Scotch Review #8: Hazelburn 10

Distillery: Springbank

Region: Campbeltown

Price: ~$6/dram

Cask Type: Ex-bourbon

ABV: 46%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.4, jonquil/ripe corn (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a glencairn.

Nose: Five-spice powder, sea air, peach tart. Can't recall what water brings to the nose.

Palate: Light-medium texture, kiwi, hint of seawater brininess, sea spray, light gravy, pleasant sweet-sourness of yoghurt really comes out with water.

Finish: Clean-burning binchotan, lime juice, sweet milky creme caramel, more sea spray. Cream cheese lasts and lasts and lasts with a hint of apricot. Delicate but not weak. Medium-long. Can't recall what water brings here too.

Conclusion: It's fitting that after my last dram (Craigellachie 13), which I called quite akin to an unpeated Springbank that I drink triple-distilled unpeated Springbank. Very bright and fresh and full of tropical fruits. Just needs a bit more sweetness of the earthy sort like chocolate or molasses, and some florals to really lift this. Yum.

Strangely I found a pervading cheese note to some degree in all the whiskies in the flight, except for the Glen Scotia and Springbank. Especially surprising since this is unpeated.

If it were named by the SMWS: Seaside Yoghurt Cup

Score: 87

Scotch Review #9: Glen Scotia Double Cask

Distillery: Glen Scotia

Region: Campbeltown

Price: ~$6/dram

Cask Type: First-fill ex-bourbon, then PX finish.

ABV: 46%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.5, yellow gold (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a glencairn.

Nose: Grease after cooking. Finely-ground cement. Honey lemon that comes forward more with a drop of water. Apple juice emerges too. Hint of cow funk.

Palate: Greasy, slippery mouthfeel. Savoury instant ramen, then tart green apples. Bitterness of apple core comes out more with water.

Finish: Warming chai lingers. Some nondescript minerality and lemon rind peters out quick.

Conclusion: Frustrating. Chai was fabulous then lemon rind intrudes in the finish. Also weirdly very tart, could be something to do with the cask. Bad PX casks or too much cask influence really does not sit well with me.

If it were named by the SMWS: Embittered Chai

Score: 77

Scotch Review #10: Kilkerran 12

Distillery: Kilkerran

Region: Campbeltown

Price: ~$6/dram

Cask Type: 70% ex-bourbon, 30% ex-sherry

ABV: 46%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.5, yellow gold (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a glencairn.

Nose: Simple but by far the most depth and richness of the flight. Buttercream hiding under assertive minerality. Propolis and honeycomb in spades. Drop of water reveals grape juice. The richest, deepest nose of the bunch by far.

Palate: Velvety creamy texture, up there with Craigellachie 17. More propolis honey, the very natural sort with a residual bitterness. Maple syrup. Mushroom soup with creme fraiche. Sweetness of orange cordial comes out with a drop of water, along with significantly more tartness of pulp along the sides of the tongue.

Finish: Lemon drops. Flint. Bovine funk without overpowering. Raspberry sauce. Doesn't live up to nose and texture. Dies out quick, discordant even if individual notes are inoffensive. Score is only salvaged by the richness and depth of each note, balance notwithstanding.

Conclusion: An exercise in disappointment, given all I've heard about the distillery's integrity and commitment to quality. However, what is good is so good that I will seek out a full dram on its own, to see whether my assessment holds outside of the flight, because fatigue might be a factor. I am reasonably confident of my tasting note here though because I do get the citruses and the (very delightful) honeycomb. The bovine creamy cheese funk is remarkably similar to the Hazelburn actually. For better or for worse, the sceptre of Springbank looms large upon Campbeltown.

If it were named by the SMWS: Hivemind

Score: 81

Scotch Review #11: Springbank 10

Distillery: Springbank

Region: Campbeltown

Price: ~$6/dram

Cask Type: Ex-bourbon (60%) and ex-sherry (40%).

ABV: 46%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.7, amber (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a glencairn.

Nose: Leather, sooty petrol - not like the sweet piercing notes in 12 CS, steak. With water, dark chocolate and apple juice emerges.

Palate: Aromatic spice bomb. Cardamom, curry leaves instantly. White peppercorns (ungrinded). Masala chutney. Smooth. Meaty broth underlies it all, but lingers in the background unlike 12CS. Water brings out mango yoghurt.

Finish: A deep sweetness of mango lingers in my throat. Oatmeal. Pristine copy paper with water, uncannily so. Mushrooms too, but nowhere as upfront as Kilkerran. A bit of sulfur.

Conclusion: Nose is a bit thin, but probably because one can't help but compare it to SB 12 CS. The spice hit is uncanny, as is the mango sweetness. The copy paper note is funky too. If it makes sense, the Hazelburn has more fruit aroma and variety (kiwis, peaches etc.), but the Springbank has a sweeter, richer taste. The leather and petrol is a bit wispy, which doesn't quite fit the style of this whiskey. This is why I rank it quite a tad below Hazelburn.

If it were named by the SMWS: Indian Takeout for the Office

Score: 83.

Scotch Review #12: Longrow 46% NAS

Distillery: Springbank

Region: Campbeltown

Price: ~$6/dram

Cask Type: Ex-bourbon.

ABV: 46%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 0.8, deep gold (natural colour).

Rested ~15 minutes before drunk neat in a glencairn.

Nose: Apricot, sweet cream cheese, charcoal. With water, stagnant ditch, copper and a bit of bitter stone fruits.

Palate: Wow. Camembert instantly. Then SO MUCH rooibos tea. Campfire. Blanched Chinese kale: vegetal and alkaline. Water somehow both tames the initial pungency of Camembert but deepens the flavour and emphasises a smoked quality. Apricot also shows with water. Texture didn't stand out, perhaps marginally thicker than Hazelburn.

Finish: Rooibos tea and cherry-smoked meat lingers. Water brings out apricot compote here too, and meat rub (peppercorns, oregano, garlic powder), lavender water lifts it right at the end (what a pleasant surprise, not enough of it). Barley and apricot compote last a long time.

Conclusion: A drop of water really opens up this Longrow despite the strength. Strangely you lose the Springbank leather and petrol even though they are from the same distillery. But you gain funky industrial waste notes. My problem was that the touch of lavender was fabulous but it was way too wispy and came way too late. Having it come earlier and stronger would have really brought this Longrow up a level. I don't mind the alkalinity too, I find it helps cut through the Camembert. Without water, I find the Camembert too upfront for my liking, almost swamping out the lovely rooibos tea initially. This is why I rank it marginally lower than Hazelburn.

I find it really interesting that tropical fruits and milk feature so heavily in both Hazelburn and Longrow, but not Springbank, given that Springbank should be intermediate between the two. Longrow is industrial, its just industrial in a different way from Springbank, while Hazelburn is more delicate. One might be surprised by Hazelburn's salinity given its unpeated, especially since its of the maritime kind (contrast with Craigellachie pickle juice). I don't think this Longrow would be an everyday dram for me though, compared to Hazelburn or Craigellachie.

If it were named by the SMWS: Bert's Tea Flask

Score: 86.

Scotch Reviews #8-12, Whisky Network Review #9-13

H.Y.