I continue my quest to review the oldst releases from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. Today I review Mackmyra Preludium:04 – Gruvlagrad Elegans (‘gruvlagrad’ = stored in a mine, ‘elegans’ means elegance). This whisky was vatted from spirit distilled both at the initial pilot distillery (1999-2002) and from the first proper distillery at Mackmyra. It was bottled on 2007-04-11.
The Mackmyra Preludium:04 – Gruvlagrad Elegans was mainly matured in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks. A number of ex-champagne casks and ex-sherry casks were also used in the vatting. The casks were stored in the Bodås mine, 50 meters below ground.
You can actually still buy this whisky at Systembolaget in Sweden, at the incredible price of SEK 4997 (8640302)!
Nose: (20/25): Vanilla mixed with young-ish spices. Medium oakiness, and a touch of cereal. The fruits detected include baked apples and ripe banana. There’s a touch of alcohol and perfume in the back.
Taste: (17/25): Very soft and elegant mouthfeel. To taste it is quite spicy, and the perfume comes through a lot heavier now than on the nose.
Finish: (17/25): Soft spices now, mixed with heather honey. The sweetness is thick and pleasant. The perfume gives way to peppermint, eucalyptus and fresh oak notes. The herbal touch is a bit heavy-handed.
Balance: (18/25): Quite good, I would say. A bit too much perfume, and a bit raw, but considering what this actually is, I am moderately impressed.
