Mackmyra Special 06 "Summer Meadow" Swedish Single Malt Whisky

Yesterday I reviewed Special #5. Today it's Special #6. In addition to the Special series, Mackmyra also has a Seasons series, Moment series, a core range and countless other limited editions, including a Motörhead whisky.

Sommaräng—or Summer Meadow for we English-speaking drinkers—was "matured on several different cask types of 30 to 200 litres, out on the island Fjäderholmarna" according to their official site, and Master of Malt says it was aged "in both ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks".

Distillery: Mackmyra Svensk Whisky
Range: Special
Special #: 6
Region: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: see notes above
Release Year: Summer 2011
Alcohol by Volume: 46.8%
(Thank you to Eric S for the sample!)

NEAT
The nose is boldly floral and malty. Good notes of peach skins and tablet. Hints of sandalwood and musky cantaloupe. The palate is violently floral, which I never knew was a thing until now. I'm drinking violets, geraniums and rose petals. It's slightly soapy too. Way behind the flowers and soap is a decent spiciness and maltiness. It finishes all perfumy, specifically on rosewater. A bit of heat and bitterness.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose has become more roasted, toasted and ashy. No more flowers. Some fresh stone fruits and dried cranberries. The palate is SOAP. It's very difficult to swim through. Eventually I find a bitter herbal note and sandalwood. The finish is mostly rosewater and hand soap. Hints of peaches and malt in the distance.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
A beautiful nose, definitely striking of a summer meadow. But the palate is too close to perfume for me. The nose is great with water too, but the palate is nearly undrinkable when diluted. I calibrated my palate beforehand, then actually tried this alongside Special #5, which had no flowers in the palate and was devoid of the soap problem.

I haven't seen anyone else list the soapy notes in his or her reviews, so just to be openminded, I'll encourage you to look here, here and here for alternate takes on Special #6.

Availability - Moderately scarce, though not very difficult to find
Pricing - somewhere between $45 and $70
Rating - 73 (low 60s when diluted)

Mackmyra Special 05 "Happy Hunting" Swedish Single Malt Whisky

Let's make this week a Mackmyra week, in honor of the president of the united states (no caps) showing such informed concern for Swedish problems that don't exist.

Mackmyra has a forest warehouse next to their distillery near Gävle, as well as other warehouses in Fjäderholmarna (an island), Smögen (blasted into a rock wall near the sea), at Häckeberga Castle (a castle), Bodås Mine (a mine) and Gut Basthorst (in Germany!). This allows them to experiment quite a bit with maturation. They also have been known to tinker with different types of wood, including Swedish, as well as different types of seasoned casks.

The fifth release in their "Special" series, Jaktlycka (or Happy Hunting, in English), was "matured on several different cask types in the Bodås mine and on the island Fjäderholmarna. The whisky has finished on casks that have been saturated with lingonberry wine," as per their official site. I've also seen sites list its maturation (not finishing) as being in blueberry wine and cranberry wine casks. But I'll go with the official notes since they admit it's a finishing.

Sample was apparently found at the bottom of the ocean

Distillery: Mackmyra Svensk Whisky
Range: Special
Special #: 5
Region: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: see notes above
Release Year: Autumn 2010
Alcohol by Volume: 47.2%
(Sample purchased many moons ago)

NEAT
Tons of grains in the nose, as well as yeast and this regrettable sorghum beer. Seems pretty close to newmake at first. Then comes brown sugar, Juicy Fruit gum and roses. The palate is malty and very sweet (bubblegum and toffee). There's also a bitter bile note and plenty of ethyl heat. The finish is also on the warm side of things. It's grassy and herbal, sweet and bitter. Theres a long aftertaste of bread crust.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Water brings out a berry-ish note, though the nose remains mostly focused on grains and yeast. A plum wine note arises after a few minutes. The palate remains sharply bitter. Raw cranberries. Marshmallow sweetness. There's also something reminiscent of single grain whisky. The finish improves. Marshmallow fluff, tangy berries and dried rosemary.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
For better or worse the berry wine finish barely registers in the final product. It takes some water to bring out the berries. The nose is certainly of interest, with or without water, since I'm someone who prefers blatant grain notes over overt oak notes. On the other hand, the palate is challenging. When neat, it's half quite good and half crummy, with the two halves never coming together. Water pulls it together, but it remains raw. It finishes well, though, salvaging some of the earlier issues. It's a quirky thing, but there's no doubt that it's whisky.

