Mackmyra Vinterrök Swedish Single Malt Whisky

Mackmyra continued with their experimentation with this, the Vinterrök, my last single malt review this week. They took significantly peated spirit and aged it in a mix of Swedish and American oak casks that were "saturated" with Scotch Strong Ale. I didn't know any of that information when I wrote the following tasting notes:

Distillery: Mackmyra Svensk Whisky
Series: Seasons (Säsongswhisky)
Region: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: see notes above
Alcohol by Volume: 46.1%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Its color is light gold. The nose is dried grass clippings meet peat meet ham? Juniper, spinach and plastic toys? Sulphur? Neat, indeed. The palate: the first sip is cinnamon sticks, brush fire and white sugar. Second sip is very earthy and vegetal with a ginger ale tail. Third and subsequent sips bring those two sides together with an effervescent fizziness. Wormwood + horseradish + ginger + molasses? I don't know. Fascinating. It has a long ashy finish, with an unusual spicy sweetness. Maybe fresh ginger, cayenne, dark chocolate and toffee? There's also a savory thing going on in the back.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
A little more bacon now on the nose. Dock side, barley, sand and wool sweaters. Cinnamon sticks and peat smoke on the palate. Lemon candy and a zetz of chili oil. It finishes sweeter and lemony. Ashes and cinnamon.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I've never had anything quite like this craziness. And think I'm in love. It's like someone infused Kilchoman with ginger, horseradish and a new sweater.

This particular eccentricity didn't exactly get raves when it came out and I can understand why. It won't seduce the drinker with harmony and grace, nor immediate drinkability. Ain't no smooth here. It appeals to a very specific palate, probably someone with Swedish-Mongolian-Wiccan-Panda heritage. And I am just that man.

Availability - Continental Europe only
Pricing - between $40 and $60 before shipping
Rating - 87

Mackmyra First Edition Swedish Single Malt Whisky (US Release)

Mackmyra First Edition was indeed the first edition of Mackmyra to be released in the United States. And I don't believe it had a successor. It arrived with considerably less fanfare than every single malt dropped by every Pacific nation. It was bottled at 46.5%abv, unfiltered, uncolored and in a 1 liter bottle......and sold for less than $60 at many East Coast retailers. It's also tasty. Yet it didn't sell very quickly. Again, it wasn't marketed within an inch of its life; and since the distillery wasn't an employer of the late Jim Swan, it wasn't lavished with attention by whisky writers. So the US never got a Mackmyra sequel and all of that distillery's many bottlings stayed in Europe.

As mentioned earlier this week, the folks at Mackmyra like to experiment. They have warehouses in all sorts of environments. Big barrels, little barrels. They do some maturation in Swedish oak and use Swedish wine casks, in addition to utilizing classic whisky oaks and cask types. They use Swedish barley and Swedish peat. And they're owned by a cooperative. How this never became the official hipster whisky, I'll never know.

Distillery: Mackmyra Svensk Whisky
Region: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Maturation: 94.6% Bourbon casks and 5.4% Swedish Oak, with 45% stored in 100-liter casks
Release Year: 2008-2009
Alcohol by Volume: 46.5%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(Sample from one my event bottles)

NEAT
Its color is straw. The nose's early notes include saline, wheat bread, grape candy and cinnamon. Then cardamom, yeast, walnuts, jasmine and bubblegum. It sounds messy but actually comes together well. The palate is thick and creamy, with toasted oak spice on top and dried herbs below. Malty and warm, with a touch of mocha. Gradually develops a Worcestershire sauce-type savory note. It finishes mmmmmalty. Slightly ashy. Toasted oak spices and a bit of vanilla ice cream.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
The nose opens up nicely with plums, orange candy, and lime juice. Then vanilla and eucalyptus. More toasted oak and savory notes in the palate. Some salt and malt, with a slight phenolic note. It finishes with dried herbs, sea salt and semi-sweet chocolate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I've had this whisky on five occasions and have enjoyed every time, though this round was the best, especially because this was the first time I'd diluted it. As well as it performs neatly, it improves with a little water. It really is a pleasant drink, perky on the the nose and simply solid in the mouth. If you can still find a bottle on the shelves here in The States for less than $60, I do recommend it.

Availability - Very scarce in the US
Pricing - somewhere between $45 and $70
Rating - 85 (two points up from my review 5 years ago)

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!