Hazelburn CV

Hazelburn is one of the whiskies distilled at Springbank distillery and is named after a long defunct Campbeltown distillery. It is triple distilled, a rarity in Scotland today. The CV version was first released in 2010 and as is the case with the Springbank CV and Longrow CV the “CV” stands for “Curriculum Vitae” since - according to Springbank's Kate Wright - "it contains whiskies of a variety of ages...". Springbank is lightly smoky, Longrow is very smoky and Hazelburn is not smoky at all.

The nose is light and grassy, with some very weak notes of apples. There is also a quite distinct acerbic element right from the beginning, like white wine or cider. Adding a drop of water does not help as this brings out a buttery flavour, not unpleasant but difficult to get used to.

The palate is light-bodied, creamy and quite peppery. There is the same acerbic flavour, now together with notes of cardboard, and the same buttery touch when water is added. This is an unusual palate, to say the least. I found that letting the whisky air a bit did not help.

The finish is medium long and unexpectedly mouth-watering with a touch of vanilla but then ends rather abruptly.

I was struggling to find something to enjoy in this whisky. The whole tasting experience was overshadowed by the whisky’s acerbic and restless character. Could it be that I missed something?

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