Nordic Whisky #106 - Mackmyra Preludium:05 - Smakrika Småfat

Mackmyra Preludium:05 - Smakrika Småfat, NAS, 48,4 %

Time to pick up again where I left off, working my wau through the early releases from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. I have now reached the Mackmyra Preludium:05 - Smakrika Småfat (Flavoursome Small Casks). This is the first release in the Preludium series where all the spirit was distilled at Mackmyra's first proper distillery (2002-). The previous four releases had also included spirit distilled at their small pilot distillery (1999-2002).

This whisky was bottled on 2007-08-08, and was released in a limited series of 24 000 (!) bottles. The content is Mackmyra's elegant (unpeated) recipe and it was matured in 200 litre casks, with a finish in small casks.

There are still a few bottles available online at around € 130. The prices for some of the Preludium whiskies have reached ridiculous levels, but seem to have fallen considerably over the past 2-3 years.

Nose: Seems well integrated and balanced right off. Slightly oaky, and with a fruity character. I find ripe banana, vanilla, sponge cake, cereal, lemon zest and menthol.

Taste: A bit thin mouthfeel. Spicy (white pepper and ginger), with a fair bit of pear, lemon, vanilla and wet planks.

Finish: Short to medium finish. Vanilla now turns into light caramel sauce. The fruitiness drops off, but the wet planks are still here. The alcohol pushes through towards the end. The finish is almost tequila-like.

Comments: There is definitely a positive trend with the preludium releases, but this is still way too young and mainly of academic interest.

Score (74/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas