A little over a week ago I was finally able to organise the family tasting again. Well, I had to pick out the bottles, but the tasting itself is with someone else every time. It had been some time that we saw each other, about 15 months to be precise. Normally we get together twice a year at least. But as always it turned out to be a great evening with a few surprising and delicious drams!
Anyway, this time the theme was Highlands and since there was still some left from each bottle, I will be reviewing all of them. And I’m starting today with this Fettercairn 2008 bottled by Lady Of The Glen. I picked this whisky because I want to explore Fettercairn a bit more. I was never really a fan of the brand, but lately, I have been pleasantly surprised by some samples from the range of Fettercairn itself, such as this Warehouse 2 edition. Besides that, I wasn’t really familiar with this Scottish bottler either. A great way to find out more about both Fettercairn and Lady Of The Glen.
This Fettercairn has matured in a 1st fill bourbon barrel for 12 years and was bottled at a strength of 57.6% ABV.
Fettercairn 2008 tasting notes:
Nose: well this is very lovely. Minerals mixed with cotton candy. Sweet pears. Pineapple and honeydew melon. Then it goes towards Werther’s original and vanilla custard. Later also marzipan, a hint of almond shavings and lemons.
Taste: a little on the sweet side, but not in a bad way. Creamy too with notes of caramel fudge and a hint of vanilla custard. Some chalk. Then pineapple again. Pink grapefruit and a touch of black pepper.
Finish: long with notes of vanilla custard, black pepper but also a hint of pineapple and grapefruit.
The nose might be my favourite here, with a good dose of tropical fruit, but there’s definitely more to explore and it keeps changing from time to time. I keep going back to it. You actually don’t realise that the ABV is on the high side here. However, this is somewhat different on the palate. Which is slightly more aggressive (nothing too bad) and has a light bitter note towards the end, but this disappears rather quickly in the long finish where it becomes sweeter again. All in all, a really lovely Fettercairn. Very enjoyable, great flavours and a highlight in the tasting.
