Mackmyra Preludium:01 – De första dropparna, 3 YO, 55,6 %
Finally I have gotten my hands on the very first official release from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Preludium:01 – De första dropparna (‘The First Drops’) is made up from whisky distilled at their first pilot distillery (1999-2002) and de very first casks of whisky distilled at their first real distillery; Mackmyra Bruk.
The whisky is 3 years old, and bottled 2006-02-07. This was a limited release of 4000 numbered bottles.
This whisky sold out very quickly when it was released. Being the first (modern) Swedish single malt to be released, the interest was huge. Despite this, you can still find a few bottles online. For instance I saw one here at GBP 495!
Nose: (19/25): A bit shy on the nose. Notes of oak and tropical fruit appear first, along with vanilla. It does seem a bit young-ish at first, but there are no off-notes here. I am starting to wonder why the Preludium series from Mackmyra got so much negative reviews. Let’s dive deeper and find out… With time the nose turns a little bit perfumy. Wet sawdust. Pineapple and lemons. Red berries in the next room.
Taste: (17/25): Smooth and spicy. Quite spicy, in fact. Pepper, chili, acetone (yeah, that was not a plus), and perfume.
Finish: (14/25): Relatively short finish. The only lingering taste is that of cheap perfume mixed with harsh, bitter and stale wood notes. It is not just off balance, it has fallen flat and cannot get up. Oops.
Balance: (16/25): OK, the nose was pretty promising, but the finish really killed it. Still very exciting to finally have had a chance to try it properly. I also think it is very commendable of Mackmyra to invite its fans to follow their journey like this. This is naked, raw, and uncompromising. They never tried to sell this as the perfect whisky. They merely wanted to let us all know what was in the works. Kudos!
