Hazelburn Sherry Wood is finally back (no doubt for a short note), this time in a version aged 12 years on 100% olorosofade. It is bottled at 49.9% alcohol in 9,000 copies.
Colour: Amber.
Smell: Lots of dried fruit (raisin, date), sea breeze and caramel.
Tasting notes: Rich and with delicious sweetness, which compliments the maritime elements in the whisky: sea salt, licorice, ginger and caramel.
Serving suggestions: Should be enjoyed neat.
At Springbank, 3 distinct types of whiskey are produced, which differentiate themselves on a number of parameters. The classic Springbank has a light tørverøg. The smoke level is indicated (somewhat imprecisely) with a measurement of phenol in the finished malted barley and is around 10-15 “parts per million” (the malt is dried for 6 hours with peat smoke and 30 hours with hot air). Springbank is also distilled 2.5 times. “Longrow” – a strongly smoked variant was first made in 1973. Here the smoke is up to 50-55 ppm, the malt is dried for 48 hours with peat moss, and it is distilled twice. The newest variant, Hazelburn, was born in 1997, when they tried for the first time with fully virgin and triple-distilled whisky. Of the approximately 175,000 litres, the small Campbeltown distillery produces a year, er 80% Springbank, approximately 10% Longrow and 10% Hazelburn.
Regardless of which variant you have been using, Springbank is worth getting to know. It is the favorite distillery of many whiskey geeks and for good reason! As the only distillery in Scotland, they even malt all the barley they use. Dyes are never added, and the whiskey is not cold-filtered.
