The second whisky tried last week was the first of two new bottles which has been recently released. The Family Collection is the start of a new ongoing annual series which will hightlight a single flavour profile. This is similar to the core expressions I mentioned in the last review but the runs will be small one off batches and if the first set is anything to go on a lot of first fill casks are going to be used.

The Dram

Released in 2017 with only 4600 bottles available after 15 first-fill ex-bourbon barrels were emptied. The barrels come from two different distilleries in the Speyside region but there is no information on who they are or how long the whisky was matured in their barrels.

The Vanilla Burst is released without any artificial colouring or chill-filtration and at a bottling strength of 46%. The price in the UK is £46.75 but bottles look to be selling fast.

Tasting Notes

Colour – Yellow straw

Nose – fresh and crisp with green slightly under ripe apples and pears. This moves more exotic with passionfruit and yes there is vanilla here to.

Palate – The texture is luxurious and thick. Very creamy with caramel sauce, butterscotch and chocolate caramel wafer biscuits.

Finish – Nicely honeyed vanilla ice cream, a little ginger and cinnamon dustings.

Final Thoughts

There is a marked step up in quality between this dram and the Spice King we previously tried. This is nicely rounded and has reasonable depth and interest to it from the use of only one single cask type. Dalmore take note!