Availability - Getting scarce
Pricing - somewhere between $45 and $85
Rating - 78

BARD Friday: Henry McKenna (1984) versus Henry McKenna 10 year old Single Barrel BIB (2015)

Today I'll be comparing two very different Henry McKenna bourbons.

Differences:
--Bottled in different decades/centuries/millennia -- 1984 vs 2015
--Distilled at different distilleries -- Four Roses vs New Bernheim
--Distilled by different companies -- Seagram's vs Heaven Hill
--ABVs -- 40% vs 50%
--Ages -- ≥4yrs vs ≥10yrs

Similarities:
--Both are from the Henry McKenna brand
--Both are straight bourbons

In addition to the above differences, these two whiskies probably have very separate mash bills. So they really don't have anything in common except corn and a name.

Henry McKenna Straight Bourbon Whiskey, bottled in 1984

Thanks to Ryan for the sample from his bottle

Brand: Henry McKenna

Distillery: Four Roses, Lawrenceburg, KY

Owner: Seagram's distilled it, Heaven Hill bottled it (probably)

Type: straight bourbon whiskey

Age: at least 4 years

Mashbill: ???

Bottling Year: 1984

Alcohol by Volume: 40%
(Sample from top third of bottle)

Its color is very dark, darker than the 10yo, with a cherry wood red tint to it. The nose is musty and dusty, with a note of furniture polish. Vanilla, barrel char, crème brûlée and loads of caramel. With time it develops rubber cement, heavily buttered toast and maple syrup notes. The palate is loaded with vanilla and more vanilla. Hints of creamed corn and musty oak. Caramel and whipped cream. A bit of prickly heat even 40%abv and 30+ years in the bottle. It finishes with vanilla, caramel and cream soda. A little bit of heat and mustiness. Maybe some mesquite smoke in the far back.

A simple but big bourbon, very vibrant and loud for its ABV. It's also much better than I'd expected. The Four Roses whiskies made under Seagram's are often not very good, so my expectations were set low. But this beats most current bottom shelfers, a number of mid-shelfers and—in this un-expert opinion—a few fancy pants bourbons. There's no nuance to it, but it drinks well enough. And I wouldn't doubt if there was some older bourbon in the mix.

Availability - this has to be haunting shelves somewhere in the country
Pricing - probably not much b/c it ain't sexy
Rating - 80

---

Henry McKenna Single Barrel 10 year old Bottled in Bond, barrel 2310

Though today's sample came from my bottle,
the bottle in the picture is of a different bottle and barrel.
I don't have a bottle pic of barrel 2310.

Brand: Henry McKenna

Distillery: New Bernheim, Louisville, KY

Owner: Heaven Hill

Type: straight bourbon whiskey

Age: at least 10 years

Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley (maybe)

Distillation date: March 24, 2005

Bottling Year: 2015 (possibly 2016)
Barrel: 2310

Alcohol by Volume: 50%
(Sample from bottom third of my bottle)

NEAT
The nose is gentle, almost floral, certainly less oaky than the 1984. Roasted corn, brown sugar, cherry juice and dried cranberries. Slight smoke and barley notes. The very spicy palate holds ginger, cinnamon and pepper. It also has a creamy side to it, with plenty of brown sugar. Has a little bit of acidic citrus and flower petals to it. It finishes long and spicy, similar to the palate. The oak starts to show here, but no vanilla.

WITH WATER (~40%abv) - to compare to the 1984
Water wakes up more dried berries in the nose. Some more oak too. A slight barbecue note and a big roasted grain note. The palate gets sweeter, keeps the same spice. Some smoke and barbecue. In-season citrus. Halvah. The sweet and spicy finish with more tannins, dried berries and citrus.

My bottle of this bourbon went very quickly this past hot summer, which is why I don't have a photo of it, and why I almost didn't salvage a sample in time. It performed well in cocktails, too. I prefer it neat, where the oak is quieter than in most bourbons its age. The fruit and grain characteristics were welcoming. There are ZERO vanilla and caramel notes, making it a very different bourbon than the 1984. It has great complexity, while drinking very easily for 50%abv.

We all have different palates, but I'd take this bourbon over Eagle Rare any day. You might not feel the same. I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be seeing an end to its 10yo age statement while it has a ~$30 price tag. I can't think of another bourbon that offers such a great age/price ratio. Its cousin, Elijah Craig, lost its age statement recently and then got a face lift. I like EC12 more than this bourbon, but HM10 still delivers a lot of quality. I'll picking up another bottle soon, as it's one of the few good whiskies the state of Ohio actually carries.

Availability - It's still widely distributed as of the date of this review
Pricing - $25-$35 (another example why scotch is losing to bourbon)
Rating - 84

Old Pulteney 8 year old 100 Proof Gordon & MacPhail (1970s UK bottling)

Here's one of my mini spoils from my recent trip to the Scot Land.

What else have I to tell you, my friends? It was produced by Gordon & MacPhail in the '70s. It was possibly distilled by Pulteney in the '60s. It was bottled at munition ignition strength. The fill-level was awesome. There was no clash with my hoarder gene; I wanted to drink this the moment I bought it.

Distillery: Old Pulteney
Region: Northern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Age: at least 8 years old

Maturation: ???
Bottled: 1970s

Alcohol by Volume: 57%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? Probably not

NEAT
Its color is medium gold. The nose has remarkable range. Get ready... Leather, peaches, library books, forest floor, musty oak, cardamom and honey. With 20+ minutes in the glass it gets bonus notes of manure and dried cherries. The palate is an assault. Leaves, earth, ink, ash, horseradish, chives(!), a nip of miso and an almost violent medicinal note. Also pencil paint (I chewed many pencils in my time) and plenty of heat. It picks up a wee bit of brown sugar sweetness and tangy lemons with time. The long warm finish keeps the medicinal note, the earthiness, horseradish, pencil paint, lemons and miso.

Ralfy would be proud of this teaspoon of water:

WITH WATER (~43%abv)
The nose keeps the peaches and cardamom, though it gets more coastal/oceany. Lots of honey and toasty oak spices. The palate gets mustier while it scoops up more horseradish. Its bitterness gets aggressive, like an unsweetened herbal liqueur. It keeps some of the ink and miso notes. Picks up cocoa and a floral maltiness. The finish remains warm and extensive even at this strength. It's musty, bitter, salty, inky and malty.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Incredible. The nose is glorious. It's even welcoming to people who don't like scotch. But the palate is as unsexy as imaginable. I love this stuff, but it won't appeal to all palates. Can't say it's like any other Old Pulteney I've had, nor any recently produced single malt. It hasn't been lovelied up in any way. If you see this whisky selling anywhere, check out the above notes to see if you'd actually enjoy drinking the stuff. I know I would!

Availability - Happy hunting!
Pricing - anywhere from £100 to £400
Rating - 91 (WF gave it a 93)

Beware (the week of) the Ides of March! The Annual Scotch Report is Coming...

Yes, the annual report will be a-posting two months later than usual, but the SWA just released 2015's stats last week. The report will keep its three-part structure. Part One will be full of updated super graphs. Part Two will have an expanded USA single malt price history list. And Part Three will bring in some more recent numbers to round out and conclude the analysis.

(source)

If you want to reminisce about the good old days, here are past years' reports:

From two years back
What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 1: Value vs. Volume
What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 2: Single Malt Prices in the US between 2007 and 2015
What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 3: Plateau and Decline

From last year
Scotch Ain't Dead Yet, Part 1: Export Volume and Value
Scotch Ain't Dead Yet, Part 2: The very much alive pricing of single malts in the USA
Scotch Ain't Dead Yet, Part 3: 2015 and The New Normal

In the meantime, you may find an occasional whisky review here as well. Stay tuned!

Old Pulteney 8 year old 1990 Cadenhead Authentic Collection

The single malts of the Green Bottle Era of the Cadenhead Authentic Collection were often low on oak and super high on ABV. I don't mind the former, but the latter can prove difficult to crack. If the "Oak Cask" wasn't in particularly good shape, the resulting whisky can be raw, and dominated by ethyl notes; adding water to that situation rarely helps. Here are two examples of such experiences. And this one was the first and last whisky to make my face go numb.

Yet this series remains well loved by many old school whisky fans. It represents a simpler, less marketing-fatted time when there was less competition for treasures and a trip to the liquor store could result in surprise and discovery. And I wouldn't doubt if some would argue the whisky was better then. That era was, sadly, before my whisky time. I will say, one of the Collection's 1976 Banffs was pretty awesome.

