Mackmyra Whisky

Back in December, we had a sample of Mackmyra Brukswhisky in our Whisky Advent Calendar from Drinks by the Dram. It’s a Swedish whisky, and it was delightful. Since then I’ve been wanting to check out some of their other expressions. I finally purchased five different samples, and last night’s wind/rain/hail storm seemed like the perfect excuse to stay inside and taste some Swedish whisky. (No, I don’t really need an excuse, but it felt like the appropriate ambience.) 🙂

Mackmyra First Edition

Single Malt (Sweden) 46.1% ABV

Nose: Sweet, fruity, light oak, citrus.

Palate: Bit sharp, little spice. Zingy with citrus. Not as sweet as expected. Tart without being sour. Long finish.

Notes: Overall, very bright, like mid-summer sunlight…that hurts your eyes just a bit if you don’t have sunglasses on.

Mackmyra Moment – Morgondagg (Morning Dew)

Single Malt (Sweden) 51.1% ABV

Nose: Sweet, butterscotch pudding. Love the nose on this one.

Palate: Unexpected! Waves of flavors that aren’t easily identifiable. Little sharp up front with alcohol, but not bad. Momentarily reminds me of a bourbon (perhaps the American oak barrels that it’s matured in?) Bit oaky and spicy. Spice lingers on a long finish. Water smoothes it out nicely.

Notes: Very intriguing malt.

Mackmyra Moment – Mareld (Bioluminescence, Fire of the Sea)

Single Malt (Sweden) 52.2% ABV

Nose: Bright yet smoky. Slightly medicinal, but with some fruitiness.

Palate: Medicinal and smoky that hits you – reminds me of a Laphroaig in a way. Little bit of water brings out some sweetness and mellows it out a bit.

Notes: Shockingly drinkable for its alcohol content.

Mackmyra Moment – Bärnsten (Amber)

Single Malt (Sweden) 49.8% ABV

Nose: Dark berries without being too sweet. Bit oaky, with a touch of vanilla.

Palate: Warming, dark berries with a puff of smoke at the back. Hint of tannin?

Notes: This whisky is matured in a “a mixture of Swedish oak casks, cloudberry wine casks and French Bordeaux casks.” I feel like that comes through quite clearly, and that maturation makes it richer than the other expressions, but nicely balanced.

Mackmyra Svensk Rök (Swedish Smoke)

Single Malt (Sweden) 46.1% ABV

Nose: Subtle nose – smoky vanilla. Hint of juniper that disappears quickly.

Palate: Approachable smokiness. Vanilla. Warming without spice. Long finish with some oak.

Notes: Not as dynamic as the others, but very pleasant nonetheless!

It was fun to do a side by side tasting of different expressions from the same distillery. On Master of Malt, they say “Two styles of whisky are produced by Mackmyra, a ‘peaty’ malt created using bog moss and juniper wood as well as a fruitier, unpeated style.” We were able to try both styles (peated and unpeated), and sampling five different drams from Mackmyra allowed us to catch some nuances between the offerings that we may have missed otherwise since the real differences are illustrated in the unique casks used in the maturation. Overall, I really enjoyed the Mackmyra drams. They were refreshingly bright, dynamic and interesting, and surprisingly easy to drink considering their high ABV.

A wonderful way to spend a Tuesday evening! 🙂