Hopkins Reserve from Speyburn was created as a tribute to John Hopkins, founder of the distillery. The single malt was aged in American oak bourbon casks which had also previously held peated whisky, imparting a subtle smokiness. The whisky endeavours to celebrate all things Speyside, and has been made using fresh spring water from the Granty Burn. The one litre bottle was released for the Travel Retail market.
Very subtle aromas of peat smoke tease out candied citrus fruit, with sweet butterscotch, vanilla and baking spice.
Fruity and sweet, with crisp toffee apple, cereal notes and lemon peel underpinned by a gentle smokiness.
Citrus zest and subtle hints of spice linger on the finish.
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Upon opening, there is sweetness, zest and (somehow) maritime influence like kippers. Three weeks after opening, the nose and flavour started to shift to something sweeter with subtler zest and smoke. Kind of like Hakushu 12, but more raw and fiery. Overall, a great dram taking into account the price and its presentation.
An underrated NAS SMW, pour a glass and lay it for 10 mins, start to smell the very nice aroma and bit sweet, although with a 46% abv, the taste is not very strong but rather smooth. Highly recommended an after meal dram.
Simply lovely. An excellent after dinner dram.
Surprised how good this was, to be honest. A litre of 46%, non-chillfiltered speyside for under £35 - a bargain. And very tasty, too. My friends at a climbing weekend couldn't believe what I was telling them. All gone - so I had to buy another.
