Mackmyra – Iskristall

Its always great to get chance to try new whiskies and to do it in a place where there is no feeling of pretension or not knowing enough to be there. That’s why we love Weber and Trings’ tasting sessions. We would encourage anyone who either loves whisky, or wants to know more to get a ticket booked and drop in. They do loads of other sessions for lesser spirits too!! The last one that we had the pleasure of attending was a Mackmyra evening. We had tried a couple of drams from this unique Scandinavian distillery before, but were very keen to try all of there range at once.

Mackmyra is an interesting distillery, which was apparently established during an evening drinking whisky when the question was posed, “Would it be possible to create a Swedish Whisky?” Apparently, the answer is yes! The distillery was created in 1999 and is sited next to an esker, from which they take their water. They barrel in Swedish Oak, use Swedish barley and Swedish barley. Most of their spirit is housed and matured in barrel in a disused mine 50 meters below ground.

The first single malt, up for review is the Iskristall. This whisky is part of Mackmyra’s Seasonal range and is finished in PX Casks. PX stands for Pedro Ximenes, which is a sweet, pudding like sherry.

Cost: £50-60

Appearance: A light golden colour, which glints in the glass, like apple juice freshly poured from a carton.

Aroma: Orchard like, with sweetness of apples and raisin, then the darkness and spice of oak. There is also the sweetness of marshmallow.

Taste: Incredibly sweet and almost floral as it passes into the mouth. There are light, summery notes, which waft gently across the tongue and ready the mouth for what comes next. Here there are also the raisin notes that are found in nosing the dram, which remind of a deep, rich fruit cake.

As the dram develops, there is spice of nutmeg and cinnamon. This spice builds quickly and leaves heat, tingle and dryness on the tongue. However this spice is always given balance by a sweetness, which is floral and light. This part of the whisky is calmer than you would expect and has an unctuous quality.

The final notes are ever mellowing pepper combined with the returning sweetness. As the mouth attempts to readjust from the spice and it prepares itself for more, there is a building vanilla and there is zest of lemon. The longest lasting flavour however is oak.

Mouthfeel: Rich, sweet and spicy.

Overall: This might be the whisky that changes my mind about sherry. I have to say that up until now I have not been a hug fan of anything that claims to be sherried. This might be due to a lack of understanding of sherry, but also there is something about overly sweet whisky that just doesn’t float my boat. This spirit however is light, sweet and spicy. I would recommend it as a dram to change your mind, but I would also recommend getting the chance to try a PX sherry. Which by the way you can do at Red Light, Bristol.

Real Dram Factor: 7.5

More Information: Mackmyra Website

Purchased: Weber and Trings

Buy Online: Mackmyra Iskristall Single Malt Whisky