Whisky Discovery #139

Mackmyra First Edition (46.1% abv OB)
Swedish Single Malt
Circa £40.00 70cl

My first Swedish whisky - Mackmyra First Edition

The final dram of my first Skype tasting (we could only manage five of the ten drams during our two hour tasting) and the whisky I was most looking forward to.

Mackmyra Whisky is from a Swedish whisky distillery founded in 1999 by eight classmates from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The new distillery is situated at the old Mackmyra Bruk facilities, in buildings that have been declared landmarks, and therefore only a minimum of additions and reconstructions to the buildings have been done.

During the days of the pilot distillery, more than 150 different recipes were tried, with variations made in barley sorts, smoke fuel, and yeast brands. The product from this time, some 3,000 liters, is now stored in about 50 barrels in a small cool warehouse. The barrels typically range in size from 30 to 100 liters, although they vary in size, the smallest contains less than 2 liters. The materials of the barrels also vary, as the majority are made from fresh Swedish oak, some are remade bourbon barrels and a few are used sherry barrels. The commercial distillery went on stream in October 2002.

Around 5% amount of the spirit for the First Edition is matured in 100 litre casks which allow a very fast maturation. These new Swedish oak casks, made ​​of oak that was planted on Visingsö to be used to build warships 160 years ago. The majority of the spirit is matured in first-fill bourbon casks. The casks are stored in Bodas mining stocks, 50 feet into the bedrock.

The First Edition has been bottled at 46.1% abv and is naturally coloured and non chill-filtered.

So what did I think?

Well it certainly exceeded my expectations, and for me was the highlight of the three new experiences of the evening. A light golden colour in the glass, the nose is delisiously fruity with apples and pears. There are citrus notes and sweet honey, toffee, vanilla and a spiciness that might be coming from the Swedish Oak? In the mouth it is light and soft, fruity with the sweet honey and a light oaky spice to it. The finish is fairly short, light and sweet. I will have to seek out more of this, and if I never had a reason to visit Stockholm before I have now.