Whiskypeter Fettercairn 12yo & Whiskypeter North British 2007 Virgin Oak 13yo

Whiskypeter Fettercairn 12yo

Region: Highlands

ABV: 57.0%

Price: 499 DKK (£62)

This was distilled 16th March 2009, matured in a refill hogshead until 11th July 2018, then transferred to a first fill bourbon barrel. It was then bottled 22nd July 2021.

Nose

The nose opens with banana bread, warm pineapple, fizzy appletiser, malt and dried mango. It's quite a vibrant nose, sweet, tropical and with a little warehouse mustiness in the background. Leaving it for a while, air starts to bring out more citrus, orange peel, potpourri, grapefruit and wholewheat bread. There is also the typical American oak vanilla sweetness, but the nose is predominantly zesty and fruity.

Palate

The first sip brings zingy lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, boiled sweeties, backed up with a spicy white pepper note towards the latter part of the palate. The palate quickly evolves into a more malty, rich flavours of cocoa beans, singed orange peel, caramel and almonds that have been taken a little too far whilst toasting. The mouthfeel has a nice oiliness to it and the alcohol is in good balance, but the finish has a little too much of a bitter oak flavour coming through for us.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose starts to bring more of the citrus to the fore, freshly squeezed orange juice moving into stale sponge cake with vanilla drizzle and shortbread fingers. We've lost a few of the more tropical fruit notes, and they've been replaced with yeastier, maltier aromas.

Palate (with water)

Water brings out more sweetness initially, candied orange peel, jellybabies, foam bananas, moving into milk chocolate and gingerbread. We've lost a touch of the mouthfeel, but some of the bitter oak has mellowed on the finish. It's a bit of a tradeoff here, so we'd recommend trying with and without water to see which you prefer.

Conclusion

A well rounded, good quality single cask Fettercairn. As we've said before it's not our favourite distillery, however this example shows off the best parts of the spirit whilst hiding some of those funky, off notes we often find. We'd like a bit less bitter oak on the finish but overall we enjoyed the dram, especially the nose.

Score: 7.5/10

Whiskypeter North British 2007 Virgin Oak 13yo

Region: Lowlands

ABV: 62.3%

Price: 349 DKK (£44)

This was distilled 16th November 2007, matured in a hogshead until 9th December 2019, then transferred into a virgin barrel (char 2) for 18 months.

Nose

Big aromas of vanilla, caramel, dark brown sugar, chocolate and charred oak. Very sweet, very punchy. The alcohol comes through but it manages to remain balanced by those weighty aromas. Going back and we're finding freshly picked mint leaves, mint choc chip ice cream and freshly microplaned ginger. It's still unmistakably a grain whisky, but the virgin barrel has really imparted a lot onto the spirit.

Palate

The palate is silky, creamy and brings vanilla, salted caramel, muscovado sugar, toasted marshmallows, sugar cookies moving into sweet oak and ginger biscuits on the finish. We're very impressed at the alcohol balance here, it's providing a nice weight to the dram but you can drink it at this strength without issue. With air we're finding some chocolate coated digestive biscuits and creme brûlée.

Nose (with water)

Reduction brings out some more of the toasted oak aromas, charred twigs, menthol and eucalyptus. There's also some ground ginger and nutmeg. We've lost some of the more prominent sweeter, richer aromas.

Palate (with water)

Water brings more chocolate, walnuts, warm caramel, mint and peppery oak. It's still really pleasant, however we feel like it's lost something. We think that the original strength was good for drinking, so would avoid adding water.

Conclusion

We find that younger grains can be hit or miss, but this is a massive hit for us. The virgin barrel has imparted a really lovely sweetness and richness. It's a dram for the dessert lovers, people who love those vanilla and caramel flavours. We'll go with 8.5/10.

Score: 8.5/10

• 10 - Perfection. A whisky that we’ll remember forever.
• 9 - Amazing. We’d pay through the nose for a bottle.
• 8 - Great. Pick this up at RRP.
• 7 - Good. Happy to have a dram or two but wouldn’t buy a bottle.
• 6 - Passable. Would accept a dram, but wouldn’t seek it out.
• 5 - Poor. Would drink if it was the only option.
• 4 - Bad. Maybe it can be saved by ginger beer?
• 3 - Awful. It can't be saved by ginger beer.
• 2 - Pour it out
• 1 - We’ve never tried a whisky rated this low and hopefully never will.

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