Whisky : Elsburn 4 Year, Hercynian Distilling Co.

Country/Region : Germany

ABV : 57.2%

Cask : Sherry Octave

Age : 4 Year (Distilled 2016, Bottled 30 Mar. 2021)

Nose : Chocolate, spice, and fruit. Absolutely bursting with rich chocolate and dry spice: cinnamon, ginger, and white pepper. Fruit came through as figs and sour black cherries, leaving the impression of a spiced black forest cake. Notes of pine and raw maple syrup in the background.

Palate : Full-bodied and thick with caramel, chocolate, and herbal spice. Waves of sticky toffee, treacle, caramel, and dark chocolate lay down across the palate. Undercurrents of white pepper, black cherry, chocolate cherries, and cola appeared as the velvety sugars faded. At the end were raucous herbal notes of Christmas— pine, juniper, and holly.

Finish :  Lingering herbal notes with a rich treacle.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Christmas Nightcap

Notes : I expected a wild ride as a sherry octave maturation would not likely appeal to my sensibilities. However, I thought this was delicious and had an incredible complexity between wood, sherry, and malt. The dram left me with the impression that Elsburn could be nothing else but the bastard child of Macallan and Sweden’s High Coast Distillery. The distillery uses German peat and golden promise barely, the same varietal that Macallan was once known for (and which Balcones in the US still uses). The sherry funk and fruit combined with a unique herbal-Christmas quality which immediately brought to mind a High Coast I tried in 2021. I thought this German malt was odd, but I liked it.

I quickly found my glass emptied, and I had to give it to my friends who brought back the bottle from Germany; they picked an excellent introduction to the distillery. The mouthfeel on the dram was fantastic, though it was so rich I do not think I would ever want more than a small pour. The flavors just clung to the tongue like oil spilled on linoleum and transitioned between levels of fruit, spice, and herbs that kept the experience interesting.