[Quick Review] Fettercairn - 24 years old The Loch Fyne Whisky 53.6%

www.lochfynewhiskies.com


Distillery: Fettercairn

Bottler: The Loch Fyne Whisky

Age: 24 years old

Distilled: n/a

Bottled: 2022

Cask: Ex-bourbon hogshead until 02/2020 followed by first-fill Sauternes cask

Abv: 53.6%

Unchillfiltered: Yes

Natural Colour: Yes

Nb of bottles: n/a

Extra: n/a


My tasting notes:


Nose: Sweet, oaky and fruity, with peaches, almonds, ripe bananas, vanilla, oak spice, slight fudge, milk and white chocolate, fresh barley and some hints of lemon and dry straw.

Palate: Not at all like I was anticipating from the nose! Nutty and spicy, with some old oak, roasted pistachio nuts, toasted cereal, dark chocolate, espresso and quite drying oak spice. There is some slight liquorice at the back of the tongue, a little honey, some toffee and some poached pears. Having checked the official tasting notes afterwards, they're absolutely on point! This is a really interesting and unexpected dram!

Finish: Citrussy and nutty again, drying oak, old bookcase, slight grapefruit bitterness, a little spice heat, more espresso notes and roasted coffee beans. 

With water: The nose is more subdued with more lemon and milky notes. The palate gains in caramel sweetness and gets chewier. The finish becomes spicier and nuttier but drops a lot of the citrus notes. I definitely prefer the experience without water.


I've only ever tried Fettercairn a couple of times and I am not normally the biggest fan of Sauternes maturation as I feel it makes the whisky overly sweet, but I must admit this is not the case with this one, and I very much like it. The experience is an interesting one too as the nose promises a lot of fruit that you don't actually get on the palate. The palate is more on the bitter/roasted/oaky/drying side, which I am really enjoying!


Thanks to Imogen and The Loch Fyne for sending me a sample of this fantastic dram!


Slàinte all! 


And if you fancy getting hold of a bottle:

https://www.lochfynewhiskies.com/

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