Here is a quick summary of my tasting notes from the Mackmyra tweet tasting held on 20/03. Bit late writing these up, but given that I'd not really tasted much of the Swedish distilleries expressions and was quite impressed with some of their offerings, I didn't want to neglect them!
My tasting notes and some further information imparted by @TheWhiskyWire on the night follow:
Mackmyra Mack - NAS - 40% abv - £34.50
"Launched in 2016, Mackmyra Mack, is described as an ‘artisanal single malt whisky’ produced exclusively with Swedish ingredients and aged in American oak barrels. In 1999, Mackmyra (which was named after the village and manor of Mackmyra) opened their first distillery in Bruk – Sweden. Outgrowing the original distillery, in 2011 Mackmyra opened their new Gravity distillery, in the new Mackmyra Whisky Village. Standing 35 metres tall, as the name suggests the building makes use of gravity throughout the whisky-making process.All the whiskies at Mackmyra have been produced under the watchful eye and indeed the nose and palate of Master Blender Angela D'Orazio."
Nose: Fresh, juicy green apples initially then with time to develop you get malty digestive biscuits and eventualy sweet, buttery rum raisin notes.
Palate: Quite crisp and fresh initially, some hints of mint and fennel. There is a little sweetness there too in the form of cloudy apple juice and a little maple syrup.
Finish: Not much of a finish, it dries quickly leaving peppery spice and young oaky notes.
Mackmyra Brukswhisky - NAS - 41.4% abv - £35.26
"Mackmyra Brukswhisky, which is named after the original distillery in Bruk, is produced using whisky which was initially matured in first fill bourbon casks for 5 years, before being married with whiskies matured in ex-bourbon, Swedish oak and sherry casks. A large amount of whisky at Mackmyra is stored in new Swedish oak. The Swedish oak grows slowly in their harsh climate and gives the whisky a harsher flavour than American oak. The whisky gets a fiery spice balanced by sweetness similar to caramelized sugar.
@MackmyraJon - So people often ask about the name: It's difficult to translate, but 'Bruks' is your 'trusty' / Your 'go-to'.So this is your Everyday Go-to reliable whisky. A whisky for every occasion."
Nose: Sweeter than the Mack, fizzy apple sherbet (if such a thing exists?!) thick honey, more of the malty element too. Someone mentioned mint toffos… yes! Mint toffos, butter mints, murray mints… all those good things.
Palate: Deff more apple notes, a touch of the herbal quality of the mack, but all wrapped up in a warm pancake drizzled in maple syrup. Dangerously quaffable.
Finish: Sweetness fades on the finish, leading to a gentle peppery note and a sort of dusty, musty quality that isn't unpleasant as it sounds!
Mackmyra Svensk Ek - NAS - 46.1% abv - £41.25
"Mackmyra Svensk Ek, is initially matured in Swedish oak ‘Svensk Ek’ for 18 months, before being further matured in ex-bourbon casks. All the barley used at Mackmyra comes from Swedish farms. The water used in the distillery is of medium-hardness and comes from the pebble-bedded river that runs through the estate. It is filtered for the dilution of the new-make spirit only with UV-light.
Virtually all ingredients are found within a 50km radius of the distillery. The yeast is backing yeast sometimes bought off the shelf in the local store"
Nose: This is a bit different… almost like new make spirit infused with mint. Real savoury quality to this. Is that the Swedish Oak influence? There are hints of juniper and pine, even a salinity… and yet still the fresh green apple remains.
Palate: Deff more savoury… thinking cider vinegar, oaky notes, clove and cinammon and just a slight toffee sweetness to temper.
Finish: Lingering woody notes and liquorice.
Mackmyra Svensk Rok - NAS - 46.1% abv - £39.76
"Launched in 2013, Mackmyra Svensk Rök ‘Swedish Smoke’, which is the only smoky single malt whisky made with 100% Swedish ingredients, is matured in American oak, Swedish Oak, ex-bourbon and casks saturated with Oloroso. Mackmyra make their own smoked malt, with smoke from peat and juniper twigs, burnt in the boiler-room. The peat comes from Karinmossen, just outside Gävle. The juniper twigs from an energy company that has the job of clearing power line strips on local heathland."
Nose: Ahh… the juniper that was suggested in the previous just came to the front! Combined with a healthy kick of sweet peat smoke, coastal salt and more of the nordic pine. Immense!
Palate: Juniper on the nose, but not on the palate. This is really tasty though. Tart apple, fresh green herbs & samphire and a subtle ashy taste but with honey roasted hazelnuts to bring it all together. Yummy!
Finish: Unlike the others, this softens and sweetens on the palate to give smoky bacon, pancakes and maple syrup.
Mackmyra Appelblom - NAS - 46.1% abv - £60.00
"Mackmyra Appelblom ‘Apple Blossom’, the latest expression from @Mackmyra is initially matured in oak casks which previously held Calvados from Christian Drouin, before being aged further in new American oak and bourbon barrels. Traceability is important to Mackmyra and every bottle can be traced right back to the batch of spirt it contains, so you know exactly in which bottles the spirit ends up. Every batch can be up to 2000 bottles."
Nose: The Wurzels in a glass… Ciderfest! It's crisp, fresh and effervescent. A really tasty dry cider combined with dry hay and splintered wood.
Palate: Slightly bitter initially, like apple peel but it does quickly sweeten and you end up with fizzy Appletize. There is a toasted almond quality too which compliments the apple notes.
Finish: More fizzy apple that fades to bitter peel, with a little gentle white pepper and salt on the very tip of my tongue.
We also had a sample of the Christian Drouin calvados to try and compare with the Appelblom. The calvados is sweeter and oilier than the Appelblom, but the similarities are definitely there. More of a brandy quality to the calvados though. When comparing the calvados to the whisky, I'd suggest the calvados influence is obviously apparent, but the whisky retains a sour quality which is more to my palate. They both have lingering bitter green peel on the finish.
In terms of my favourite of the night... I'd definitely pick the Rok. The Appelblom was a very palatable 2nd and I couldn't really choose between the Ek & Brusk. The Mack was my least favourite of the night, I found the lack of finish a bit disappointing after the initial tasty palate.
The Rok was lush... I'll be asking for this for my birthday next month!
Until next time... Slainte all, Kieran
