MZHzFEjleBWBgR9k4l7pIa0KLzOVy_CN7wbASw7xhspfLCJ8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrV-b_8PwuX5gPaVK5h4qbapeRfrBgOnC4FLIPT-v1HUNYpVuqN62jKOsuYmlJLiq_Evh3a0CgPz3FmZSoYwfPND8eF7MZHzFEjleBWBgR9k4l7pIa0KLzOVy_CN7wbASw7xhspfLCJ8/w400-h400/alba2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most evident scent on the nose is the peatyness. I would describe it as a mellow, deep, rather earthy (not smoky), and extremely well balanced peatyness. It’s in fact a very beautiful and intriguing peat that makes me want to dig deeper. Below the peat I find full bodied vanilla, orange zest with discrete milk chocolate, and a whiff of dark viscous honey. Somewhere on the nose there is a fleeting touch of coconut sweetness that’s probably coupled with the vanilla. The orange, the chocolate, and the coconut gives a slight reminiscence of ”liqueur”. The strength is perfectly balanced and when nosing deep, deep in the glass I find that the strength mediates a spicyness that clings to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2vz5hAMIR3KbarzdocO3ILea_MbnrGTN0Jy0LvquGyxXyN9_yfzZZSKyasvP1cX0gniMMn_fk1WmYYbgTC6d0bx3krH7-RoGEPXcdbA1T7h-j0-391QBhulo_iujck09dLphEsRN3bI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2vz5hAMIR3KbarzdocO3ILea_MbnrGTN0Jy0LvquGyxXyN9_yfzZZSKyasvP1cX0gniMMn_fk1WmYYbgTC6d0bx3krH7-RoGEPXcdbA1T7h-j0-391QBhulo_iujck09dLphEsRN3bI/w400-h400/alba3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The peatyness starts off as saltyness (as it so often does for me), and medium salt licorice. In a matter of maybe a second or so the saltyness shifts into sweetness; honey sweetness, a tad of violet sweetness and a slight, slight touch of pinneaple pulp. From there we move on into a malty sweetness (barley/dust from milled barley mixed with slight touches of almond paste). The different sweet flavors then shifts into a medium spicyness and dryness which evolves into a slightly smoky peatyness with hints of leather, ending with a warmth in my chest. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;">I really like this whisky. It’s extremely well composed, well balanced and full of personality/character. Although the nose is more complex than the taste, the taste still gives the nose a good fight with its interesting flavor journey unfolding in your mouth. Virgin american oak really works great for maturing the peated style new make of High Coast, and it was a smart move to also include some 1st-fill bourbon casks in the mix in order to not let the spicyness from the virgin amercian oak take over. This is a whisky that comes highly recommended from me to you. A job well done to the folks at High Coast Distillery! </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at High Coast Distillery for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted by <i>stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4z5N1TvFiyJVnpjjUVaNq7TgAirUugd0W8_wyTm0otTGkXUojcwZ47AR0ska_jW4nz0ht_u3vEzyWgMzoCEqnFbbkcWHnu6cP6aIF9q93QLvNrTaxSBoPqyHhXmb4iwfIvAehQytqAKA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="580" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4z5N1TvFiyJVnpjjUVaNq7TgAirUugd0W8_wyTm0otTGkXUojcwZ47AR0ska_jW4nz0ht_u3vEzyWgMzoCEqnFbbkcWHnu6cP6aIF9q93QLvNrTaxSBoPqyHhXmb4iwfIvAehQytqAKA/w392-h640/alba4.jpg" width="392" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright belongs to High Coast Whisky</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-17853809620121262412020-12-12T18:16:00.002+01:002020-12-12T18:17:45.017+01:00Swedish Whisky from Smögen Distillery – 8 years old batch 2!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH5uMF8T3ziR99Q-wTYYiBjbupANqLje_Joa66ejF1O0GMSmMlgRudvn95aDt2fa_9BMraLD-yBxpoGgyVUUajLqaPsPUR3BHKznNZ34c2rdoGN9LJC1X6qUTDzx6ExFR0HoGX7DLlYo/s2048/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2a.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH5uMF8T3ziR99Q-wTYYiBjbupANqLje_Joa66ejF1O0GMSmMlgRudvn95aDt2fa_9BMraLD-yBxpoGgyVUUajLqaPsPUR3BHKznNZ34c2rdoGN9LJC1X6qUTDzx6ExFR0HoGX7DLlYo/w400-h400/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends! When Pär Caldenby, the Distillery Manager/Master Distiller at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/smogenwhisky/" target="_blank">Smögen Distillery</a>, sent me a package in the end of november he did not only include <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2020/11/swedish-blended-malt-whisky-from-smogen.html" target="_blank">Bländande</a>, but also a sample of the soon to be released <i>second batch of 8 year old whisky</i>! While <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2019/05/swedish-whisky-from-smogen-distillery.html" target="_blank">the first batch</a> was composed from four Sauternes barriques, batch 2 is composed from seven bourbon barrels (six 1-st fill, one refill) and a 1-st fill oloroso sherry hogshead. As we know by now the phenol-content in the heavily peated malt of Smögen is well above 50ppm. This batch is bottled at 59,8% ABV, which I assume to be natural cask strength. Here in Sweden this whisky will be released at the state monopoly this tuesday (201215) and it can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/smogen-1120302/" target="_blank">here</a>. Well folks, without further ado, let's do some analyzing!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lots of peat jumping right at my nose! A peat bomb if you will (more peaty and smoky than medicinal), agressive in a good way. Although heavy on the peat there is for sure nuance; burnt grass/hay, ”leather” with a slight touch of jute cloth or burlap, natural (green) mint, salt-y melted butter, salt vanilla, vanilla ice cream, and even some fugde with a chocolate-y touch. There is a whiff of fruityness that I can’t really pin down, it hides in the vanilla and the ice cream and it’s hard to capture (fleeting)… In bourbon matured and peated whiskies it tends to be something citrus-fruit-peel-y that I think of, so we’ll settle with that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc2lQA-_QUXke2C2K8aKJP-UVdbYdICwGg4MQX6obETziRR5q3gS1IeF6QRQTIFWI_ogHg-bhiXIln0clvfzFm5ak31l21O-1gKXovNRl1s88gPF-qAOLs7BN8PvMVgZfW3cpBeYOcWg/s2048/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2b.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc2lQA-_QUXke2C2K8aKJP-UVdbYdICwGg4MQX6obETziRR5q3gS1IeF6QRQTIFWI_ogHg-bhiXIln0clvfzFm5ak31l21O-1gKXovNRl1s88gPF-qAOLs7BN8PvMVgZfW3cpBeYOcWg/w400-h400/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2b.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Definitely a peat bomb on the taste, explosive stuff this! We have salt/brine (without really being coastal salt if that makes sense), fireworks (gunpowder and ashes with a hint of sulfur), peated leather (however that tastes), medicinal stuff (you know the band-Aid on a roll), evident mint and various green tastes. There is also a beautiful element comprised of peated vanilla and salt almond paste that brings a softness and a richness to it all. The softness and richness is needed and most welcome because if it wasn’t there this whisky would, taste-wise, truly be a monster (a friendly monster mind you).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtK2zx6rIN01sk9hOymRYRdDv-kiXCropDOxi7wd48a6jxtUBvcBAdL7GSCvrDe5xflrGtczPeiQKzB-CP2putJZFGpKte6K_L_kwqLKliCb4GHuWzA8MKa1iMwc53dO_0Y1whhuna-c/s2048/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2c.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtK2zx6rIN01sk9hOymRYRdDv-kiXCropDOxi7wd48a6jxtUBvcBAdL7GSCvrDe5xflrGtczPeiQKzB-CP2putJZFGpKte6K_L_kwqLKliCb4GHuWzA8MKa1iMwc53dO_0Y1whhuna-c/w400-h400/smo%25CC%2588gen8b2c.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the most peated swedish whisky I’ve tried so far, and more importantly the one that manages this style the best. Still there's not ”just” peat, there is also deapth and a degree of finesse, both on the nose and the taste. Out of the nose and the taste the latter is for sure the heaviest, in all its bluntness and straightforward-ness, but it has an elegant aftertaste of softness and richness. Lovers of peat will definitely… you guessed it, love this whisky!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to Pär for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0iNqkvSSY67Q-92Qd946tgaeRDeCXJdw7GEEehUpGPZI8Fq7d1_5tU7ekhhwiLtkhUv8c4cDx2KlqJUpXD2xvurU4rROBMQ-EhHRhvzucaqNs7cs7hm1edt7YeCgnzRU3tf7zpVgx6U/s1943/smo%25CC%2588gen+8b2d.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1943" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0iNqkvSSY67Q-92Qd946tgaeRDeCXJdw7GEEehUpGPZI8Fq7d1_5tU7ekhhwiLtkhUv8c4cDx2KlqJUpXD2xvurU4rROBMQ-EhHRhvzucaqNs7cs7hm1edt7YeCgnzRU3tf7zpVgx6U/w264-h640/smo%25CC%2588gen+8b2d.png" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-5281267479308692882020-12-06T18:23:00.006+01:002020-12-10T17:04:12.746+01:00Swedish Whisky from High Coast Distillery – Solera 01 56% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGXh49rx45NxFR-KLibmpOvS4s4knfPpBsYpQoswLpUUCl-_jK1ocTGKy2AsYNLR92jyq7euja_mXbhcwvUQ6jgZn1j4PJO9kYcK3TCk3vVyFIx3mi9lr03DjH8X76dssb51kEn9IGgA/s2048/hc+solera1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGXh49rx45NxFR-KLibmpOvS4s4knfPpBsYpQoswLpUUCl-_jK1ocTGKy2AsYNLR92jyq7euja_mXbhcwvUQ6jgZn1j4PJO9kYcK3TCk3vVyFIx3mi9lr03DjH8X76dssb51kEn9IGgA/w400-h400/hc+solera1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends! On Friday I received a package from Swedish Distillery <a href="https://highcoastwhisky.se/" target="_blank">High Coast</a> which contained a sample of an upcoming release named <i>Solera 01</i>. As the name clearly reveals this whisky is the first release in a series of forthcoming editions matured in a Solera system. But hey, what’s Solera?! Let’s consult wikipedia:</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">”Solera is a process for aging liquids (…) by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. The purpose of this labor-intensive process is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the beverage over time. Solera means ’on the ground’ in Spanish, and it refers to the lower level of the set of barrels or other containers used in the process; the liquid is traditionally transferred from barrel to barrel, top to bottom, the oldest mixtures being in the barrel right ’on the ground’ (…) In the solera process, a succession of containers are filled with the product over a series of equal aging intervals (usually a year). A group of one or more containers, called scales, criaderas ('nurseries'), or clases are filled for each interval. At the end of the interval after the last scale is filled, the oldest scale in the solera is tapped for part of its content, which is bottled. Then that scale is refilled from the next oldest scale, and that one in succession from the second-oldest, down to the youngest scale, which is refilled with new product. This procedure is repeated at the end of each aging interval. The transferred product mixes with the older product in the next barrel. No container is ever drained, so some of the earlier product always remains in each container. This remnant diminishes to a tiny level, but there can be significant traces of product much older than the average, depending on the transfer fraction. In theory traces of the very first product placed in the solera may be present even after 50 or more cycles”. