Dramfool Mad Hut 10yo cask 170 (Oloroso) & Dramfool Mad Hut 10yo Cask 172 (PX)

Dramfool Mad Hut 10yo cask 170 (Oloroso)

Region: Speyside

ABV: 57.1%

Price: £75.00

Part of Dramfool’s trilogy of Mad Hut releases. This 10 year old spent its first eight years in a bourbon barrel, before being transferred for its final 20 months into a first fill Spanish Oloroso barrique. Outturn of 196 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with Werther's originals, lots of toffee and caramel, with a subtle fruitiness behind - some artificial peach aromas and a little pear. There's some pepperiness as you get deep into the glass, it's a little warming but it seems to integrate nicely with the other aromas - it doesn't feel too hot. We're also finding a herbal note, something akin to rosemary and mint, and also a little cinnamon spice in the background. It's in no way oversherried - the sherry influence is quite soft and actually gives a roundness to the whisky. 

Palate

The palate opens with some rich chocolate and caramel flavours, Cadburys milk chocolate buttons, blackcurrant jam, a little cherry, some menthol notes and a bit of lime freshness. It's not overly sweet, more on a dry, Christmas spice profile, alongside some candied almonds and clove. The Spanish oak profile is much more pronounced than it was on the nose, with all of those warm spices and roasted nuts. The mouthfeel is nicely textured, and there's also an ashy/charred wood note that rides through the finish.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose is very fruity now - but more red fruits, currants, strawberry jam, some glace cherries, much sweeter too. The water has really opened this up, we're getting a much better balance of the spirit and the sherry cask. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate follows the reduced nose in that there's much more red fruit, candied nuts, brown sugar sweetness and a lot less pepperiness. There's still a fair bit of Spanish oak oloroso dryness too. Again, it feels like water has really brought this to life.

Conclusion

Much less sherry influence than expected upfront, but a drop of water really brings this dram to life. We tend to find Spanish Oak can over-spice a whisky, but this cask hasn't gone too far that way, instead it's added a nice nutty, dried fruit profile to a well made spirit. 

Score: 7/10

Value

In line with what other small independent bottlers are charging for 10 year old sherried Tamdhu.

Dramfool Mad Hut 10yo Cask 172 (PX)

Region: Speyside

ABV: 54.0%

Price: £75.00 

Another of Dramfool’s Mad Hut releases. Like today’s other review, it spent its first eight years in a single bourbon barrel before being transferred for the final 20 months, this time into a first-fill Pedro Ximénez barrique. The outturn was 223 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with lots of black cherry, raisins and sultanas, chocolate cake and some raspberry jam in between. Very PX-forward, rich, decadent but not overly sweet. We're also finding caramel coated apples, bourbon biscuits and molasses. It's not overly complex, but it really does hit the spot of well balanced PX, it feels nicely integrated and not overly warm either.

Palate

The palate opens with a nice syrupy texture, dark chocolate, some fondant icing, bitter coffee, dark brown sugar and slightly overdone toffee. Like the nose, it's fairly one note, but it doesn't feel astringent or too overpowering, it's integrated well with the spirit. The finish is quite long with a lot of chocolate notes lingering, and the alcohol feels nicely balanced - it's like a boozy affogato. There's also a sprinkling of sea salt in the background.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose hasn't changed too much, still lots of dark fruits, perhaps a little more base spirit notes coming through, malt extract, ginger too. Again, it feels really well integrated for a year and a half finish.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate maintains a nice syrupy mouthfeel, but is a little less rich, it's now more caramel and toffee forward with hints of dark chocolate. The finish has much more of those coffee notes now, but it's a milky mocha rather than a strong espresso.

Conclusion

More of a PX beat than expected, especially since the colour isn't that of cocla cola. It's very chocolate and dark fruit forward, but it works well with the spirit and would sit really nicely within the sherried section of a whisky tasting. If you like PX, you'll like this. 

Score: 7.5/10

Value

As we mentioned above this is in line with what other small independent bottlers are charging for 10 year old sherried Tamdhu.

• 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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