Hazelburn CV 46%
Tasted: Dec 2011
A seriously coastal intense nose. I think I can feel salt encrusting my nasal passageways! Quite high toned with a light heather, violet, acacia and orange blossom aromas. A subtle, yet endearingly complex spirit. With time some hints of singed driftwood emerge.
Like the nose it is intensely crisp and coastal, but that is balanced with some macerated apricot, light barley and malt. Quite robust and deep for a triple distilled spirit but short, partly to do with the rampant salt and citrus. The palate is a shade more one-dimensional than that nose would lead you to believe but it’s a damn fine blast, finishing with a soupcon of dried spice.
Personally I believe that it really needs some oak character to round off the intensity of the spirit and allow the obvious complexity to show through.
Hazelburn 8 year old ‘1st Edition’ 46%
Sherry Casks
Tasted: Dec 2005
Just looking at the colour tells you that this has been matured in Sherry casks and it is obvious on the nose, displaying a greater intensity of rich, honeyed, earthy fruit, full of orange/tangerine with hints of chocolate, peat and coffee.
Again fuller on the palate with the rich, sherry fruit and salinity dominating the proceedings. A touch of peat drifts in on the middle and finishes with the salt and smoke lingering.
Hazelburn 8 year old ‘1st Edition’ 46%
Sherry Casks
Re-Tasted: 2006
Clean, quite honeyed aromas of wheaty, earthy citrus, orange cream, vanilla oils, sherried dried friut and toasty malt. This really is quite delightful, smooth and rounded.
Dry on the palate, initially a touch floral with orange flavours and delicate honey and sweet spices. Youthful and gloriously tangy with a long oily, spicy finish. I tasted this against a similarly aged Longrow recently and if you take the peat smoke away there is a very obvious similarity to them.
Hazelburn 8 year old ‘2nd Edition’ 46%
Tasted: Nov 2006
A very youthful nose with initially plenty of ‘off the still’ cereal and salt along with some apricot fruit, light coffee and smooth orange marmalade. Give this a few minutes in the glass and it becomes exuberantly fruity.
Dry on the palate, again initially quite cerealy, obvious new make notes and a very intense tangy, salty middle with plenty of delicate apricot fruit and a slight hint of marmalade and citrus sweetness. The quality of the spirit is superb, currently rather straightforward and obviously need some time and some further wood influence. Personally I think it is an interesting experience to taste the pure spirit unencumbered by cask and peat, etc.
Hazelburn 2002 (8 year old) ‘Sauternes Wood’ 55.9%
5 years in refill Bourbon Oak and 3 years finishing in Sauternes.
Dist: June 2002 Btl: Feb 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A huge, powerful nose of dark, sweetly treacly scented dried grape with some leafy, almost Oloroso-esque notes in the background. Very complex and as expected cask dominated, but the complexities of the aromas are stunning – coffee, mocha, burnt sugar, caramelised banana and cinnamon notes. It then becomes exceedingly salty and fishy and then, which was a complete surprise peaty!? – Now I was always under the impression that hazelburn was made from malt that was air dried, but it becomes very phenolic with time!
The palate is soft and grapey with that Olosos-esque character showing first. Like the nose it’s insanely complex, rich, earthy, fishy, smoky, peaty and intensely, mouth wateringly alcoholic. However no level of alcohol can subdue the big honeyed grapiness and it returns trailing ginger spiced dried fruit in its wake. A big salt hit attempts to restore some balance and it finishes with a considerable tcp/ medicinal flourish.
With water the nose becomes lighter, sugary and more high toned. A bit simpler with plenty of rasiniated fruit, burnt coffee and cocoa still. The palate is softer and sweeter now. Very woody with liquorice and treacle toffee – the Sauternes cask is in full control and it has a sort of Armagnac-like quality to it. Marginally less intense but that is mainly due to the alcohol being tamed by the water but the burnt toffee coated banana and dried liquorice flavours are still running rampant. A seriously different beasty!
Hazelburn 9 year old Barolo Finish 57.9%
6 years in American oak, finished for 3 years in ex-Springbank Barolo casks
Dist: Jun 2007 Btl: Oct 2016
Tasted: Nov 2016
The nose opens with the subtle winey red fruit and a touch of spice. Quite herbal in an almost refill sherry kind of way with hints of barley and vanilla. With time hints of salt, grilled nuts and tart lemon appears.
The palate is herbal and subtly winey. Being refilled Barolo casks seems to have removed the slight butyric character that often comes with Italian wine casks. Dense and malty with hints of salt, spice, vanilla and dark chocolate. Intensely mouth-watering finish with a rich, almost sherried finish.
