Hazelburn 14 Year Old 1998 Blackadder Raw Cask

The label claims ‘Springbank – Unpeated Malt’. Well, that makes it Hazelburn, I’d say, the unpeated triple distilled malt from Springbank that was first introduced in 1997. So we can say that this is a distillate from the early days, because distilled in 1998. After 14 years of maturation Blackadder released it in their famous unfiltered Raw Cask series. The cask yielded 266 bottles at cask strength. Another 96 bottles from 200ml from the same cask were also released. I got this sample from my whiskybuddy Marc D.

Grand nose on red fruit with an umami edge. Think strawberry and plum, but also the rind of smoked bacon. There is even a lovely candy like note. I get marzipan and baklava. Paprika powder and oregano make it picture perfect. Excellent!

It is wonderfully oily, but a touch piquant. Sweet oak, paprika and even some chili. But then the sweetness shines through. The baklava is prominent, followed by nut liqueur and plum marmalade. Toffee. Fruit tea. Evolves towards dark and sweet with dried dates and figes. Turns somewhat dry midpalate.

The finish is very long and balances between sweet and dry.

This is only my 9th Hazelburn. Note to self: try more! Thanks, Marc.

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