Showing posts with label Abhainn Dearg 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abhainn Dearg 3. Show all posts

Abhainn Dearg 3 Years Review


“Promising Nose But Mostly Immature”

Country: Scotland
Region: Highlands - Islands - Lewis 
Brand: Abhainn Dearg 
Type: Single Malt (Single Cask Bottling)
Age: 3 Years
ABV: 46%
Chill-Filtration: No
Whisky Review # 547

Colour: Pale Straw/White Wine (Natural Colour) 

Nose: The first strong Aromas I get are the Barley Sugar and the Vanilla from the cask. It's quite different from any Scotch Single Malt I have nosed so far. Some Swiss - and German Single Malts have similar characteristics. Give it some time in the glass to give the Fruity Aromas the chance to develop. Next to the Barley and the Vanilla I find Buttered Toast, Toasted Cereals, Dough, Straw, Honey, Green Apple, Pear, Nectarine, Apricot, Sugar Coated Roasted Nuts, light Oak Char, Ginger, Cinnamon and light Herbs. There's a Fatty -, Creamy - and Oily feel to the Nose. The Alcohol is quite present of course but it doesn't really interfere with the Nosing pleasure. I really would like to review a fully matured Abhainn Dearg in the future as the Spirit shows some promising features.

Taste: Young, Rough and a little Hot. The New Make Spirit feel is much clearer now. I find Toasted Cereals, Burnt Toast, Burnt Straw, Vanilla, Honey, Toffee, Varnish, Citrus (Bitter Orange and Grapefruit), Fresh Oak, Green Apple, Lemon-Pepper, Nutmeg and some Dried Herbs. 

Finish: Rather Short. Bitter-Sweet at first. Quite Dry later on. The Bitterness increases towards the end. I find Toasted Cereals, Dough, Burnt Toast, Sugar, Burnt Grass, Mineral notes, Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Green Apples, Pear, Alcohol, Varnish, Grapefruit, a little Toffee and Vanilla and a sprinkle of Lemon. 

I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose the Malted Barley develops even more. The Palate and Finish become too flat for my taste. Better sip it neat.

Rating: 78

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5



General Remarks: The Abhainn Dearg (Red River) Distillery was founded in 2008 in Uig on the island of Lewis (Outer Hebrides) by Mark Tayburn. It's a farm distillery with a current capacity of only 20.000 litres. In 2011, a first 3 Year old Single Malt was released, the one I am reviewing here today. A Cask Strength version (58%) followed in 2012. The Distillery also offers a very young New Make Spirit called Spirit of Lewis that matured for a couple of months in Ex-Sherry casks. Abhainn is planning to release a 10 Year old Single Malt in 2018. The distillery uses mostly Ex-Bourbon but also some Ex-Sherry casks. The Barley used for the Whisky is sourced on the island itself. The 3 year old Single Malt is a Single Cask bottling so some differences may appear depending on the cask. Unfortunately, the miniature I'm using does not indicate a Cask number. It solely matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. Unfortunately, it's very expensive at over 200 US Dollars per 500 ml bottle. (June 2016). I understand the need for cash of young distilleries but this seems to be a bit over the top. When compared to Kilchoman for instance, the latter has a much better Price/Quality ratio for its young Whiskies.

Drinking Experience Neat: Promising on the Nose but quite disappointing on the Palate and in the Finish.

Conclusion: Abhainn Dearg is a very young distillery and I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate owner Mark on this initiative. We all know that investing in a distillery, even if it's a small one like Abhainn Dearg, costs a lot of money. And part of the loans need to be repaid before the produced Spirit is fully matured. This creates the necessity to make cash rapidly. Some of the distilleries do this by selling New Make Spirit and/or Gin. Personally I think that is better than launching very young Single Malts. Abhainn Dearg chose for the combination of New Make Spirit (Spirit of Lewis) and the 3 Year old Single Malt I'm reviewing today that is also available in a Cask Strength version. The 3 Y (46%) shows some promising features on the Nose but disappoints otherwise. It's too Young, too Rough and too Hot to be really enjoyed. As such, the Price-Quality ratio is way out of line. All we can do now is wishing Mark the best of luck because I am really looking forward to taste the 10 Year old in 2018!

Jan van den Ende                                                                      June 20, 2016

A very remote location indeed!