Upon first opening, I needed to leave my cork off the bottle for about thirty minutes to tame down the brownish-red Mitchellesque genie lurking inside.

The first pour from this bottle required that I wait a minimum of ten minutes for it to oxidize before I deigned to take a first sip. But, hey, don't sell the whisky short right away. Give her time, for she is a complex-and-strange creation.

All sorts of exotically weird and Lovecraftian fruits emerged from my Haze 14 bottle that seemed almost otherworldly, along with clove, spices, the scent of Magickal Childe "bookstore" in NYC, old cracked leather car seats (complete with 1960's festering foam padding beneath), graham cracker, touch of sulfur (never a good thing for me), dark chocolate, baked seaweed crisps, sesame, fresh ground coffee, salted cashew, wet dog, damp rain-soaked forest loam in an oak forest, and a very pronounced yet subtle note of natural vanilla bean at the end.

Said dram is indeed a roller coaster ride for your tongue and mouth senses. The dram is quite complex on the nose when compared with an average Hazelburn, or a Springbank for that matter.

Bombs away for the bombadiers of whiskydom. Pluck the forbidden fruit if you dare.

So what of the potion's overpowering sweetness? Well, it isn't so much cloying or mouth curdling, as just plain uncommon, and even unforgiving by Springbank standards when compared with the 12 Year-old 2003 Port Wood Single Cask, for instance, (which, frankly I didn't particularly care for).

The quality of these oloroso casks is quite good! Springbank must have spent a lot of money using them as fresh fill for 14 whole years. With this in mind, the initial price of the release was very reasonable. Don't blame the distillery for greedy sellers who jack up the price on their bottles as demand and scarcity both go up in time.

The Whisky Barrel is currently asking 250 pounds for this bottle. Quite an upswing in price over a short period. The business most likely raised prices upon receiving a second shipment after the first had sold out.

Nose: Very nice sherry nose, wonderfully fat and sweet. Demarara sugar. Overripe grapes, tart yellow plums, fine wood and spice aromas.

With water: Clearly phenolic, rock sugar, vanilla, lemon, a little watermelon.

Palate: Immediately fat and sweet again with everything the nose already had. Also slightly salty and peppery. Bitter - sweet, I love it.

With water: first of all less sweet and drier and it even seems more intense. The pepper gets stronger.

Finish: Nice bitter - sweet again. The yellow plum comes back again and so does the demarara sugar. Slightly peppery tingling in the middle of the tongue and salt on the edge. Softly fading wood aromas, a hint of coffee.

With water: the pepper is more present with a strong tingling sensation on the tongue. Then sweet sherry notes followed by spice and wood notes that slowly fade away.

Conclusion: For less than 70 €, a very good PLV.
Well-integrated alcohol. No water necessary. With water more attack in the nose and on the palate. I prefer it without water.
Blind tasting I would have guessed a springbank here.
I got 93 points.

Nose:

Dirty, phenolic and yes, slightly peaty. The typical springbank character is there. Salted caramel, orangepeel, peanuts, old leatherboots, wet earth, tobacco. With time, more green and vegetal. Hints of sulphur. Cabbage and radish. Reminds of the Springbank 12y. Cask Strength with less peat influence.

Taste:

Sweeter than on the nose, with salted caramel, citrus, hints of peatsmoke, maple syrup, beeswax, drops of aged tequila. A little tannic and sulphury maybe, but still very enjoyable.

Comments:

This is quite a character. As most of the offerings from this iconic Campbelltown destillery, it has its unique DNA and charme. A little hard to pin down, which makes it even more interesting for fans of the destillery. /87