Malt Mission 2009 #371

Mackmyra Special : 03
"Small Casks, Big Flavour"
Swedish Single Malt Whisky
48.2% abv
£57

Hi. Haven't seen you since mid-November. How are you? Where are you? I am good, thanks. I am working in south Florida and I am determined to get a few posts our about new/recent releases up starting with this little stunner from Sweden.

Matured in small, specially-made 30-liter casks of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and new Swedish oak, the Mackmyra Special:03 promises to be, as the press literature assures me, "what you have been looking for."

Oh, you flirty Swedes...

Speaking of, Swedish whisky lovers have a real love affair with their native single malt with only 10% of Mackmyra's production being exported. But there are plans to increase that number to 50%... perhaps as the Swedish honeymoon period ends?

So yes, they are getting closer to being available in the USA, American readers. Lars tells me "the plan is to have bottles in Manhattan stores before March 2010." First we take Manhattan, then we take... Boston?

For more Mackmyra info and to see all Mackmyra had on the mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Enticing mix of tar, vanilla, caramel and a fine fudge shop on the nose. Freshly baked bread, butterscotch, and juicy raisins. Increasingly complex with each nosing. Wood chips, pine, cinnamon, a chalky element, and a minty aroma in there as well. More, I am sure of it.

White grapes, sultanas, soy beans, and blueberries, all before a dollop of cream and jam. Full body with a luscious mouth feel and a nice bitter grip. Icing sugar, pear, and a driving oak that is simultaneously sweet and spicy. Balanced sweetness and great development sip after sip.

SUMMARY:

Great texture, very pleasant array of balanced flavours, all entirely quaffable even at 48.2% abv. There is certainly a gristy new make element to it, but that by no means works to this whisky's detriment. As much as the whisky geeks of the world stick to the attitude of "oh, the earlier editions were the best," I think I can say with confidence that this is my favourite Mackmyra yet. Truly individual, never jeopardizing the values of traditional whisky making but successfully displaying innovation and a realised vision of a new frontier for single malt whiskies. Excellent stuff.

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Malt Mission 2009 #364

Mackmyra Special '01
'Eminent Sherry'
Swedish SIngle Malt Whisky
51.6% abv
£80 (plus)

Not only a pioneer in Swedish whisky making but in whisky making across Europe, and indeed the world, the first Swedish whisky distillery spawned another in Spirit of Hven (2007) and inspired a look-alike bottle from Stauning in Denmark. But there are malt distilleries across mainland Europe, in France, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany...

And outside of Scotland, the best named distillery has got to be Gold Cock Distillery in Czech Republic. Become a friend of the Gold Cock today! Seriously.

In description of this 2008 limited release matured in ex-sherry barrels, the clean and easy to navigate Mackmyra website reads, "a cold winter's evening, crackling fire and good company to share the moment with. It is for moments this such as this that we have created Eminent Sherry. A taste that lasts a long time." As we all know, a long-lasting taste is only a positive feature so long as the taste is good.

For more distillery info and to see all Mackmyra had on the malt mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Cocoa, vanilla beans, chocolate brownies, celery salt, figs, and butterscotch. Gala apples emerge with teh addition of water, raisins, and a nice oaky creaminess throughout.

Raisin fruitiness, oak, and extremely drinkable at this higher strength. Water increases the fruity sweetness and the finish is woody and mineral-y.

SUMMARY:

Impressive, and although showing signs of youth there is nothing immature about it. A very tasty, interesting, and satisfying drop. Mackmyra continues to impress, but your pay for the privilege of proof.

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Malt Mission 2009 #363

Mackmyra 1st Edition
Swedish Single Malt Whisky
46.1% abv
£50
$85 (USD)

Mackmyra is a small success story from an adorable wee distillery 2 hours north of Stockholm and this is their "first edition", an expression that followed the experimental, popular, and critically acclaimed Preludium series.

Released in June 2008, Mackmyra First Edition is matured in a variety of casks: about 50% first-fill bourbon, 45% smaller 100-litre oak casks, and about 5% Swedish oak casks, all matured in a mine 50 metres underground.

