Hazelburn 12 Year

weird but not in a great way. “wet wood”

The first impression from the nose is of one of my favorite granola recipes—baked with a touch of honey, orange zest, and coconut; the longer it sits the more spiceful it becomes, with a more careful nosing presenting notes of creamy banana and aromatic sweet tobacco. If your nose leads you to believe you're taking a sticky-sweet and spicy sherried malt, the initial taste quickly recalls one's attention to the fact that this is the work of a seaside distillery—I taste notes of musty, sea-sprayed driftwood in addition to the crystallized ginger, more candied orange peel, treacle, and toasted Brazil nuts. The body is tart and wood driven and offers sweet and spicy overtones, being fruitier and less savory than its Springbank kin; this dram sports a hot, drying, and almost eternal finish. The empty decanter smells like the first whiff of fine tobacco, right after popping open the tin.

The nose is a potpourri of green apple, caramel, cinnamon, vanilla and an odd-man out, rubber (cannot surely identify). Arrives with some sweetness of brown sugar wrapped in a medium body. As you explore, hints of, oddly, again, fresh cucumber notes on the palate can be found (at least for me). A lovely finish with a tad of smoke paired with pepper spice. A unique whisky I tasted with a food pairing of Roulade of Sole, charred haricot vert, "French onion" crostini almond and smoke apple. Very enjoyable. [86/100][Tasted: 1/31/16 @ Eat Mosaic]

Super enjoyable, one of my favorite scotches so far. Smells smokey, buttery, oily, and like a dry wine. When you sip on this you taste those things exactly. A slight burnt oak taste takes over the tongue with a little lemon. Overall amazing and I want a bottle now. Thanks Kory!

Nose: Oak, strawberry watermelon candies, celery, hint of smoke. There's a brightness to the nose. Palate: Darker (older?) oak, strawberry watermelon candies, cantaloupe like sweetness through the finish, smokiness. Add a little water to this one. '4.5'

One of my faves, much better than the 8

I struggle with many Springburn whisky, but this one is definitely the exception. Another hairy-chested, brute of a whisky at first, but after the first sip, it soon becomes apparent that you're drinking a thing of beauty. An absolute star !