Not only a grand day but with some of the best Single Malts I have tasted in a while, a complete Whisky adventure. Once again thanks to all. Bottom line: Fettercairn is relaunched with a slightly quirky line-up. The 12 year-old base expression is reasonably priced and quite good. It is worth a try for its gentle fruity character. The 28 Year Old is very funky, forget about that one. On the nose: Glazed Danish pastry, fruit is juicy tropical punch, some dusty vanilla, demerara sugar, subtle wood spices and a hint of distinguished age. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. Do you ever consider how you may be remembered? For some of us it may be for voluntary service, professional achievement, or perhaps just warmly within the confines of our own family. Those who have reached great heights through business success or public office are often aware of the eventual eulogising that may follow them.

Fettercairn is a pure spirit which is crafted by its unique stills and forged through temperate maturation. Within its process, the distillery uses a unique irrigator ring that surrounds the stills which drenches the still to deliver only the purest spirit. In recent years, they have been experimenting with flavours from wood charring, with whisky aged in barrels made from locally sourced oaks. [2] Fettercairn has recently been Dalmorized. That means they’ve asked The Nose to highlight some of their best whiskies, specifically at high ages. The classic Dalmore recipe of finishing in Gonzalez Byass casks and Port casks has been applied, as well as an overall (steep) increase in price. Fettercairn village has a further association with Slavery and Whisky via William Shand, who started distilling in the 1820s. The exact location of this lost distillery remains unknown. Shand used his experience of making rum on his brother John’s sugar plantations in Jamaica and his own estates and is noted having “experience of managing 18,000 to 20,000 enslaved people in his time in Jamaica between 1791 and 1823.”

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of 5 prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer. His great fortune had been amassed from supplying weapons to wars around the globe, so the establishment and association with a prize of such worth certainly reframed our association with the name Nobel. This is the value offering of the range; lashings of juicy fruit balanced by oak spices and the gentle enhancement of sherry casks. Score: 6/10

Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). Taste: Immediately woody, but nicely fragrant – orange peels, nectarines, steeped fruit tea and Fruit Salad chews. The mid palate delivers milk chocolate, dusty leatherette and a building spiciness – pepper and ginger. Oak runs throughout, but whilst somewhat drying, it’s not overly tannic (quite a result) and is joined by a big vein of rancio mustiness. Reduction adds barley water, tobacco leaves, glace cherries and coffee grounds. Shand’s distillery was also known as Fettercairn Distillery, and the whisky was reasonably well regarded at the time. It appears the current Fettercairn Distillery was previously known as Nethermill, thus confusion was avoided initially. Certainly, Nethermill Distillery is recorded in Fettercairn in 1845 the year of William Shand’s death. 2 Frustratingly, it is also recorded as “Fettercairn Distillery, or Farm of Nethermill” in the Edinburgh Gazette of December 6 1842. Nethermill has infrequently been used as a name under which whisky from Fettercairn distillery has been released. Master Whisk Maker Gregg has taken the Scottish Oak Programme as a deeply personal project. He said,We move over to the 40 Year Old, distilled 23rd of December 1977. It spent the final few years in a Gonzalez Byass Apostoles Palo Cortado cask #6 (which is technically not a Palo Cortado but a Medium sherry as it is sweetened with a little Pedro Ximénez). Set in the wilds of the untamed Eastern Highlands at the foothills of the Cairngorm Mountains, Fettercairn begins life in an isolated location that’s allowed this Scotch whisky to hone its own distinctive taste and characteristics uninterrupted over time. Not one that I would recommend, especially given the price, but if you fancy a challenge, head over to The Whisky Exchange. I prefer the 12 Year Old to be honest. Mouth: quite citrusy, with an aromatic woody element, ginger cake and rum soaked raisins. Nutmeg. A hint of sourness (grapefruits) and fruit teas. Just a subtle tannic note as well as some leathery notes and eucalyptus. Fettercairn 28 year old seems to love water – it’s therefore a shame its delivered at 43% ABV, which gives the imbiber little room to manoeuvre. Whilst there’s a good interplay between fruit and wood – and balance along with it – the level of odd funk/rancio (rotting flowers) really does detract away from both the maturity and the more defined aromatic aromas/flavours. It’s also crazy expensive for a 28 year old from a little known distillery.