Kategoriarkiv: Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn, Sweden

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn Old Hare

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ABV: 40.4 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spirity. At first there’s a bad, spirity ethanol note popping out of the glass which is quite unpleasant. Underneath lies a butterscotch, vanilla and honey sweetness with young, green apples within. There’s a metallic note in the back which eventually switches to more of a lemon sourness. There’s also a very rounded oakiness floating around and maybe a hint of red berries. This is not the best of noses. It’s very simple and unpleasant.

Mouth: It starts out with a small surge of apples and lemon before the cheap ethanol note takes over. It soon gets contested by the butterscotch/vanilla and a heavy oak. There’s a hint of dusty corn in there as well. The heavy oak brings a lot of spicyness to the mouthfeel which simulates a higher ABV, which in this case is a good thing. The entire thing gets overrun by the oak fairly shortly in the journey.

Finish: Except for the spicyness of the oak, the transition is fairly uneventful. The background is filled with bad ethanol notes, butterscotch and woodshop oak while the spicyness is high. When it settles the woodshop oak takes over and the late finish is like chewing on an oakboard. There is a fruitiness floating around on top and the metallic note in the back is barely noticable. This is a not the greatest whisky out there. It tries to cover up the bad spirit with a heavy new oak maturation, which somewhat succeeds.

Additional information
The grain whisky part was aged for 3-5 years in new european and american oak casks and then married with single malt for 6-12 months in ex-PX sherry and ex-red wine casks.

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Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn, Sweden

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn MerCurious Corn Whisky

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ABV: 45.6 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Corn Whisky
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet corn and fresh mint. At first there’s a layer of sweet, dusty corn and a vanilla sweetness covering everything. The rest of the space is filled with a fresh minty cloud. After a few seconds a butterscotch note appears in the center and spreads out and merges with the vanilla. There are few changes on the nose over time. This is a simple but pleasant nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet with a pertruding corn note and a hard to define fruitiness. Soon the background gets crowded with a dry oakiness, anise seeds and dried herbs. It’s got a clear bitter note shining through. After a few seconds it becomes very dusty and slightly astringent. The corn note moves to the top layer as the bitterness increases. It becomes spicy after a while and the thin butterscotch layer returns.

Finish: a wave of bitterness and dry oak rolls in with notes of dried herbs and anise. The minty freshness returns before a sweet mix of honey and vanilla breaks through. Then it becomes very oaky. It’s a very fresh, woodshop kind of oakiness. It’s astringent and dry. This is an interesting whisky because of it’s origin, but an average whisky by taste. Kudos for the courage to venture outside the box!

Additional information
This swedish corn whisky was released in 2019. It has a mashbill of 88 % corn, 5 % wheat, 3,5 % rye and 3,5 % malted barley. Each batch (this is batch 1) consists of 14 virgin american oak casks. It’s unchillfiltered with natural color and matured between 3-8 years.

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Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn, Sweden

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn – The Nose

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ABV: 44,9 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is spicy oak and dark fruits. The oak is very pronounced from the get-go. There are notes of pine and ethanol connected to it which seems to come from the vodka casks. The combination creates a prickly sensation which is rather unpleasant. Underneath lies a layer of undefinable dark ripe fruits and berries. The fruitiness is wrapped in a vanilla coating which becomes sweeter over time. There’s also a hint of green apples coming through from the back. After a while a hint of sulfur and peat starts to emerge which gives it a nice depth. This is a very busy nose which seems rather unbalanced and a bit over-oaked. It’s an interesting exploration nevertheless.

Mouth: It starts out with a fruity sweetness together with the same piney oakiness as on the nose but it’s now a bit less prominent. It’s still not a great addition to the whole though. It takes a few seconds before the sweetness and fruitiness starts to give out vanilla and ripe red grapes with a hint of lemon in the back. The peat and the sulfur are still creating a nice gritty background but it’s overrun by the top notes. It’s still very busy and sort of unbalansed, but a lot better than on the nose.

Finish: When the initial impact subsides the first thing to push through is a mix of the peat, vanilla and the oakiness which now has shifted and started producing a nice hazelnut nuttiness. It finally seems to have found its balance between the flavours and the late finish is actually pretty good. The gritty background seem to follow along in the late finish which gives a pleasant experience in the end. This is a good whisky which seems a bit over-engineered and all over the place. It’s a nice exploration but not the best tasting whisky out there. And ironically, the nose is the worst part of the journey.

Additional information
This single malt is aged for at least 8 years in a mix of 21 casks. 14 Querqus Petraea french ex-wine casks and 7 american Querqus Muehlenbergii casks, some virgin oak, some ex-vodka. It’s then been married in spanish Querqus Robur ex-Oloroso casks.

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn – Tycho’s Star

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ABV: 41.8 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and mildly peated. At first there’s a vanilla and honey sweetness up front and a mild leathery peat in the back. In between sits a layer of red fruits. There’s a nice strawberry jam note coming through in the center. With time in the glass a black liquorice note pops up connected to the sweet layer. There’s also a note best described as pencil shavings. This is a great nose with a unique character.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and fruity with the peat now much more pronounced than on the nose. It’s dry soil and leather. The pencil shavings note is still in there as well. The fruitiness is still red fruits but the strawberry jam is gone. There’s also a green apple sourness coming through. The vanilla and honey slowly returns with time as well as the liquorice. It’s somewhat astringent. With time there’s a toffee note forming in the center.

Finish: It starts out with a burst of the fruitiness with an increase of the sour apples in the background. The peatiness waits a few seconds before returning and brings the oakiness along on the sides and in the back. There’s a round toffee and vanilla center and when the initial sourness subsides it leaves room for the red fruits once again. In the late finish the peat and oak takes over. The oakiness feels fresh like newly planes oak, but it’s not attacking the palate. This is a great, well made whisky with a lot to explore.

Additional information
This single malt is made on a small island, on which the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe lived, hence the name. This is aged in 58,20% heavily charred Quercus Muehlenbergii from Missouri, 33,44% heavily charred Quercus Petraea from Allier och 8,36% medium roasted Quercus Robur from Bourgogne. The malt is a mix of Pale Ale, chocolate, and heavily peated malt. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn, Sweden

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn – Hvenus Rye Whisky

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ABV: 45.6 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Rye
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample in queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

(Scribbles)

Nose: Pine, mint, pickle juice. Very spicy.

Mouth: Bitterness, spices, pine, sweetness. Rough and astringent.

Finish: Very spicy, pine notes, sweetness and oak. A metallic note covers the mouth.

Additional information
This swedish rye has a mashbill of 78,6 % rye, 11,9 % wheat, 4,8 % corn and 4,8 % malted barley. Each batch (this is batch 1) consists of 42 american oak casks. It’s unchillfiltered with natural color and matured between 3-6 years in a climate controlled warehouse.

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn, Sweden

Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn Seven Stars No 5 – Alioth

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ABV: 45 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
No taste notes were recorded during the tasting.

Additional information
Alioth is the fifth release in the ”Seven stars” series. 3167 bottles were released. It consists of 3 types of malt (chocolate, peated and lager malts) and was matured in combination of french quercus petraea (10.8 %), french quercus robur (25.6 %) and american Muehlenbergii 63,6 %). Finally it’s been married spanish ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The peat level is 34 PPM.