Review by: Raygun

Fettercairn is a pretty obscure distillery. Owned by the blending house Whyte & MacKay, who also own Dalmore, Jura, and Tamnavulin. Not exactly a roster that inspires a lot of enthusiasm. Fettercairn recently got a revamped single malt range. Had one or two other IBs, but not any of their OBs. Tried these side by side, rested about 15 minutes.

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Fettercairn 13 Cadenhead’s Original Collection

Distillery: Fettercairn

Bottler: Cadenhead’s

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch

ABV: 46%

Age: 13 years. Bottled and released in 2021. 

Cask type: A combination of bourbon and ruby port casks, about 80/20.  

Color:  0.6 old gold. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Caramel cookies with berry jam. Like the butter cookies in Italian bakeries sandwiched with jam, except dipped in caramel instead of chocolate. Pears.  

Palate: Really liked the nose. The palate unfortunately does not live up to it. Missing the cookie flavor, and mostly left with diluted fruit juice. Some caramel and licorice. It’s also weirdly astringent for something that’s not that old. It does get better with time in the glass. 

Finish: Still strangely astringent, but it’s better here. Some cookie flavor is back, and I get cream scones with jam. In other words, much closer to the nose. Has a little milk chocolate too.

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Fettercairn 28 1988 Cadenhead’s Small Batch

Distillery: Fettercairn

Bottler: Cadenhead’s

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch

ABV: 55.4%. Cask strength

Age: 28 years. Bottled and released in 2017. 

Cask type: Three bourbon hogsheads yielding 750 bottles. 

Color:  0.5 yellowgold. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Caramel, grass, dried apples. It’s not that oaky, but smells old. Leather and something like ink. Smells like a dark beer. 

Palate: Whipped cream with caramel. Shortbread. Again it’s got that “old” flavor, for lack of a better description. Not savory, but has a viscosity like a meat stock. Coriander and some white pepper.  

Finish: Oak is more apparent. Bread. Caramel with a tiny bit of orange. There’s an umami flavor coming from somewhere, like soy sauce minus the salt.

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Conclusion: The 13 was kind of a roller coaster: good nose, poor palate, decent finish. Would score better if I were only smelling it, but it is a drink after all. Ultimately, the nose couldn’t make up for the palate. The 28 is much better, though still nothing amazing. At least a quality malt and it’s got some character.

Scores:  

13: 68  

28: 79    

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)