Swedish Whisky from Norrtelje Distillery – RoslagsWhisky 4x30 at 46,7% ABV!

Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! In late december last year the Sales Manager of Norrtelje Distillery 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. 

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, these specific casks were actually filled at 50%, as an experiment. The four casks gave 165 (50cl) bottles in total out of which 140 bottles have been sent to systembolaget (the swedish state monopoly). 

The whisky will be released through a so called web launch this Thursday (the 4th of march) and can be viewed by clicking here. Ok friends, below you will find my review!

Nose:

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.

Taste:

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. 

Some reflections to sum up:

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!

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 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.

Pic belongs to systembolaget.se

Swedish whisky from Smögen Distillery – 8yo 57,8% ABV!

Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! Today I bring to you my review of the very first 8 year old whisky from the Swedish distillery Smögen! When working the Gothenburg whiskyfestival in april (for Edrington Sweden), Pär Caldenby, the Distillery Manager/Master Distiller of Smögen Distillery, came by the stand/booth and told me that if I wanted to review this whisky I just had to pop by his stand and sample it, yay! A fantastic offer indeed! 

This whisky is a vatting of four (european; french) 1st-fill Sauternes barriques (225 litre each). The casks were filled in March 2011 with heavily peated new make, and bottled at a natural cask strength of 57,8% in April 2019. The casks gave 1628 bottles in total. 1272 of these bottles will be released at the swedish state monopoly this thursday (190509) through a so called web-launch. Please view the product by clicking here. (Please note that Systembolaget has messed up the ABV; it is not 60% but 57,8%). Ok folks, this is so exciting, let's do some analyzing! 

Nose:

The overall style on the nose is medium dark with a really nice depth and great balance between saltyness, peatyness and sweetness. I sense three layers. The bottom layer shows a medium heavy foundation where the sauternes plays the lead role in the form of ”the ususal suspects”; dried figs and dark raisins, but also overripe pear and interestingly enough (a whiff of) overripe banana and/or banana peel gone brown. These scents can generally be described as ”sweetness”. In the middle layer the saltyness and the peatyness intermingles with a close to seamless integration. The peatyness however holds the upper hand and has a very intriguing touch of vanilla drawing on milk chocolate infused fudge. The top layer is more basic than the other two, simply showcasing something citric. Here the ”alcohol”/ABV gives the perfect punch with just a slight touch of sourdough bread (”yeast”?). 

Taste: 

”As usual” with whisky from Smögen Distillery it all starts of on saltyness. From there on however things are a little bit different than ususal; we move on into soft sweet liquorice and from there instantly on into something very milk chocolate-y, something very smooth and creamy, and medium dark vanilla-esque. The smoothness, creamyness and the vanilla goes on and on for a very long time (a token of great depth and maturity). When it does let go it transforms or evolves into a malty/chewy taste and it is actually not until this point in the flavourjourney that peatyness, farmhouse/barn and leather comes through. This last part of the taste is very chewy and tasty indeed. Mmm! The aftertaste is dry at first but when all the flavours come together with the creamyness, it makes water/saliva run in my mouth which creates a great sensation manifested in the desire to have another sip, and another after that… 

Some reflections to sum up:

This whisky definitely has great depth both on the nose and on the taste! Things are a bit more deep than in previous releases which shows that the whisky coming from Smögen Distillery is starting to come of proper age. Also the general balance is great both on the nose and on the taste. The high alcohol/ABV is noticeable only on the nose (on the taste it didn’t even cross my mind). Well, a big congrats to Pär on the first 8yo, a job well done! 

Finally, big thanks to Pär for the great opportunity to review this whisky before its 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 associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and by stating the source. 

Pic belongs to/borrowed from Smögen Distillery

The Macallan – Limited Edition 2018 – Classic Cut 51,2% ABV!

Dear friends, followers, and supporters alike! When working the Stockholm Beer and Whisky festival last year (for Edrington Sweden) we had the 2018 edition of The Macallan Classic Cut with us, and so I was generously allowed to draw a small sample of it for reviewing! We are just "a little" behind here in Sweden with the release, and I've held on to the sample for five months, but now, finally, this whisky is released at the state monopoly on thursday the 4th of april! Please click here to have a look at the product. 

