Islands

Single Cask Nation – Stones of Stenness 13 Year

Posted onAuthorMike Lawrence

Single Cask Nation partnered with Hello From The Magic Tavern recently to release a new SCN member exclusive bottle. The bottle comes from an undisclosed Orkney distillery, which leaves Scapa or Highland Park; if I were to hazard a guess, this dram taste much more like the Highland Park house style than Scapa.

Distilled in 2004, the whisky was matured in a 2nd Fill PX Sherry hogshead until 2018, where 294 bottles were filled at a cask strength 57.4%. While the tasting notes on the side of the bottle suggest this is a smokey dram, I barely detected any smoke. In fact, if we’re going along with the belief this is a Highland Park, it tastes much more like the newer releases where the sherry influence dominates the notes of light Orcadian smoke of earlier bottling’s.

BOTTLE INFO

Distiller: Undisclosed
Region: Islands
ABV: 57.4%
Outturn: 294 Bottles
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask Type: 2nd Fill PX Sherry Hogshead
Age: 13 Years
Chill Filtered: No
Color Added: No
Color: Mahogany

TASTING NOTES

Glass for Review: Spiegelau Nosing Glass
Nose: Raspberry dark chocolate, plum and currants are pronounced on the nose. There’s a slight twinge of cereals, treacle and honey, along with stewed fruits. The nose is fairly light, but pleasant and opens up as it reacts with the air.
Palate: The mouthfeel on this dram is wonderful – chewy and oily. The sherry influence comes out in the palate with more fruity notes – plums, currants, sweet dates intertwined with fudge notes. Mid-palate brings out some more cereal and then earthy notes with, slight oak and cinnamon spice, accompanied by brown sugar and nutmeg. This dram makes you salivate as you enjoy it on the palate for a moment.
Finish: A long lasting finish, full of mashed plum, and blackberries. The spice from the palate is less pronounced, but not absent. As the finish evolves it becomes slightly feinty, with some leather and tobacco leaf notes fading in. After while, you pick up some slight mineral notes on your palate.
Overall: While the distillery for this bottle is undisclosed, it reminds me more recent Highland Park house style – very similar to some of the bottles from the HP Single Cask series where the smoke is less noticeable and the sherry influence takes over. The dram is full of fruits and chocolate and quite an easy drinking dram, that makes you salivate for more.

Average Price: $135 – SOLD OUT

Single Cask Nation partnered with Hello From The Magic Tavern recently to release a new SCN member exclusive bottle. The bottle comes from an undisclosed Orkney distillery, which leaves Scapa or Highland Park; if I were to hazard a guess, this dram taste much more like the Highland Park house style than Scapa. Distilled in 2004, the whisky was matured in a 2nd Fill PX Sherry hogshead until 2018, where 294 bottles were filled at a cask strength 57.4%. While the tasting notes on the side of the bottle suggest this is a smokey dram, I barely detected any smoke.…
While the distillery for this bottle is undisclosed, it reminds me more recent Highland Park house style - very similar to some of the bottles from the HP Single Cask series where the smoke is less noticeable and the sherry influence takes over. The dram is full of fruits and chocolate and quite an easy drinking dram. that makes you salivate for more.

Single Cask Nation Stones of Stenness 13 Year - 57.4% ABV

Nose - 8.4
Palate - 8.8
Finish - 8.8
Overall - 8.4

8.6

While the distillery for this bottle is undisclosed, it reminds me more recent Highland Park house style - very similar to some of the bottles from the HP Single Cask series where the smoke is less noticeable and the sherry influence takes over. The dram is full of fruits and chocolate and quite an easy drinking dram. that makes you salivate for more.