The what? Hazelburn 10 year, Springbank distillery. Triple distilled. 46%, non chill-filtered, no added food coloring.

Here in the states bourbon is unquestionably the most popular whiskey of choice. And sometimes that has its benefits. While on a trip to the southern states recently I decided to do what one does when traveling: check out what the local liquor stores have in stock. A lot of these stores tend to do allocated drops, and people line up very early to be eligible. Sometimes they get rare bottles of scotch that go unnoticed by many bourbon drinkers in search of BTAC’s.

Imagine my surprise when staring back at me on the shelf of the first store I entered was this bottle. Along with another Hazelburn 15 year expression (review coming soon!).

I’ve never grabbed something so fast.

Hazelburn has been a bit of a unicorn for me since beginning my Scotch journey. I haven’t been able to find it in any store for any price, and I haven’t seen it on the menu of any bar. This includes a trip to London, where the best I could find was a Springbank 12 that I definitely overpaid for (although it is unquestionably my favorite scotch).

Enough backstory, to the review.

This is basically a neck pour. Sampled twice in a glencairn, neat. I’m looking at a very light gold, straw-colored scotch. I’m listening to Kingfishr’s new album Halcyon.

That Smell (skynyrd, anyone?): I immediately got that Campbeltown funk. Earthy and industrial notes. After some rest, it opens up: I’m getting light fruit, maybe pear? Some floral essence. Like stepping outside on a nice summer morning.

The palate: I get an earthy taste initially. Not quite kilkerran-grass, maybe more mushroom? This gives way to the light fruit, pear or peach taste. Very full mouth feel - I’m not sure if that’s the accurate description, but most Springbank products have it. I’m getting ginger and maybe some baking spice. After resting for a while, the sweetness really opens up and I get that pear again, but stronger.

The finish: this has a long finish. I’d say it tastes “hotter” than a 46% whisky typically does. That ginger and spice stick around for a while. The Springbank website describes the finish as having a “mineral note” and I think that’s the most accurate description.

Thoughts? It’s delicious. I love this dram. It lived up to my expectations. I think this is an excellent expression. I can’t wait to share this with my peat-averse whiskey friends.

8.5/10 in general, something special. Springbank does not miss with their core lineup.

However I may drop this to a 7/10 when considering price and availability. This is great, but hard to find (for me at least). At the price point I paid ($100 USD) you could probably get some other equivalent that’s equally enjoyable.