Now, as you all probably know by now, Classic Cut is an annual limited edition since 2017, with each years version showcasing a new "flavor profile". While the 2017 flavor profile was Creamy vanilla, sweet ginger, warming oak, the 2018 profile is Citrus, sweet vanilla, spice as can be seen from this picture:

The (vatting) strength this time around is 51,2% and the casks used are "sherry seasoned oak casks from Jerez, Spain" as the label below says.

Well ok folks, let's do some analyzing!

Nose:

Nosing gently a couple of centimetres from the glass the first thing that whiffs by is warm apple jucie (must; or rather warm apple cider), this is however not predominant. Nosing closer and properly I find that the centre of the nose holds vanilla fudge, classic oloroso sherry (dried figs), honey sweetness (yes, very much of sluggish/viscid light honey), and at the same time something a tad salty. Surrounding this layer is a touch of something citric together with the strength/ABV that comes through in a bit of a rough way… If I remeber the 2017 CC correctly, this version is not as ”deep” and ”heavy” on the (european oak) oloroso as the previous, so probably predominantly american oak oloroso in the recipe of this version. 

Taste:

Oh yes, definitely predominatly american oak sherry in this version; burnt citrus, heavy on the vanilla, lightly roasted almonds, a tad salty. Then comes the actual sherry flavours with dried figs and light and dark raisins. This is taken over rather quickly by an ”oaky-ness”, and most of all a medium to heavy dryness. In the early aftertaste the vanilla comes back once more with just a tad of leather and a whiff of melted butter. At the end of the aftertaste, the strength/ABV shows itself and the flavour ends with dryness. 

Some reflections to sum up:

The nose actually kind of reminds me of something like an unpeated Highland Park in style, very interesting to think about! The taste is a little ”flat” and even though I’ve written down quite a lot of phases in the taste, I sadly do feel that this dram is a bit boring (”simple”). It also seems to me, but this is just a guess, that there is more young whisky in this version; the previous version nosed and tasted older. If it was up to me to design the recipe of CC 2019 I would up the age, up the use of european oak sherry, and, up the strength! That said, this is not a bad whisky (it tastes good for sure); rather I’d say that the minimum quality at The Macallan is high, if you know what I mean 

Finally, a big thanks to the nice people at Edrington Sweden for allowing me to draw a sample of this one and for the great opportunity to review the whisky before its swedish 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 associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail [dot] com and by stating the source.

 

The Macallan – Limited Edition 2017 – Classic Cut 58,4% ABV!

Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! When working the beer and whiskyfestival in Gothenburg (for Edrington) about two weeks ago, I gladly noticed that we had a new expression of The Macallan with us in the stand! The name of this new Macallan is ”Classic Cut”. Being very lucky indeed I was allowed to draw a small sample for reviewing, so today I share with you my thoughts and impressions of it!

So, what do we know about this new expression of Macallan? First of all we know that it has been bottled at 58,4% ABV. This fact, taken together with the design and colour of the label and the box suggests that the distillery and branding department wants us to associate this release to their previsous cask strength bottlings (which have both been bottled as 10 years old and more recently as NAS). Also, taking a look at the distillery website it is clear that the whisky has been bottled at natural colour and that it has been matured in a combination of American and European ”oak casks seasoned with Oloroso sherry from Jerez, Spain”. 

What is however not known to the consumers is if the casks used are 1st-fill, 2nd-fill etcetera, nor what the size(es) of the casks used are. In addition it is not known to consumers if the strength is in fact proper cask strength, or vatting strength, or if the strength has been reached by dillution (by watering it to this specific strength). 

From the distillery website we also know that this edition of Classic Cut is a Limited Edition for 2017. So what does ”limited” mean in this case? First of all, from surfing the web I have found sources who state that the number of bottles are limited to 90000 world wide. I have also found sources who state that Classic Cut is a one-off, never to be repeated again. 

In order to try and find out in what way this truly is a limited edition, I contacted my good friend Mattias Skoog, the Nordic Brand Ambassador for The Macallan (and for Highland Park). He told me that there in fact will be a Classic Cut 2018, another Classic Cut in 2019, and (probably) so on! So what does all this talk of one-off, never to be repeated again really mean? Well, Mattias was also kind enough to send me a document (a so called Sell Sheet) which holds info that shines a light on this question. The document states: ”This special and memorable flavour profile will never be repeated” and ”…this particular whisky profile will never be repeated”. Aha, it is the profile that will never be repeated again! And what is the flavour profile in question? Well, the box clearly states ”Creamy vanilla, sweet ginger, warming oak”, which I interpret to be the flavor profile for this version of CC.

