Fruity and funky. I'm ambiguous about this one. My head says one thing and my heart says another. Having spent a couple of hours over a couple of drams of this, I'm going to miss having this bottle on my shelf.
The details
Distillery: Springbank
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co.
Translation: N/a
Region: Campbeltown
Bottler: J & A Mitchell & Co., on-site at Springbank distillery
Bottle code: 21.11.21 21/190
Age: 10 years. The HB10 expression was first introduced in 2014.
Distilled/bottled: Triple distilled, 2011
Bottle: 70cl. Good cork, tight fit.
Number of bottles: Limited/Unknown
ABV: 46%
Cask type: Bourbon cask
Barley: Unstated
Yeast: Unstated
Filtered/coloured: Non-chill filtered, natural colour
Sample date: Sunday 3rd July 2022.
Peated/unpeated: Unpeated
Cost: £41.95 from Master of Malt
Availability: Very limited
Barcode: 61085400083
More info: Ralfy has made an excellent video on this
Tasting notes
Eye
Light gold. Very indicative of a 10 year bourbon cask maturation. Strange, slow legs. A mix of spots and drips. Very Jackson Pollock.
Nose
Before water: Lemon and almonds with notes of bourbon and barley. Sweet, fresh and clean, but at the same dry, astringent and dusty. An oxymoron. Like standing on a heap of dry barley. Slightly creamy. No nose prickle. Very pleasant. Reminds me of Tullibardine Sovereign but there's something extra in the basement; more complex.
Clear vanilla influence from the bourbon casks. Honey, toffee, apple, pear, grapefruit, white grape skins, almond/hazelnuts, red diesel hiding somewhere underneath. Mr Kipling almond slices. Slightly minty. Vaguely earthy dunnage warehouse effect. Faint green leafy herbs underneath. There's a mild lactose note in the background, but it works well with everything else in the glass.
After water: Boosted fruit. Sweeter. Dunnage impact is muted slightly, but mild earthiness is still there. Apple becomes sharper. Pear comes to join in. I find this with quite a few drams; where apple is prominent before, after water the pear appears to join in. However, in some drams bottled at 40%, the pear is already there because it's already watered. Still has the diesel note in the background; which is great. Who doesn't love the smell of a petrol station?
SCORE: 23/25
Taste
Before water: Oily and fruity, yet slightly dry. The alcohol is there. Sweet and creamy. Vanilla is prominent. Funky funk messyness. Strong pineapple coupled with ginger. My grampa used to have allotments and grow gooseberries. I used to pick them off the spiky bushes and eat them. That's there too. The wood is mild but unapologetic: it's has a wood-licker spiciness.
After water: Misty. Deliciously fruity. Sweeter. Peachy. Grapefruit. The muting of the alcohol brings out a creamy element. Strangely drier than without water; although this could be down to suppression of the taste buds from the initial unwatered tasting. More bourbon vanilla and white oak. Pepper. White grapes. On second visit I'm getting a little cocoa, which works brilliantly. I'm presuming this comes from charring on the casks.
SCORE: 22/25
Finish
Before water: A lovely fresh and clean finish, conflicted with ginger and funk. Medium-length. The bourbon cask influence sticks around. Good balance of sweetness with a hint of bitterness at the back of the tongue.
After water: A sweeter edge. Zingy citrus and ginger (not too much). Sherbet. More white pepper and a touch of white chocolate, but still with the bitter cocoa edge finish. The alcohol still makes itself known. Like setting fire to a fruit salad in a manky bowl (not that you can).
SCORE: 20/25
Overall
For me, this is quite dry on the palette. But at the same time, this is something that makes Hazelburn different and therefore recognisable. Dryness is something I got from Kilkerran's as well, but that's not relevant. The grape-must notes are prominent throughout. It's also sweet and grainy, so that balances out. It's very Yin-Yang, in more ways that I can describe.
Yet, after spending a couple of hours with this, there are still some notes I can't place. That's what makes it interesting. Throughout the couple of dram's I've enjoyed tonight it has changed with water and time. A journey. A story that kept me hooked. There really is life in this bottle. For that, it gets extra points. A prime example of the "duality of dram". Clarity and confusion. Darkness and light. Chaos and order.
SCORE: 22/25
Final verdict
Earlier this evening I had a Hazelburn 21 when out for dinner at The Orchard in Edinburgh. I only mention this because I was pleasantly surprised to see nice row of HB21, SB15 and SB10 behind the bar. I can only describe the HB21 as an smoother, intensified version of the 10 year old. Coming back home, I reached for this bottle of HB10 for comparison. Bearing in mind this bottle cost me 3x the cost of a single dram of HB21, my money would go on another bottle of HB10 (in terms of value for money).
Demand for older age statement Hazelburns now seems to be matching demand for Springbank—with a matching uptick in secondary market prices. I can see why. But that doesn't mean I'm going to pay £400+ for a bottle of HB21.
Everything fits together nicely, yet it has its own character. That's why the last dram from the bottle of HB10 is going into my infinity bottle. It has something to add.
A well-deserved...
TOTAL: 87/100
Related
Similar flavour profile, but cheaper pricetag: Tullibardine Sovereign (far less complex)
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