Nordic Whisky #222 - High Coast Archipelago Baltic Sea 2019
High Coast Archipelago Baltic Sea 2019, 6 YO, 54.5 %
Every year, for the past five years, High Coast Distillery (previously known as Box Whisky) in Sweden releases an exclusive whisky for the Cinderella Whisky Cruise - a crazy whisky festival at sea (see reports here, here and here).
You can find all the nerdy details at the High Coast website here, but I have included the highlights below:
Age: 6,91 years
Peat level: 40 ppm
Casks: 1st fill 200 litre bourbon barrels for 5,42 years + 18 months finish in 40 litre new American oak casks
Bottles: 1 023 st
Bottle size: 50 ml
Nose: More open and welcoming than the Festival 2018 (I seem to have misplaced my review of this, but will get back to it asap). Rich caramel sauce accompanied by a thick, rich wood smoke. Hint of alcohol sting here. With added time the sting is replaced by soft notes of vanilla and coconut milk.
Taste: Full bodied and softly rough (yeah, I know - I’m weird like that). Relatively spicy, but not as much as the Festival 2018 (again with the reference to a review you have not seen). This one is more sweet and the smokiness also seems sweeter.
Finish: Medium long finish. Continues much as it started. Towards the end there is an added green note - like cut grass. Slightly perfumy in character now.
Comment: A fine nautical dram. Ahoy!
Score 85/100
Sláinte!
- Thomas