In conclusion, this most likely means that the next CC (2018) will have another flavour profile, so will also the next CC have☺This probably means that the composition of casks used will vary from edition to edition. All of this makes it clear what, on the distillery website, is meant by the statement that this edition of Classic Cut is the first release in ”a [new] series of annual expressions”.

Borrowed from robbreport.com

Here in Sweden, the CC 2017 will be available this Friday (20th of April) at the state monopoly and you can view it by clicking here. Ok, now that we have sorted out all of the details, let’s investigate the whisky itself!

Nose:

Holding the glass a couple of centimetres from my nose, I get really mellow medium-dark moist raisins with elements of lightly vanilla-infused honey, definitely coupled with cacao (drawing towards a bar of milk chocolate). There is also very slight traces of cold coffee. At this distance everything is soo soft, and it is not until I put my nose in the glass that I actually feel the high strength. Nosing some more with my nose really in the glass, in the very top layer of the nose I get a prominent mix of sweet and sour drawing very close to mashed red grapes. Below this layer I find sugar zyrup made from raw-sugar, together with quite fat vanilla (medium-dark fudge). Below that, in the bottom layer, I get very slight traces of oven-baked slices of apple, intermingling with medium-dark marzipan.

Taste:

Taking a tiny sip it all starts of soo sweet and smooth (which for me is incredible at this strength), the taste is definitely dominated by ”dark” tastes, in fact much darker profile on the taste than on the nose. In the initial sweetness and smoothness I find all the tastes that I expect from a sherry matured non-peated whisky; especially dark raisins and moist dried figs. Aside from that we have drizzling honey, the sugar zyrup made of raw sugar, and even a touch of leather-y notes. It is not until taking a bigger sip that I find a quite robust strength together with a slight layer of almond paste. Then the taste evolves slowly and gets below medium-dry, than even drier, almost drying my mouth now (from something tannin-esque). In the aftertaste I get slight traces of bitter almond intermingling with slight traces of vanilla. 

To sum up:

This whisky definitely tastes as being well and above 10 years old. In terms of recipe my impression is that european oak sherry casks dominate in the mix. I would describe this dram as a ”light” sherry bomb, not because it in any way is ”watery” or wimpish, but because it never gets out of hand or, so to speak, goes crazy; the recipe has obviously been weighed very carefully, I might even say with a great deal of brilliance. Obviously the whisky maker has aimed for drinkability for the big whisky drinking audience, and has indeed managed to achieve just that! All in all a great dram for a good value/price, well done! I really look forward for to the next releases of CC and to find out what their respective flavour profiles will be!

Big thanks to Edrington for the great opportunity to review this whisky before its release! 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 such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail dot com and by stating the source. 

Borrowed from systembolaget.se

Highland Park Full Volume and (vs.) The Dark!

Dear friends and followers alike! Today I bring you my tasting notes and impressions of two fairly new expressions from Highland Park! The first one is called Full Volume and the other one is called The Dark. (I bought a sample of FV from a friend, and the sample of TD was provided to me by Edrington Sweden whilst working for them at last years Örebro Beer and Whisky festival, just days before its release). 

Here in Sweden the FV, which you can delve into here, will be launched the 1st of February (view the product by clicking here). TD, which you can delve into here, was (re)launched yesterday (view it by clicking here). FV will only be available for four days via a web-launch, and TD will be available via the "order assortment" until it is sold out.

Now, what I find very interesting with comparing these two expressions is the fact that they are completely different and sort of opposites from each other in terms of casks used for the maturation; FV has been matured in first-fill bourbon casks only, while TD has been matured in first fill european oak sherry casks only. Further on they are both 17 years old, and the strength differs just slightly with FV coming in at 47,2% and TD coming in at 52,9% 

Full Volume to the left, The Dark to the right

The way I went about doing this "comparison" was that I first nosed FV and then nosed TD, and then tasted FV and of course ended with tasting TD. Ok, here are the results:

Full Volume nose:

Very, very creamy! The creamyness mostly draws on caramel (sweet shop) and fudge, but there is definitely something to do with vanilla cream and oldstyle vanilla ice-cream going on here. The creamyness is absolutely wonderful, mmm… Also, lots and lots of fruits-y stuff going on here; citrus fruits, lemon peel, super overripe pears, overripe banana, red chewing gum, and so on. The peat is sort of there but definitely hiding way behind all the creamyness and the citrus fruits-y-ness. Below the peat, in the distant, there is some almond (and perhaps even hazelnuts?) going on. There is an absolutely perfect balance between the ABV and the entire nose, wow! It does not at all feel like 47,2% 

