Two youngsters from the Fragrant Drops series. This series comes from the Keeble Cask Company, which is also responsible for the Elevenses sub-brand. We’ve only seen and tried rather young whisky from them so far. In fact, with the exception of their single grain releases, they have only bottled a handful of well-aged whiskies.
Holyrood 5 yo 2019 (57,6%, Fragrant Drops 2025, bourbon barrel #35, 256 btl.)
Nose: pretty fresh, with lots of vibrant citrus notes and green apples, along with icing sugar and round vanilla. Some clear oak shavings and spearmint. After a while also a buttery theme and some root vegetables. Not bad.
Mouth: quite punchy, with white pepper and grassy notes up front, followed by a mild rooty bitterness. Dry nutmeg and more oak shavings. Underneath there’s a hint of lemonade but this quickly becomes grapefruit juice. Lots of lemon peels and ginger. Some sweetness and vanilla in the background, but overall a tad brutal.
Finish: medium, with plenty of green and bitter notes. Grass, tonic water, horseradish.
I’m always looking forward to trying a new distillery through a plain bourbon barrel, especially when the official releases are so experimental. This started with a pleasant nose, but on the palate it is quite tough.
Campbeltown Blended Malt 8 yo 2016 (57,6%, Fragrant Drops 2025, refill + fresh bourbon barrel #11, 265 btl.)
Nose: sweeter than the Holyrood. A lot more vanilla, with hints of custard, Haribo bears, honey and faint waxy notes. Lemon zest, a little sea spray and subtle chalky notes. Then green maltiness. Not much of that ‘industrial’ hint we’re always hoping to find in this region.
Mouth: zesty lemons are back, here with a big salty note and some beer-like notes. Then a firm grassy side and a subtle floral touch which bothered me (much more) in a sister cask. White pepper, nutmeg and groundnut oil. Not very complex.
Finish: medium, with some bready notes, green malt and citrus zest.
A similar story: good nose, but not quite on the same level in the mouth. There’s probably a good deal of Glen Scotia in this one, and it’s still a little rough. I’ve had a couple of these 2016 blended malts and they weren’t indispensable. Score: 83/100