Hazelburn 15 Year-Old Oloroso Cask:  

Still have a little of m 2017 13 left. Wonderful bottle.

Cheers buddy. I wish the ardbeg special releases weren't so hit and miss and increasingly expensive. Mike and I have just decided to stop reviewing them until we hear they're consistently getting better again. Still love their core...maybe minus that 5 year. Sorry just not my thing.

Yep, it’s that good.

It's getting more difficult every year for us to get Springbank.I have people in seven states actively looking for me. Good new is most of the Springbank.hazelburn/Longrow releases have been quite good so at least the whisky isn't disappointing. This isn't Lagavulin or Ardbeg. ;)

Sounds like bourbon in Kentucky. For some reason the home market always gets screwed. That said...240 for this is something I know many shrewd buyers are doing after tasting it. But I'd certainly have wanted a taste before spending that on a 15 year!

@@topshelfdustin3060 The original retail price was £75. I would never consider paying double that. Having said that, I am actually seeing £150 bottlings for 15 year stuff by the Independents probably nowhere near as good as this.

@@welshtoro3256 was nearly 180 here and with exchange rates, 150 is about our retail. And yeah, IB's are really quickly losing their "value" more and more. Near CS and first fill sherry casks, 10 a year is a great value these days. I was paying 10 a year for Cadenhead's that used pretty tired casks a few years ago.

I swear Canada is even worst, here in Onterrible Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn strictly forbidden, No Glendronach 15 or 18 or 21 in about 4 yrs, no Laphroaig cask strength ever etc etc Even in other provinces that used to be good supplies are super limited and anything desirable is gone before you can say Jackie Robinson, and prices have gone up sky high as well. At least in the UK you can get Laphroaig Lore for about $110 Canadian, try $225 here if you can get it. Word has it Prohibition is coming, that'll learn us.

A pleasant surprise in today’s market.

I was lucky to get one, but would’ve preferred at least one backup. These just keep getting harder to get. Cheers

We have been noticing the 700ml thing too. It's all going to that I'm guessing. And why not, they can get away with it. BA 10.1 good ? Have you tried 4.1?

@@topshelfwhisky I have had a bottle of 4.1, 5.1, and 7.1 and tried other ones before but this new one is simply out of this world. I just checked WhiskyBase too and it seems everyone is impressed. If you can get it from UK, it’s a good value too for a 29 year old whisky

@@Houman7 That's good to hear, thank you... 4.1 and 7.1 were my favorites. So you would know.

There have been shortages of glass bottles and even label glue, homogenizing everything to the UK bottling size likely makes everything easier for them. On top of the pour they're saving on every bottle

that's the spirit

It was a surprise even for this distillery. Springbank did a great job in 2022

This one was shockingly good

Nice! Let me know what you think.

@@topshelfwhisky will do - also got the Longrow red Tawny port - look forward to both!

Oh that sounds lovely. I have an 11 year single cask ex bourbon. I must say this 15 HB does seem to have some peat notes as well.

Dustin was able to find two, we are looking for more. Pick this up if you can.

@@topshelfwhisky I was offered 2 on release but only opted for one bottle ☹️

not sure where you can still get these, I know a few places had it for low 300's not long ago. The 14 was a really different beast than this one. Much more oak, not nearly as rich and didn't have that slightly nutty note. This one really punched at that next level.

The 14 year-old was solid but this one has a little something extra.

This has been my favorite version, worth tracking down and buying backups.

Have to move fast! What did you pick them up for?

of course for drinking!

The amount of her stuff I passed on at liquor stores still haunts me today

@@topshelfwhisky I agree, but we didn't know.

It’s a masterpiece. So well constructed

We got 120 bottles of the KK15 oloroso a few years back. I may have bought 3 of the 120 :)

Ah great breakfast I remember although I would take the 31 year ex boubon Springbank any day.

What does that run at the distillery?

@@topshelfwhisky It was part of the Barley to Bottle day (£250) which includes three drams, lunch, a full bottle of cask strength 15-17 year and a tour.

@@topshelfwhisky See the menu here...www.springbank.scot/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/The-Washback-Bar-Menu-Nov-2022-2.pdf

@@WhiskyMystery washback bar… that’s a great name.

I brought the 2020 13 year version of this. This one is a nice step up from that. The extra 2 years and a few percentage points of ABV really added something here.

15, not even a debate. The 14 had a lot more oak without the same depth and the added abv on the 15 was huge for the mouth feel. Should have the longrow review out soon ;)

I echo Dustin's thoughts. Its has been a good year for Springbank.

@@topshelfdustin3060 Thanks for the reply guys, I loved the Hazelburn 14, but didn't get much of it due to sharing with friends (not that I regret it). Sounds like it's time to secure a couple of these 15's.

Wow hell of a question. So the glendronach 21's smoke comes from using coal in their distillation process (that' going away sadly). So this isn't PX like the 21 so it's a drier sherry. Meanwhile vs the Kavalan, that's a super sweat base malt while hazelburn is more earthy. I'd generally say the kavalan's can be better but it's a single cask. I'd take this over the glendronach 21 without a pause. But this is more earthy than either.

So if you are considering the price a kavalan solist has the better value. In my market i got some hazelburn 15s for 199€ to 219€ and the glendronach 21 (2021 and 2022 version) in the same price range. For the base kavalan solists (olorosso sherry, vinho barrique and port) i payed roughly between 105€ and 119€ each. I consider these really the best of the best non peated whisky for me at a price i am still willing to pay. As you said they all are quite different in their profile with just some similarities but all outstanding for me. I didn't get the chance to try the premium solist line of kavalan yet, but they are also a step higher in price and not sure yet if i want to make that step.@@topshelfdustin3060

@@Dai240888RU-vid decided to filter a bunch of comments, so apologies for the slow response. If your prices are like that, Kavalan all day. I'd I'd say it's worth a splurge when/if you can for one of the premiums. I can't say they're better than the sherry soloist but they're good stuff and something different.

@@topshelfdustin3060 no need to apologize. I am grateful for your reply regardless. Maybe in the far future i will splurge for them as well then 😆

@@Dai240888 we see them on sale time to time here. so that has helped us get them

It might make you seem like a jerk for stocking up since it's rare....but I would :)

Absolutely

Heavy cask influence for sure on this one.

I can get why you'd not want this much sherry. For me this is just my favorite sherry casks from springbank, so I'll forgive it!

I trust you Stefan. Too much sherry for us I think but sounds great for that profile.

@@WhiskyMystery I wouldn't have recommended it strongly for you phil, but I still think you'd get a kick out of it.

@@topshelfdustin3060 Would like to try it at least.