Full Volume taste:

A tad of peaty salt together with full fat butter shows up for a wee bit, but then moving on into half-sugar-y barley (something very barley-ish going on here indeed), almost instantly it turns medium dry. Wow, a really ”meaty”, chewy and fat dram this one! For sure. Then it turns into something medium bitter/herbal that really reminds me of bitter/acrid citrus peel; but more orange peel than lemon peel, maybe even orange flavoured milk chocolate? So the fruitsy stuff from the nose is in fact in the taste but not at all in that caramel-sweet shop style that was on the nose. The strength really does turn up on the taste in a way it did not do on the nose. The strength makes it become more and more dry and finally gives way to burnt wood and Ouzo (the greek spirit drink), that was unexpected!

The Dark nose:

Lots and lots of brown sugar, over-sugared oatmeal porridge with warm milk, medium dark swedish baking syrup (molasses), dark milk chocolate, raisins completely drenched in sherried HP, a tad of violet, and for being a sherried HP also quite alot of vanilla in fact. There is some salty-ness going on in the very deep layers, and also some salt-roasted almonds. Surrounding everything is the signature heather honey and it is soo soft although its quite high ABV indeed.

The Dark taste:

Mmm! Starts of on sherry sweetness (you know) and sugar syrup, very sweet indeed for being HP. Then the over-sugared oatmeal porridge with warm milk actually does return here on the taste. Also, there is lots of viscous almond paste which really comes through in the strength. Then comes a touch of sweet licorice, but most of all cocoa powder slightly stirred in full fat cream at room temperature. This dram is also quite ”meaty” and chewy indeed but in a much more complex and dark way. The aftertaste holds something mint-flavoured-ish, earthy peat, and finally slips away/clinging off with dark raisins and an above medium dryness. Very well composed indeed, this is definitely to my liking!

So, summing up: if I had to choose between these two it would be… no, seriously, it's really hard to choose; Full Volume is so good beacuse of it’s extremely perfect balance, the fact that the taste is so different from the nose, and of course because of the price level. This quite unusual style of HP really deserves to be compared to the more "usual" and classic style of HP that is in The Dark; a classic sherried HP which boasts a very well composed dram. Also, comparison is particularly interesting given the fact that the age is the same. But, of course, in the end Full Volume does has a wee bit of advantage in price when it comes to choosing between the two. On the other hand, sherry casks are more expensive than bourbon casks, although I of course do realise that a part of the cost is due to the special bottle and the exclusive wooden packaging. Anyhow, a great pair of drams awaits the ones who decides to buy both of them ☺ 

Big thanks to the people at Edrington Sweden for the opportunity to try The Dark! Which I was able to do simply because you provided a sample. 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 such 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

SamuelWhisky is very happy to join The Dark side! 

Swedish Whisky from Smögen – Triple 5 yo 54% ABV

Dear friends and followers! About one and a half week ago, I spent my time working for Edrington at the Linköping Whiskyexpo which was great fun as usual. What was also very fun was that I passed by the stand of swedish west coast distillery Smögen to have a quick chat with the distillery manager/master distiller Pär Caldenby. So what was the purpose with the quick chat? Well, it was of course to see if Pär had anything special up his sleeve for me to review! So, did he? Oh yes indeed, I was very lucky to collect a sample of the coming release called "Triple"! 🙂

So, what is so special about this coming release? Well, it's a release of the (so far) only triple distilled whisky from Smögen! On the label below it is described as being "intended as an experiment". The whisky is 5 years (and nine months) old and has been fully matured in two Sauternes Barriques (European oak, 228 litres each). The cask numbers are 5/2011 and 6/2011. The malt is heavily peated, in this case meaning slightly above 50ppm.  The new make was filled in March 2011 and the whisky was bottled in January 2017. The two casks gave 882 bottles out of which 696 will be available at the swedish state monopoly by web-release, this thursday (the 16th of february) 10 o'clock (view the product here). 

The info and the words of Pär about "Triple"

But hey, we need some more info right? So, with the hope of gaining some more info on this particular bottling, likewise to be able to share this very exclusive info with you my fellow friends and followers, I sent an email to Pär with a couple of questions. You will find his answers in italics:

1). When you double distill, what is the ABV of the new make coming out of the spirit still? 

