Highland Park Single Cask 1674 Sweden exclusive – Vintersolståndet

Dear friends and followers alike! About two weeks ago I worked the Borlänge Beer and whiskyfestival for Edrington (my second time working this very cosy festival). To my great joy I discovered that we had a coming Highland Park Single Cask with us, yay! Luckily for me, I was given permission to try it right then and there, and below you will find my tasting notes.

But first some info: this is the fourth single cask released for Sweden (since the new single cask series began in the fall of 2016, not counting the one for SMAD). The whisky is 15 years old (2001/2017), the number of the cask is 1674, a refill sherry butt (in the case of HP meaning 2nd-fill), yielding 552 bottles in total. For reasons which you can read about here I do not know, and probably never will know, if the cask is made of european oak or american oak. 59 % is the ABV and 534 bottles will be released in Sweden at the state monopoly the day after tomorrow, in a so called web release. You can view the product by clicking here. 

What about the strange Swedish name of this SC-bottling?! "Vintersolståndet" simply translates into Winter solstice. Ok, let's see what we have here!

Nose:

A medium peatyness meets my nose. The peatyness has elements of a kind of burnt sugar-y touch, there is also a lot of medium dark honey and very sweet vanilla fudge-yness going on around the peatyness, mmm… In the center of the nose (”the very top register of the palate” as I usually put is) there is definitely a touch of peated lemon peal, in fact, smoked lemon peal. Finally, surrounding everything is a sweet, round, and very calm scent of light (liquid) honey, very signature for Highland Park

Taste:

Hoding the whisky in my mouth for just a couple of seconds, the whisky starts off very sugar-y sweet/syrup, but it moves very quickly (one second) into salty-ness, not sea salt, rather like salt liquorice. When swallowing I can really feel the ”alcohol vapours” rising in the roof of my mouth bringing with it a mix of old leather, sackcloth, and slightly burnt grass… it all vapours away quite cuickly to be taken over by light peat, peated coffee, peated lemon peal, some moutdrying vanilla, full-fat unwhipped cream at room temperature, and some more slightly burnt grass… residing in my mouth and on my tongue in the aftertaste there is a heather sweetness slowly being taken over by a very, very faint touch of orange flavoured milk chocolate.

To sum up:

In comparison with the previous HP SC for Sweden that I’ve tasted so far, that is the 6403 and the 2121, from memory, I would definitely rank this one as coming in on a second place after 6403. Considering that 6403 is 1st-fill sherry european oak (a hogshead), this is a very good ranking for being a refill sherry butt! Big thanks to the people at Edrington for the chance to review this one and to be able to taste it before its release, Sláinte!

Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking here, my instagram by clicking here and my twitter-page by clicking here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro[at]gmail.com and by stating the source

Springbank 14 yo Bourbon Wood – 55,8% ABV

Dear friends and followers alike! Yesterday I received a package from Symposion, containing a sample of a new limited release from Springbank! A 14 year old that has been matured solely in bourbon casks (size not stated), a combination of first fill and refill. It has been bottled at (vatting strength of) 55,8% ABV. The number of bottles for this release is 9000 and 534 of these will be released at the state monopoly here in Sweden in two days (the 23rd of November). You can view the product by clicking here. 

Ok, let's see what we have here!

Nose:

When opening the bottle and pouring the whisky a huge peatyness spread throughout the room, but when nosing it from the glass I first get a whiff of saltyness but then first and foremost sugar-y and sour freshly squeezed lemon juice. Below this layer consisting of a mix of salt and sugar/sour is a very, very ”broad” peatyness, drawing mostly towards leather and ”shoes” (with some complex element of brie cheese) but also, infact, a medium-fat vanilla intermingling with something reminding me of rhum and/or rhumraisin, or even something tequila-esque… very interesting indeed, especially the brie cheese element of the peatyness. Finally, shaking the glass vividly to stir up the scents, the centre of the nose is very, very citric. Ok, let’s have a taste!

