Style: Sweet and Smoky
Nose:
Immediate impact of abundant sherry – Demerara sugar, plums and red cherries running rampant here. Menthol, a hint of hay, while balsamic vinegar lightly poured onto purple liquorice. Black currant gummies, syrupy fruits giving a good amount of “fatness” which is cleverly sealed by sharp spice. Mineral notes and subtle rock salt seasoning the sherry-dominated aroma.
Palate:
Dunnage sherry leading the line, all sorts of bountiful red and dark fruits shaded with muskiness – umami, soy sauce, deep and savoury. Man, the sherry casks must be good. Coal-roasted seaweed, grass mixed with hay and clay. Liquorice, cherry soda and decorated peppermint leaves. Syrupy fruits emerge again and finish with more red cherries.
Finish:
Ringing the red fruits ladder, probably a touch of brine and mineral rocks. Plums and cherries with a little bit of dustiness.
Thoughts:
Usually I am quite wary of triple-distilled spirit because it can be, what’s the word for it, sterile. But this Hazelburn is a pleasant surprise for me, probably because there is plenty sherry to power the expression, while the fruits and peat smoke (another surprise for me, because I assumed all Hazelburn are unpeated) are also sufficient at the core, making it a pretty rich and enjoyable dram.
☆ [Recommended]
[49.3% | Original Bottling | 2004 Distilled | 2019 Bottled | 9900 Bottles | Matured in Fresh Oloroso Cask | *]