House of Hazelwood has enhanced its reputation for highly-age and rare whiskies at reasonable prices with a £950 ($1,200) bottle.
The new bottle, named Calm Waters, is a 34-year-old blended malt Scotch whisky and sits in the brand’s Legacy Collection. That’s the more accessible of its two collections, with its rarest and most expensive expressions going into the Charles Gordon Collection.
While this new release is the most accessible of its accessible whiskies, it doesn’t skimp on the principles that set House of Hazelwood apart. It’s limited to just 297 bottles, bottled at cask strength, and is crafted from a mixture of first-fill and refill sherry butts.
A heavily sherried Speyside, aged for over 30 years, is exactly the kind of decadent dram that can set you back thousands – just ask purveyors of The Macallan’s 30 Year Old Sherry Oak, which stands at $5,000 a bottle.
We haven’t tried Calm Waters at the time of writing, but we’re willing to bet it doesn’t have the same easy-drinking elegance as The Macallan. Instead, this cask-strength expression (52.1% ABV) looks intensely rich and flavorful. Its color is darker than the oak staves it was extracted from, hinting at heavy influence from both sherry and wood.
Official tasting notes suggest the same, describing it as “Full-bodied and richly textured, delivering weight and intensity.” Other notes from the official release include treacle toffee, licorice, and fennel.
So this is not a call for anyone to switch from their usual dram on account of price. While Calm Waters may look like a similar product on paper (age, style, provenance), it will be a completely different drinking experience. Instead, this will be perfect for those accustomed to fully matured cask-strength Scotch. And it is those same people who will see this for the potential bargain that it is.
Jonathan Gibson, managing director, said: “Calm Waters is a perfect reflection of the quiet strength that defines so many of the whiskies within our inventory — a spirit that evolves gently yet reveals remarkable depth over time. It is a testament to both the character of Speyside malts and the enduring philosophy that whisky is ready only when it’s ready.”
Of course, the proof will be in the tasting, and we’ll be sampling Calm Waters later this month. We’ll let you know what we think as soon as we do.