The heart of the spirit run is roughly 70% ABV, in winter slightly higher.

2). When you triple distill, what is then the ABV of the new make coming out of the spirit still?

For the triple distillation (...) the heart is closer to 75% ABV

3). To what ABV did you water this triple distilled new make before filling? 

The watering at filling was to around 70% ABV. Also, this batch is watered also at bottling [from the cask strength 66% ABV, to 54% ABV]. It is great at 54% ABV, even if it does stand just a little more water if one prefers that.  

4). Is this the only time you've done triple distillation, or is there more of this stuff maturing in the warehouse as we speak? 

These were the only two casks containing triple distilled whisky. I'm thinking about triple distilling again.

5). The two sauternes barriques used for this bottling, are they "fresh"/first fill, as was the case for single cask 7/2011, or is it second fill? I came to think of this when I discovered that the "Triple" is slightly lighter in color than the SC 7/2011 

The sauternes barriques used are first fill/fresh, but with a light toasting level, while SC 7/2011 was medium plus toasting level. [The toasting level] makes a huge difference. 

           

Ok folks, now we know a lot more, so let's see what we have here

Nose:

Very fat and big! Boasting of first and foremost whipped full fat cream, dark vanilla fudge almost even chocolate fudge, dark sugar moving into light swedish baking syrup (treacle/molasses?). All of these things are in the first or main ”layer”. There is even a tad of cold coffee in there. All these things are almost inseparable, tightly clinging together to one another and really hard to tell a part. As far as the second layer is concerned there is just a tad of baking yeast and something reminding me of the peel from swedish Ingrid Marie (red winter) apples. (Damn, now I can’t stop thinking about cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla custard…). The peat? Well, it’s very, very chocolate-y in style but also sort of having a barbecue in the woods. Wow, this sure is a complex dram… everything is extremely well integrated... Ok, let’s have a sip!

Taste:

Salt and dark sugar begins and they are completely inseparable! So is all of the earthy peat and the light milk chocolate that follows, also the very, very soft vanilla cream. Everything blends together in a really fascinating way, wow… When swallowing, a gently dry peat evolves together with even more milk chocolate. There is also actually, interestingly enough the red apples from the nose, but not peel this time, rather ovenbaked apple pulp or flesh. At the start of the aftertaste, with my mouth closed, the light alcohol ”rises” in my mouth, moving towards my ”upper mouth” (the pharynx), then follows the baking syrup. For a while, in the late aftertaste, everything gets more and more thick and meaty, or rather chew-y, yes very chewable. 

To sum up:

This dram is very comlex and most of all, everything is so well integrated. I can’t think of any scent, any flavour, or any of all the elements going on here that does not cling together or intermingle with one another. To try to describe this in another way, I can only come to think of one word and that word is, mature. Yes, this is a mature whisky, and an extremly enjoyable one, both when it comes to the nose and the taste. Now, I am well aware that I’ve drawn this conclusion many a times when I’ve tasted the different releases and expressions from Smögen, but this time it is even more so! To me, this whisky seems way older than five years and nine months. And, the triple distillation style works and fits perfectly with the ”house style” of Smögen, so smooth and so soft yet so full and fat… Nice!

Big thanks to Pär for sharing a sample of "Triple" and for the opportunity to review and try it before the release! Sláinte! Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking here, my twitter-page by clicking here, and my instagram 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 such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro[at]gmail.com

picture/copyright belongs to Smögen Distillery

Svenska Eldvatten – Bruichladdich 2006 9yo single fresh ex-oloroso sherry hogshead no. 1339!

now isn't that an incredible color?! 

Friends and followers! Once again I am very happy to be able to bring you my impressions of a coming release from swedish independent bottler "Svenska Eldvatten" (Swedish Firewater). This time it's the third release in their anniversary-series with which they are celebrating their first five years! As I've shared with you before my dear friends and followers, every release in the series has a very special and exclusive label showing a motif painted by the well-known artist/painter and whisky-aficionado alike, Petri Jäsperi. 

This third release was distilled at Bruichladdich Distillery in july 2006 and bottled in january 2016 at 59,9% ABV. The whisky has been matured in fresh ex-oloroso sherry hogshead number 1339, and the cask gave 282 bottles out of which 250 will be released tomorrow at 10 o'clock. People in Sweden can order this bottling by following the instructions given here. Ok, let's see what we they've chosen this time! 

