Hazelburn 15 Year Old (2022) Whisky Review!

Even Campbeltown fans often overlook Hazelburn, thinking of it as the "weaker" of Springbank's three spirits. Yes, it's unpeated and triple-distilled, so it's generally a little cleaner and more refined than the namesake Springbank spirit. But there's nothing remotely "weak" about Hazelburn!

Triple distillation has an image problem. It's mostly associated with Irish whiskey, despite the fact that a significant proportion of Irish whiskey is actually double-distilled. By volume, most of those triple-distilled Irish whiskeys are bottled at 40% ABV, chill filtered and artificially coloured, and the same applies to Auchentoshan back in Scotland. This does not help with the perception that triple-distillation means less flavour and less character, particularly when blenders are using these whiskies/whiskeys to create light, bland, inoffensive, and "smooth" (shudder) products. The fact is that triple distillation is further-refining the spirit, so all things being equal a triple-distilled spirit will be lighter in flavour and texture than a double-distilled spirit. But it's no guarantee of better quality, and it doesn't have to mean that it is lighter in character. The Redbreast range is a good example in Irish terms, and I'd point to Benromach's Triple Distilled release (reviewed here) as a great example in Scotch terms. It was bottled at a good strength - higher than most of their bottlings - and was also lightly peated. Benromach produce characterful whiskies, and in that regard the triple-distilled bottling was no different. The same applies to Springbank and to its triple-distilled spirit Hazelburn, which is the only unpeated spirit that this Campbeltown distillery produces. I suppose that could be part of why it's not as lusted after as their other two brands, although you'll struggle to find evidence of that disparity in today's secondary market. 

Glancing at the photo above, you can see that just like the heavily-peated & double-distilled Longrow and the lightly-peated and 2.5-times distilled Springbank, Hazelburn goes through the distillery's direct-fired wash still, and also the first spirit still / low wines still which is equipped with a traditional worm tub condenser. These two pieces of equipment are partly responsible for the character that is present in this distillery's whisky, or rather in the spirit itself. The obvious difference with Hazelburn is that all of that worm tub condensed spirit then goes through the third still, meaning less spirit yield at the end, but with a higher ABV. Obviously the size & design of the stills (and fill levels) & condensers have an important role to play here, particularly regarding reflux and copper contact, as do the cut points, which are the portion of the distillation run that is captured to become new make spirit. While the cut points for Hazelburn are higher in ABV due to the third distillation they're also fairly wide, taken from 79%-63% ABV. As an example, the aforementioned triple-distilled Auchentoshan only collects from 82.5-80% ABV, giving a much lighter and more refined spirit, while the remainder of the run (the foreshots and feints) is sent back into the second still / intermediate still for re-distillation. That distillery somehow still manages to make a rough, fire-y spirit, but that's a story for another time... The wider spirit cut used for Hazelburn effectively means more feints in the spirit, which all other things being equal means more spirit character - you could even call it intentional and desirable roughness! For reference here, a typical double-distilled malt spirit in Scotland would be cut somewhere in the low-70s down to the mid-60s, while Springbank's double-distilled Longrow cuts from 69-58% ABV, and the 2.5-times distilled Springbank cuts from 76-60% ABV. Again, intentional and desirable roughness, and arguably a more characterful spirit - provided you don't go too early or too late. 

Testament to Hazelburn's spirit character is that it holds up surprisingly well in a multitude of cask types, and much like Longrow it's often matured or finished in first-fill red wine or sherry casks. The Hazelburn spirit is lighter on the sulphur and the "Campbeltown funk" than most Springbank or Longrow whisky, so it tends to be "cleaner" and much less divisive when combined with active sherry casks. It does also work well in bourbon casks given some age (one brilliant example reviewed here), and even in small casks as shown in the Rundlets & Kilderkins from 2014. But I must admit I've never really loved the standard / flagship 10-year old bottling. Back in the day when we could actually buy almost any of these bottles with ease, I'd skip the 10-year old altogether and consider the now-discontinued 12-year old Sherry Cask as the entry-level Hazelburn. As far as limited Hazelburn releases there's typically one per year, which much like Longrow tends to have either red wine or sherry cask influence. The 2022 release that I'm reviewing here is a 2006 vintage 15-year old that was fully matured in fresh (which is Springbank-ese for first fill) Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at a cask strength of 54.2% ABV. 9,000 bottles were released in April 2022, but the Australian allocation only arrived in late January 2023 and lasted around 45 seconds as per usual. Retail pricing here was circa $250 AUD, although as usual some retailers decided to bump that up - some actually decided to double it, and they should be removed from our importer's allocation sheet. One of the worst offenders in the country for this sort of thing, who is basically a flipper with a liquor license and website, still has it in stock at the time of writing; for $650 AUD. Please, for the love of god, nobody buy it. Let them crumble into dust with it still available on their website. The inevitable auction listings will be cheaper than that. Moving right along...

Hazelburn 15 Year Old (2022), 54.2%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Distilled 12/2006, fully matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks, bottled 4/2022. 9,000 bottles. 

Colour: Very dark amber. 

Nose: Rich, sweet, savoury & sherried. Tons of salted dark chocolate, almost fudgy. Sweet raisins & plums, salted hazelnut & walnut, a few drops of good quality aged balsamic vinegar. Touches of sweet pastry and musty warehouse (dunnage) around the edges. Date syrup, bitter orange dipped in dark chocolate sauce, fresh sweet red apple with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar. 

Texture: Medium weight. Rich, syrupy, cleanly sherried, turning acidic & lightly astringent. No heat at all. 

Taste: Rich & fruity entry with that red apple & cinnamon sugar, raisins, and bitter orange. Salted hazelnuts & walnuts again, touch of leather, and salted dark chocolate fudge. Aged balsamic following close behind. 

Finish: Long length. More acidic and light astringent here. More balsamic vinegar, and those roasted & salted hazelnuts & walnuts again. Rich dark chocolate, date syrup, and bitter orange. Musty warehouse (dunnage), baking spices, and that sweet & crisp red apple again. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Fantastic. This is the best sherry cask Hazelburn that I've tried to date, and it's comfortably in my top three Hazelburn overall. For the record the other two are an 18-year old ex-bourbon cage bottling and the sauternes cask Society bottling, although the latest 21-year old is also a close contender. This 15-year old is quite heavily sherried obviously, but in an integrated & measured way where the spirit is still coming through nicely - even after 15 years in first-fill sherry casks. Call me crazy, but I actually think there are shades of the old discontinued Tobermory 15 sherry finish in here, albeit with more depth and with less funk - the particularly sulphur averse tended to struggle with that Tobermory, but they should be fine with this Hazelburn. The depth and character in this Hazelburn are really fantastic, and it easily beats the other wine cask & sherry cask examples that I've tasted to date.

Call me crazy again, but I think Hazelburn works better in first-fill sherry casks than Springbank or Longrow. Refill sherry is a different story, but with fresh & assertive Oloroso casks like these the cleaner and more refined Hazelburn spirit seems to really shine. Note that I've said "cleaner" and "more refined", not "clean" and "refined" - this is still a Campbeltown malt, and it's still a Springbank whisky. Like I said up top, there's nothing remotely "weak" about Hazelburn!

Cheers!