When it comes to Scotch whisky there are many brands that offer roughly the same age ranges, 10-year, 12, 15, 18, and 21 with the occasional 25-year or older. But there are very few brands that ONLY offer high-age Scotches, and that’s where House of Hazelwood shines. They offer two collections of exclusively luxury-age statement whisky. We’re going to discuss the collections below, but before we do let’s break down the different classifications of Scotch Whisky.
Everyone has heard of single malt and blended Scotch, but did you know that there are actually five different “styles” of Scotch?
Starting off with Single Malt – this is a whisky distilled in a pot still from 100% malted barley, and then matured for at least 3 years before being bottled at a minimum ABV of 40%.
Next up we have Single Grain Scotch Whisky – this is distilled in a column still from 100% malted cereal grains (which can be all barley). It’s commonly thought that single grain needs a long maturation time to really show the character of the spirit.
Next up, let’s start the blended train rolling with Blended MALT Scotch – This is when you have single malt from at least two different distilleries and blend them together. Common examples include Johnnie Walker Green label, or Compass Box Peat Monster.
Next up we have Blended Grain Scotch Whisky – simply put this is when you combine grain whiskey from two or more distilleries.
Let’s end with the one most people are familiar with from big brands like Dewar’s and Johnnie Walker – Blended Scotch Whisky. This is when you take single malt whisky and single grain whisky from at least one distillery and blend them together to create a new product.
Quick side note, there are VERY few distilleries still in operation today that produce both Malt and Grain Whisky.
Hazelwood’s Charles Gordon collection contains 8 High-Aged Scotch Whiskies:
The Unknown: a 44-year-old Blended Scotch that was distilled in 1978 and blended in 1989 before being matured for 33 more years.
The Old Confectioner’s Blend: a 44-year-old Blended Malt
A Singular Blend: a 1963 vintage blended Scotch whisky
The First Drop: a 1964 vintage Single Grain Scotch whisky
The Next Chapter: a 50-year-old Blended Scotch
The Long Marriage: A 56-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky
Blended at Birth: A 1965 vintage Blended scotch whisky that was “married as new-make spirit; this unusual combination of malt and grain whisky has spent the following 56 years maturing in American oak…”
The Cask Trials: A 1968 Vintage, 53-year-old Sherry cask matured Single Grain Scotch Whisky
The Legacy Collection contains 9 high-aged Scotch whiskies:
The Accelerator & The Brake: a 33-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky that according to HoH takes “the majority of its flavour from the grain as opposed to the malt.”
The Tops: a 33-year-old Speyside Blended Malt
The Lowlander: a 36 year old Blended Scotch Whisky
A Breath of Fresh Air: a 37-year-old Blended Grain Scotch Whisky that HoH describe as “A rare grain whisky of unmatched character that can transport the drinker immediately into a lush, verdant, fresh, mentholic landscape redolent of the Scottish countryside in spring.”
Sunshine on Speyside: a 39-year-old Blended Scotch
The Eight Grain: a 40-year-old Blended Grain that “celebrates all the glorious diversity found within the grain whisky category” according to HoH
A Trail of Smoke: a 42-year-old Blended Malt that is “[a] showcase for the balanced use of smoke, this perfectly poised Blended Malt allows the distillery character and wood influence to take us on a journey with a whiff of smoke ever-present in the background. An evocative release redolent of the remarkable islands from which it hails.”
The Lost Estate: a 43-year-old Blended Grain scotch whisky that HoH describes as “[a] rare and compelling blend of well-matured grain whiskies from two of Scotland’s late, great grain whisky distilleries”
The Spirit of Scotland: a 46-year-old Blended Scotch “[f]irst created in 1994 to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the oldest recorded reference to Scotch whisky within the 1494 Exchequer rolls of Scotland”
Today we’re tasting one expression from each collection, The Eight Grain and The Old Confectioner’s.
The Eight Grain from House of Hazelwood is clocking in at 48.5% ABV or 97 proof, which is impressively strong for something of this age! In the glass it presents as a delicious honey gold with thin but viscous “tears”. The nose is filled with fresh baked bread and salted caramel while the palate is deceptively smoky. It makes you think this is a peated spirit, when actually there’s probably just some peat-dried grain in the blend. It’s a very well balanced whisky with notes of Fuji Apples, fresh bread, lemon, caramel, green peppers, and it finishes with warm vanilla. With the exception of the slight peatiness, all of these are in line with what I would expect from a high-age grain whisky.
The Old Confectioner’s is coming in at 46.3% which again, for a Scotch of this age, is a really respectable proof. In the glass it presents as a nice brown leather with amber highlights. The nose is soft with a delicate note of smoked sea salt followed by more prominent aromas of milk chocolate, french bread, and toffee. The palate is fruit forward – bananas, apples, and maybe a hint of orange, while also being slightly salinic. Flavours of toffee, butterscotch, and sugar cookies finish out the palate on this 44-year-old Scotch.
This brings me to an important bit of housekeeping: I received this sample compliments of House of Hazelwood in exchange for my honest feedback and review. While life might be easier if I were on the take like a dirty cop (I’m not), all of my reviews are honest. The presence (or lack thereof) of a media sample will never affect the outcome of my review.
Tag: blend
Dixon Dedman, of Kentucky Owl fame, has launched a new brand; 2XO Whiskey. 2XO, which stands for Two Times Oak, is a newcomer to the game, but like most brands that come from a successful Whiskey maker, it’s already seeing fairly widespread success.
From their website: “2XO is a unique blending process where Dixon re-barrels his hand-selected whiskey into new charred oak barrels to create a unique combination of intense flavors, character, and complexity. Each blend is limited, one-of-a-kind and has its own story.”
Dedman has released two SKU’s to date: The Phoenix Blend, and The Innkeeper’s Blend. Recently he was in Los Angeles for a tasting with some members of the local Spirits media. Unfortunately, I was in San Diego during his visit, but thankfully I was able to connect with his PR agency and they were gracious enough to send me a sample of both releases.
One bit of housekeeping before we move on: I received this sample compliments of Dixon, 2XO, and his PR agency in exchange for my honest feedback and review. While life would be much easier if I was on the take like a dirty cop, I’m not, and all my reviews are honest. The presence or absence of a media sample never affects the outcome. That said, I need a drink…
“The Innkeeper’s Blend is the second small batch blend in the brand’s Icon Series. The Innkeeper’s Blend pays homage to the Dedman family’s century-plus history in the hospitality industry, as previous owners of the famed Beaumont Inn on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail” reads an excerpt from their website describing the Innkeeper’s Blend which is just hitting shelves.
As The Phoenix Blend is essentially sold out, I will only be reviewing The Innkeeper’s.
Appearance: In glass this is a deep caramel with orange hues.
Nose: This opens with subtle notes of grape, and a blend of paprika, clove, and garlic powder. There is an overarching oak note, as is to be expected for a whiskey called “Two Times Oak”, which runs parallel to a sweet after dinner pillow mint.
Palate: The palate opens with the taste of sweet oaked water, followed by notes of black pepper, and a mild buffalo wing sauce. There’s a wonderful toasted oak note that starts on the mid palate and stays through the finish in addition to some notes of vanilla. The back palate has notes of cherry cola, as well as a vanilla custard that is a hybrid between a Boston Creme donut and crème bruûlée custard.
For 104 proof, this is dangerously easy to sip on.