Hazelburn 13 Year Oloroso Cask Matured

The nose has smoked bacon, dried apricots, lemongrass, dememara, a whiff of bouillon, and fleeting cardamon. The oloroso cask influence here veers heavily on the older side with most of the fruit notes subdued in exchange for meaty contributions. In the palate, there's heather, fruitcake, wood polish, nutty barley, brine, lightly burnt toast, and blood oranges. Sherry spice comes in on the finish, along with some clove, tapioca, seaweed, pink peppercorn, golden syrup, and tangy citrus. It's rather dry overall and can get a bit busy, but each successive sip brings new flavors into the fold. Indeed, if I wrote a review of this once a day every day until the bottle was gone, I doubt I would ever have a few tasting notes shared across each review. It's that complex! Truly an exceptional dram.

The nose is rich and smoky with a playfully sweet element and nice notes of barrel spice, as well as a robust nutty toffee aroma and hints of dried rich apricot. The palate is smokier with more apricot than the nose suggests, but it's rich in a tasty way. Some gross bread unfortunately makes its way in at the back, but it doesn't ruin this drink. It does add some grassier flavor though and dry it a bit. Upon further sipping, the grass comes out more and it goes from being delightful to having an agitating citrusy grass presence that even includes a tiny hint of spearmint. It's solid for sure, but it tanks a terrific potential. Grassier, citrusier notes do start coming out on the nose, but they are less prevalent than those on the palate. Ultimately, this is interesting and worth trying with a fair bit of complexity, but it's not a great drink on its own.

2018 release Appearance: copper with high viscosity Nose: fig, raisin, dried apricots, cardamom, vanilla, brown sugar Palate: intense with slight smoke, buttered popcorn, burnt toffee, plum, and a quick finish Water added and creme brûlée flavor come out. Nice dessert Scotch