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Very exciting indeed, a swedish whisky matured in a Solera system, this is going to be really exciting to taste! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk76xQpiH-oc1S2DQMFfx9lWIS-ep1h9Hlh8jqGxPsC2j0Ipk8-UHna3IxnIXymCLbWdUzleXmWcS05HimRVdg6HhGXidDVsUr_WKa99ZXfAsNloLydKtp-J_6jLzWSBqxXm4zjV1VGk/s2048/hc+solera2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk76xQpiH-oc1S2DQMFfx9lWIS-ep1h9Hlh8jqGxPsC2j0Ipk8-UHna3IxnIXymCLbWdUzleXmWcS05HimRVdg6HhGXidDVsUr_WKa99ZXfAsNloLydKtp-J_6jLzWSBqxXm4zjV1VGk/w640-h360/hc+solera2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From highcoastwhisky.se</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, the recipe for this whisky consists of 100% unpeated whisky matured in a Solera system that in total consists of 60 casks; 50 bourbon barrels (200 litres each) divided into five criaderas, and ten 250 litre swedish oak casks on the ground level, the solera casks. The swedish oak has three different origins: five casks have been made from oak grown in Skinshult, three from oak grown in Visingsö, and two from oak grown in Tararp. The whisky drawn from the Solera casks for this batch is 6,34 years old. It has been watered to 56% ABV. 2490 50cl bottles has been produced, and here in Sweden 1500 of them will be available at the state monopoly on the 15th of december. The product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/solera-01-1161902/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWhTwcASDVi_A48PWJXDzK0ViJjVVNX0a2UEe0rdfoC96LqIF2A_JLqxnNvW_c2dounsRbD_e1LprRWxVIVs0yxVJCWiEZ_HOXAB-EfTOc6iCXkBkz6wnsaIHWBmAVZwGfiEeBtM29As/s1728/hc+solera+jonas.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWhTwcASDVi_A48PWJXDzK0ViJjVVNX0a2UEe0rdfoC96LqIF2A_JLqxnNvW_c2dounsRbD_e1LprRWxVIVs0yxVJCWiEZ_HOXAB-EfTOc6iCXkBkz6wnsaIHWBmAVZwGfiEeBtM29As/w223-h400/hc+solera+jonas.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Solera system at High Coast.<br />Photo from dear friend and fellow blogger <br />Jonas Gyllenpanzar Stjerna.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>[Edit]</b> Curious for some more info/details I sent an e-mail to my good friend Lars Karlsson, the Quality Manager at High Coast Distillery, wondering about the specific maturation process for Solera 01. And this is his reply:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">”Solera 01 is more a Swedish Oak finished whisky than it is a Solera system whisky. We filled the Solera casks with whisky previously matured in the Criadera casks for 4,5 years, and let it get extra yummie before bottling. We chose to bottle this whisky under the Solera name since batch 1 is the starting point for what we hope will be a recurring and longlived product here at High Coast Whisky. Batch 1 most of all showcases the taste of Swedish oak. The forthcoming batches will differ from each other, and that is part of the concept we wish to mediate by using a Solera System”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well folks, now we know more so let’s analyze! <b>[End of edit]</b> </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6ta4EJ_FVZHyQaCgQGaNOuPGTRJOZ78sWAjSryIHl3zpwypwOVLDpV5ZZ-r-mTCyJDK02-n7WS8JVeiGJukz3biZzjqUF38jLwEeCT-c0E_QiOwPFeFp3mFIhOmklIVHrNcLCBvS9Wc/s2048/hc+solera3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6ta4EJ_FVZHyQaCgQGaNOuPGTRJOZ78sWAjSryIHl3zpwypwOVLDpV5ZZ-r-mTCyJDK02-n7WS8JVeiGJukz3biZzjqUF38jLwEeCT-c0E_QiOwPFeFp3mFIhOmklIVHrNcLCBvS9Wc/w400-h400/hc+solera3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;">Lots of things going on at once. I find it rather hard to pinpoint which of all the scents are the strongest ones (the scents that dominate the other scents). So at first glance my overall impression is a sprawling scent. Nosing at a distance I first find basic ”white wine”, minerals, there is also a sweetness (light honey?), raisins, a whiff of yeast and/or dairy product mold (the moldy surface of brie), and burnt vanilla. Nosing with my nose in the glass this whisky is quite powerful on the alcohol. I find obvious tannins (thankfully not over the top), spruce resin, and something fruity that gives me a vibe of a yellow fruityness, sort of like a mix of honeydew melon and mango with a sparkling citric touch (fizz) to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfiZJpMlZRofwOocXhtkk-oHdLi9bsoSs9-1mDLf8FCQ0Owe71EwvqRjP3jY7F6Itk4ualkgDVcmPKaFuKC2O06bS00GVgW-iRNOKszVdxwpz3ew6yATYdZBYhuCDQxsF4u_95hQguLM/s2048/hc+solera4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfiZJpMlZRofwOocXhtkk-oHdLi9bsoSs9-1mDLf8FCQ0Owe71EwvqRjP3jY7F6Itk4ualkgDVcmPKaFuKC2O06bS00GVgW-iRNOKszVdxwpz3ew6yATYdZBYhuCDQxsF4u_95hQguLM/w400-h400/hc+solera4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Intense, very intensive indeed! The first thing that strikes me with the taste is that there is an evident saltyness! For me this is highly unusual when it comes to non-peated whisky, so a very interesting feature. The saltyness is followed by violet candy, liquorice something something, a ginger bread spicyness, quite heavy tannins (almost as if being tannins in a rich red wine), and a warm vanilla that in the aftertaste develops into a silky creaminess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNWGbuxOzlV4QL6W5ERKf8-PeB6CBBLMiZZHdGP1QmNd242TQs_P6_HgG_gtFOosqqGVSjuc4-LiXAvFQmwGjqVHk_8o3MJ2boDCO1ktQ0GzeqnKe-EbOhkEZ_lq6rcCfF-QM7H0XAx0/s1579/hc+solera5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1579" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNWGbuxOzlV4QL6W5ERKf8-PeB6CBBLMiZZHdGP1QmNd242TQs_P6_HgG_gtFOosqqGVSjuc4-LiXAvFQmwGjqVHk_8o3MJ2boDCO1ktQ0GzeqnKe-EbOhkEZ_lq6rcCfF-QM7H0XAx0/w640-h394/hc+solera5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo also from Jonas Gyllenpanzar Stjerna.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I feel a little split about this whisky. As I’ve stated previously I’m not really a big fan of whisky matured in Swedish oak (full time, or finishes). When reading about the recipe and then analysing this whisky I did my best not to let that influence me and rather, as I always do in my reviews, simply write and describe what I pick up on the nose and the taste. Having said that I do find the nose to be sprawling and the taste too heavy on the tannins. It is however not a bad whisky and those of you out there that do like swedish oak will most likely love it (especially the taste). So what do I like about this whisky? On the nose I enjoy the sweetness, the rasisins and the fruityness, and on the taste I absolutely love the initial saltyness, the warm vanilla and the creaminess. So I guess that I can conclude that I don’t like the core style of this whisky, meaning the swedish oak elements, but that there are obviously other things that I am attracted to. Having said all this I do actually look forward to the coming batches; it will be very interesting to see what happens along the way when the swedish oak calms down and some components/parts of the whisky slowly gets older and older.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at High Coast Whisky for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60Qsc62yRO8mqObjM5hHZCTLL3rAXfKBVtlwvdfMZuICqAkJ5B_9hVStSFuEqMZe2mzze52ZJ7yaq2BJ13fTZx5lc0F9WznosvzLQg7s87EMBo4FLwqvK7T-XzzG0Gvi8HpSFTC9FSWI/s2573/hc+solera6.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2573" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60Qsc62yRO8mqObjM5hHZCTLL3rAXfKBVtlwvdfMZuICqAkJ5B_9hVStSFuEqMZe2mzze52ZJ7yaq2BJ13fTZx5lc0F9WznosvzLQg7s87EMBo4FLwqvK7T-XzzG0Gvi8HpSFTC9FSWI/w199-h640/hc+solera6.png" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From systembolaget.se<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-56939301276936585042020-11-22T17:48:00.003+01:002020-11-23T14:03:41.119+01:00Swedish Blended Malt Whisky from Smögen & Hven – Bländande 55,5% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhGsuyj-tkIlwQHZR1Oado8Wx8iSCm7b85u-AQfyNmKIL0DrWpXLvip8ugyii_ibMC0dh9T2iYTBzg_fkgVJUkvLM3LFMkB6zZvDMwvVnjNSfu7FTm9K-P7CUP82f06nNMtEqtJINd3I/s2048/bla%25CC%2588ndande1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhGsuyj-tkIlwQHZR1Oado8Wx8iSCm7b85u-AQfyNmKIL0DrWpXLvip8ugyii_ibMC0dh9T2iYTBzg_fkgVJUkvLM3LFMkB6zZvDMwvVnjNSfu7FTm9K-P7CUP82f06nNMtEqtJINd3I/w400-h400/bla%25CC%2588ndande1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Friends! Last week Pär Caldenby, the Distillery Manager/Master Distiller at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/smogenwhisky" target="_blank">Smögen Distillery</a>, contacted me by e-mail giving me a heads up that some upcoming products would come my way in the form of samples. Yay! The package arrived at the beginning of this week and one of the samples was marked "Bländande". The sample contained a swedish <i>blended malt</i> whisky and the name of this whisky is of course a pun, a play with words on the fact that it is both a blend and that the result of the blend is of <i>bländande</i> quality, meaning of blinding/dazzling quality. Bländande is a collab between Pär at Smögen and Henric Molin, the Distillery Manager/Master Distiller at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spiritofhven" target="_blank">Hven Distillery.</a> This is (most likely) the first ever blended malt whisky using whisky produced in Sweden! