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House of Hazelwood 21 Year Old

Middle of the Road

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@markjedi1Review by @markjedi1

26th Nov 2017

1

House of Hazelwood 21 Year Old
  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    81

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  • Brand: House of Hazelwood
  • ABV: 40%

The first thing you notice is the wonderfully shaped bottle which seems to have been taken from the set dressing of the famous Downton Abbey series. Very Art Deco, if you ask me. But let me add immediately that it is only 50cl. On the official website you will find an 18, 21 and 25 years old version of this luxe blend. Insiders whispered in our ears that it is composed (mainly) from Kininvie single malt and Girvan signle grain. It was introduced in the duty free range in 2016 but can nowadays be found left and right in shops as well as online.

The nose needs time to reveal itself. It starts on very candy-like notes and lots of vanilla, before some dried fruit emerges. Think dried apricots. Add some brown sugar and a drop of honey. A bit of thym. The grain whisky does put its foot down with a lot of dry oak and a hint of banana peel, resin and pencil shavings.

It is silky soft, but also quite flat on the palate. Almost watery. That is a letdown. It starts honeysweet on loads of barley sugars, a mix of nuts and roasted almonds. The spices on duty are cinnamon and nutmeg. The fruit hardly gets a chance. I do have hints of dades, plums and raisins… but only hints. This cannot really be called fruity.

The finish is surprisingly long on dry spices with some hints of sherry.

In times of NAS it is refreshing to see new releases hit the market with an age statement (and 18, 21 and 25 is quite the age statement indeed), but the price tag on this one is hefty. Beautiful bottle or no, around 115 EUR for 50cl is not cheap. And the whisky? Nah, just middle of the road.

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