Water emphasises the sweet barley on the nose with more of the lemon and honey and lessens the wine influence. It does the same on the palate and makes it a little fuller and oilier with more barley and malt. Still long with a touch of hyacinth and violet in the finish.
Hazelburn 10 year old Rundlets & Kilderkin 50.1%
Dist: Nov 2003 Btl: Jan 2014
Tasted: Feb 2014
A beautiful nose of dusty barley, rose petal, creamy apricot, lightly medicinal herbs and light crème caramel. Very complex with dusty tannins and an underlying coffee-malt and pure, raw honeycomb. With time it develops a sort of mature Spey-like character. Very impressive.
The palate is lightly oiled and sweet-ish. Opening with moist, slightly dried apricot, barley, floral honey and dusty, earthy wood spices. Good intensity with again the impression of some mature oak. A seriously mouth-watering middle with a touch of almond. Long, if a little drying with a salted peanut finish, although the sweet-ish honey comes back on the after-taste. In conclusion it’s extremely elegant and balanced. Yes there is plenty of oak notes but it is definitely not over oaked.
Hazelburn 10 year old 46%
Bourbon
Tasted: Mar 2017
Elegant aromas of subtle barley, lemon, fish oils and sea air. Light but robust with a distinct malty character and subtle smoky oak, which reminds me a little of old skool ‘laddie.
The palate is again light but robust with quite a citric opening, followed by barley, apricot, malt, earth and oak. Initially subtler on the salt but it builds well on the middle. Good length with a salty, citric and slightly fishy finish. Malty after-taste. Although triple distilled it has an amazing depth.
Hazelburn 10 year old 46%
Code: 19/033
Btl: Feb 2019
Tasted: Jun 2019
An rich and earthy nose of apricot, apple and hints of tangerine, banana, fish oils and vanilla. A touch of gritty, slightly coffee’d tannin comes through and with time the oak continues to become a little more buttery.
The palate is deep and rich with apricot, apple and subtle creamy/buttery oak. The tannins grip pleasantly on the middle and hints of coffee and salted fish appears. Long, oily, salty and fruity with a light tangerine and coastal finish.
Hazelburn 10 year old UK Single Cask 53.9%
Re-Charred Bourbon Hogshead
Code: 18/217
Dist: Dec 2007 Btl: May 2018
Tasted: Aug 2020
The nose is citric, gristy and barley’d with plenty of raw oak tannins and a touch of straw. Apple, marzipan and green banana notes appear. Initially it is a little all over the place but give it some time in the glass and it does settle down and the focus is definitely on the barley, citrus and green fruit.
The palate opens with a lot of oak – marzipan, vanilla, almond and gritty, but not bitter tannins. Gristy, earthy barley follows along with under ripe banana, apricot, apple and a good dollop of alcohol., which emphasises the citrus notes on the mid palate. Medium length with lingering oily barley, vanilla, green fruit, salt and wood spice.
Hazelburn 2007 (10 year old) UK Single Cask 53.9%
Re-Charred Bourbon Hogshead
Dist: Dec 2007 Btl: May 2018
Tasted: June 2018
The nose is quite subtle and very lemony with hints of sugar coated lemon bon-bon’s, fish oils, barley and toasty, slightly gritty oak. With time lightly salted, malty and earthy notes appear.
The palate is quite oily and barley’d. Wonderfully soft with more polished oak vanillins. Hints of lemon, fish oils, salt, earth nettly herbs and malt come through on the middle and the oak becomes quite grippy A little masked but a pleasant mouth-watering and peppery finish.
A drop of water makes the nose oilier and fishier and emphasises the sweet barley and gritty oak. On the palate it emphasises the lemon and fish oils. It also emphasises the polished oak and makes the barley a touch sweeter.
Hazelburn 2007 (10 year old) Single Cask 55.4%
Refill Sauternes
Italian Bottling.
Dist: Dec 2007 Btl: Jan 2018
Tasted:Jan 2023
The nose is quite intense, slightly gritty with raw honey, marmalade, barley, rose petal, earth and hints of marzipan, fish oils, malt and salt. Lovely complexity although if I was being uber critical I would say that the marzipan has a slightly plastic character.
The palate is slightly fizzy on the tongue, which isn’t an auspicious start! Raw honey, marmalade, tannin and salt follow. Very masked and edgy with a distinctly odd mouth-feel. Masked, slightly plasticky marzipan finish. Very salty aftertaste.