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The recipe consists of roughly equal parts whisky from the two distilleries. Both parts are made from heavily peated barley. The whisky is 8 years old. In total nine casks were used: four virgin chinquapin barrels (Quercus muehlenbergii) containing Single Malt Whisky from Hven Distilley, and four 1st-fill bourbon barrels (ex-Makers Mark) as well as one Oloroso Sherry Hogshead containing Single Malt Whisky from Smögen Distillery. The blending was carried out by Pär and Henric. Prior to bottling the whisky spent more than a month marrying, and was then bottled at (watered to) 55,5% ABV. Bottling took place at Smögen Distillery, while distribution is taken care of by Hven Distillery. More than 3000 bottles were produced in total.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Curious for some more info/details I sent an e-mail to Pär with a few questions which he kindly replied to. You'll find his answers in italics:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1). What is the ppm for the respective parts from Smögen and Hven?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The phenol-content in the malt of Smögen is fully [well above] 50ppm. For Hven it is somewhat lower but still definitely heavily peated</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2). The whisky has been watered to 55,5%, what ABV did the respective parts have before watering took place?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The ABV in the casks were well above 60% before dilution.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3). Was the sherry hogshead european or american oak?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>American white oak.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4). In a commentary field on facebook it is said that half the contents of the sherry hogshead was used for this bottling. Is this info correct?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Half the hoggie was used, that is correct. Sherry casks can easily dominate so one has to use them with good judgement</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5). Can you share an exact number for the marrying time, and in what kind of vessel was the blend married?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Fully [well exceeding]</i> <i>one month. A [steel] tank.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok folks, there you have it! Here in Sweden 2600 bottles of <i>Bländande</i> is available this Tuesday (24/11) at the state monopoly, and the product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/blandande-svensk-blended-malt-whisky-4086002/" target="_blank">here</a>. Now, let's analyze and see if the result of this blend blinds and dazzles me!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikr1KY5LD4j4pK50uQGINrCrFSDf6GnZcHisjMyOvN2luNm07VGX525dZgRSiyPmOJXTXV3ouESuk1SWQVOnsMzNweWpecjS8Yiwa1_c6Se4BC3IafhE1O0xSa7oom7S-KrDM6Cw8_DRo/s2048/bla%25CC%2588ndande2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikr1KY5LD4j4pK50uQGINrCrFSDf6GnZcHisjMyOvN2luNm07VGX525dZgRSiyPmOJXTXV3ouESuk1SWQVOnsMzNweWpecjS8Yiwa1_c6Se4BC3IafhE1O0xSa7oom7S-KrDM6Cw8_DRo/w400-h400/bla%25CC%2588ndande2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lots of dark and rich scents lurk about, great deapth. Very mature. The first things that pop up is the center scents consisting of dark fugde, something chocolate-y, ”fruity vanilla” (red berries and vanilla) and also a quite big malty-ness. Surrounding the center is of course peat, but it’s not really the Islay-style kind of peat (that I would associate with Smögen); there is a lot of peat but it’s rather soft and at the same time earthy (rich soil), and when pouring some of this whisky in my hands, rubbing them and nosing, the peat manifests itself as live coal/embers, leather and a whiff of mint. It might be just in my mind but I can kind of feel (recognize) which scents are from Smögen and which are from Hven, meaning both identities/distillery characters are present. At the same time, this is a really sucessfull blending project with perfect integration where the two parts become one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvXuENDXeaaitJG5e6c5ZZa0YAy37-uDdDEKDE_yksux1onTkOJMrx5-zHtyX_68dCGFbpzu441BYLlZKmTQHlXuB5LYXTQdim-KqzGvK7igxoOsXe7LrrEN9hk9cVcxa5xkOpcUqef8/s2048/bla%25CC%2588ndande3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvXuENDXeaaitJG5e6c5ZZa0YAy37-uDdDEKDE_yksux1onTkOJMrx5-zHtyX_68dCGFbpzu441BYLlZKmTQHlXuB5LYXTQdim-KqzGvK7igxoOsXe7LrrEN9hk9cVcxa5xkOpcUqef8/w400-h400/bla%25CC%2588ndande3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wow, just wow! Old Laphroaig on sherry casks, spot on! This is definitely my kind of whisky. It tastes like 18 years or older but the peat has not calmed down (as it would have if it was that old and from Islay). On the contrary, the peat is very much alive, vivid, with an earthy, rich, chewy character to it. I’ve never tasted a Swedish whisky that tastes like this one. Magic is in the air and all nerds out there should be really happy that this project happened. Trying to ignore/set aside the absolutely wonderful peatyness for the sake of further analysis, I find dark raisins, black treacle and traces of sweet acidity (as of sour milk) in home baked bread, honey sweetness, sugar coated/caramelized ashes, and a wonderful smoky malty-ness. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buy this whisky. Or you’ll truly miss out on something great!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to Pär and Henric for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj250WSbvRIj9OOvpVF7soEjTkHWw4vneYQnhVhAKGa10OB0FfpY6VgEiz5H-eN5db0Oj67WPyc-abkwRJjCZHZaO22tyr_njbAmGPvvlDzjlWQu7G8JBp_KLoUhr1Jf3wZCBlgjGMQmFU/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1967" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj250WSbvRIj9OOvpVF7soEjTkHWw4vneYQnhVhAKGa10OB0FfpY6VgEiz5H-eN5db0Oj67WPyc-abkwRJjCZHZaO22tyr_njbAmGPvvlDzjlWQu7G8JBp_KLoUhr1Jf3wZCBlgjGMQmFU/w260-h640/24514523_800.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr></tbody></table></i></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-4182176944681780372020-10-25T16:45:00.003+01:002020-10-25T16:45:50.224+01:00Swedish Whisky from Norrtelje Distillery – Single Sherry Cask no.43-250!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkfxREFc6LLHW8fz_VPZqQZ4Fk42VSNaFwxl_XctGpP6yH0oQRGJA6zgdBGXkYOa-tDumQ8itWq-kyvu42Pusx65CGANpErWGZ060OcOe9m9p3UQfMEE9rINqwa1HaEl1gyviicvKAWg/s2048/norrt+SC1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkfxREFc6LLHW8fz_VPZqQZ4Fk42VSNaFwxl_XctGpP6yH0oQRGJA6zgdBGXkYOa-tDumQ8itWq-kyvu42Pusx65CGANpErWGZ060OcOe9m9p3UQfMEE9rINqwa1HaEl1gyviicvKAWg/w400-h400/norrt+SC1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! A couple of weeks ago the Sales Manager at </span><a href="https://norrteljebrenneri.se/" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Norrtelje Distillery</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> contacted me and wondered if I was interested in tasting a soon to be released whisky produced by them. "Of course" said I, and a couple of days later a sample showed up in my mail box. Now, this is the second release (at the swedish state monopoly) of whisky from this distillery, and this is the info I have about it:</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The barley was organically grown in the landscape of Östergötland, and malted by Viking Malt in the city of Halmstad. The malt is unpeated. In the production process water from the well of the farm that the distillery is located at was used. Distillation took place in april 2016. The new make was filled into cask 43-250, a 250 litre oloroso sherry hogshead, on the 24th of September that same year. It was bottled straight from the cask without filtration on the 13th of January 2020 at 48,7% ABV (which I assume to be cask strength). The cask gave 193 70cl bottles out of which 185 will be available at the swedish state monopoly this Tuesday. The product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/roslagswhisky-8042501/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok friends, let analyse!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cVlTB7DYPkEw0mI5PXGuH2KOjbrkUoAJN-u5N4YxDke143lw8TvjNboSCf2Jw3nKMLXu_l6DjSZpjZKGwuppXTuTElSmal35DtoHgplLhteBTspB6uO6Af12ZF27lAMGrPwFEwM-cdg/s2048/norrt+SC2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cVlTB7DYPkEw0mI5PXGuH2KOjbrkUoAJN-u5N4YxDke143lw8TvjNboSCf2Jw3nKMLXu_l6DjSZpjZKGwuppXTuTElSmal35DtoHgplLhteBTspB6uO6Af12ZF27lAMGrPwFEwM-cdg/w400-h400/norrt+SC2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At a distance from the glass (30cm) there are whiffs of sweet malt, sugar sweetness (syrup), and sultana raisins. Nosing closer to the glass (10cm) I find obvious notes of a nice sherry maturation (dried dark raisins, dried figs), light honey, and a slight touch of juice from canned pinneaple. When nosing straight into the glass there is apparent yeast, a yeast that has some peat and also some wood in it. The sherry maturation/style has unfortunately not fully overcome the yeast. In the deep bottom layers I find a beautiful liquorice and/or mint (the flavour, not the plant).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43o3L-UAitH1RLMnDluFzs5-Hdv_W51pOHWntqVQP6xhD6nQOv0CwVZjD-NzBlXy2G2UYsBTeXWvtaHHycmxsM2oREyD_VT7znwqo2c3xHVakCQiAUOExWQdmUC3riShyphenhyphenAbIKyuY91cA/s2048/norrt+SC3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43o3L-UAitH1RLMnDluFzs5-Hdv_W51pOHWntqVQP6xhD6nQOv0CwVZjD-NzBlXy2G2UYsBTeXWvtaHHycmxsM2oREyD_VT7znwqo2c3xHVakCQiAUOExWQdmUC3riShyphenhyphenAbIKyuY91cA/w400-h400/norrt+SC3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Starts off on dark raisin sweetnes and some saltyness which fastly morphs into a mixture of yeast and new wood that thankfully quite quickly (2-3 seconds) moves on into a kick from the ABV and then we have medium peatyness, almond paste with whiffs of bitter almond, grassyness, and dryness. After these stark/strong flavours we have pear (not quite ripe), something red (apple?), dry vanilla, vanilla custard, and the almond paste comes back. In the aftertaste there is a mellow sherry sweetness, and the taste actually ends kind of in the same way as the nose did, with a pleasent mixture of peat and mint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If one has the ability to look past the yeast on the nose, nosing this whisky is a pleasure; it is complex and it contains some goodies, especially the sultana raisins, the pinneaple juice, the hint of peat, and the liquorice-/mint-vibe going on. On the taste, all in all, the yeast is less of a problem since it fades as fast as it does. Here too there are goodies, especially the medium peatyness, the dry vanilla and the sherry sweetness. Eventhough this edition of whisky from Norrtelje Distillery shows yeast both on the nose and on the taste it is definitely more mature and grown up than their first release (which was 6 years old mind you). Considering that this release is only three years old I think that it is ok that there is a little yeast in there (something I have experienced before in young whiskies/early releases from other swedish whisky distilleries). In my opinion Norrtelje Distillery has clearly moved forward and improved their whisky making skills. Congrats and good for you!