  

Nose:

Absolutely enormous and gigantic whiffs of dried figs is the first thing that springs to mind! Or rather, it really is there, there’s simply no way to not notice it or pick it up! I’ve never felt this much dried fig before! There’s also GREAT amounts of vanilla and dark raisins. Dark milk chocolate, coconut, rhum-raisin filled pralines, overripe banana, dark dark dark rhum (almost Diplomatico-style), there’s even something cognac-esque going on here, the list goes on and on… To imagine what this whisky is like, take everything you think of when you think of a heavily sherrymatured whisky, now multiply that at least four times! I’m not kidding! It’s so big. The intereseting thing with this incredibly big sherrynose is that it’s not too much, and it’s not in any way nasty, soo incredibly soft and well-balance. It’s soft on everything, especially the figs, the vanilla and the raisins. In the very top layer is something like lime and brown dark raw-sugar… that’s been covered in sugar ☺ So far, I have’nt fealt any peat at all, let’s se if there's any on the palate!

Palate:

I did not at all expect this! Wow! Bold and very intense, in fact not at all as soft as the nose, this truly is a sherry bomb, with an emphasis on bomb! Starts of with a very, very sweet core or center-flavour, raw-sugar-sweet, mixed up with something very citric. Surrounding all of that is something instantly dry and nutty, something like a sugar coated dough of almond paste with cut-up pieces of dried figs in it. Yes, very, very bold and dry, not so much vanilla though, rather dark-brown fudge. There’s actually also coffee in there, and definitely something resembling the rhum-raisin filled pralines that was on the nose… there is also cocoa and even some desiccated coconut… But the main thing here is and explosion of very DARK sherry! And what about the peat?! Well it’s barely there actually. If it is there it’s in the aftertaste, but just traces of peat (not smoke). Anyways, the aftertaste goes on and on and on and… I think you get the picture… 

To sum up:

I’ve never felt this much sherry-influence before in a whisky, at least not this intence, this must’ve really been a really fresh sherry hogshead indeed. The guys at Svenska Eldvatten sure knows how to pick ’em, impressive work! Big thanks for the opportunity fellas! Sláinte! 

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

all rights reserved/copyright belongs to Svenska Eldvatten

Swedish Whisky from Smögen – Single Bordeaux Barrique 61,3% ABV

Friends and Followers! During the Linköping Whisky Expo I was very lucky to retrieve a sample of the coming release from the Swedish west coast distillery Smögen! The festival was in february and I have had the sample for quite some time (trying to balance between resisting to taste it and to publish my review in time for the release), so as you can all understand I am today very eager to taste the whisky! As you know by now, at Smögen they only produce peated whisky, and in this release they have used 40ppm malt. 

Being casked 100827 and bottled 160106, the whisky is 5 years (and 4 months) old. It has spent it's entire life in Single Bordeaux Cask 3/2010 (european oak 225 litres). At 61,3% ABV (natural cask strength), the cask gave 424 bottles out of which 300 bottles has been sent to the swedish state monopoly. The 300 bottles are ready to go on sale this thursday at 10 o'clock as a web-release. International buyers can find the products of Smögen Distillery here. 

Just now I wrote an e-mail to Pär Caldenby, the master distiller, asking how much time the Bordeaux-wine has spent in the barrique (simply meaning "cask"), before the spirit went in to it and this is what he replied (freely translated from swedish): 

"Usually barriques are used for 2-3 fillings, roughly 1-1,5 years per filling (a little bit longer for Sauternes-wine), so if I guess, around three years in total. There are no clues regarding this written on the cask ends besides an incomprehensible number/code" 

So my friends, the cask has had Bordeaux-wine in it for quite some time indeed, this should be a treat! But before I try let me just send out big thanks to Pär for the opportunity! Ok, let's see what we have here! 