For more distillery info or to see all Mackmyra had on Dr. Whisky's Malt Mission, click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Light estery fruitiness with dense vanilla overtones. Creamy, oaky, but youthful. Lemony labne. Some rose water, floral notes, and a persistent vanilla/custardy sweetness that is deeply appealing.

Sweet and light, peaches, watermelon rind, and lychee fruit. Some parsley and basil. Creamy on the palate as well, yogurty. Grainy with notes of granola or other cereals. Vanilla again, like waffle cones, in the finish.

SUMMARY:

A deLIGHTful treat. Sweet, light, aperitif style whisky with a solid oak backbone. Water reveals new make-y notes that implicates the whisky's age, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Spritely, estery, and exciting whisky from an increasingly exciting distillery.

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Malt Mission 2008 #240

Mackmyra Preludium 06
Svensk Whisky
50.5% abv
£40

We have had the Preludium 03 and 05 so far on the mission (Malt Mission #104 and Malt Mission #239) and today we will be having the newest release, not yet available in the UK, Mackmyra Preludium 06. The style of this release is "frisk svensk rök", fresh Swedish smoke. This is made from barley that has been dried over a juniper and peat fire, matured for 4 years in first fill bourbon casks and then mixed with spirit that has matured in small, 100-litre American oak casks. It is made up of spirit from the pilot distillery (1999-2002) and the contemporary one (2002-now). See their site for more.

This was released at Systembolaget in Sweden at the beginning of December and by all accounts it sold out in about two minutes. See this man's VIDEO of his attempt to find a bottle. All you need to understand is that 'slut' ("SLOOT") means finished/the end/sold out. When I have worked retail, all but one bottle of Mackmyra I sold was to Swedes. Seems Sweden is almost single handedly supporting Mackmyra. Amazing. 12,000 bottles, this release. (Was it all in Sweden?) That is national pride. And an obsessive enjoyment of barley spirit.

Big thanks to Lars for the samples (today and yesterday). Not sure what Mackmyra Preludium 06 will retail for in Britain so will change price once it hits shelves.

TASTING NOTES:

The now signature array of pine, gin/juniper, and dough comes off first with a cloud of Tube dust or stale smoke following. Perfumy like nailpolish, but some nice banana and ice cream sweetness all with a aura of smoke.

Lots of caramel and vanilla initially but upon swallowing the abv explodes with flavours of burnt wood, taste of the smell of (does one even need to say that?) pan toasted pepper and mustard seeds, and a really unexpected tinned fishiness. A bit of hummus earthiness, too. Salt. Finish brings us back into oaky territory with candied sweetness and vanilla tea, with a final breath of smoke.

SUMMARY:

Complex nose matched by a complex palate, though I think either age or marrying would allow the flavours to bind a bit better. Metallic taste surprised me but was kept in line with banana and vanilla. Like a teenager just figuring herself out, the attitude is erratic at best, the clothes don't necessarily match, and they don't necessarily match the individual. But still, she's a good kid and her family loves her. All in all I think it is the best Mackmyra I have yet had. The 02 (not tasted for mission) is probably second favourite. But this stuff needs to grow up and after letting us experience the adolescence of this promising new distillery, that maturity is something to be excited for.

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Malt Mission 2008 #239

Mackmyra Preludium 05
Svensk Whisky
48.4% abv
£40

Launched at Royal Mile Whiskies' excellent Whisky Fringe 2007 and sold out in just two days at Systembolaget in Sweden, this Mackmyra Preludium series has many whisky nerds rubbing their hands in anticipation of what's next from the young Mackmyra distillery. See Johan's first hand report of trying to get a bottle in Sweden at WhiskyGrotto HERE.

Each release in the series has a style theme. This one is "flavoursome small casks" meaning the spirit has been matured in specially made smaller volume oak barrels increasing wood contact.

