Edradour 2000 11 Year Old Burgundy Cask Finish

In general: the smallest distillery in Scotland has issued a limited 437 bottles (500 ml, mind!) series of 11 year old single malt whisky vintage 2000, aged in Burgundy casks for the last 2,5 years before bottling it straight from the cask at cask strength 57,5%. A bit hard to find and buy a bottle and the price tag is hefty at north of €50. Let's see if it's worth the fuss and the anticipation!

In the bottle: a very interesting packaging this! A wooden box, a sort of canvas glued in it, a small bottle: everything speaks of "hand made". They have overplayed a little bit on this though and I should've suspect by the packaging that this would be a gimmick, but little did I know back then?

In the glass: very oily, vivid orange color.

On the nose neat: Pure gasoline with a pinch of freshly mowed grass and some (very) distant notes of smoke, I'm afraid. Now, I've grown up with Bulgarian homemade, ass kicking grape brandies with an ABV north of 70%, but this Edradour bottle owns this lot by far, when it comes to alcohol burn. I was expecting sweet notes, some berries (this is what the burgundy should've brought along to the party, right?), alas no.

On the palate neat: UNDRINKABLE. Or at least - you can swallow it, but your taste buds will be out of play for a very long time. And I can assure you, you will not enjoy this.

On the nose when watered: 30% water added. Now it will be somewhat drinkable, I hope. Distant sweet toffee, dovetailed with heavy hints of citrus, milk chocolate, vanilla, violets. Some notes of more flowers, roasted nuts and burnt sugar. And all of these are totally drowned in the sea of pure spirit and (now a bit suppressed) gasoline. Were they trying to enter the oil business with this, eh?

On the palate (watered, of course): a full body with a heavily disappointing taste. Hints of sugarcoated Brazilian nuts, toffee, leather, turning into heavy lemon grass and some red cedar. Notable red morello. Almost no smokiness, in comparison to the Islay stalwarts, but unpleasant bitterness starts creeping along. It's even more present in the aftertaste, marring the lemon grass mainstay even seconds after swallowing.

Finish: more gasoline, only duller, slowly fading. Some hints of forest-fruit-gummy bears, only duly dissolved in gasoline.

Verdict: In Bulgaria gasoline costs roughly €1,3 per liter. I guess that paying north of €40 for 0,5 liters of this mess is not the wisest thing to do. Try another Edradour instead (Caledonia is a wiser move for sure) or spend your buck on some other Highlander. This one is a total disaster for it's hype and price tag.

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