Belgian Owl 5 Year Old Sherry Cask
Tannin
0 171
Review by @markjedi1
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall71
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- Brand: Belgian Owl
- Type:
- ABV: 60%
I tasted this bottling from Etienne Bouillon at the Whisky Festival in Belgium last Februari and found it quite interesting, so I took a sample home to study. It is a whisky from a refill sherry cask, bottled at 60 ABV.
The nose reveals the young and grainy profile that is typical for The Belgian Owl, but it is nicely coated in sherry with raisins, almond oil and chewing tobacco. A cheesy side too, though. Old Bruges? Adding water brings out a strong scent of struck matches.
The whisky is very creamy, but slightly sourish. Bit of a let-down. Dark sherry, again, but also very drying on tannins. Like tea that was left (way) too long in the glass. A lot of wood and it is not liquorish. Pity. Very feisty as well. Nutmeg and chili peppers. Adding water makes it rounder, nicer and fruitier.
The finish is medium in length on tea and nutmeg.
Well, at the festival I thought this was pretty special, today I am not so sure. I goes to show once more that the conditions in which a whisky is tasted is very important. Only 45 bottles of this stuff are available at 125 EUR. That is extremely expensive, considering the bottles are only 50cl and the whisky is only 5 years old. Etienne and his crew are certainly on their way to creating something special, but there is still a long way to go.
Find where to buy Belgian Owl whisky
Not only are the conditions in which the whisky is first tasted influential, but, I have found, when I package samples in small containers and then taste them several months later, that they have often changed quite a lot due to oxidation. There is not likely a way for you to go back and re-sample the first bottle from the Whisky Festival, but it would make a good study if you could do so.