Water emphasises the lime marmalade and sweetness. Less raw but that plasticky note still persists. The palate is softer and fuller. Toffee’d with sweeter apricot and honey. Still a little edgy and slightly plasticky but there’s a little more barley and vanilla, so overall, the balance is better. Longer, maltier, apricot finish with lingering honey, fish and salt.
Hazelburn 2007 (11 year old) ‘Cage Bottling’ 57.4%
Fresh Bourbon
Warehouse 6, rotation 961
Dist: Dec 2007 Btl: May 2019
Tasted: Aug 2019
An intensely alcoholic nose with barley, subtle fish oils, salt, lemon, apricot, malt and white fruit. For a fresh Bourbon cask the vanillin’s are also pretty subtle as well.
The palate is soft and malty with barley, lemon robust apricot, apple and subtle fish oils and salt. Like the nose the oak is very subtle and adds just a touch of vanilla and spice. Masked, earthy, salty, citric finish with lingering barley.
A drop of water emphasises the lemon, barley and salt. It is fresher and less oily and surprisingly shows even less oak character bar a late subtle coffee note. The palate is also fresher with more citrus and salt. Still pleasantly weighty and oily with a touch more vanilla, but not a huge amount! Long and salty with a light coffee and wood spice note. A little drying but the weight of fruit balances.
Hazelburn 12 year old 46%
Sherry
Tasted: Feb 2011
A full on sherry nose – burnt toffee, coffee with a hint of polished leafiness. There is a slight hint of spice and I think I detected a touch of marmaladey orange.
The palate is softly oiled with again the burnt toffee and polished leafy sherry notes and to be honest that’s about it really, although the sherry is very clean though. The spirit is there (on the middle) but it’s pretty undistinguishable. Good length with plenty of salted peanut notes on the finish. Think Auchentoshan 12 year old but better!
Hazelburn 12 Years Old 46%
Code: 11/342
Btl: 2011/ Tasted: Feb 2012
Lovely complex aromas, which are initially of oxidised white pear, fleshy apricot and banana along with hints of brine and ozone. Plenty of toffee’d ice cream oak vanillins follow. With time the oak becomes slightly sawdusty and some mature honey emerges.
The palate is lightly oiled with the toffee’d oak showing first. Slightly fishy with some brine notes coming through. There is definitely some maturity at play here but the oak is the dominant theme. Good length with a coffee, dry, slight tannic finish. Conclusion: A very expressive nose, but the oak dominates that palate.
Hazelburn 12 year old 46%
Code: 14/476
Btl: 2014/ Tasted: Jan 2015
The nose is quite vegetal and herbal with ‘toshan-esque boiled sweets and gritty, slightly tannic oak along with hints of barley, honey and lightly peppery spice. It appears quite robust for a triple distilled spirit.
The palate opens with the boiled sweets and barley, followed by the gritty sherry wood and barley sugar. Hints of nuts and spice come through on the middle and the finish is pleasantly spicy, woody and chewy. Not overly salty but quite nutty after-taste.
Hazelburn 13 year old Oloroso Cask Matured 47.1%
Oloroso Sherry
Dist: Oct 2003 Btl: Mar 2017/ Tasted: May 2017
The nose is very grapey and reminds me more of ex Pedro Ximinez casks than Oloroso. Toasted raisins, dried plum, treacle/ toffee and hints of violets appear. The sherry tannins are classically gritty but the treacle balances well. Pleasantly aromatic with a touch of malt, salt and wood smoke.
The palate opens with the gritty Oloroso tannins, coffee, malt, treacle and raisinated fruit. Quite violety and distinctly Springbank! Subtly salty on the middle, although that salty intensity really comes through on the finish. Long and violety with coffee, dark chocolate, coal dust and a light orange conserve note.
Hazelburn 13 year old Oloroso Cask Matured 47.4%
Oloroso
Dist: Oct 2004 Btl: Apr 2018/ Tasted: Jul 2018
Pungent aromas of herbal Oloroso – green nuts, olives, burnt scrub, tar, treacle and hints of rubber and violets. Very wood dominated but the malt and barley can still be discerned. Late chocolaty tannins, macerated dried fruit, orange conserve and liquorice.
The palate is vibrant and salty which counterbalances the chunky, herbal Oloroso dried fruit and gritty tannins. Hints of fish oils, green nuts, menthol, tar, treacle and burnt coffee follows. Very intense and spicy middle with a touch of malt and barley. Long and continuing fishy and spicy with lingering green nuts, green olive, malt, salt and gritty, chocolaty tannins.