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Norrtelje Distillery for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0kjptsars1gEDLWOG3ny2a_UyCGA29UrgZlMOjB-biR31VH52khDk8AVq6W_bEHT1OZBxCrgo20fhcSzOC4zadySb_2Bx1z_4BtnN9zlaM-EQogrV8ClG69xQfI6AAkhs1Ge_Vu5pe8/s750/norrt+SC4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0kjptsars1gEDLWOG3ny2a_UyCGA29UrgZlMOjB-biR31VH52khDk8AVq6W_bEHT1OZBxCrgo20fhcSzOC4zadySb_2Bx1z_4BtnN9zlaM-EQogrV8ClG69xQfI6AAkhs1Ge_Vu5pe8/w640-h640/norrt+SC4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic/copyright belongs to Norrtelje Distillery</td></tr></tbody></table>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-26886119291681748402020-10-18T15:09:00.004+02:002020-10-19T09:46:46.576+02:00Swedish Whisky from Hven Distillery – The Nose 44,9% ABV!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPs4kza5rl2x2WA7WcSYIz9KQu75LEswVxy32PFwv0wPPIUMyVvcElxK2ysChf88Zi9EUnRaXvTlrvL26wDbJc9tnuyKPCIr2ZgAZ595LYXHB7dE95qq0KD0IlaupNH-YSGklfo1UHik/s2048/the+nose1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPs4kza5rl2x2WA7WcSYIz9KQu75LEswVxy32PFwv0wPPIUMyVvcElxK2ysChf88Zi9EUnRaXvTlrvL26wDbJc9tnuyKPCIr2ZgAZ595LYXHB7dE95qq0KD0IlaupNH-YSGklfo1UHik/w400-h400/the+nose1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! Today I bring you my review and thoughts on an upcoming release of swedish whisky from <a href="https://www.backafallsbyn.se/destilleriet" target="_blank">Hven Distillery</a> called <i>The Nose</i>. You guessed it, this whisky is a tribute to the Master Blender (a.k.a The Nose) at the Hven distillery. You may not however have guessed that the name of this whisky also hints at the famous astronomer Tyco Brahe who lost the tip of his nose in a duel involving swords, and as a replacement is said to have worn a copper nose on an everyday basis but a golden nose for parties (very fancy, right?). Well, folks, that's just about as much storytelling I will indulge in for now...<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The recipe goes like this: new make made from lightly peated malt has been matured in a total of 21 casks; 14 french oak casks that previously held Bourdaux wine (Petrus, Margaux, Latour), and 7 american oak cask, some virgin, some that previously held Vodka from Hven Distillery. The whisky was then transferred into spanish oloroso sherry casks for "marrying". The age of the whisky is 8-12 years old and has been bottled at 44,9% ABV. Here in Sweden it will be released on the 20th of October available at the swedish state monopoly. The product can be viewed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/produkt/sprit/the-nose-9000702/" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok folks, let nose and taste The Nose!</div><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRlufw-pCEDdF1PvhUg93RZeUtd_b4gAvrY8TaZErbealBrDbPTF-R6i56uLAMhznZCpWROXF91nKHq2JeZHh-TZuf09YOsAwkcwSqI84QnHnHc9N8UoCgeDaawPKdEdUezNkgzwuza4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRlufw-pCEDdF1PvhUg93RZeUtd_b4gAvrY8TaZErbealBrDbPTF-R6i56uLAMhznZCpWROXF91nKHq2JeZHh-TZuf09YOsAwkcwSqI84QnHnHc9N8UoCgeDaawPKdEdUezNkgzwuza4/w400-h400/the+nose3.JPG" width="400" /></a></b></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Nose</b>:</div><div style="text-align: left;">A very unique nose, that’s for sure; at first nosing there is juniper berries, but also juniper needles and/or fir, bark, and a medium touch of tar and asphalt with a hint of peat and dried grass. With that said, kind of a mix of forest, autumn, and industry (”industrial”; a slight feel of truck diesel). Below this dominant and rather harsh layer I find light yeast acidity, fresh pear, a bold vanilla, raisins and dried moist dates.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0AjYJ0iVdZPwWrJAOAy_-Y9SJZQqfZiADRfVA3Q8jcC9-wUXCRLaPLUdawAoCgK9omz-b5woYMRchkEe__sp3aFb8aIPlFP7K0X5eObxM0LkBSdw84gZIopnQw_wpA9KF6zmXQ6NivY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0AjYJ0iVdZPwWrJAOAy_-Y9SJZQqfZiADRfVA3Q8jcC9-wUXCRLaPLUdawAoCgK9omz-b5woYMRchkEe__sp3aFb8aIPlFP7K0X5eObxM0LkBSdw84gZIopnQw_wpA9KF6zmXQ6NivY/w400-h400/the+nose2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Taste</b>:<br />The harshness and industry is gone, in favour of autumn and deapth! We have a dry and exciting spicyness, rye/cereal, warmth, dark viscous honey, liquid almond paste, roasted malt, milk chocolate infused with coffee beans, the feel of european oak slightly drawing towards manzanilla. And then, boom! A bold dryness hits my mouth, a feel of bubbles/carbonation jumping around on my tounge, dryness in the roof of my mouth as well as throat. After a while things calm down and the aftertaste gives a whiff of peach, pancake batter, water with light honey, and soft/sweet vanilla.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsmz2sqNEMcChrCd7A3DZgdfN7Yb4KR5TCzoLtNdbBHub9qORlcEpwcLrpH8C3OZXY9M-ciuO4yPURksIlItCQM83Q_cORHDITZmDzQOAXEmVKlVRe4bgrXhlKw9KhGpk4-e2BwSEKLk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsmz2sqNEMcChrCd7A3DZgdfN7Yb4KR5TCzoLtNdbBHub9qORlcEpwcLrpH8C3OZXY9M-ciuO4yPURksIlItCQM83Q_cORHDITZmDzQOAXEmVKlVRe4bgrXhlKw9KhGpk4-e2BwSEKLk/w400-h400/the+nose4.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:<br />Now that's a jorney for sure! The taste has few similarities with the nose, the nose might in fact be a deterrent to some people given its unusual-ness, but those who taste shall be rewarded. Very intriguing and interesting both on the nose and the taste. The nose of The Nose is quite complex indeed, the taste is more straightforward and not too dry. The aftertaste is soft and sweet and feels kind of like a mix of spicy Speyside and a luxorius, well-composed high quality, blended scotch.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Hven Distillery for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEito5k8rrLThWsg9JoaI0mAv6b1duokcDGnNb_JfvD2Dn1yw53hHGqBOOCXXwJISHE_rT36EGWOtrMtnTHcCWGKfVmIPTeu_vAvltRmv8sBi2CtY9U-O0GwEYu5SYLUcOH7VKgErD_d9C8/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1527" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEito5k8rrLThWsg9JoaI0mAv6b1duokcDGnNb_JfvD2Dn1yw53hHGqBOOCXXwJISHE_rT36EGWOtrMtnTHcCWGKfVmIPTeu_vAvltRmv8sBi2CtY9U-O0GwEYu5SYLUcOH7VKgErD_d9C8/w336-h640/the-nose-product-photo-w800.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic belongs to Hven Distillery<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-28230948112248735732020-10-11T15:08:00.002+02:002020-10-11T15:08:36.722+02:00Swedish Whisky from High Coast Distillery – Silent Mills O2!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5yQq-otvRC7W2wNURqNAs4cb5fYh4z0VxgebBVyAwWo3e9YgmFHM__OqoxFPh7bH0HKkMZrv-Cr0_rW_S6KLNsZtmx2o0sUR-Zunhre0OXFPAj74HZLnCXQfq9NbWiuNsDBkfBTbA0w/s2048/HC+Silentmills2a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5yQq-otvRC7W2wNURqNAs4cb5fYh4z0VxgebBVyAwWo3e9YgmFHM__OqoxFPh7bH0HKkMZrv-Cr0_rW_S6KLNsZtmx2o0sUR-Zunhre0OXFPAj74HZLnCXQfq9NbWiuNsDBkfBTbA0w/w400-h400/HC+Silentmills2a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! Today I am very happy to bring you my review/tasting nostes of an upcoming release from <a href="https://highcoastwhisky.se/" target="_blank">High Coast Distillery/High Coast Whisky</a> called <i>Silent Mills 02 – Sandö</i>. Before we talk the specifics of maturation etcetera, here is some background info from the site of the distillery:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Silent Mills 02 – Sandö is number two in a new category that develops and deepens the theme of the pedigree and authenticity of our Origins series. The High Coast, and its nature and history, is the backbone of our brand and the source of inspiration for our whisky. With Silent Mills, our historical origins in the northern forestry industry come into focus and the whisky is linked to our Origins edition, Timmer. Where Timmer draws inspiration from forestry work and log-driving along the river Ångermanälven, the Silent Mills series develops the story and highlights all the sawmills that have lined the river and which have long ago sawn their last log. Like Timmer, all Silent Mills editions are peated and are matured on 200 liter bourbon barrels. The crucial difference between Timmer and the Silent Mills series is that we add other barrels to Silent Mills to deepen the taste and create a whisky with more complexity and an exciting tonality [...] In Silent Mills 01, it was American new oak that added spice and clear vanilla tones. In Silent Mills 02 – Sandö, it is instead selected sherry casks that deepen the taste. [...] Like the previous edition, and the upcoming ones in the Silent Mills series, the whisky is bottled with an alcohol strength of 51%".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, some details: the barley used was peated to 44-45ppm. Whisky matured in 20 bourbon casks (volume around 200 litre per cask) and 4 oloroso sherry hogsheads (volume around 250 litre per cask) were blended together. The youngest whisky in the mix is 6.01 years old and the oldest is 7.69 years old (giving and average age of 7.35 years old). The whisky was watered from cask strength (in this case 62,4-64,3% ABV) to 51% ABV. In total the casks gave 10318 bottles out of which 2500 will be (initially) available on the 13th of October at the swedish state monopoly. The product can be veiwed by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/dryck/sprit/silent-mills-02-4082202" target="_blank">here</a>. Ok folks, let's review!