Hazelburn 12 year old review

Hazelburn 12 year old single malt is a triple distilled whisky from Springbank distillery in Campeltown. First released in 2009 as a limited release of only 3900 bottles. Like Longrow (another brand by Springbank), Hazelburn gets its name from a long closed Campbeltown distillery.

Springbank increased the Hazelburn 12yo production a bit and 4500 bottles were released in 2010. My sample is the 2010 version and I must say, it is interesting.

DARK SHADOWS over fruity palate

I tried to source some info about the maturation, but it was difficult to find any more info than the fact, that there’s been sherry casks involved. Ralfy suggested the influence of other casks as well, port, rum and wine. But those were only innuendos.

Before Hazelburn, Longrow Peated was the only Springbank experience for me. That experience was okay but Hazelburn 12yo managed to convince me about the know-how of this well liked Campbeltown region distillery. Like I stated before, this is an interesting dram, mixture of dark and fruity notes – like a dark horror comedy by Tim Burton. Dark Shadows truly have fallen over a good, vanilla and fruit palate.

Matured in:

Ex-Sherry casks

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: Interesting start, spices mixed with barley. Raisins and sherry along with the spices start taking over. Shows little bit of its fruity side in a sour way, orange peel, dried fruits and ripe citrus.

Taste: Nuts and cocoa, little bit of toffee. Spicy and dark first, but gets more sweet and mellow with time. Still, more on the darker side – toffee, citrus and creamy vanilla strike as the main notes. Vanilla really starts to show when you add water.

Finish: Long and a bit sour finish. Like a mixture of dark coffee and dark chocolate along with some fresh citrus notes on the back. Sherry is involved too, along with toffee.

Balance: Complexity in a dark, yet wee fruity package. Interesting dram, I wish I had a whole bottle instead of a sample.