I must admit I’ve not r sampled any Mossburn whiskies before, but was glad to try this Bottler with four young-ish whiskies from four distilleries each in a different type of oak cask… Today I will visit two expressions.
Strathmill 12 yo 2010, virgin European oak hogshead , £64
Nose: A nice nose with lots of character even at 46%, the thing you notice first is oodles of vanilla which is not surprising given this is a virgin cask… more sniffing reveals hints of lemon, wood varnish , old school candy, and some wood shavings alongside green bananas.
Palate: A nice balance of sweet vanilla custard and pear drops, alongside honey and brown sugar with a gingery edge. More baking spices come into focus : mainly cinnamon, some marzipan, and fresh sweet pastries drizzled with manuka honey.
Finish: Not very long, with more sweet notes toffee, honey and a hint of floral notes, maybe some tea leaves and more wood shavings.
Conclusion: A daily sipper for those who are looking for an easy whisky on the sweeter side and do not mind quite a bit of wood.
Score: 83/100
Next, we move on to a wine cask finish Benrinnes…
Benrinnes 14 yo 2008 ,54,9%, Moscatel hogshead finish
Nose: A nice wine-y nose, quite fruity with red berries all over – quite perfumed with addition of orchard fruit as well. further nosing reveals some cereal notes, maybe bready notes as well and sweet honey and brown sugar too. Not too wine-y , let’s hope the palate will be as balanced.
Palate: Yes, the wine is more noticeable here – the fruity notes form the nose remain, mostly the red berries – some strawberry as well. There are also some bitter tannins, the palate is oily and viscous with some baking spices, some ginger powder and wood.
Finish: Medium- long with sweet dessert wine notes, brown sugar, and oak tannins.
Conclusion: You’ll like this one if you appreciate wine finishes, and do not mind some wine tannins alongside sweet dessert wine notes. Quite more-ish I’d say.
Score: 85/100
Two more Mossburn whisky reviews are forthcoming…