Swedish Rye Whiskey (to be) – 2yo Blind Seal Whiskey at 46% ABV!

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 Blind Seal Whiskey, visited my neighbourhood to hand over a sample (corona safe). 

Now, this was not any usual sample folks; about a week earlier, on the 11th of february he paid a visit to Swedish Distillery Agitator Whiskymakare since it was actually already two years ago that he filled the first barrels of Blind Seal Rye-style distillate!

Tobiaz filling the first barrels on the 11th of february 2019.
(Pic belongs to Blind Seal Whiskey).

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 this article to read up on Blind Seal Whisky in general and the recipe and production process of this liquid in particular. 

Ok friends, let the analyzing begin!

Nose:

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.

Taste: 

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! 

Some reflections to sum up:

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! 

For kind of weekly updates 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 and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted by stating the source.

It's a blind seal folks! ;) 
(Pic belongs to Blind Seal)

Swedish Whisky from High Coast Distillery – Alba 53% ABV!

Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike, the whisky year of 2021 is finally up and running. For me it started out with doing a Svenska Eldvatten tasting for Strängnäs Whisky Society, and now it's time for the first review of the year. The nice people at High Coast Distillery sent me a sample of their upcoming whisky Alba. You guessed it, the casks used are all made of american white oak. 

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).

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 here. Ok folks, let's analyze!

Nose:

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.

Taste:

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. 

Some reflections to sum up:

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! 

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 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 and videos likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or is associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and when permission is granted by stating the source.

Copyright belongs to High Coast Whisky