Until about 3 months ago, I think I was the scourge of any
travelling party I was with. For those of you that don’t know, I’m one just a handful
(in global terms) of people who have a Norwegian passport and until recently
had a ten year old edition of the document which, to be frank, was kinda just
that... a handwritten paper document without the ability to scan.
 |
| Norwegian Wood, literally. |
This lack of technology was something
which seemed to confuse almost every passport control office in the known
world, particularly those of American persuasion.
In a bid to bury the rubber-glove treatment so liberally
handed out to people with a passport as "unusual" (not my words, but the words
of Chuck from the Chicago branch of Homeland Security) as mine, I recently
upgraded to a posh new passport with retina scanning and everything! Exactly
what you’d want from a country as LOADED as Norway.
Cheers, chaps! Now send me
my barrels of oil, please!
Anyone who has been to Norway will have experience the unrivalled natural
beauty of the place; it truly is stunning. And the one thing Norway has is
trees. Lots and lots of trees.
Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for someone to whip up
some casks from these trees, to mature whisky in. Which is exactly what the
folk over at William Grant & Sons have done, maturing some of their flagship single malt, Glenfiddich, in
Nordic oak.
The final spirit, released as the Cask of Dreams, yeilded just 3,600 1 litre bottles which have been made available in the Nordics, with 1,008 bottles being seeded in to Viking Line ferries.
The final spirit, released as the Cask of Dreams, yeilded just 3,600 1 litre bottles which have been made available in the Nordics, with 1,008 bottles being seeded in to Viking Line ferries.
As a tribute to my Norwegian friends, the tasting notes
shall be in my mother tongue:
Glenfiddich – Cask Of
Dreams 2012 – Nordic Oak – 3,600 bottles – 48.8% - RRP €110euro
Nose: Krokan, honning,
furu, vanilje, tre krydder og kanel.
Palate: God smak,
hint av vanilje, mynte, kardemomme, jord og lavendel.
Finish: Stor tre
smak, tørr og lang med en krydret finish som varer lenge.
Overall: A brave
move, as the additional heat and power that new wood gives to whisky can often
be too much, but this has worked well and the earthy tones it develops are very
pleasing indeed.
Other Cask of Dreams releases have been done before, with
one popping up in the USA in June, which was matured in American Oak and
finished in virgin American Oak, priced at $99 and limited to 6,600 bottles.
It’ll be interest to see if a Cask of Dreams makes its way
to the exclusive market of South East London. Perhaps they’ll step up to the
local community and mature it in ex-Tennents casks...