The 06 was launched in Sweden in December and will be released in the UK in February. Dr. Whisky will get to taste it tomorrow. It will be the final entry in the Preludium series and after experiencing what the distillers have called a "foretaste" of the different styles of spirit produced at Mackmyra, we will soon see a mature, standard bottling. When? I have no idea.

For more info and all Mackmyra had on the mission click HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Outdoorsy, like a forest. Pinecones. Prickly, sappy. Sweetened with cookie dough and humid like musty towels. Slight sour notes too, like pickles.

Clean and oaky sweet, but only initially. Explodes with alcohol with youth apparent. Spicy with some vanilla, but very immature-tasting. Spirit impressions stick around.

SUMMARY:

Cannot be judged quickly. Changes immensely both with time in the glass and with water. Fiery, yes, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Water, however, does not help much as the core spirit remains youthful. This is best at full strength. I really enjoyed the nose, unique and interesting in its combinations of aromas. And they changed and developed as the whisky sat in the glass becoming more creamy, like skin lotion not dairy, cheap waxy chocolate, and more organic smells of green peas, celeriac, and oak. Look forward to the 06 tomorrow.

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Malt Mission 2007 #104

Mackmyra Preludium:03
Swedish Single Malt Whisky
52.2% abv
£42.50

Founded in 1999, Mackmyra was first a small scale (30 litre stills) 'test-run' distillery that ran experiments for a few years before going into full production at the full-scale (8000 litre stills) site in 2002. From these experiments came a variety of recipes, of which two are used today: one untainted by smoke, and one 'peated'. The first is from barley dried with just hot air, and the other dried with some peat or bog moss AND juniper tree twigs. Everything is sourced in Sweden, from the water to the barley to yeast to the juniper... Truly Scandi.

Like Glenora Distillery in Nova Scotia, Canada (producers of Glen Breton Rare Canadian Single Malt Whisky), Mackmyra has attracted some critical attention from the Scotch Whisky Association because the 'Mac' in their name might mislead customers into thinking it is Scottish. Right, well we have Glens in Canada, too, if the big maple leaf and word CANADIAN on the bottle don't do the trick [maybe Glenora should get on Macallan's back about the big maple leaf on their new Amber liqueur, someone might think Macallan is Canadian(?)]. And which part of Svensk Whisky are they afraid we won't understand? Enough about that...

The Preludium series uses casks from the early experimental days and from the current distillery, with different casks, different malted barley, different cask sizes, different maturing locations... a bunch of variables with which Eskil Tunberg and the rest of the team at Mackmyra Svensk Whisky can do with whatever they choose! And so far, the results have been wholly unique if not incredibly promising. They are therefore trying a few different styles with each expression in the series. The series will reach a total of 6 by the end of 2007. Prelumdium: 4 is already available from Royal Mile Whiskies. This sample was shared by the amazing Whisky Exchange

This stuff gets swept up by Swedes almost as soon as it hits shelves; one would think that Systembolaget (Sweden's State-run wine and spirit monopoly) gets a pretty miserable allocation. Mind you, the rest of us are doing a pretty good job of buying up the rest... Mackmyra Preludium 3 caused a buzz at Whisky Live in London and good things keep coming to, and from, this young distillery.

TASTING NOTES:

Young, hot nose, with sweet smoke, uncrushed peppercorns, lemon juice, and oak. Sappy new/living wood fires. Sour yeastiness emerges with time in the glass as well as some toffee.

Clay, big wood on the palate then an eruption of fresh tobacco and aromatic smoke, toasted oak. Heavy smokiness as well, with a soil-y swampiness and depth that eventually gives way to biscuits, vegetable oil, and a slow re-surfacing from the depths of the earth. Ginger. Sumac.Salt, lager/brewers yeast?, and yes, juniper.

SUMMARY:

Doesn't come easy, doesnt go out of its way to charm, but does begin to flirt with patience and attention. Will not be for everyone because while it is unique, it is not totally 'together', and the youth may repel some palates as well. Comparisons? 01 was light, young, fragrant and similar to a Scottish Lowlander, 02 was a spicy, more sherried Speysider, the 03 is some odd island style, Ledaliskapa Park 5yo.

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