Really, WTF is Airem? I went through nearly 100 Google search results with no information about who made this stuff. Even the official Airem site doesn't mention a distillery. Everyone just has a lot of marketing blather about the snows of the Spanish Sierra Madre and Granada. I've been so used to innumerable American whiskey brands bragging about their local water and "production" when all the while they were just bottling diluted MGP bourbon and rye. So for a while, I suspected Airem was actually sourced from Scotland and watered down with Granada's tap water. But I think I figured out who made this whiskey.
As of 2024, Spain had 2 distilleries. One was Distilerio Molino del Arco, the folks who made the DYC blend, and then a few malts of their own. The other is a much newer Destilerias Liber founded in 2001 in......Granada. And they use former solera system PX casks. They sling a 5yo and 13yo en España, and have recently started limited batches that are around 14 years old. (Thank you, Ingvar Ronde and the stellar Malt Whisky Yearbook!)
Destilerias Liber if this is you, then flaunt it! Otherwise, some of your markets are going to doubt that this whisky was actually distilled in Spain.
If it isn't you then.....yay DYC?
Brand: Airem
Region: Spain
Age: at least 14 years
Maturation: PX casks
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? I think so
Caramel Colorant? ???
(from a bottle split)
Chillfiltered? I think so
Caramel Colorant? ???
(from a bottle split)
NOTES
A big whiff of hot fudge immediately hits the nose, followed by white grape juice. Old wet tree bark floats through the middle, while applesauce and prunes stay behind. The palate rumbles in rougher. Green wood, stale black raisins, bitter tannins, and semisweet chocolate register first. With time, floral and earthy notes offer some dimensions, until a massive burnt note takes over. It finishes vegetal and bitter, with a jammy PX lifting it up a little.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
It's whiskey, indeed. Contemporary stuff. Aging the whiskey in the Granada heat for 14 years has pushed the (actual solera?) PX casks all the way to the front, and I do mean both the PX and the oak. This must be a splintery beast at full strength. At 43%abv, it still fills one's mouth with tannins and dried grapes, which isn't a complete tragedy, though the burnt note is a bit odd. But the nose is very good, full of chocolate and fruit, thanks to all the extraction. This is another one of the rare instances wherein I'd be interested in trying a younger version from a distillery, something in the single digits, before the distillate has been clobbered by too many Spanish summers.
