Mackmyra Preludium:03
Background: Mackmyra is the first Swedish whisky distillery (but not the last; Box Destilleri in Ådalen appears keen to give them some home-grown competition, and is scheduled to begin full production in spring of
2009.) Mackmyra's Scotch-inspired whisky is produced in two different recipes: Elegant, where the malt is air-dried; and Smoke, where the malt is dried over burning Swedish peat and juniper twigs. Aging is done in three types of barrel: ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and new Swedish oak. Six releases of Preludium are planned: 01 was basically a blend of all of their "firsts" (first bourbon cask, first distillate from the new still, etc.); 02 is difficult to find information on, but appears to have been unpeated and aged mainly in Swedish oak; 03 is peated and aged partially in sherry.
Nose: Interestingly smoky. Some vegetal notes with an underlying spiciness. A whiff of tar.
Taste: Dry, slightly smoky front with lots of oak influence. As we progress toward the middle, the smoke comes to the fore, along with some barley taste and a bit of sherry sweetness. Long, dry finish is all peat and smoke.
(Insert water 'A' into glass 'B')
Nose: Flowery overtones with some strange minerality going on underneath.
Taste: Sherry influence is more prominent; not a lot of fruitiness, but some oxidized notes. Herbal tones.
Overall: Quite young, and a bit unbalanced. Has a lot of potential, but isn't quite there yet.
Mackmyra Preludium:04
Background: The base of Preludium:04 is the unpeated Elegant recipe, matured mainly in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks, though portions were also matured in three additional cask types: new Swedish Oak, ex-Champagne, and ex-Sherry. Also in the blend are a couple of casks (from their first small distillery) which they are calling "smoke tail", where a batch of unpeated spirit was distilled immediately after a batch of peated and picked up a small amount of its flavour.
Nose: Very young, quite vegetal with lots of green apple notes and a bit of spice.
Taste: Young and sweet; grassy barley with some lemon overtones. Nutty in the middle, with a long spicy oak finish.
(Dilution proceeds apace)
Nose: Very sweet, and the fruit notes seem a lot like candy apple. Some lemon comes through now.
Taste: A bit less brash and more integrated.
Overall: Excellent for its age; light, sweet and fruity.