Willowburn Batch No. 1 Marsala Casks

Apart from Glen Els, The Alrik and the heavily peated Emperor’s Way they also produce this WillowBurn at Hammerschmiede. And they have experimented quite a bit with types of casks. In their Batch No 1 no less than 6 different expressions were launched: Marsala, Moscatel, Grand Cru Claret, Ruby & Tawny Port, Amarone and Malaga. Today will try the version that was finished on Marsala casks. Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily.

A sweet nose with wood smoke and lots of green elements. The sweet fruit is joined by parsley, nettles and camphor. Special, but pleasant enough. Apricots and mango sprinkled with light brown sugar is joined by almonds and chestnut. This is quite pleasant, in fact.

The mouthfeel is very oily, almost syrupy. It clings to your teeth. On the palate it is first sweet, but then quickly develops a bitter note as if from a grape pith. The oak rears its head as well, making the sweet having to work for it to show itself. But the balance is kept.

The finish is surprisingly long and very spicy on pepper and liquorice.

This malt is just a tad too bittersweet to be a stunner, but it certainly is very good.