Hazelburn 12 Year Oloroso Cask Matured (2022) and Hazelburn 15 Year Oloroso Cask Matured (2022) Reviews
Background
Those reading this are almost certainly familiar with Hazelburn, which is produced by Springbank and sits at the unpeated end of their production spectrum. Springbank and Longrow, by comparison, have malt phenol levels of 8-10 PPM and 50 PPM, respectively.
Named after an 18th century distillery that went belly-up in 1925, Springbank first bottled Hazelburn as an 8 year offering in 2005 and have since continued to expand the product line. Today’s review will cover the 2022 releases of Hazelburn 12 year and 15 year, both of which were matured entirely in Oloroso casks. Big thanks to Rye Am Legend for the samples and the excellent photo, and now to the reviews!
Hazelburn 12 Year Oloroso Cask Matured - 2022 (12 Years, 49.9%)
Nose: Sharp raspberry tart, shortbread cookies and occasional notes of orange zest. It’s a little muted, but still rather inviting.
Palate: Fancy, raspberry and nougat chocolates from a nice box of chocolates on the front of the palate. Do they combine those two things in one chocolate or do I just eat the whole box so that they blur together in my taste memory? Who can say really. The back half gets a little bit more mineral forward, bordering on metallic, alongside some more orange zest.
Finish: There’s a crisp minerality to pair with the fruit, like red rock candy. I’m also getting a touch of salinity, closer to coarse ground sea salt. It’s about medium in length and moves more towards leather and black licorice as you really sit with it.
Very Good (6/10)
Overall: The Oloroso influence is front and center, but I don’t find it ultimately overpowering. Ultimately though I wished for a bit more backbone and depth of flavor. It’s absolutely a nice sipper but it’s a little more delicate than I normally would prefer.
Hazelburn 15 Year Oloroso Cask Matured - 2022 (12 Years, 54.2%)
Nose: Whereas the 12 year was more tart, this is jammy. Berry jam on toast with a bit of salted butter.
Palate: Fresh picked raspberries and salted caramels. It has a similar, mullett-esque transition from business in the front (creamy delicate candies) to party in the back (minerality). Red fruit flavored sparkling mineral waters, clove and cinnamon.
Finish: That minerality is still there, but it rings truer here. The 12 year was gentle rock candy, and this is the Big Rock Candy Mountain. It’s salty almost more in sensation than in flavor per say, as it pulls the edges of the palate as if you just ate a salt and vinegar chip.
Great (7/10)
Overall: It turns the volume up on the 12 year very nicely, providing that extra punch I was missing. Each component from nose until finish dials up the flavor profile to a more entertaining level. The nose is richer and more prominent, the palate pops (quite literally, pop rocks could be a note), and the finish lingers lovingly long.