Taste:

Wow! Peat, salt, peat, salt, more peat and more salt is what I get at the first tasting! Taking another sip, this time holding the whisky in my mouth for a couple of seconds before swallowing, I now get (besides all the peat and salt), a very peaty vanilla-ness, there is also some fruit in there, something like vanilla-banana and dried peach (jelly peach candy). When swallowing, the whisky gives lots and lots of warm leather peat (it really, really warms my throat and chest), and a great deal of dryness. There is also something like stable and horses (meaning ”farm”, however that would taste). The aftertaste holds a mixture of peat, smoke, and sweetness from mixed jelly candy (mostly of the color yellow and orange), and ends with, believe it or not, peated lemon curd. 

To sum up:

This is a great dram that I really recommend to anyone who likes a medium-complex peated whisky, with an emphasis on peat, salt, leather and yellow fruits! Yummy, I want more! Big thanks to the people at Symposion for the chance to review this one and to be able to taste it before its release, Sláinte!

Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking here, my instagram by clicking here and my twitter-page by clicking here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro[at]gmail.com and by stating the source

borrowed from whiskybase.com

Swedish whisky from Box Distillery: Quercus 1 – Robur 50,8% ABV!

Beautiful red-brown color!

Dear friends and followers alike! Last week I was very lucky to receive a package that contained a sample from from Swedish distillery Box – The high coast distillery! Yay! The sample contained the first release in their new series called "Quercus". This is what the write about the new series and about this Robur-edition:

"Quercus is a range from Box Distillery wherein we try to explore the tastes that different species of oak gives to the whisky. The first edition is named Robur after the European Oak (pedunculate oak), Quercus robur in Latin. Quercus robur is common in Europe, especially in Burgundy and Limousine where it’s widely used in the wine- and cognac industry. It’s also that species of oak you’ll find in Scandinavia up to the north of Stockholm"

The whisky was first matured in first-fill 200 litre bourbon casks, and then finished for seven months in new/virgin swedish oak. To read absolutely everything about the process, the age, the maturation etcetera please feel free to click here 

Here in Sweden, Quercus 1 – Robur will be released on the state monopoly this friday (17th of november) and you can view the product by clicking here. Ok, let's see what we have here!

Nose:

Starts off somewhat herb-y but most of all spicy. Behind the spicyness there is sawmill and planks, as well as ”dark” newly cut logs of spruce/fir. Beyond all this forest-yness hides a soft vanilla intermingling with something salt, I think the salt shows just a tad of peat. In the very depth of it all is something reminding me of cinnamon, maybe even nutmeg (?). Interestingly enough there is also cucumber-water and finally a lime cut in half left to dry for a couple of days on the kitchen bench…

Taste:

Starts of on medium salt and then BAM! A big, fat, instantly dry spicyness hits you! Two seconds later new wood comes bursting in, making quite an entrance indeed. The new wood dies quite quickly and makes way for even more dry spicyness. After that a beautiful medium (dry) vanilla taskes over and slowly evolves into something partly reminding me of brandy (and/or apple jucie), partly reminding me of cognac. The heat of the whisky (the ABV) evolves in my chest, at the same time as the taste moves on into dried figs, overripe red grapes and finally fades away into a general sugar-y sweetness

To sum up:

I have a very ambivalent relationship to whisky matured in new swedish oak. In general, from the ones I’ve tasted so far, I find it to be, for my taste, ”too much” of the ”new” and of the ”wood” on the nose, as well as this kind of ”spicyness” on the taste. For me, this whisky is by far the most sucessfull one matured in new swedish oak, this is because there is a great complexity in this one, both on the nose and on the taste. For me, it was still a tad ”too much” and a tad ”too spicy” (but I did not water the whisky and maybe this would bring it down a notch…). Finally, big thanks to the people at Box Distillery for sharing sending a sample and for the opportunity to taste it before the release! Sláinte!

Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking here, my instagram by clicking here and my twitter-page by clicking here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro[at]gmail.com and by stating the source

Picture belongs to Box Distillery