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOuRS3v_84hc4ZutYTzEcir48L-gHO7I9_E7DkVjY6fDH_9qZKYt9mbFXnal_yguN8u2oiJOZpa8HjoqYd6yTlTR6vxcHRcarn8RPdHzoYtYAIo1JQxTHHA0IfD8J9XrV77lTkgUnllg/s2048/HC+Silentmills2b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTOuRS3v_84hc4ZutYTzEcir48L-gHO7I9_E7DkVjY6fDH_9qZKYt9mbFXnal_yguN8u2oiJOZpa8HjoqYd6yTlTR6vxcHRcarn8RPdHzoYtYAIo1JQxTHHA0IfD8J9XrV77lTkgUnllg/w320-h320/HC+Silentmills2b.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nose</b>: </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This dram has two general profiles/styles going on at once. Sometimes when I nose my attention is drawn to profile number one: wonderful soft lemon zest (a touch of watered orange juice in there), a tad of lemon-sugar sweetness and at the same time very fruity fresh. Overall incredibly fruity. At other times when nosing my attention is drawn to profile number two: Smooth, deep, elegant but ’dark’ peat. Leather, and in the deapths a complex vanilla with a slight touch of almond. In the very bottom there is a cup of hot chocolate with a splash of peat in it. All in all very intriguing, mature, and kind of like a smooth Laphroaig.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Taste</b>:</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Starts off on ”burnt” sugar, caramelized pan-fried lemon-slices and peated pear, and then moves quickly on into a lump of dried up almond paste, farmhouse, earth/soil, smoke/ashes, liquorice penicillin, wet leather slippers and at the very end we have parsnips pan-fried in a lot of butter topped of with sweet peat. Wow, what a journey of flavors! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvSh8miPz0Pi_GYBF-WLLkvr5xPSFkpIlBHHY46vs5rj9tVSs_xkjLHYIiXAv01sWeBuH5EUgYZOR1GWUXIRZiJwoplCKEYvuTS1u1rbZva8D78iKghBE8xnV-K05zIcCo23PKkYI0vw/s2048/HC+Silentmills2c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvSh8miPz0Pi_GYBF-WLLkvr5xPSFkpIlBHHY46vs5rj9tVSs_xkjLHYIiXAv01sWeBuH5EUgYZOR1GWUXIRZiJwoplCKEYvuTS1u1rbZva8D78iKghBE8xnV-K05zIcCo23PKkYI0vw/w320-h320/HC+Silentmills2c.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nose is very different from the taste; while there is (in part) a very fruity profile on the nose the taste is mostly concerned with rough and rustic stuff! I would not really say that I pick up/spot the sherry matured aspect of this dram (but it is after all only around 20% of the liquid that has been matured in sherry casks). All in all this is a very good, complex, and well composed whisky that brings the drinker the best of two sides. Looking at the age of the whisky it is a job incredibly well done! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at High Coast Whisky for the great opportunity to review this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/" target="_blank">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/" target="_blank">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky" target="_blank">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1J5Xs7yXI5hpsxhBqEnSMHadAmnR52pLcm7Da4glcHnQRNKazJAxpOqMBqdSnsJNYqi0MHUc7Y6LSjmk03BvNDY4yDAxB2rqKKifBttZFU6utXPHHLyMcifkljJvAu1kIGyfgveqoLg/s1200/HC+silentmillsd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1J5Xs7yXI5hpsxhBqEnSMHadAmnR52pLcm7Da4glcHnQRNKazJAxpOqMBqdSnsJNYqi0MHUc7Y6LSjmk03BvNDY4yDAxB2rqKKifBttZFU6utXPHHLyMcifkljJvAu1kIGyfgveqoLg/w320-h640/HC+silentmillsd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In lack of a photo of the Silent Mills 02 bottle. Pic borrowed from systembolaget.se </td></tr></tbody></table></div>SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-91101610754453308502020-07-04T16:20:00.001+02:002020-07-04T16:20:55.814+02:00Springbank 12yo Cask Strength vs. Longrow Red 13yo – 2020 editions!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-hTmSJtpnQNpKsfNgcG5Ny-wT3tnHGiMhQPFvqcDypml3Dhc0UeOsY7LWvaDNcoCL6Xf70cvdqp7KPI0EX7qjy6JlhRhRALw1WQvKEFz21jPvx-feshjVPP3fiwQw8nIVJHCptQnxc0/s1600/vs1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-hTmSJtpnQNpKsfNgcG5Ny-wT3tnHGiMhQPFvqcDypml3Dhc0UeOsY7LWvaDNcoCL6Xf70cvdqp7KPI0EX7qjy6JlhRhRALw1WQvKEFz21jPvx-feshjVPP3fiwQw8nIVJHCptQnxc0/s400/vs1.JPG" width="400" /></a>Friends! Recently I was contacted by swedish importer/distributor <a href="http://www.symposionhot.com/">Symposion</a> asking if I was interested in reviewing some of their upcoming whiskies. There was a bunch of whiskies on offer but as I have previously done I chose to (only) sign up for some samples from <a href="http://springbank.scot/">Springbank Distillery</a>. </div>
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The samples I chose are the latest editions of Springbank 12 yo Cask Strength and Longrow Red (both bottled 2020). The reason for choosing them was that I actually did a versus/comparison/head to head of them two years ago (click <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2018/04/springbank-12yo-cask-strength-vs.html">here</a> to read that article), and I thought it would be interesting to do the same thing again :)</div>
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Here in Sweden, both the Springbank 12yo CS and the Longrow Red will be available for purchase at the state monopoly this thursday and you can view them by clicking <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/dryck/sprit/springbank-12-years-cask-strenght-2020-release-4020501">here</a> and <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/dryck/sprit/longrow-red-13-years-4024701">here</a>. When it comes to recipe for the two whiskies these are the details:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Provided by Symposion</td></tr>
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<i>Springbank 12yo CS</i> (12-15ppm) has for the 2020 edition been matured to 65% in bourbon casks and to 35% in sherry casks. The ABV is 55,3% and Sweden receives 540 bottles (number of bottles produced in total not stated). </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Provided by Symposion</td></tr>
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<i>Longrow Red 13yo</i> (50-55ppm) has initially spent 10 years on a mix of bourbon barrels and refill sherry hogsheads (ratio not stated), and has after that enjoyed 3 years of "finishing" in casks that previously matured Cabernet Sauvignon from the Chilean Mont Gras' Intrigue Estate (located in Alto Maipo). The ABV is 51,6% and Sweden receives 660 bottles out of 9000 in total. Ok folks, lets review!</div>
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<b>Springbank nose</b>:</div>
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Lots of sweetness going on here folks! There’s sweet peat, sweet leather (caramelized leather), and the sweetness hanging around in the air from when you’ve just squeezed some lemons, and hey, there’s even some peated lemon peel in here! And of course the peatyness is also rather “heavy”, moist, and soil-y as it usually is when it comes to Springbank, but, I really must say that this is a cask strength version of Springbank that is really, really delicate and rather smooth; the ABV/high strength is hardly noticeable! The sweet fruitiness calls for almost all of the attention and below the “heavy” layer this whisky shows a softness and a creamy richness that is to die for!</div>
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<b>Longrow nose</b>:</div>
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Very “closed” at first nosing… first I only pick up mould and plank (newly cut wood) intermingling with almond paste in a preserve tin (meaning notes of metal), strange. Then I swirl the glass firmly and vigorously and now the dram opens up. Out comes glorious notes of old leather, redcurrants, lingonberry jam, very dry almond paste, the purple wine gums in Bassets, orange marmalade/orange zest in peated full fat whipped cream, and very un-ripe green grapes. In comparison to the previous dram the ABV/high strength is definitely noticeable in this dram and has a bite to it (so watch out). On the downside, unfortunately, the plank (newly cut wood) returns in a sort of discrete way (once you’ve picked it up you can’t not feel it). Cool stuff on the nose but do remember to give the glass a good old swirl before nosing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCBLLii488KPIyAc1kvrPreq4TzVErK0Yo3hUaGKTChjhr1szSbZ8LshowOgROWK_gq9h8JAX6PcB67BpPbHErrcrmuAyTXs77vdbQdRMkHrptdob8Anczmw2iYltOjhQRA_d5MBoiIQ/s1600/vs2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCBLLii488KPIyAc1kvrPreq4TzVErK0Yo3hUaGKTChjhr1szSbZ8LshowOgROWK_gq9h8JAX6PcB67BpPbHErrcrmuAyTXs77vdbQdRMkHrptdob8Anczmw2iYltOjhQRA_d5MBoiIQ/s320/vs2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Springbank taste</b>:</div>
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Oh, the perfect strength! First comes a generous amount of saltyness and the bitterness from licking lemon peel (why did I do that?!), and then bam! Dry peat, dry smoke, heavy tannins, lots of grape fruit and a tad of red chilli. It’s all very fast indeed. In the second wave there is vanilla cigarillo graciously moving on into peated almond paste and seaweed infused with mellow lemon. The aftertaste shows fading peat, watery vanilla sauce and a whiff of mint. Wow, that was very intense and quite eventful. A very interesting and surprising flavour journey!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94cz77VVLB68-1sks5V02nAHD8xXW_zMdYNgNJbLuJRyewjbeRwtzpHoppe5Wv09PbouMNKunYzaleZscYnv4ZUFRKkk0MR7AEnG_yFUETwkdsS-8eKQkd0bEIgCi_G231tRq2hsMOgA/s1600/vs3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94cz77VVLB68-1sks5V02nAHD8xXW_zMdYNgNJbLuJRyewjbeRwtzpHoppe5Wv09PbouMNKunYzaleZscYnv4ZUFRKkk0MR7AEnG_yFUETwkdsS-8eKQkd0bEIgCi_G231tRq2hsMOgA/s320/vs3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Longrow taste</b>: </div>