Nose:

When opening the bottle and pouring some of the whisky in my glass I initially pick up very, very slight touches of baking yeast. Besides the somewhat expected sherry-esque/wine-ish stuff like sultana raisins, dark raisins and  liquid dark honey, I also pick up under-ripe pear (sliced), but most of all very generous whiffs of fullfat whipped cream, vanilla dryness and something like redwine liquorice. The vanilla in this whisky is quite special indeed, not really fudge-y but rather something like vanilla powder (the kind one uses when baking), so a very dry vanilla or austere if you know what I mean… when nosing I can almost feel how the vanilla dryness would feel in my mouth sort of. For me there is also very obvious stuff reminding me of chocolate/cocoa powder infused with vanilla, so all in all a quite bake-ish/dessert-ish style. I must say that there is actually a focus on vanilla rather than the sherry-esque/wine-ish stuff you might expect from a whisky that’s matured in this kind of cask. Now, I haven’t even written anything about the peat, I guess I didn’t event hink of it because it’s so extremely well integrated into the whole nose. If I would even try to compare this whisky with anything (nose-wise) I can only draw my mind to something like a heavily sherry matured and medium peated, Springbank of say the age 12-15yo, veeery good stuff! Ok, let’s have a sip!

Palate:

Wow! Soo much more peat on the palate than on the nose! Also, a beautiful and very intriguing red/pink style of flavour, yep, that’s it! when having the first sip and closing my eyes I saw a cloudy beautiful pink colour. Further on the palate it really does remind me of heavily sherry matured and medium peated Springbank, we have a very, very dry but mouthwatering style of sherry-esque/wine-ish style going on here people! And the dry vanilla is definitely there also on the palate, in combo with something as slightly bizzare (?) as smoked strawberry bubble gum and spruce shoots, hehe never had that before in a whisky! Moving on from that, I also happen to find something like ginger slowly moving up my nostrils, sounds weird but it does… The aftertaste is really warming my chest, a very more-ish peated aftertaste in combo with black pepper, epresso and something like gunpowder and/or fireworks

Anyways, to sum up: 

You might remember me raving on about how freakishly great the previous SC release from Smögen was (the Sauternes one), folks, this is if possible even better and I simply can’t believe this is only 5yo! Given the fact that this whisky has been matured in a full-size 225 litre barrel it’s f-ing amazing that it has reached this very mature state already, so don’t miss out when it’s launched, if I had the possibility I would definitely buy a whole case of this whisky! Sláinte! 

Please make sure also to follow my FB-page by going here, and my twitter-page by going here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro@gmail.com 

Svenska Eldvatten – Bruichladdich 2006 9yo first fill single oloroso sherry hogshead

copyright belongs to Svenska Eldvatten 

Friends and followers! When working at the Örebro Beer & Whiskyfestival this november, I stopped by Peter and Tommy of the swedish independent bottler Svenska Eldvatten (”Swedish Firewater”) to see if they had any interesting news, and of course they did! Enthusiastically they shared info on their coming anniversary-series for this year, consisting of a number of bottlings celebrating their first five years as independent bottlers! 

Every release in the series (as you can see from the picture to the left) has a very special and exclusive label showing a motif painted by the well-known artist/painter Petri Jäseperi (well-known in the world of whisky that is). Please note that every bottling in this series will have it’s individual motif. 

The whisky that I ended up obtaining a sample from was single sherry hogshead no. 511 (first fill oloroso matured) Bruichladdich, 9yo. It was distilled in june 2006 and bottled in november 2015. Bottled at cask strength 60,2% ABV the hogshead gave 285 bottles. Sounds great right?! This particular whisky will have it’s premiere release at the Viking Line Cruise Whisky Festival starting tomorrow and lasting this weekend. According to the pricelist it will cost 879kr (around 90 euros). On the 1st of february it will be released at the swedish state monopoly. 

To the festival they will also bring an 11yo single bourbon cask Bruichladdich from 2004 (seen at the bottom of this post), that will also be available on the swedish state monopoly on the 1st of february. I am very lucky to be able to review also that release in a week or so, so please stay tuned!

Now, enough talking, let’s have a go at the sherrymatured one!

the label should say 2006/2015 of course :)

Nose:

Very, very dark sherrynotes! On the nose this one reminds me a lot of something like a mix of heavily sherrymatured Macallan and heavily sherrymatured Clynelish. The sherrynotes in this dram are very raisin-y, also very dried dates-y, and something like milchocolate with touches of oranges. In fact the sherry stuff is so heavy that I can barely get through it all! Trying really hard, I find some almond paste thats been absolutely soaked in oloroso, some heavy port wine and some definitely overripe pear, there is even a touch of cucumber water in there! (I’ve never nosed that before in a whisky…). There is also some very dark vanilla notes, not at all like vanilla fudge but rather something like vanilla pods simmering on the stove in whole fat cream, or like old style vanilla ice-cream, mmm… Well what about the peat? Isn’t this an Islay? People, the peat is very hard to pin down in this one! I do however find a slight, slight, slight touch of peat but it’s all mixed up with something quite citric. Well what about the strength? Isn’t it too strong on the nose? People, it doesn’t even strike me as being strong, feels like 50% ABV at the most. Anyways, summing up the nose, if you like sherry monsters, you will absolutely love nosing this whisky! Let’s see what’s on the palate! 