Hazelburn 15 year old Single Cask Cognac Cask Matured 53.9%
Dist: Dec 2002 Btl: Nov 2018
Tasted: Mar 2019
Distinct, dusty aromas of Cognac dried apple, sultana and hints of pear, followed by fishy and briny notes. Pleasantly balanced with a touch of mature almond, subtly sweet barley, violets and earth.
The palate is soft but woody with plenty of French oak, fish, brine, sweet dried apple and hints of chocolate orange, cinnamon and sweet sultana. Like the nose it’s pleasantly balanced and complex with subtle barley’d middle. Long and oily with lingering cinnamon, brown sugar and gentle tannins.
Water brings forward the briny, fishy spirit character on the nose. Less about the Cognac cask now with subtle crystallised orange note appearing. The palate is lighter and like the nose the Cognac notes are now in the background. Quite sweet on the middle with some subtle cinnamon. Long and fishy with lingering malt and subtle dried fruit.
Hazelburn ‘Online Tasting Week’ 15 year old 54.9%
Fresh Oloroso
Tasted: May 2021
Aromas of toasty oak, treacle, dark raisinated friuit, salt and coffee. There’s a very, very, very faint spirit note, but its all cask. Late gritty/ dusty tannin and fish oils.
The palate is full of sweet, dark prune, plum, raisin, dark coffee, dark chocolate, salt and gritty tannins. Frankly the spirit doesn’t stand a chance! Good length with lingering smoky oak and raisinated fruit.
Hazelburn 2001 (17 year old) – Cage Bottling 47%
Fresh Bourbon Barrel
Dist: Jan 2001 Btl: Feb 2019/ Tasted:Jan 2023
A lovely, aromatic nose of over ripe apricot, pear and peach. You could argue that it becomes a little confected and perfumed, but hints of fish oils and vibrant, almost citric spirit notes balance. Late fresh, milky oak and spice.
The palate is quite sweet and it has a slight petitlance on the tongue. Grippy oak, barley and fleshy apricot appwar and the middle is very salty and almost mineral. Develops some perfumed fruit notes and milky oak. Long, fishy and spicy with a lovely spicy bite. Lovely aftertaste of viognier-esque peach, white fruit, salt and minerals.
Hazelburn 20 year old Single Cask 55.5%
Bottled for Hanseatische Weinhandelsgesellschaft, Bremen
Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Dist: May 1998 Btl: Sept 2018/ Tasted: Aug 2020
The nose opens with plenty of dried fruit and comes across almost like a grain whisky with lemon, apricot, apple, barley and spicy oak. Elegant, fruity and showing a lovely maturity and late toasted almond and butter.
The palate is quite restrained with again a grain whisky-like demeanour. Good depth of dried apple, apricot and barley along with some soft, toffee’d oak, almond and grippy yet soft tannins. The alcohol enhances the spices nicely and they continue through the finish to be augmented with mature sawdusty oak, brine and barley.
Hazelburn 21 year old 46%
Winter 2021 Release/ 70% Sherry, 30% Bourbon
Tasted: May 2021
The nose oozes mature, dusty sherry wood and Cognac-esque dried fruit. Aromatic and nutty with some subtle swdusty American oak and hints of violets, fish and salt. Late charred oak. It takes a little while to settle and harmonise, but it’s wonderfully balanced.
The palate is a lighter and more delicate than the nose. It opens with mature barley and American oak, which is slightly buttery. The sherry character is subtler and adds a little dried fruit and dusty tannin on the middle. The malt and spice notes build into a long, slightly oily, violety and barley’d finish. Returning mature American oak in the after-taste.
Hazelburn 21 year old (2022 Release) 46%
70% Bourbon, 30% Sherry
Btl: Apr 2022/ Tasted: July 2022
Considering it’s only 30% sherry matured, it is very dominant on the nose. Raw, astringent, herbal Oloroso dried fruit, marzipan, green olives, salt. There is a touch of vanilla from the American oak, which attempts to impart some balancing sweetness along with a touch of sawdust and barley, but it’s green wood and green olives all the way!
The palate is a little softer with a dollop of treacle and raisinated fruit to begin but the bitter sherry tannins and astringent green wood notes move in quickly. Very dry and bitter middle with hints of malt but no balancing sweetness. Slightly dirty and funky with dark marzipan and sawdusty, mature American oak. Bitter, spicy oak finish with lingering green olives, raisin and bitter spice.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 