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It all starts off with a really vibrant phase of sour-sweetness from the red berries on the nose, and lemon pulp that has been over the top sugared, and after that it’s on to old somewhat lurky peat, peated vanilla, watery leather and milky almond paste. Unfortunately, after this it all just morphs into a sticky and bland almond paste and faint peatsmoke and that’s it folks... While the 12 yo CS is fast and surprising on the taste in a good way, this one is fast and abrupt and nothing really happens after the two main phases. It just fades away to a rather... boring peat. That's just too bad. </div>
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<b>Some reflections to sum up</b>: </div>
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Well, this time around the Springbank wins the trophy for sure; both its nose and taste is far better, in fact superior, to the nose and taste of the Longrow. Sadly and unfortunately I’d say that this years edition of Longrow Red is a bit of a failure… Looking at the price level the Springbank has all the advantage and appeal. 799kr (around €80) is indeed a catch! Sláinte!</div>
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A big thanks to the nice people at Symposion for the opportunity to review and taste these whiskies before their release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and <i>when permission is granted by stating the source</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUCYw8nikq_K42X57_DdAsNdGcfRwUMBvWHirJ31DR6HLxB3yC3Z9jgBwJmnCsMHoh9wojhZgeuD2Zh_2KOCHDZijdQ-DwvBieDTU7D-by_f66J4gTCONF3dkNQ6yhL8ttEN5a0YHES4/s1600/vs7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUCYw8nikq_K42X57_DdAsNdGcfRwUMBvWHirJ31DR6HLxB3yC3Z9jgBwJmnCsMHoh9wojhZgeuD2Zh_2KOCHDZijdQ-DwvBieDTU7D-by_f66J4gTCONF3dkNQ6yhL8ttEN5a0YHES4/s400/vs7.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borrowed from systembolaget.se</td></tr>
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SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-75326082039166354482020-05-30T16:19:00.000+02:002020-05-30T16:19:18.913+02:00Swedish Whisky from High Coast Whisky – Cinco 50,5% ABV!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo9wX2O8KuYqtKuQVYc24E4gOyDhtskX1otX0e5Sj6FF0f_Re340gBLBeOcDoZRCX0O4RWcpLRKHD09Bv7cwHpg1RScAkst41bwXeqTSxK2VtKELd9LmYa8ZQYQPU4dlu5NAAFk-wRpg/s1600/cinco1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo9wX2O8KuYqtKuQVYc24E4gOyDhtskX1otX0e5Sj6FF0f_Re340gBLBeOcDoZRCX0O4RWcpLRKHD09Bv7cwHpg1RScAkst41bwXeqTSxK2VtKELd9LmYa8ZQYQPU4dlu5NAAFk-wRpg/s400/cinco1.JPG" width="400" /></a>Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! Today I bring you my review of a swedish whisky from <a href="https://highcoastwhisky.se/">High Coast Whisky</a> (formerly known as Box Distillery). This whisky should have been released on the 2nd of april, but the release was postponed probably due to stuff relating to the pandemic. Anyways, this monday, the 1st of june, it is finally being released! Please click <a href="https://www.systembolaget.se/dryck/sprit/cinco-4072702">here</a> to view the product.</div>
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The name of the whisky is <i>Cinco</i>, meaning five; the whisky is a mix of whisky that has been matured in five kinds of sherry casks, namely Oloroso, Fino, Pedro Ximenez, Amontillado, and Palo Cortado. Ten of the sherry casks were of Spanish origin, and one sherry cask was of American origin. The whisky, made from unpeated barley, has however first spent time in bourbon casks (between 2,66 to 5,64 years), and has then been "finished" in either of the types of sherry casks until reaching the youngest age of 6,72 years and the oldest age of 8,68 years. Exciting!</div>
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Ok, let's review! </div>
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<b>Nose</b>:</div>
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The nose is really soft, velvet-y and silk-y soft actually (so maybe extremely soft is a more appropriate description). This whisky is absolutely drizzling with scents like toffee, melted butter, sugar syrup made from brown sugar, and a deep, deep dark and creamy vanilla. Being a sherried whisky I find it very interesting that these scents actually stand before the ”classic” notes of sherry maturation (dark raisins, dried figs, dreid dates, etcetera). The sherry-style leans more towards rich and juicy dark red grapes than raisins, and more towards dried apricots and melted butter than dried figs. Very interesting and an intriguing nose that I could nose forever. Mmm…</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q0LDVp5woXT7-8kcfn1-g27bcspp8CdidX1ASkCBav5b0zd1ql9l5KZhpIB9MniYt6hB1pzlbgGV7NoSt9NtoquP3WKTIBm6RyVVaWpnRMIDeUwUkucWqG-MtFUywr2IEQDAaAUpNX8/s1600/cinco2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q0LDVp5woXT7-8kcfn1-g27bcspp8CdidX1ASkCBav5b0zd1ql9l5KZhpIB9MniYt6hB1pzlbgGV7NoSt9NtoquP3WKTIBm6RyVVaWpnRMIDeUwUkucWqG-MtFUywr2IEQDAaAUpNX8/s320/cinco2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>Taste</b>:</div>
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Cool! Actually quite dry in style! I thought it would be more creamy than dry but this is quite dry and medium heavy in terms of the tanninic-ness. We do have melted butter and toffee from the nose, and the vanilla is also here but influenced with coffe and… amaretto with a dash of pistachio! Alongside these flavours there is also something over-ripe-pear-ish intermingling with evident menthol/mint that actually reminds me of a light peatyness. A very more-ish and chewy taste!</div>
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<b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div>
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This is a really good tasting and interesting style of whisky. The interesting thing for me is that it’s not at all over-sherried; it’s not your ”regular” oloroso sherry matured whisky. When nosing and tasting I found myself thinking several times that I’ve never had a sherried whisky that has the style of this one, and I’ve definitely never had a <i>swedish whisky</i> that has the style of this one. In short, it’s a genius move to mix sherry styles like this and it has truly resulted in something new in its category. I highly recommend it!</div>
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A big thanks to the nice people at High Coast Whisky for the opportunity to review and taste this whisky before it's release! For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic borrowed from highcoastwhisky.se</td></tr>
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SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-25496175249675972702020-05-17T17:29:00.000+02:002020-05-18T14:58:08.114+02:00Cask Collaboration with Agitator – tasting notes of 2yo spirit!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9q7dY1G8eoN88Rqug_BHVlH_xBKhgjlkXCNb1GonuakTd1kkkYJpQ9OeSJogs3LDNp0yUYHW9e8VFI7ZyIkpUTKDpBRnx9zm5JXWJtrlfX2V-9kTDaj22kMYSAECNKnUfm1KHaQSBz8/s1600/ag2a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9q7dY1G8eoN88Rqug_BHVlH_xBKhgjlkXCNb1GonuakTd1kkkYJpQ9OeSJogs3LDNp0yUYHW9e8VFI7ZyIkpUTKDpBRnx9zm5JXWJtrlfX2V-9kTDaj22kMYSAECNKnUfm1KHaQSBz8/s400/ag2a.JPG" width="400" /></a>Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! Two weeks ago, on the 4th of May, the spirit in the casks included in the cask collaboration project between Swedish distillery <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Agitator.Whisky/">Agitator</a> and myself turned 2yo (!). And so, today it is my great pleasure to share with you all my tasting notes of samples from four of the casks!<br />
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In order to read up on what makes Agitator such an interesting and groundbreaking whisky distillery, as well as exactly what our collaboration entails, please do click <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2019/11/cask-collaboration-with-agitator-first.html">here</a> and read this previous article of mine and you will get a good introduction to it all. The general details are as follows:<br />
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<b>New make recipe used for collaboration:</b> </div>
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Peated barley (30ppm), 58% from the High Reflux stills, 42% from the Low Reflux stills, went into Bourbon barrels 111-116 with a filling strength of 55,1% ABV on the 4th of May 2018.<br />
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The details of the samples reviewed are as follows: </div>
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<b>Sample no.1</b>: Drawn 200504 from 1st-fill Bourbon Barrel no.113, 56,4% ABV.</div>
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<b>Sample no.2</b>: Drawn 200505 from cask no.1532, a 32 litre 1st-fill Oloroso American Oak cask, 56,4% ABV. (Spirit transferred 191031 from 1st-fill Bourbon barrel no.111).</div>
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<b>Sample no.3</b>: Drawn 200504 from Cask no.1531, a 130 litre Virgin Chestnut (“quarter”) cask, 56,4% ABV. (Spirit transferred 191031 from 1st-fill Bourbon barrel no.111).</div>
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<b>Sample no.4</b>: Drawn 200505 from Cask no.1530, a 32 litre 1st-fill Oloroso Chestnut cask, 56,4% ABV. (Spirit transferred 191031 from 1st-fill Bourbon barrel no.111).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casks no.1532, 1530, 1531, and no.111 on the fork lift</td></tr>
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So, the way I went about analyzing the samples are as follows: after considering what might be a good order in which to taste, I figured that the chestnut casks (sample no.3 and no.4) were the "heaviest" ones; the ones most influenced by the wood. And so I placed them in the order listed above. I spent around one hour nosing the four samples, and then around 1,5 hours tasting them. Ok folks, here are my notes and impressions!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.1</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.1, nose</b>:</div>
