Scotch Whisky Review: Hazelburn 2006 15 Year Old Oloroso

Let’s see how this compares with the 13-year old Oloroso I reviewed.

Hazelburn 2006 15 Year Old Oloroso / 54.2

Tasted neat

This Hazelburn was distilled at Springbank distillery in December 2006, and spent 15 years in “fresh” ex-Oloroso sherry casks before being bottled in April 2022 at a lovely 54.2% strength. There were 9,000 bottles (900 less than the 13 year old I reviewed previously) produced in this batch.

Springbank produces three main kinds of whisky, but Hazelburn, my favourite style, was started in 1997 and features air dried, non-peated grain triple distilled, and is just 10% of their output.

• Color: mahogany (1.6)
• Nose: crushed mint, cherries, stewed blue-black-berries, orange zest, cinnamon
• Taste: big, chewy sherry, cigar room ashtray, cracked leather, jasmine, cherry soda, and bubble gum
• Finish: long, winter spices mix with salted toffee; finally, orange and more mint

I have really nothing here to criticise except that Springbank literally cannot make enough of their whisky for us to get our hands on it. This is a top-tier dram!

Rating: 8/10