Palate:

Ooh! Starts of very classic sherrymatured with lots of dark raisins, dried dates and maybe even some figs. Touches of violet, there is even some sweetness from dark, dark, honey. Then the strength really hits me! BOOM! After the boom and a big whiff of the cask strenght we have some citric stuff mixed up with dark milk chocolate. There is evident notes of coffee, almost Rhum-esque in fact! Very interesting mixture of flavors! There is loads of vanilla, but still no real sign of pure peat, maybe the peat manifests itself as something like an earthy soft peatyness with elements of sweet licorice? But I wouldn’t really say I miss the peat cause this is a Great Dram with capital G and D. The dryness is over-medium, moving towards very dry in fact. In the aftertaste I actually pick up something like vanilla and cream infused black tea (!) It all ends with a very long aftertaste, fading out into something I can only descibe as raw-sugar or palm-sugar sweetness mixed up with dark raisins…

cask sample! 

In conclusion:

If you like heavily sherrymatured drams with just a touch of peat, you should definitely not miss this one! When it comes to the sherry influence versus the level of peat, I’d say that the sherry definietely dominates the peat. The only thing that comes to mind for a comparison is something like Bowmore Devils Cask but of course with very little peat. If I compare this release to previous heavlily sherrymatured releases from Svenska Eldvatten, say something like the Clynelish 1996 which I find to be way up there, I would rate this release as even better than that! So, big thanks and Sláinte to the guys at Svenska Eldvatten for a truly great dram! 

Please follow SamuelWhisky on my Zuckerberg-page by going here and my bird-page by going here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro(at)gmail.com Sláinte!

copyright belongs to  Svenska Eldvatten

Swedish whisky from Box – The Messenger 48,4% ABV

Dear friends and followers, a week ago an early christmas gift was delivered to my home! Boy was I happy when opening the package to find that it was the fourth and last release from Box Destillery in their series the "Early Days Collection". 

This whisky is a composition consisting of 76% matured in 130 litre bourbon casks, and 24% matured in 100 litre european oloroso sherry casks. 7% of the malt has been peated. Of course no chill-filtration and no coloring. 

p.s I nosed and tasted before I looked up the info for maturation etcetera

Nose:

The first thing that hits me is something really pear-y, like overripe pears soaked in whisky, then lots and lots of vanilla, yes very much vanilla! Then we have more fruits, such as banana or maybe something like the swedish candy ”skumbanan”. There is also something very citric, not really freshly squeezed lemonjuice but moving towards that. I also fin almond paste and/or marzipan covered in sugar-syrup. Finally I pick a wee touch of mint. I’d say that in all this dram kind of reminds me of a mix of Cardhu, Edradour and a quite young Highland Park (bourbon matured), so just a wee bit of peat in there. Judging by the nose, it seems kind of ”simple” in style, still I’ve been nosing for almost twenty minutes now so still a bit complex , if you know what I mean… Ok, let’s see what we have on the palate!

Palate:

Oooooh! Damn! Very salty, very peaty, A LOT more peat on the palate than on the nose! Almost in a bit of a chock here fellas! The peat and the salty-ness goes on for quite some time, say 5-7 seconds before it moves on in to a mix of gunpowder, quite dry herbs/something herbal and the almond paste (which I’d say has quite a central role in the taste profile). The early aftertaste starts to get quite pepper-y indeed, the salt won’t let go either. Then in the late aftertaste comes a big hand of vanilla and then in the very background are all the fruits, especially manifested by the banana candy… Wow, a quite powerful dram indeed, and the strength is absolutely perfect! All in all it’s a bit of a cracker this dram, quite a quick one (in terms of how long all the flavours stay in the mouth), but still very impressive, definitely the best whisky from Box that I’ve had! Well done fellas and Sláinte to that!

A big thanks to the nice people at Box Distillery for this very nice early christmas gift! A happy christmas to all friends and followers and please stay tuned to SamuelWhisky on my Zuckerberg-page by going here and to my bird-page by going here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro(at)gmail.com Sláinte!