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Medium peat, sweet liquorice (and/or polypodium), and a burnt/earthy saltyness are all in the centre of the scent. Above this layer we have lemon curd with a touch of pear-flavoured popsicle (piggelin). Almost something like a carbonated lemon drink; carbonated lemon curd? In the base, the bottom layer, there is soft almond paste resting on a foundation of big vanilla, almost vanilla custard actually. The carbonated feeling in the top layer probably has something to do with the relatively high ABV. The alcohol is there but it’s not too much. The vanilla custard base mediates maturity and signals an age of around 8 years old.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoU_3GZaywaq7Rs36n1hv97CAw6G7g8MG_ZF7EWsxJ_ZCKg_a1WwGgCGLtZeKAMpyPHi03kS4aIg53pMvrHmxI_Mdzzl48gl9Jh0JuSuom6nLkd7VpY-81_kVwShTdJ7dZZhyzto_SwYw/s1600/ag2d.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoU_3GZaywaq7Rs36n1hv97CAw6G7g8MG_ZF7EWsxJ_ZCKg_a1WwGgCGLtZeKAMpyPHi03kS4aIg53pMvrHmxI_Mdzzl48gl9Jh0JuSuom6nLkd7VpY-81_kVwShTdJ7dZZhyzto_SwYw/s200/ag2d.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.2</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.2, nose</b>:</div>
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The ABV feels slightly amplified (whilst the carbonated feeling is subdued). Peat and sweet liquorice is in the background. After only six months maturation/"finish" on this small cask there is already quite evident notes of sherry; we have red currant peel, a faint touch of raisins, and definitely dried figs. In the base vanilla fudge intermingles with peat-infused milk chocolate, medium rich leather and an evident touch of a calm campfire. The top layer has some acidity to it but not as much as in the bourbon cask. In terms of age I’d say that it feels very similar to the bourbon cask but here all of the scents are more integrated, more composite, meaning more mature. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICOyfXSuNwzgpGk9vFUFoqMyNJQ1MZxrQcDt3hRGEtthwy0e0d8gONtzkK7Zb6LAGDEQLrHHe2kwlwtNm5HvrgVoDOhd24GJB4yAuEMaBkgeh27mWzUlQK9r2vE17Od6p0eSBaK6a8zs/s1600/ag2e.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICOyfXSuNwzgpGk9vFUFoqMyNJQ1MZxrQcDt3hRGEtthwy0e0d8gONtzkK7Zb6LAGDEQLrHHe2kwlwtNm5HvrgVoDOhd24GJB4yAuEMaBkgeh27mWzUlQK9r2vE17Od6p0eSBaK6a8zs/s200/ag2e.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.3</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.3, nose</b>:</div>
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Wow! So many scents, so many impressions! Lots of more things going on than in the previous two samples (while they can perhaps be described as ”calm”, this one can be described as ”eventful”). It’s like a european oak sherry maturation on steroids; lot’s of dryness, lots of dried fruits (<i>dark</i> dried fruits), rich/bold peat, new leather, and medium-heavy to heavy dryness from the wood (tannins). At the core of the peatyness there is an earthy and forest-y mint going on. At the heart of the scent is both a big, big vanilla and something like a ”carpenters home-y cabin in the woods”-thing and/or carpenters workshop happening. I suppose this has to do with the fact that we are talking aboout a <i>virgin</i> chestnut cask, but somehow it does not seem virgin at all. Hmm, very hard to explain… In terms of age this one seems quite a lot older than the previous two samples. It’s hard to specify an age but say 10-12 years old!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.4</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.4, nose</b>:</div>
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OMG! While this small cask does have many similarities with the previous one, the scents are more accentuated and compact. The dried fruits are now red rather than dark, and the leafs from a black currant bush has turned up! I suppose wine gum candy (bassets) is a good description, and there is an intense presence of the candy pieces with red and purple color. The mint has been dialed up and the peat feels very present but somehow subdued or mellowed. Spicy sherry cask. There is also luke warm coffee and a whiff of vanilla infused chocolate chip coockies. Mmm… </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYoq519OA2W1LEIMOcmDH_P9CqwEU2-XgEk6T2yNNomXiLjT2VJWluu9T_iDSw2pFOL85-DTBdLbjj8w4p4DtY7VMjm09cXn_ZLkj6kOaUUcRBk0EJHPAL744pOoJn-UlwMUgmDhoFYg/s1600/ag2g.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYoq519OA2W1LEIMOcmDH_P9CqwEU2-XgEk6T2yNNomXiLjT2VJWluu9T_iDSw2pFOL85-DTBdLbjj8w4p4DtY7VMjm09cXn_ZLkj6kOaUUcRBk0EJHPAL744pOoJn-UlwMUgmDhoFYg/s320/ag2g.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.1</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.1, taste</b>:</div>
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Mmm! Salt (almost sea salt), dry peat and sugary sweetness in a wonderful combination. Bourbon maturation works soo good for this new make recipe! We have smoky vanilla with sugar sprinkled slices of lemon coocked in a frying pan (caramelized). A quite distinct and dry almond paste takes over which morphs into peated whipped vanilla cream and sundried lawn ("hay"). A spicyness lingers. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3QSKhfCI_t1b4PN2absC_R-snToK6W0sbMh3V1rhJPQWg8fKa0Fxbq1d9IJxdpqhHyaIXT1q_XMVRvSpG7MBcUUdktpsqU0B4xW1FtLIIU2aQBQATCGUULHhI0pdWajZ1jlpDUQWXh8/s1600/ag2h.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3QSKhfCI_t1b4PN2absC_R-snToK6W0sbMh3V1rhJPQWg8fKa0Fxbq1d9IJxdpqhHyaIXT1q_XMVRvSpG7MBcUUdktpsqU0B4xW1FtLIIU2aQBQATCGUULHhI0pdWajZ1jlpDUQWXh8/s320/ag2h.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.2</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.2, taste</b>:</div>
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Wow! I would really like for you my dear readers to taste this one and share this wonderful taste with me, but at the same time I would kind of like to keep the whole cask for myself. You get the point; this stuff really is really good! I can’t belive that this is only 2 years old! The peat and the sherry is perfectly integrated. The sweet liquorice stands out in a beautiful way! Lots of medium dark flavours in the midrange. Warm peated vanilla, like liquid peated vanilla fudge… There is also something earthy/nature-y going on, maybe oven baked peat-infused parsnips drizzled in butter. Forest infused dried figs and mellow gunpowder lingers on and on and slowly fades away.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubka6Q70iK9yOqcrpBp-72FO-XvB2YT23fNhiFuZrqDdVBd5WTZonS-10Vj4MV5wNrW-9pzWz2Dqa1BJjf_TVjMAA27iG-2NhXUjcBCt49cfH8KjmQ2oIMLZfV5ijW1wCu22LrFU0IUo/s1600/ag2i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubka6Q70iK9yOqcrpBp-72FO-XvB2YT23fNhiFuZrqDdVBd5WTZonS-10Vj4MV5wNrW-9pzWz2Dqa1BJjf_TVjMAA27iG-2NhXUjcBCt49cfH8KjmQ2oIMLZfV5ijW1wCu22LrFU0IUo/s320/ag2i.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.3</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.3, taste</b>:</div>
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Once again, wow! Virgin chestnut cask could easily be mistaken for a heavy european oak oloroso sherry maturation. The core of the taste is both sweet and salt, and has a concentrated peat and tanninic dried fruits; dried figs, dark raisins, and oven baked apple slices. In the background, we also have chocolate infused dried slices of orange. The flavours are semi-calm and at the same time intese/concentrated. While I usually find virgin swedish oak overpowering (and having too much fir/christmas tree in it), virgin chestnut to me is nothing of the sorts, not too much wood, just intense/concentrated. The vanilla is indeed big, just as big as on the nose, and whilst I found the peat to be rich/bold on the nose, I find it to be subdued on the taste. This new make recipe and level of peating works really good with chestnut cask and brings out a mouthwatering touch of milk chocolate in the peat. In terms of age, my mind definitely says the same as on the nose: 10-12 years old. Simply unbelievable.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyUfsPMrOpBOUsMzDOCFZfaj8-iHBwcqs6w6h8Cxg5xO7QCQ7F4VyxRhk5Xle1vvKtyjPKI_AIfNw27O-aTBcF8mDRwTofeZK4OCZOnzZWlOxVun9Vt2xvHGzdzcp_pgKtyyZPLngsi8/s1600/ag2j.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyUfsPMrOpBOUsMzDOCFZfaj8-iHBwcqs6w6h8Cxg5xO7QCQ7F4VyxRhk5Xle1vvKtyjPKI_AIfNw27O-aTBcF8mDRwTofeZK4OCZOnzZWlOxVun9Vt2xvHGzdzcp_pgKtyyZPLngsi8/s320/ag2j.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample no.4</td></tr>
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<b>Sample no.4, taste</b>:</div>
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Dude! Now we’re talking. This is really like an accentuated, amplified, and enhanced super-version of the previous. Whilst the previous one was tanninic, this one is really, really dry. My impression of 1st-fill oloroso on chestnut is that it tastes kind of like a port pipe ”on fire”; burnt port/heavily roasted port. The dried fruits from the nose have almost transformed into something like chilli and spicy. It’s heavy on the spicyness and it teases my tounge in an intriguing way. There is an intese feeling of peel from black currants. We also have peat-infused bramble marmalade. In the background dark chocolate-y vanilla fudge cubes calls for attention. The aftertaste closes with lurking peat and intense vanilla slowly, slowly fading away. Wow, what a whisky! Sorry, I mean what an incredible 2 year old spirit!</div>
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<b>Some reflections to sum up</b>:</div>
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Alright folks! The maturation sure is moving along at a very good pace. Already the spirit tastes soooo good and I can't wait to taste these casks again further down the line. Out of samples no.2-4 my favorites are definitely no.2 and no.3. But, they are all really good and are all of very interesting and different character, to say the least. Having reviewed these samples in this phase of the collab, some ideas have definitely emerged regarding how (in what form) it might be interesting to bottle them. Big thanks to Håkan, Oskar, and Christian for the amazing opportunity that this collaboration is! And last but not least, big thanks to all of you my dear readers and I hope you've enjoyed this article. Sláinte! </div>
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For kind of weekly updates please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample 1-4</td></tr>
