Berry notes come in many shapes and colours. Notes of berries can come from sweet Bordeaux wine casks or Ruby Port casks, which offer dark fruit notes also. I guess the berry notes, especially the bitter ones, can come from the territory as well. In my experience, whiskies from Scottish Islands tend to have a salty air breeze in them and sometimes there's bitter berry notes too. Which probably come from the peat used for drying the malt. Read more about tasting whiskey.
Berry notes in whiskies can be:
- Currants like redcurrant or blackcurrant
- Cranberries
- Juniper berries
- Lingonberries
- Raspberries
- Red berries
Berries can be sweet or bitter
Whether it's some bitter lingonberries or a sweet red berry, or some sweet but darker notes with blackcurrant. Berries can be so many things, so it's hard to put every whisky with berry notes in the same category. That's why it's nice to describe the berry notes you're feeling as accurately as you can.
Few good whiskies with berry notes:
- Mackmyra Svensk Rök is full of juniper berries
- Mackinlay’s Shackleton Release has bitter lingonberries
- BenRiach 18YO Tawny Port Finish offers sour and dry berry notes
- Old Pulteney 12YO has lots of juniper and lingonberry aromas
I've listed some categories with berry note whiskies below: