Behind the second window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a 8 year-old whisky from an undisclosed distillery in Speyside: Speyside #1 8yo Batch 1. Bottled at 50.7% abv, this whisky is not yet available in UK or France, but if we trust the Boutique-y brand ambassador Dave Worthington, it’s available at least in Denmark and Netherlands.
Color:
Very light colour, like a Champagne that would have lost its bubbles. A swirl reveal fat heads that wait a bit before becoming lazy legs taking their sweet time to go down.
Nose:
Coldorak: Initial nose on hay, freshly cut grass, pears and peaches, with hints of an abv above 50%. There’s a floral side to it I cannot pinpoint, but it makes me think about new make, the cask where this single malt matured may not have been a very active one.
Ainulindalë: Pears and hay, along with maritime notes, on a very spirity background – a young one indeed .
Palate:
Coldorak: Very sweet arrival, hints of pepper at first but suddenly the pepper kicks in strongly. The mouthfeel is quite creamy after a moment, there’s a delicate bitterness, some caramel and vanilla and maybe hints of oak and citrus.
Ainulindalë: Very sweet in the mouth, on pears cooked in butter with vanilla, caramel-y and somehow dusty (but the good version of it)
Finish:
Coldorak: Medium in length, warm and slighly fizzy on the tongue, with caramel, some bitterness and a pinch of salt.
Ainulindalë: The finish is short but leaves a pear aftertaste that’s lingering.
Rating:
Coldorak: 84/100
Ainulindalë: 84/100