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SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3698063207408092354.post-51411681295743385012020-04-09T18:12:00.000+02:002020-04-09T18:12:17.979+02:00Swedish Distillery Agitator Whiskymakare – two drafts for core range!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! About a month ago I received a package from my friends at swedish distillery <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Agitator.Whisky/">Agitator Whiskymakare</a></i>. As you hopefully know by now I'm very happy to be engaged in a joint project together with Agitator, namely a cask collaboration. But before reading on, please do read up on what makes Agitator such a unique whisky distillery by clicking <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-visit-to-swedish-distillery-agitator.html">here</a>, and to read up on what our collaboration entails please click <a href="http://samuelwhisky.blogspot.com/2019/11/cask-collaboration-with-agitator-first.html">here</a>. </div>
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So, the package contained two samples, both of them are be viewed as <i>drafts</i> for two core range bottlings. The first one is marked "Husmalt" (which is probably best translated into <i>house style</i>). The second one is marked "Rökmalt" (which translates to <i>peated malt</i>). </div>
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Even though master distiller Oskar and distillery technician Christian are friends of mine and the distillery is, to say the least, close to my heart, the only information I have received about these samples are the following: </div>
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The Husmalt draft has been composed from spirit distilled in both the High Reflux-stills and the Low Reflux-stills, has been matured for 13 months, and has been bottled at 46%. </div>
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The Rökmalt draft has been composed from spirit distilled in the Low Reflux-stills only, has been matured for 13 months, and has been bottled at 46%. </div>
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That's it folks. So let's see what kind of styles of whisky Oskar and Christian have in mind for the core range!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCSn5MZX954-AXTtUOgHn36L6aceJ2kJTg9sJS5bq9KPuAR2k9AwII9A4VoNYc1zK2oTcunB_DX0cIC34htB664WN6TneP7sa4HQt36Dg3ePy3vhDa0bjIb9KhIgZTBCdNt-bgu9HfCc/s1600/husmalt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCSn5MZX954-AXTtUOgHn36L6aceJ2kJTg9sJS5bq9KPuAR2k9AwII9A4VoNYc1zK2oTcunB_DX0cIC34htB664WN6TneP7sa4HQt36Dg3ePy3vhDa0bjIb9KhIgZTBCdNt-bgu9HfCc/s320/husmalt2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Husmalt – nose</b>:</div>
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In the first layer I find honey sweetness and medium-sweet vanilla (kind of a light touch of vanilla cigarillo actually). The first layer and the vanilla in it is very light. I nose closer to the glass and in the second layer I first find smooth milk chocolate and coockie dough with lots of butter in it. But below that are some rather big notes; definitely a feel of medium-heavy peat, earthy peat in fact, soil, and moss, but there is also something fruity, pan fried lemon slices comes to mind. The body is medium big and the alcohol at it’s 46% ABV lurks perfectly below, hardly springing to mind. This 13 months old spirit smells rather like 8yo. No yeast, no fusel, nothing young. Just mature. To me, stylewise, this noses rather close to the NAS-version of Tyrconnell.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAx_yJZ8N0FWQrfL423z4QY0RwuvdP5EOV9tAxekxLPy9CUlkFmjOoShtwEi2hs43aATGEcBQOAOO50z8c8NJxvnbtbWmQhyphenhyphenQkTGX-UCly9tT9geporvu1hS6QWAcLnk6zwGNaE7rUUw/s1600/husmalt3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAx_yJZ8N0FWQrfL423z4QY0RwuvdP5EOV9tAxekxLPy9CUlkFmjOoShtwEi2hs43aATGEcBQOAOO50z8c8NJxvnbtbWmQhyphenhyphenQkTGX-UCly9tT9geporvu1hS6QWAcLnk6zwGNaE7rUUw/s320/husmalt3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Rökmalt – nose</b>:</div>
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While the previous had Tyrconnell on the nose, this one noses like a mix of Connemara and Caol Ila. Below the obvious vanilla sweetness in the top layer we also have white chocolate and something moving slightly towards mint leaves (in the distant) and just a tad of lemon jucie. This one has a lot more body, I’d definitely say it’s full bodied. In the second layer we have sharp salty yet chocolate-y peat, rather heavy peat with touches of gunpowder and ashes. The alcohol is a tad more noticeable in this one and calls for my attention. Here 13 months smells more like 5-7yo. Again no yeast. The gunpowder can however be associated with ”fusel”, and while it does not at all seem young the nose reveals that this should be a ”punch-in-the-face” kind of a dram.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIovyjewMEBymH93xAybOqirJyZTIK2bpww4fcro3Sad48bHLiDb1V2ux4AqP8CxBsWm1beHMTRpS5csre9cGG7l_vYjXNp1A3jeqKK9L2JFziwN8XMVTlXZuCsqmuOoCAG0OwKklqXiQ/s1600/husmalt4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIovyjewMEBymH93xAybOqirJyZTIK2bpww4fcro3Sad48bHLiDb1V2ux4AqP8CxBsWm1beHMTRpS5csre9cGG7l_vYjXNp1A3jeqKK9L2JFziwN8XMVTlXZuCsqmuOoCAG0OwKklqXiQ/s320/husmalt4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color of Husmalt</td></tr>
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<b>Husmalt – taste</b>:</div>
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Starts off on a salty-ness, moves on swiftly into dry milk chocolate, dark vanilla fudge cubes, lightly burnt peat swooshes by, and then it’s on to a touch of light vanilla. After this the light peat returns for a second wave which morphs into a sherry maturation style combined with a slight touch (a sensation) of mulled wine (glögg) and likewise a slight touch of redcurrants. In the aftertaste there is almond paste and my chest feels warm. When the taste fades away my mouth is left with just a tad of dryness. The taste is, as is noticeable from my notes, quite complex indeed. From this perspective the dram is mature and shows no signs of being as young as it actually is. The immediate taste is however quite ”fast”, lasting somewhere between 45 seconds to 1 minute. And so, if the young age of 13 months is visible somewhere it is in the aspect of length of taste. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWGae_rrnPIgi1GGSC52XXFBC_-YZrCy3h-XMlV3BxcP5ZPdWpZ0wAbHHj1K0DgJyoBKJccaGTbsq6z44C0TP7ysr264tQnwPDOWHwtMYrWYXAFJu0go1w1ICf5pDwzTeYjkLejS4KBY/s1600/husmalt5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWGae_rrnPIgi1GGSC52XXFBC_-YZrCy3h-XMlV3BxcP5ZPdWpZ0wAbHHj1K0DgJyoBKJccaGTbsq6z44C0TP7ysr264tQnwPDOWHwtMYrWYXAFJu0go1w1ICf5pDwzTeYjkLejS4KBY/s320/husmalt5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color of Rökmalt</td></tr>
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<b>Rökmalt – taste</b>:</div>
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Oh gosh! A direct copy of some of the stuff from the nose; after a start on evident sea salt we have robust gunpowder and ashes intermingling with big peat. We also have the innertube of a bicycle tire. After that we have evident mint, peated lemon curd moving on into peated white chocolate vanilla, and in fact there is also some regular milk chocolate lurking around somewhere in the mix. Judging from it’s nose I thought that this would be a ”punch-in-the-face” kind of a dram. I was however deceived; all in all this is a quite soft/mellow dram and the alcohol is close to perfectly integrated and only shows itself slightly through a cough almost happening. The body is bigger in this one compared to the previous and it tastes even more mature. This is also transferred into a longer immediate taste, say 1,5 minutes to 2 minutes. The afteratste fades away with mellow peat and soft milk chocolate.</div>
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<b>To sum up</b>:</div>
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Given our joint cask collaboration project and the fact that I've visited the distillery a number of times now, I've been very lucky indeed to taste quite a lot of maturing spirit from Agitator before, including following the progress of "my" casks. Still, <i>every time</i> I taste their maturing spirit I'm always struck by how incredibly fast the spirit is maturing. And as noticeable from my tasting notes these two drafts are no exception. So to sum up I'm very confident in saying that if Oskar and Christian would want to bottle some of this stuff as soon as it is 3yo, the really could and you would all be amazed by the fact that the whisky was not older than that. And my fellow bloggers <i><a href="http://tjederswhisky.se/tva-utkast-till-whisky-fran-agitator/">Tjeders Whisky</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.whiskytower.se/wtv-227-prover-fran-blind-seal-agitator">Whiskytower</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.sinnenochnyanser.se/2020/03/agitator-husmalt-och-rokmalt.html">Sinnen och Nyanser</a> </i>seems to be thinking along the same lines in their reviews of these samples!</div>
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Finally, big thanks to Oskar and Christian for the great opportunity to taste and review these samples! Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samuelwhisky/">here</a>, my instagram by clicking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samuelwhisky_visomalskarpunsch/">here</a>, and my twitter-page by clicking <a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelWhisky">here</a>. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, <i>unless stated</i>. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, <i>please ask</i> by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted <i>by stating the source</i>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t5ZT3qAdyoYADvWO3-fShZg5mjeuk2wZZ5uNefHLaiPteu1_fFWOzGSybIN7ggQQnOn1KeoVNhBpUu7hgVgIQh-1ctKlh-iKKqNH0dTNi3jdFCI4csH0nNUJXbhwC86-1L4qP5NiYsw/s1600/10+alla+fyra+pannorna.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t5ZT3qAdyoYADvWO3-fShZg5mjeuk2wZZ5uNefHLaiPteu1_fFWOzGSybIN7ggQQnOn1KeoVNhBpUu7hgVgIQh-1ctKlh-iKKqNH0dTNi3jdFCI4csH0nNUJXbhwC86-1L4qP5NiYsw/s640/10+alla+fyra+pannorna.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The vacuum-stills of Agitator</td></tr>
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SamuelWhiskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438545332525668421noreply@blogger.com0