Campbeltown

Hazelburn Sherry Wood 13 Year Old (2017)

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Hazelburn Sherry Wood 13 Year Old (2017)
Triple Distilled Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

47.1% ABV
$80-$140
Website
Hazelburn 13 Yr Sherry Wood

What the Distillery Says

Our Hazelburn Sherry Wood, always bottled at cask strength, is released annually in small quantities after being matured in varying types of sherry cask.

The 2017 release is 13 years old, matured in Oloroso Sherry casks and bottled at 47.1%.

Nose: Initially raisins, marzipan, Demerara sugar followed by treacle, sticky toffee and wood shavings.
Palate: Homemade strawberry jam, sugary and filled with cream, orange zest, brandy snaps and a white chocolate creme brûlée.
Finish: Chocolate orange, creamy coffee liqueur, buttered popcorn, cocoa beans and mocha coffee with a delicate finish of sweet orange marmalade.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich dark fruits, raisins, prunes, figs with toffee and musty oak.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with raisins and berries in milk chocolate, slowly building spice notes of nutmeg, allspice, toasted orange zest.
Finish:  Moderately long with cocoa and citrus spice.
Comments:  An absolutely lovely pour.  I’ll admit I was way late hopping on the Springbank train (and wish I could figure out why to avoid a similar mistake in the future!)  Hazelburn is their unpeated style, although I’ve yet to find anything they do that I didn’t think was pretty good.  This doesn’t need water, and I didn’t find it helped nor hurt.

Rating: Must Try

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Springbank 13 yr Single Cask

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Springbank 13 yr Single Cask
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

58.6% ABV
$120-$140
Website
Springbank 13 yr Single Cask

What the Bottle Says

Distilled: December 2003
Bottled: April 2017
Cask Type: Fresh Sherry
No. of Bottles: 474

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich sherry bomb, plums, raisins, dates, smoked meat, leather, pipe tobacco, clove, oak.
Palate:  Rich and thick sweetness, fruit, berries, cherries, honey, brown sugar, toffee, balsamic, dark chocolate, clove and pepper spice.
Finish:  Long with sherry dripping and a bit of clove.
Comments:  Just delicious! Takes water like a champ, bringing out some maple candy notes on the nose. An unapologetic sherry bomb that hits all the right notes.

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength Batch 15 (August 2017)

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Batch 15 – August 2017

56.5% ABV
$100-$120
Website
Springbank 12yr Cask Strength

What the Distillery Says

Our 12-year-old edition, always bottled at cask strength, is a wonderfully balanced dram that boasts a smooth buttery body and rich fruity palate. Add a drop of water to release milk chocolate and vanilla notes.

Our latest release*, bottled in January 2017, is 54.2% and the tasting notes are:

Nose: It’s reminiscent of walking in an autumn forest full of pine and chestnut trees, before returning home to the iodine of a Campbeltown malt and ending with a delicate hint of peat.
Palate: A gorgeous richness on the palate which is balanced between citrus marmalade on toast and caramelised toasted marshmallows, not forgetting flavours of vanilla and pepper. It’s a lip licking meaty dram.
Finish: A delicious, viscous, smooth liquid with a salty edge. It brings back memories of a ham joint which has been marinated in a rich honey sauce and slow baked in the oven.

*This content was listed in August 2020 (and there have been multiple releases since). As luck would have it, this refers to batch 14 which is 70% sherry/30% bourbon cask matured – the same as batch 15.

Special shout out to Ben’s Whisky Blog and The Washback for detailing out the Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength batch differences!

