Braeckman 10 Year Old Single Grain

In 2017 Dirk Verleysen, owner of whiskyshop Dram 242, launched the Braeckman Single Grain. It was a 9 years old single barrel that impressed immediately. When the distillery celebrated their 100th anniversary – in September 2018 – they released a sister cask at 11 years old. We knew then that Belgium had another great distillery. Braeckman felt the same way, it seems, for they have just released four new expressions. I will gladly put them to the test. I’ll starts with this 10 years old single grain at 46% ABV. The nose is sweet and round on vanilla, chocolate, rye bread, cashew nuts, licquorice and baked apples. A hint of wood and a prickle of the alcohol, but not disturbing in the least. Nice. The body is somewhat light. Soft and warm and very sweet upon arrival, but soon the spices kick in and warm the mouth. I get some apples and soft pears, again some nuts and lots of vanilla custard. Becomes creamy along the way. Butterscotch appears and makes it a bit candy-like. The finish surprisingly offers some coffee… where did that come from? It certainly is pleasant. Medium long and smooth enough. Good in it’s genre. I do not mean that sarcastically, but as a young Belgian grain, this is indeed quite nice. The only pity is the price. I cannot convince myself to pay 60 EUR or more for only half a liter of this.