Nordic Whisky #86 - Vingården Lille Gadegård Bornholmsk Whisky Nr. 1

Vingården Lille Gadegård Bornholmsk Whisky Nr. 1, 3 YO, 43 %

The whisky I am reviewing today is actually the first Danish single malt, since C.L.O.C. closed down in 1974.  The distillery Vingården Lille Gadegård (Vingård = vineyard) is located on the island Bornholm in Denmark. They started production in December 2005, and this particular release, the Vingården Lille Gadegård Bornholmsk Whisky Nr. 1, was put in cask on 2005-12-27. It has been matured in a French Oak red wine cask, and it was bottled on 2008-12-30. The first bottles were made available to buy on May 8, 2009. The initial selling price for the 400 bottles (500 ml) was DKK 899 (source).

The distillery still has a few bottles available for sale, and the price is now set to DKK 3000.

Nose (21/25): Candy sweet, banana flavoured marshmallows, dark chocolate, and cinnamon. In the background I find farmyard notes, a whiff of rubber tubing, red berries, floral and slightly perfumy notes and a touch of alcohol sting. Quite interesting - in a good way. There is a lot going on here, and there are a lot of distinct aromas to pick out.

Taste (19/25): Definitely feels stronger than the given 43 % ABV. It has a real punch to it! Spicy and dark with a fair bit of oak influence. Dark caramel, artificial sweetener, floral perfume, burnt toast and spices that I cannot quite place.

Finish (19/25): Relatively short finish. Burnt caramel. The oakiness takes on a somewhat bitter character now.

Balance (18/25): A good first effort. Clearly young, and would definitely benefit from further maturation.

Score (77/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas