A combination of three virgin American oak barrels that were hand-selected by master distiller Mikko Mykkänen. Made using only the best Finnish malted rye and barley. It is distilled by hand.
Appearance: Honey gold, early evening sunset. A bearded tide mark forms after a few swirls, above a corrugated semi-viscous film, consisting of many medium/thick legs. A good start!
Nose: When first poured the nose is quite a harsh experience. After a few minutes in the glass and some oxygen, however, it mellows.
Honey, vanilla, Blu-Tak/plasticine, cereal and some vegetal notes.
There are some faint aromas of dark fruits and citrus too.
Palate: A fairly thin mouthfeel. Quite a bit of spice in the form of black pepper, cinnamon, aniseed, and barrel char meet the taste buds first.
The cereal notes come through soon after. Honey Nut cornflakes, bitter orange and a touch of eucalyptus.
The vegetal, and now more botanical (more leaf and berry than whole plants) notes now emerge. There’s a creamy side to the flavour, quite dairy’esque.
Finish: The honey, black pepper, aniseed and liquorice last for a medium amount of time. The bitter orange also holds on for a while.
Overall: I bought this bottle on a whim at the airport on the way back from Lapland. I’m not disappointed, it’s not amazing but it is a decent drop and an easy sipper.
