Hazelburn Cage Bottle RB, HHS

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEWA genuine collector's rarity — this is one of Springbank's Duty Paid Samples, the wire-caged bottles sold exclusively at the distillery itself, limited to one bottle per person per week. Single cask, single bottle, unpeated Hazelburn barely out of its teens. These practically never make it beyond Campbeltown, let alone onto a shop shelf. TASTING NOTESGreen apple, pear drop, a waxy citrus edge, honeyed cereal underneath — young, vibrant, refill wood keeping things bright rather than heavy. Vanilla and malt biscuit build with air, a touch of gooseberry, hessian sack, cask giving structure without smothering the spirit. Palate hot and lively at first, settles into stewed apple, barley sugar, ginger nip, a saline thread running through. Oily, properly full-bodied for something this age. Finish clean, citrus and malt lingering, a whisper of dunnage must right at the end. Fascinating to taste Hazelburn this young, this raw — a real snapshot of the spirit before time got involved. Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass — this is a piece of distillery history as much as a dram, so take your time with it.