 

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, sherry, dark fruits, heather, oak, floral, clove, thyme, leather.
Palate:  Rich and thick, dark fruits, balsamic, dark chocolate with berries, toffee, vanilla, caramel, honey and clove.
Finish:  Long and slightly drying with sherry, wisps of smoke and pepper spice.
Comments:  This is a lovely, complex dram! Rich, savory and sweet. A bit of water opens it up even more. I’m not sure why I had waited this long to buy a bottle of this. Other folks in the whisk(e)y circles I’m in have been Springbank fans for years. I had enjoyed it, but I think hadn’t appreciated it as much before (possibly due to those tastes being mixed amongst a LOT of other drams!) I managed to pick this bottle up in August 2020 for $90, which is below the current retail – but even at the latest prices, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. There is batch to batch variation, as Springbank isn’t shooting for a consistent profile every time – and at least on this batch they didn’t provide any indication as to the batch. You can check sources for details using the ABV.

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Longrow 18 Year

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Longrow 18 Year
Peated Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$180 – $200
Website
Longrow 18 year old

What the Distillery Says

Dark and slightly mysterious, our 18-year-old Longrow has a complex nose that unearths a peaty aroma reminiscent of dunnage warehouses.

Nose: A complex nose: Sweet fruits, citrus, peaches and orange zest at first before a gentle earthy peaty aroma reveals itself.
Palate: Rich and very, very tasty. Well balanced. Dark chocolate, creamy coffee and gingerbread to the fore, followed by rhubarb and vanilla custard.
Finish: Long and sweet, a hint of typical Longrow peat smoke combined with more chocolate and some dried fruits.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Thick, rich sherry, barbecue brisket, subtle peat, plums, poached pears, orange, vanilla, worn leather, oak, pipe tobacco smoke.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with vanilla cream, grilled peaches, peat, sherry, cocoa, walnuts, pepper and allspice.
Finish:  Long with a nutty note of plums and peat smoke.
Comments:  A really lovely dram! Beautifully balanced with peat, fruit, smoke and a bit of spice. Reading their tasting notes and taking another sip – I do get coffee with a fair dose of cream now. This is a limited bottling, so a price of $200 isn’t unreasonable. Sure, there are some whiskies for less dough that I like as well (maybe even better), but not many. For a single malt, this has the complexity and balance of the better blends (if tasting blind, I would have wondered if maybe this was a Compass Box offering without any Clynelish in the mix). Thanks to Paul for the sample of this really delightful dram!

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Glen Scotia Double Cask

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Glen Scotia Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$70
Website
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What the Distillery Says:
Our Double Cask is matured in our finest oak barrels then finished in a combination of first fill bourbon barrels followed by time in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks to produce this outstanding malt whisky that provides the perfect balance of rich spicy fruits, overlaid with the characteristic sea spray and vanilla oak finish for which the house of Glen Scotia is famous.

NOSE Amber. Very sweet. Initially it is all creme caramel, caramelised fruit sugars, wood sugar, toffee and fudge before some apple and peach come through. In time a charred note of bourbon with a pleasing dusty dryness. Has some power.

PALATE Sweet start and quite fat and though the alcohol gives a little tongue-tingling buzz the result is a good mid-palate weight. The dry distillery character is there still, but there is now depth to counter. Water slightly dismantles the different elements, but adds some dried mint.

FINISH Deep and dark.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose is very sherry forward. It reminds me more of an Oloroso than the Pedro Ximenez that they use. Raisins, stewed fruits, and creme brulee come to mind.
Palate: There is a very nice creamy viscosity to this one. More deep sherry notes, dark fruits, and vanilla extract.
Finish: Cracked pepper, polished wood, and a nice mint note carry this out to a medium length finish.
Comments: I am a bit of a NAS-hater (no age statement whiskies). I find their proliferation displeasing and the whisky in said bottles usually disappointing and overpriced. However, every so often I get surprised. Maybe it is my low expectations or the skill of the blender. Either way, these exceptions are few and far between. While this Double Cask Glen Scotia isn’t awe inspiring, it is a very solid well made dram and I enjoy it. It definitely stands out among NAS single malts. $70 is a bit steep for the bottle though. If it was sub $50 it would be a real winner.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank the Loch Lomond Group for sending us a bottle to review.

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