Hazelburn 12 Year

A bit toasted. Smooth

N: sweetish M: sweet, sherry, toffee

Fruity, sweet. Almost like caramel . Theese are not my favorite profiles, but strangely this one I like. My first Campbeltown. Probably will drink again if the price is right.

Rating: 16/23 Another Hazelburn release. I'm hopeful, but not placing any bets. N: Stone fruit with some funkiness that has an interesting bitterness to it. It's super grassy, but with a lot of that grass being dry. A bit of baked chicken breast. Somehow it has just a very dry smell that's hard to describe. It also, unfortunately, isn't all that complex. P: Stone fruit that quickly gets covered by wood and smoke. There's a hint of phenols that make me think of peat as well. Actually, that peat character is growing. It's still mostly smoky though. Still, it's somehow not all that rich and there's a clean water flavor coming though. I do get ginger and clove here, with a little cinnamon. There's also an odd faint hint of something syrupy like spiced rum (but quite faint). That part really brings out the complexity though. A touch of wax, perhaps, comes out of the smoke. Fortunately it isn't very ashy smoke. The complexity is solid and the balance is adequate. I do start to get a little bit of Springbank character here, but really not much. As for the fruit, I get tangerine, lemon, and white peaches. That's about it. And it doesn't last for long. F: Smoke that starts to trend a bit more ashy. A bit of stony minerality. Some dry grass for sure. The fruit is mostly gone at this point, but there's a touch at the beginning of the finish. There are still some notes of Springbank funk, but they're very light and only when I exhale. Not a great finish. - Conclusion - This isn't that exciting overall. It's fuller and burns less than Hazelburn 10 (2019), but it lack the nice fruit vibrancy. Of the two, I think I prefer this a little. It's more balanced and smooth, and it reminds me a bit of Paul John Christmas Edition 2020 (16/23). Cadenhead's Deanston 19 (1994) (15/23) is also close to this in quality, but it isn't quite as good. It burns more and has some funkiness that is slightly less appealing. Loch Lomond 12 (16/23) is smoother, funkier, richer, and more complex. It's also more challenging, for sure. This isn't far, but it just isn't quite as good. Paul John Cristmas Edition 2020 has more bright fruits and smoke with a bigger richness that sort of rolls in. I'd probably take the Paul John over this. So this is toeing the line between a 15 and a 16. that makes this a tough call. I think that this is close enough to the Paul John and far enough from the Hazelburn 10 to earn a 16.

Quite a pricey bottle here in the states. Paid $100+. Color: gold Nose: citrus, lemon zest, honey, traces of smoke, light and funky. Palate: sweet malt, light fruitiness, but quickly overwhelmed by the oak bitterness, it’s quite tannic and woody, hint of smoke, together with the heat from the alcohol made it quite unpleasant. Finish: medium length, bitter oak and tannic taste lingers in your mouth This is just too much wood, the casks were probably refilled many times and were certainly at its last legs. Quite disappointing dram from my favorite distillery Springbank. If they used quality cask this could’ve been a great bottle.