Nordic Whisky #26 – Gjoleid Svenneprøven Cask 9359

Gjoleid Svenneprøven Cask 9359, 3 YO, 47 %

Nordic Whisky #26 – Gjoleid Svenneprøven Cask 9359

This is the companion release to the Gjoleid sherry cask matured whisky we reviewed a short while ago. Again this is a single cask release. Gjoleid Svenneprøven Cask 9359 has been matured in a 1st fill American Oak bourbon cask. It was distilled in early 2010 and bottled in the Autumn of 2013. The total outturn was 448 50 cl bottles.

Arcus, the producer, has used different types of malt in the mashbill here, just as with the other Gjoleid release. They have used Pale Barley, Pale Wheat, and Beech Wood Smoked Barley. A rather long fermentation time of 10 days has been used in the production.

The label on the bottle gives the age at 3,5 YO, but I will stick with the more traditional 3 YO in my categorization of the whisky.

This whisky is still now sold out, but there are still a few bottles left of the sherry matured Gjoleid. We are expecting to see one or more new releases from Arcus later this year.

Nose (22/25): Rich and quite malty. Mild licorice - which increases over time. The nose does get sweeter and sweeter in the glass. I also pick up some berries, especially blackcurrant.

Taste (20/25): Smooth and dryish. Vanilla and red berries dominate upfront.

Finish (18/25): Dry and very short, showing the young age. I find some ginger and ginger soda which adds an extra element to the vanilla sweetness.

Balance (20/25): Again a promising dram, but I preferred the sherry matured Gjoleid. I guess this is down to the sherry cask masking more of the youngish character of this whisky. Give it a few more years and we will have a great whisky.

Score (80/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas