Hazelburn 10 Year

Please note this is the same review as the longrow NAS until the last bit. So I have a longrow 10 on the way so I grabbed this to do a side by side, but instead of waiting for that to review this. Instead I'm going to compare haezlburn 10, springbank 10 and the longrow NAS. All costing 70-90 US today depending on when your store got them in. Normally avoid but color. The longrow might be lighter than the hazelburn but they're both about as pale as it gets, while the springbank 10 has some actual color. Nose - Longrow - new make notes are coming off with that just slight note of something off the still. I get a bit of vanilla, pear, smoke, earthy elements, and overall it's a relatively clean but youthful coastal peaty whisky. Forgettable. Hazleburn 10 - I honestly get vanilla and some kind of fruity and barely funky note I could say is springbank only because this is in my glass. Bread and perhaps marzipan (Not even fully sure I know that smell) are here with a slight fruity element. Springbank 10 - OK first off this is the most smokey whisky here and it's not close. After I get past the smoke the sherry elements coming in big time, good dark fruits, and wine elements. It's cleaner and perhaps missing some of the earthy notes of the longrow, the actual peat note. A very nice all be it not overly aromatic nose. Taste - Longrow - Once again new make and off the still elements come in. It's a bit sour and has some unripe and odd young and acidic peat notes. Then there is this nice very salty and earthy, dirty malt that's bringing that classic springbank under baked cookie (shout out malted man cave) and fresh breads. It's bold, it's full of flavor, but it's got off notes. Hazelburn - So on the first taste what really stands out is that there are multiple distinct layers that I'll need to address individually, already a sign of a more mature and complex whisky. The arrival is funky, sour, bitter and somewhat off putting. The arrivial is followed by the springbank malt and if there isn't some sherry casking here, there's something about this bringing with it a lot of fruity malt esters. Nothing over the top but enough to add a depth and complexity. Finally, the finish brings some nice oak tannins and mixes them with some coastal salts and a bit of a vinegar meets springbank funk. Springbank 10 - The opening brings that sherry note but then I get a touch of sour milk, transitioning to rich smoke, and then smoked oak and sweet malt. The finish on the springbank is by far the longest with it coating the mouth in a way none of the others do. Please note I have a full review on springbank 10 and I might update it. OK so this was supposed to be super easy but I'm a bit unsure on ranking right now. OK so I have my ranking. 1. Springbank 10. Why? Well the nose is the best of the bunch bringing in some sherry elements and with that smoke. The flavor profile doesn't at all stages top the hazelburn, which is surprising to me, but that smokey finish and the springbank malt character comes out the best on the finish. 2. Hazelburn 10 Why? Shockingly nice nose for this range of whiskies, sweet, pleasant, and incredibly inviting but not bringing me back. My memory of this one was always a fairly simple whisky but the finish is really impressive for a 10 year whisky and the depth is great here. 3. Longrow NAS - When people say Heavily peated...well remember peat is NOT smoke. It's that earthy element that often is accompanied by smoke. My favorite peated whiskies are the more smoke forward and this longrow is much more earth forward. The longrow is an intense pour but lacking in layers or depth. This being the Hazelburn review -I'm scoring this a 2.0 which is higher than I expected to give it. Honestly the finish on this should justify at 2.5 but that opening is just so much of this youthful earthy, distillate forward and not just distillate but very raw one. The lack of peat I think takes some balance out as well. Still, if you're a finish guy and I'm one and you dig this nose and I do...I think you'll be very pleased. I paid 90 for this and I'm not upset right now. But that's hardly a value either. Don't think of this as a 10 year old whisky. Think of this is a craft whisky by the best damn distillery in the world, and just know you're not getting their best here. But it's still springbank disitllate, unpeated...

Rating: 15/23 I wasn't too impressed by Hazelburn the first time I tried one. It was good, but expensive. When I came across a bottle at a reasonable(ish) price, I picked it up, hoping that it would be markedly better. And boy was it! It's an excellent bottle that I'm so glad I didn't pass on. Now I have a third Hazelburn to try - one that I even saw locally last week as what appeared to be a shockingly reasonable price. I'm crossing my fingers that that is close in quality to me Hazelburn 13 (2021). N: Grassy with stone fruit. Dry grass with some fresh. Some interesting funk coming out of it that makes me think of Springbank, but isn't nearly as pronounced as in Springbank proper. I get a faint phenolic bite that makes me think of peat, but I know that this isn't peated, so I'm not quite sure what it is. Hints of meat, slightly roasted. That's under control though. As for the stone fruit, I get white peaches mainly. Some tangerine works its way in there too. Hints of bing cherry. Overall, it's a great nose, though it might be a tad youthful. P: Peach, tangerine, and apricot hit me first. Some bold Springbank flavors swoop in right after that, but then the fruit takes back over. There's a bit more of a bite to this than I'd like and there's sort of a slightly empty center making way for the alcohol if that makes any sense. Looping back to the Springbank flavors, I get seashells, dry grass, and a bit of wax. There's some bitter barrel in here as well, with a bit of vanilla, but not a lot of spices, aside from something generically peppery that burns. The sherry presence really stands out more here. F: It burns a bit. It's kind of a clean alcohol and creek water profile mixed with remnants of the stone fruit. It's too light, with not much happening, and there's a bit of a bitter note too. - Conclusion - This is very good, but I won't be rushing out to buy a bottle. My Hazelburn 13 (2021) (20/23) is significantly better. It really beats this in terms of complexity and balance, and it brings in more Springbank character (without overwhelming) with less burn. This definitely has more delicious sherry flavor, but it isn't as good in any other regard. Glen Grant 18 (18/23) is smoother and more balanced with more nuance. This is more interesting, but it's definitely not as good. And the margin is still unfortunately substantial. Loch Lomond 12 (16/23) is funkier, sweeter, richer, and more balanced than this is. It does have a significant peppery burn to it as well, but it's more balanced and integrated. Ah, Cadenhead's Deanston 19 (1994-2014) (15/23) - this one is similar in quality. Trying these two side by side, I'm now noticing more cinnamon, clove, and ginger in this. This is a 15. It's probably on the high side of 15, but it's not quite up to a 16. Enjoyable, but a disappointing regression for Hazelburn, to be sure. Thanks to @ctbeck11 for sharing this and thereby helping me continue my Hazelburn exploration!

