Nordic Whisky #71 - Box Whisky Cask Owners Bottling 2015

Box Whisky Cask Owners Bottling 2015, 3 YO, 53,5 %

A few weeks back Swedish distillery Box Whisky released the Box Whisky Cask Owners Bottling 2015. As per usual, they freely give us (way too much?) info. See here for full details, or read on for a short summary:

• 97,13 % of the vatting was matured in 130 litre ex-bourbon casks
• The remaining 2,87 % was matured in a mix of Ankare (the small 39,25 litre casks sold to customers)
• 21,12 % of the vatting was peated whisky
• The calculated peat level is 9 ppm (measured in the malt)
• Cask types used were 1st fill bourbon, 1st fill oloroso sherry, new American oak, Hungarian oak, French oak and Swedish oak
• Bottling date was 2015-11-02
• The total outturn was 2619 bottles, but only 2466 bottles were sold to the cask owners, the remaining bottles will be served at whisky festivals and tastings.

Here's the reasoning behind this expression:

"Between 2011 and 2015 we have sold and filled close to 3000 casks for customers at Box. Some customers have chosen to bottle their whisky after three years, but most have elected to keep their spirit in the cask for a further year or two.

Quite often we have been asked what happens to the left overs when we have bottled a cask for a customer. Because naturally there will be a small measure of whisky left over. The amount that is left over varies from cask to cask, between a few cl to almost a full bottle (50 cl).

By the end of October 2015 we had collected a total of 31,2 kg of left overs from 134 customer bottlings. This makes up the 2,87 % of this expression."

I think this is a fun way to 'give something back' to the cask owners. The Box Whisky Cask Owners Bottling 2015 was sold at SEK 790, and the order number was only made available to registered cask owners at Box Whisky. For the record, let me note that I own two casks at Box Whisky, both filled with spirit I have distilled myself, and as such I was able to obtain a bottle.

Nose (21/25): Butterscotch, vanilla, and soft oakiness. A minor touch of alcohol here. A few red berries scattered about the place, as well as the odd bouquet of fresh herbs. With time it opens up more, as is to be expected for a young whisky at cask strength. The vanilla and fresh oakiness become more pronounced. The peat is very soft, and hardly noticeable for a (part time) peat head like myself. It is more like a fluffy pillow of warm wood smoke.

Taste (20/25): Minty ginger pepper berries! Is there such a thing? Well, apparently the mad scientist/master distiller, Roger Melander, has managed to create such a ... a ... hmm ... thingie? Add vanilla, honey and minty oakiness and you have it. The pepper is very close to a medium hot chili.

Finish (20/25): Fun but a tad short. It bounces all over the place, racing to touch all the taste buds. Most of the buds get a hug or a kiss (however brief) but some are also kicked in the teeth. Vanilla, soft peat, herbs, odd spices and fresh oak.

Balance (20/25): This is a rather odd expression from Box Whisky. I was perhaps hoping for a bit more, having been somewhat spoiled by most of their previous releases. The Box Whisky Cask Owners Bottling 2015 is fun, but a bit too raw and unbalanced for me.

Score (81/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas