Fettercairn 7 Year - Battlehill (Duncan Taylor)

Threw on the Yankee v Boston game 2 one and pulled this Fettercairn from my vast backlog of SDT samples. This one was provided by @Generously_Paul. This one is a strong one bottled at a rugged 56% abv. There is a strong alcohol nose (like rubbing alcohol) that is expectedly noticeable. Sulphuric notes like a struck match mix with the alcohol. It does take some time for those pungent notes to settle down. As it does, the character of the whisky begin take form. Honey and orchard fruits, milk chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch. Melted butter over air-popped popcorn mixed in a wooden bowl forms during a second wave of aromas. In minuscule sips, the dense, creamy body delivers a sweet caramel or butterscotch liquid. That sweetness gives way quickly to heat and zing from the alcohol. Apples and cinnamon, walnuts and wood form during the fade and into the finish. The addition of water adds a candy corn aroma but diminishes its original aromas. The palate is softened and so is it’s character. I prefer this in its native form. The finish is wooden and everlastingly drying and nothing more. You can sense the beginnings of something good for a more aged spirit. It’s character is only starting to form and cut short at a youthful seven years of age. The creamy sweetness with is tasty, but only briefly. Surprising not a harsh whisky for such a high abv whisky. Thanks @Generously_Paul for a sample of another uncommon scotch. [Tasted: 10/6/18][84/100]

Second to the last sample from our SDT tour, this one provided by @Generously_Paul . Perspective is an amazing thing. In Scotland, 7 years is young and needs more time in the cask, generally speaking. In Kentucky, 7 years is about right. In India, those Amruts and Paul Johns rarely see such a mature age. In keeping with party lines, for this one, I felt 7 was too young and would’ve benefited from a few more years in the cask. Nose starts off well, but the palette is simply too hot despite what seems as manageable ABV in principle. I needed to flush this with ice to take away that heat. It wasn’t the good heat, as what you get out of an young peated Islay...but the raw heat you get from roughness. Good attempt, but just a tad too brash for me.

Stop number 102 on the SDT is Fettercairn. Yet another unknown distillery, this time from the Highlands rather than Speyside. Currently owned by Wyatt & Mackay and used mostly in their blends, they do have a few official distillery bottlings, but I do believe they are exclusive to the European market. So in comes the Battlehill series from Duncan Taylor and this 7 year old. One of 714 bottles, bottled at 56% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of pale gold. The nose is very much a Highland style. Apples - mostly green, honey, beeswax, vanilla custard, butterscotch and toffee. Lemon citrus but more sweet than sour. Malty/yeasty with Grape Nuts cereal. A little sherry, dried grass, buttery pecans. Water enhances the vanilla and the sweetness from the sherry and adds a combination of white and milk chocolate. Mineral notes like seashells come in as well and it becomes slightly salty. After a while some sourdough notes come in and if you wait even longer the whole thing becomes an ashtray full of old cigarette butts. It loses all appeal at than point. The palate is surprisingly approachable for 56%. Only a modest burn. Honey, oak, prunes and figs. Cinnamon apples and a vague nuttiness. A very light sherry sweetness with some vanilla and lemon peel. Water brings out grassy notes with faint coconut and slightly bitter nuts. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is very oily and fairly mouthwatering. The finish is medium length, a little pepper, nutty and light oak. If the three 7 year old Battlehill bottles that I purchased for the SDT, the Glenallachie was the best, followed by the Glentauchers and finally this Fettercairn. Not a very complex dram, and letting it sit too long really has a negative effect on it. It’s not very cohesive. Not bad as an after dinner dram, but best poured into a brandy snifter rather than a glencairn. Not terrible for $60, but that money could easily be spent on better and more readily available spirits. 3.25 Cheers

Here’s another obscure distillery we were able to add to our sample group tour: Fettercairn. This eastern Highland distillery was founded in 1824 by Sir Alexander Ramsay and loosely translates to “foot of the mountain”, based on its location near the Grampian Mountains. It was originally called Nethermill, as it was transformed from a corn mill to a distillery on Sir Ramsay’s estate. It was owned by Whyte and Mackay from 1973-2007 and used primarily for their blended whisky lines. It was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya in 2008 and he has since tried to rebrand the distillery as a luxury producer- offering 24, 30 and 40 year bottlings. The distillery produces 1.6 million liters per year. This particular bottle is a 7 year old, sourced from Duncan Taylor’s Battlehill range and is offered at 56% ABV. It’s light gold in color and produces lots of tiny legs and water droplets when you swirl it in the Glencairn. The nose is highly sulphuric and buttery. I get loads of oak, youthful spirit and heat. After a decent amount of time the sulphur subsided and I get more friendly notes of chocolate and toffee. The palate is hot and slightly harsh, but there’s some nice vanilla and toffee to be found if you can work through the heat. I actually liked this one being quite hot as the creamy aspect keeps the heat from being too overwhelming. Sadly, the flavor profile does suffer a bit. The finish is short to medium, dry and mostly bitter. The creamy aspect doesn’t last and that ends the enjoyment I was having quite abruptly. Overall, something tells me the older, luxurious bottles they are after may indeed be quite good, but I’m probably not going to shell out what they may end up asking for them. This 7yo is a tease that I’ll be happy to oblige and just move on. Thanks to my buddy @Generously_Paul for this pour. 3.25-3.5 stars. Cheers.

I don’t think @LeeEvolved is going to enjoy this one because it needs a TON of one thing he evades at all cost. H2O. Lol. The nose is a little off putting at first, but beneath there was some lemon zest, tea, sulfur, tannin, leather and vanilla. The palate neat is way too hot, but heavy water brings a ton of honey, oak, lemon curd, vanilla, toffee, and more subtle sulfuric notes. The short finish is uneventful and dry. Not horrible like other Battlehill bottles I’ve had, but far from great. Thanks for the samples Tash and @Generously_Paul. Oxidation does help this bottle a ton, but it’s a 2.75 out of the gate. The theme to this dram is “Dam That River” by Alice In Chains.”