Fettercairn @TweetTastings

Fettercairn is a distillery you might not of heard of, it's tucked away in that little category of 'hard working distillery making malt for blends'. In this case it's been around since 1824 with the malt going into Whyte and Mackay's blends. Some single malts have been released over the years, the most recent around 2009 with 2 NAS releases named Fior and Fasque (the name of the Fettercairn estate).

The distillery, which is open to visitors, is located halfway between Dundee and Aberdeen.

In the mid-1950s, the whisky makers at Fettercairn experimented, seeking ways to create a purer expression of their spirit. They found that pouring water down the still cooled the copper, increasing condensation inside so only the lightest vapours could rise for collection. They fashioned a copper tube around the top of the still to continually douse it with water - an ingenious and practical solution which remains unique in Scotch whisky-making to this day.

Photo: Fettercairn

Fettercairn has excellent dunnage warehouses for the aging of casks. The local story goes that the builders put a good luck charm into the warehouse walls – a full bottle of whisky, hidden somewhere within the stones. The charm appears to have worked, for the distillery holds a treasure trove of aged stocks - some of which we are trying as part of this tweet tasting!

Photo: Fettercairn

So enough about the distillery - what about the whiskies? As I've said most of it goes into blends but some single malt releases have been made by the distillery and independants.

Whyte and Mackay, who also own the Jura and Tamnavulin, Jura & Dalmore distilleries, relaunched the brand in August 2018 following successful relaunches of the Jura (March 2018) and Tamnavulin (2016) brands. The new range features the logo of the Ramsay clan's unicorn encircled by a copper ring (or tube as described above)

The new range features:

• 12yo matured in American oak ex-Bourbon casks, and bottled at 40% for £48
• 28yo matured in ex-Bourbon casks, and bottled at 42% for £500
• 40yo matured in ex-Bourbon casks & finished in Apostoles palo cortado Sherry casks and bottled at 48.9% for £3,000
• 50yo finished in a tawny Port pipe for 5 years, and bottled at 47.9% for £10,000

That's quite a steep climb in both age and price!

So what did we receive in our tasting pack?

Fettercairn sent us generous 50ml samples of each of the new range! With my simple maths that worth just short of £1000!

So on to the tasting!

First up the 12yo @ 40%

Fettercairn's thoughts: Aged 12 years in American White Oak ex-Bourbon casks. Colour: Sunlight and amber honey. Taste: Vanilla and pear, with soft spices. Finish: Refreshing nectarine and tropical fruit, with subtle roasted coffee, clove, and ginger. A memorable finish of sultanas and black toffee.

My thoughts: Yellow gold in the glass, swirls leave slow thin legs, initial nose honey!

Nose: Nose: Sweet honey, porridge, tinned pineapple - yummy!

Palate: Watery honey, ginger spice. Develops into a golden syrup with digestive biscuit.

Finish: Short but warming & spicy, more of the sweet porridge from the nose - yummy!

Other tweeters' thoughts:

 

Next the 28yo @ 42%

Fettercairn's thoughts: Aged 28 years in American White Oak ex-Bourbon casks. Colour: Deep shimmering gold. Taste: Pineapple and melon give way to treacle and banana, with a hint of warm ginger and liquorice. Finish: Citrus peel and black pepper, tempered by walnuts, vanilla, and spices. Coffee, apricot, and a touch of sweet balsamic complete this rewarding experience.

My thoughts: Rose gold - gravity defying swirls leading to slow fat legs, initial nose fresh pineapple.

Nose: Wet hay, distant dunnage warehouse, or have I just walked out of one? tropical fruit - more fresh pineapple from the nose. milk chocolate again. Nice!

Palate: Creamy honey and banana, more ginger spice, ends with more galaxy milk chocolate with some nut notes. Nose and Palate join up on this dram.

Finish: Long, warming ginger spice with more of the chocolate. Not as good as the 12yo in my opinion - maybe a little too long in the cask?

Other tweeters' thoughts:

 

Next the 40yo @ 48.9%

Fettercairn's thoughts: Distilled 23rd December 1977, Aged in American White Oak ex-Bourbon and finished in Apostoles Sherry Cask No.6. Colour: Dark and intense, with dazzling amber highlights. Taste: Honey, molasses, and ginger at first, overtaken by toffee apple, thick treacle, and sherry. Finish: Liquorice and balsamic,balanced with citrus and raisin. Hints of toffee, honey, and Demerara sugar. A glorious finish of soft spice and tropical fruits.

My thoughts: Tawny gold in the glass, gravity defying swirls - slow fat legs. Initial nose plum conserve.

Nose: Dunnage warehouse, plums, strawberries, black cherries, icing sugar, loads of sherry notes - YUMMY!

Palate: Thick sour cherry jam, dark brown sugar, ginger spice kick, very drying. This is completely different from the 12yo & 28yo it hasn't got the same distillery character. Not overly impressed with the sour notes - I'll try a spot of water.

Finish: Very drying, warming, spicy.

With a little water: Nose: More fruity notes - orange, pears, strawberries. Palate: Intensifies the sherry and sour notes, lots of oak. Nice nose but not entirely pleasant on the palate - sorry not keen on this one. - too long in the cask?

Other tweeters' thoughts:

Final dram of the evening the 50yo @ 47.9%

Fettercairn's thoughts: Distilled: 11th June 1966, Aged in American White Oak ex-Bourbon and finished in Tawny Port Pipe (Cask No1). Colour: Dark and rich – night enlivened with stars. Taste: Enticing aromas begin the experience – ginger, spices, citrus peel, and apple. Further nuances emerge – Morello cherry, over-ripe plums, and blackcurrant. A whisper of coconut and a hint of over-ripe pineapple provide an unforgettable. Finish: Warm spiced citrus, ground coffee, and toffee apple, giving way to rich notes of Port wine and sweet almond. Burnt caramel and soft chewy liquorice notes round out this timeless treasure.

My thoughts: Brown in the glass, gravity defying swirls lead to slow thick legs. Initial nose dunnage warehouse, not outside this time - slap bang in the middle!

Nose: Dunnage warehouse, dates, black plums, black cherries, figs - all the characteristic of a well aged dram but also quite sweet - from the Port finish?

Palate: Thick creamy blackcurrant jam, some citrus notes, loads of cherries (black and juicy), drying leaving a hint of ginger spice on the tongue.

Finish: Warming ginger spice builds over time, hints of smoke, very drying - moisture being sucked out of my mouth! This one is so old it takes time to release it's flavours!

Other tweeters' thoughts:

 

An amazing night of whisky - another 50yo dram for me in the year of my 50th birthday!

Many thanks to @FettercairnWH for the drams, @TheWhiskyWire for organising and my fellow tweeters for sharing an epic night