Review by: dustbunna
I bought this partly on recommendation, partly to see whether I would get along with a different Edradour after having a hard time with the entry-level 10yr. Edradour releases two of these cask strength releases in pretty Ibisco decanters each year, a bourbon cask and a (typically cola-dark) sherry cask. The sherry ones go fairly quickly and get some decent praise, but I wanted to try their spirit in ex-bourbon and so I opted for that. This one is 11 years old, distilled 22/10/2008 and bottled 24/04/2020 with an output of 908 bottles.
Distillery: Edradour.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 58%. Cask strength.
Age: 11 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: First-fill ex-bourbon cask.
Price: $92 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: lemons and oranges fresh off the tree, milk chocolate, hazelnuts, dried chilies in the background, white pepper, acrylic paint, tree bark, water intensifies the chocolate/hazelnut, green fruits (apple and melon), white chocolate, more roasted nuts, everything begins to sweeten into big waves of Nutella, pralines, candied lemon and orange peel, malted milk balls.
Palate: medium-full body ~ drinks fairly hot neat but a drop or two of water will keep it in check, burst of malt, more milk chocolate and hazelnuts, wood spice, more chiles, green bell pepper, nougat, more creamy Nutella.
Finish: medium length ~ ethanol zing lingers with more white pepper, malted milk balls, toffee, chocolate muffins, strong chalky chewable vitamins, vanilla on the tail end.
Conclusion: Initially this was pretty hot and took a while to hit its stride, but has relaxed into some great flavors since then. The milk chocolate/hazelnut evolution into Nutella is so clearly the star of the show, with green fruity, spicy, and woody notes all playing a complex accompaniment and occasional gorgeous citrus flashing across here and there. The vitamin note on the finish is the one bit that’s somewhat out of step, but even that plays nice and holds interest (and actually on the empty glass reminds me clearly of those Flintstones chewable vitamins I would have as a kid.) Everything on the nose follows through to the taste in different proportions, which keeps it interesting. As the fill level drops it turns into quite the dessert whisky, but also I think achieves better balance with the green notes and the heat. I really liked this one, although as a batched release I got from overseas it will be hard to get this exact one again. Lots of what is available from Edradour right now is sherried, but I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for more bourbon cask releases.
Final Score: 86.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 