Blind Summit Fettercairn 8 Year Old

Blind Summit Fettercairn 8 Year Old 

Region: Highlands

ABV: 53.4%

Price: £50.00 (50cl)

Distilled on 24 October 2016 and finished in a single Oloroso sherry butt, this Fettercairn was bottled in 2025 after eight years of maturation. Only 55 bottles were released. 

Nose

The nose opens with warm hot cross buns, Danish pastries, red currant jelly, amaretto liqueur, cinder toffee, and raspberry sauce that you would drizzle on your vanilla ice cream. There’s also a handful of roasted nuts, and a slight musty funkiness too. The sherry cask is doing some heavy lifting here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

Palate

The palate has a good, thick, caramel-like texture, and we’re getting lots of fresh cherries, cookie chocolate, cocoa powder, black pepper, and marzipan. We’re also finding candied almonds, light leather and a bit of metallic, copper flavour as well. The finish is medium length, and leaves slightly burnt caramel and cinnamon flavour lingering. Time and air brings out a herbal quality, along with brown sugar torched figs. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has lots of nuts.. hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, all coated in milk chocolate. There’s some old leather and more wood coming through, it’s less sweet and a little richer than before.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a little more sour cherry, bitter oak, grapefruit peel, it’s starting to veer into more of an astringent territory. There’s still lots of sherry and oak coming through, but we preferred it without water. 

Conclusion

Lots and lots of sherry and a little bit of Fettercairn funk gives us quite a tasty dram that drinks older than its 8 years of maturation. We’re self-confessed Fettercairn skeptics, but perhaps it just needs some good sherry to lift it. The dram isn’t too sweet, nor is it too dry, it’s quite well balanced. Not overly complex, but really quite drinkable. 

Score: 7/10

Value

A little more than we’d like to pay for an 8-year-old, but it’s a pleasant dram nonetheless.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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