Nose - lemon, apple, charred orange peel, honey, cereal grain, yeast, vanilla, dry herbal notes, caramel, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - lemon oil, apple, light peat, pineapple, cereal grain, vanilla cream, orange, ginger, flint, walnut, sour oak, bitter herbal notes, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with citrus oil, flint, and bitter herbal flavors. My Springbank review series kicks off with the Hazelburn 10 Year. While Springbank and, to a lesser degree, Longrow seem to hold the perennial spotlight, this unpeated entry level expression deserves some love too! The nose is subtle and mercurial. Aromas appear and recede more quickly than I’m able to identify them. There’s a definite citrus component, likely lemon and orange. They’re not fresh and juicy though. It’s almost as if lemon and orange peels were left out to rot for a few days before being singed with a propane torch. There’s an elusive flinty, bready, fusel quality along with some honey, orchard fruit, and grain aromas. The palate is decidedly less subtle, but I’d categorize it as relatively light. More citrus notes appear, but here they’re pithier and more bitter. I’m also detecting a tropical fruit quality. We’ll call it pineapple. There’s youthful graininess and a hint of peat. The mouthfeel is oily and the finish is well-appointed. This is good whiskey. There’s richness and depth that I don’t often find outside of Campbeltown. While the youth and graininess hold this back from greatness, this is deserving of a spot on my shelf. Unfortunately prices are rising, and at $80 near me, I wouldn’t call this a value anymore.

N: Stone fruit, earth, apple cider, yellow cake, cherry pie, caramel custard with vanilla cream, touch of ethanol, touch of baking spice. P: Cooked apples, cinnamon baking spice, dried leaves, overcooked pie crust, vanilla cream, darker fruit, slightly sour, overripe white grapes, hint of seaside character or sea spray with salt. F: Creamy caramel, chalky minerals, barrel spice, dusty book, dried leaves, hint of ethanol, cinnamon burn, old boat dock. Incredible for a 10 year entry level single malt. Certainly rivals Springbank 10 for the best on the market. If you see it, grab it. Was lucky to spot a single bottle on a rare visit to an old haunt. Would certainly do it again. _______________________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord (now one whole year old!): https://discord.gg/4nfePCdyKM. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will gladly and usually quickly provide a new one. Lately, I have not been able to tag people who have asked for the link, so please check back when you can. Or, better still, look for a more recent review of mine which should have the most current link.)

Springbank has been on my list to try for a while, but I always seemed to gravitate towards something else. Thankfully @ctbeck11 took me on a Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn flight to help highlight this distillery and provide a few samples, this and a few others for me to dive into. The nose is very light but starts with hay and light citrus fruits of lemon, orange maybe even some peach that have ocean sea salt sprinkled over them with a vanilla cream and subtle light peat there but in the background wrapping them together with light ethanol burn. The taste is an oily mouthfeel with hay, light citrus fruits of lemon, orange with sea salt, vanilla cream, ginger and light peat all just intermingling together with a light ethanol burn finishing medium length with hay, sea salt, vanilla cream, lemon and orange, ginger and a cave mineral wet rock flavor that lingers for minutes. Now that I’ve finished the sample, I might need to get a bottle to work through and find more notes in. This is a great VFM for 80 dollars and I’m looking forward to the rest of the Springbank samples if this is what their 10 year has to offer.

Nose - light bit complex. I get hints of light fruits and salt. Reminds me of brined meats along with herbs and spices. There is a tinge of chemical, medicinal quality to the aromas as well. A very interesting nose, reminds me of springbank 10, but also very different in many ways! As stated, do not get any peat smoke. Tongue- Light but deceptive! It coats the mouth very well!! I get fruits and sweetness but its a very subtle sweetness! There is bitterness and saltiness as well! Has a pretty decent chemical style funkiness as well. I guess that is what campbeltown funk is! It is pretty spicy as well! A complex mixture of flavors! Similar and yet different than the springbank! Finish is medium long. All in all a very impressive dram! It is very unique and is a thinkers whisky, as are the other campbeltown offerings. I prefer this much more over the Hazelburm 13 oloroso cask (2007). Would definitely recommend the purchase!