Mackmyra are a Swedish whisky company, who have been making whisky for nearly twenty years now. They have always been a fiercely independent producer, who pride themselves on creating interesting flavours that utilise local Scandinavian ingredients within the whisky production process. This means that they create whisky that can split a audience, some will love and here at The Real Dram, at least one of us falls into that category.
Gruvguld, which roughly translated means “Gold of the Mine” is part of their Moments collection, which are limited edition whiskies that are created to explore a different flavour or aspect of the production process. This one was created to celebrate all the staff at the distillery who have worked hard from day one. The rumour is that they were sent down to the mine storage area and told to find casks that they love, so that Angela (The Head Distiller) could use them to create a whisky that they would love. It is made by blending a variety of different whiskies that have all been stored in small 30 litre casks at the distillery, most that contained the company’s elegant (unpeated) spirit. Although there are some influences of PX, Oloroso Sherry and Peated spirit in this whisky too.
Price: £40 – 60 (currently not released in the UK, but available in Germany and France)
ABV: 46.1%
Appearance: Deep, rich reddish orange.
Aroma: Vanilla, Sherbert and Caramel Apples
Taste: This whisky begins just as its aroma would suggest, with a vanilla custard flavour, thick, sweet and creamy.
As it opens out there is sherried fruit, dried apricots, toasted tea loaf spices, with a tiny amount of smoke wisping across the background of the flavour profile.
As the dram plays out, there is a warming oak spicing, with a meaty biltong or fruited venison flavour, which rises and falls away.
Mouthfeel: Light, easy to drink, but complex, so that each mouthful brings different flavours.
Overall: I have in the past been guilty of dismissing Mackmyra’s whisky as too light, or lacking in complexity, but I think this was more built on unthinking prejudice than on reality. Their whisky tends to have a house style that seems to be unlike any other whisky that I have tried, it is light, floral and sweet. This house style is present in Gruvguld, but here there are also many other dynamic flavours that appear on different sips, twisting together to create a fantastically interesting whisky. There is the meaty note, which I presume comes from the sherry influence was something that really peaked my interest add to that the light smoke influence from the small percentage of peated spirit in the dram and you almost have something for everyone to enjoy.
Real Dram Factor: 7.6
Source: We enjoyed this Mackmyra whisky at a Whisky Bristol tasting event.
More Information: http://mackmyra.com/gruvguld/
Buy: Chat to your local bottle shop and get them to reserve you a bottle, or head to Maison Du Whisky to import one yourself.