ABV: 46 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and fruity. Ripe grapes and apples together with vanilla and honey create a quite thick layer. Behind that, it feels a bit shallow and a little cardboardy. It grows sweeter with time in the glass and the honey is dominating heavily. A hint of cinnamon comes through together with a miniscule hint of earthiness after it opens up in the glass.

Mouth: It’s quite spicy at first before the fruitiness kicks in. It’s very fruity with green apples and pears, much more so than on the nose. It’s dry and dusty and the oak comes through early. It’s a nice oakiness with some bitterness on the sides. It feels a lot more mature on the palate and there’s more depth. Butterscotch comes up after a while as a nice little twist for those who wait.

Finish: A small cloud of menthol pass by. It’s still very fruity now moving towards ripe pears. A very nice note of almonds appear before the oak takes over. The oakiness makes it a touch astringent and it comes through as newly cut wood with inlays of watermelon and hazelnuts. The honey sweetness returns together with a slight touch of butterscotch. There’s maybe a tiny veil of peat in the late finish otherwise the cask influence is not very prominent.

Additional information
The Hopkins Reserve is a travel retail exclusive release. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon barrels which previously also held peated scotch single malt. It’s unchillfiltered.