North Sea Whisky

Back to Earth after last week’s review of the Springbank vintage 1994.

Because of the quality of the distillery’s new makes, their maturation seems to me less linear than others. For my palate, 10 years is often the perfect age for Springbank. Younger ones I usually find a bit raw, and the distillates are so weighty and complex that additional cask influence into the mid-teens can lessen their effect. Then they reach another peak around the 20th year with the emergence of secondary tropical fruit, but you have to pay a lot of money for that. It’s hard to get much better than a great version of the Springbank 10, with Hazelburn often close on its heels.

This Hazelburn was bottled on 21/11/2021. I think I bought it at auction for about £50. Like Springbank, there is a lot of batch variability, but it is always worth getting at retail prices.

Hazelburn 10 (bottled 2021)

Rating: 88 points

Nose: Youthful, slightly nippy, but basically mature. A bright profile, no sherry at all I think, pretty different from the Springbank 10s I’ve had. Smells a lot like the bigger brother with the dirtier bottom notes removed – still very waxy, with cutting citrus fruit. For both Springbank and Hazelburn, the distillery takes an aggressive front cut. That gives a sharp and ozonic nature to the fruit, the kind that Pulteney used to have when the front cut was at 77%.

The lactic side makes itself felt a lot more without the peat and soot. On top of that, acidic pineapple, lemon and orange. A little bit of alcohol, very limoncello-y. With water, gets a little more floral with orange blossom and honeysuckle. Also a faint green edge like kiwi skins, a bit of menthol and alpine herbs. The grain signature is nice and mineralic, but narrower and less defined than the bigger makes.

Palate:  Super soft, big creamy texture, medium weight. Sharp citrus and wax – perfectly on brand. Lots and lots of limoncello bursting with juicy fruit. Thick waxes, unripe mango, pineapple, orange and lemon peels. Subtle cough pastille moments. Hobnobs and clove. There is a pleasant, almost silky texture to it on the tongue, which balances nicely with the punchiness of the flavours.

Finishes zesty and tingly, quite exciting with an effervescent fruitiness. The softest fusel oils just nudging it along and leaving a soft warmth behind. Very nice.

Conclusion: It’s youthful and simple throughout, but with a textural depth which elevates it, especially on the palate and in the finish. Delicious and faultless. I suspect quite a significant refill component to the cask makeup. Right in the middle of my most and least favourite Springbank 10s, which is saying a lot.