This sample of an 8 year old Pulteney comes from My Annoying Opinions who—through some sort of Minnesotan witchcraft—rescued some green Cadenhead bottles from liquor store shelves in recent years. I'm not worried about the whisky's youth, but the 63.1%abv sets off Hazmat alarm bells.

Distillery/Brand: Pulteney / Old Pulteney
Region: Northern Highlands
Ownership: InterBev Group

Independent Bottler: Cadenhead
Range: Authentic Collection

Age: 8 years old (August 1990 - September 1998)

Maturation: "Oak Cask", helpful!
Bottles: 222

Alcohol by Volume: 63.1%

NEAT
Its color is a yellow gold. Wow, not much heat on the nose. A good sign. It starts with green leaves, anise, roses and juniper.  Then cocoa, pencil eraser and lemon zest. There's a soft medicinal note that floats up occasionally. With 20+ minutes of air, the nose picks up a grape popsicle note. The palate is hot, but too hot. It's sweet throughout, like spicy orange candy. Maybe some green or yellow melon and fresh ginger. There's a good earthy note, out of which grows an agreeable floral character. The writer just realized the latent poetry, then shoehorned it in. Oh yes, there's plenty of malt to be found. It finishes with earth, ginger and lots of sugar. Flower petals up front, pepper in the back.

WITH WATER (~46%abv)
Flowers and fruit in the nose. Hints of grain (malted and un-) and yeast. Clean of oak. The palate is similar to the nose with more pepper and a caramel sweetness. A hint of of the earthy thing and a nice herbal bite. It finishes brightly sweet, with a sharp citrus edge and a tiny bit of the soil note.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Another good surprise. Though it's loaded with esters and other spirity things, the whisky isn't palate-shredding or out of whack. Instead, it's pretty good. It feels a little younger and simpler with water, but that doesn't ruin it either. It's not a very complex whisky, but it feels more composed than most of the contemporary ultra-young single casks I've tried recently (this, this, this and this, are what come to mind tonight). My sample probably came from the second half of MAO's bottle, which allowed it some time (and oxygen) to open up. I can imagine a bottle like this could be brutal in its first couple of pours. But as MAO noted, it does open up. Just give it time. Like, months.

Availability - Happy hunting!
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86

Old Pulteney 1997-2012 Gordon & MacPhail for Alain Verspecht

This week I'll be reviewing a few independently bottled Old Pulteneys, none of which are currently available, each one less relevant than the previous. You're welcome!

For those readers who groaned audibly during that first paragraph, please note that I will be doing a week of current OB OPs in the very near future.

And for those readers who groaned audibly during that first paragraph, there's actually a nice story behind this whisky. Gordon & MacPhail bottled this cask to benefit a non-profit Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis research organization that also helps support Alain Verspecht, a Belgian whisky geek with ALS disease. The Bonding Dram was one of the two retailers selling this whisky, and though the bottles had sold out when I went to order one, there were still samples left to purchase.

Distillery: Old Pulteney
Region: Northern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Supporting: A Cure for ALS and Alain Verspecht

Age: 14-15 years old (1997-2012)

Maturation: first fill bourbon barrel
Cask number: 1199
Bottles: 224

Alcohol by Volume: 57%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No

NEAT
Its color is a light bright gold. The buoyant nose starts off with honeydew, ocean air, marzipan and citronella. There are creamy barrel notes at the start, but they linger around the edges rather than forcing their way up front. In fact, they often read like the toasted French oak notes from Spice Tree. After 20-ish minutes in the glass, the whisky picks up aromatic, floral vanilla character. There's an intense maltiness in the palate, followed by milk chocolate and caramel candy (Milk Duds?). It has Talisker-eque salt + pepper. Again, the oak feels more toasted than charred, so there are more spicy notes than vanilla and barrel char. Its sweetness grows with time, and a musty note appears in the midground. The finish has some mild heat and a good sweetness. Its main notes are malt, cocoa and toffee.

WITH WATER (~46%abv)
The nose becomes easier with notes of malt, vanilla, milky chocolate and a hint of lime. The palate also gets simpler. There's vanilla, black pepper and a slight bitterness. Some hints of oranges and wood smoke. It finishes with a good bitterness, mild sweetness and plenty of vanilla.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is a very drinkable single malt that should appeal to almost any palate. This isn't the most complex thing, but it's thoroughly pleasant, something one can just sip in any season. Good cask selection for a great cause.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - it was €66, of which a portion went to the foundation
Rating - 85