Episode 1: High Coast Berg, 50% ABV, UCF, natural colour, Bourbon & Pedro Ximenez Casks
If you ‘re a regular visitor here (thank you; by the way!), you’ll probably know I’m a Scotch single malt enthusiast first and foremost. It’s what I tend to buy the most and it’s usually also what floats my boat. I’ve enjoyed and indulged in Irish, English, Indian, German, Swedish, Belgian… whiskies, while there are also American whiskies and bourbons out there that I think are absolutely killing it, and on one occasion I got to try an African whisky that's using elephant dung in the kilning process.
But… Scotch in all its shapes, forms, styles and flavour profiles is where I’m ‘at’. I’d say some 80-85% of what’s in my cabinet bears the words ‘Scotch single malt whisky’ on the label. There are, however, reasons a plenty to step out of the comfort zone once in a while to see what’s out there besides my go to stuff.
For starters, variation is the sauce of life and I dread the idea of getting stuck in tunnel vision where it’s Scotch and only scotch left, right and centre. Even with literally thousands of different whiskies to choose from all coming from Scotland, I think it’s refreshing trying something different on occasion, if only to re-establish my preference for it. Or will it? What may have been a contest done and dusted even before the start a decade or two ago, has definitely become a whole lot more interesting in recent years. ‘The rising tide lifts all the ships’, and across the world a whole lot of ships are being build and put to water these days. In fact, it’s a bit of a ship frenzy at the moment. Now obviously, not all new players out there will pass the test of time, and likely quite a few of those hastily built boats won’t even survive as much as a mild breeze as they’re mostly about getting their hands on a few crumbles or small pieces of the big fat whisky pie. So for the month of June, I’ll be rummaging through my big stack of samples, picking out whiskies from 4 different European distilleries. Some you’ll probably have heard off, some are likely as obscure to you as they were, until recently, to me.
Secondly, it doesn’t hurt to try to stay more or less up to date with what’s going on outside of Scotland. Brexit has been a downright pain in the ass, truth be told, and with the war waging at the eastern borders of the EU, the future looks uncertain. Energy prices are skyrocketing at the moment, and in the aftermath prices of other resources like grain may well follow. Ukraine is a massive export country of basic resources and commodities, or rather was, as they are relying heavily on their ports to get these goods shipped to international markets. So with Brexit complicating things on the one hand, and an uncertain economy on the other, whilst adding to that an increasing demand for whisky internationally, it doesn’t bode well when it comes to the affordability and availability of (Scotch) whisky. Knowing there might be worthy alternatives out there, perhaps even close to you, might help to swallow the bitter pill.
I’m probably getting ahead of myself here a bit, as trying to see if there’s anyone out there who can give the Scotch a run for their money is the theme for this month’s series, but I do feel today’s ‘contender’ might just be able to make a strong case for those trying to lay a claim to the Scottish throne.
High Coast markets itself as one of the most Northern distilleries out there. To my knowledge, they are indeed Sweden’s second most northern distillery, so that would probably put them straight in the top 10 of the most northern distilleries in the world.
High Coast, founded in 2014, was until 4 or so years ago known as Box whisky, because the distillery was built in a former box producing factory. To avoid possible confusion with the Compass Box brand, they looked to switch their name, and I have to say I do feel the new name, again inspired by their location, only this time in a more geographical manner, is an improvement. ‘Box’ may have been an obvious choice, but naming yourself after a carboard container doesn’t exactly scream ‘interesting’ in my honest opinion. Whereas ‘High Coast’ definitely sounds more lively and adventurous. Anyhow…
Nose
Rhubarb and red fruit tea, vanilla, honey and syrup going into cough medicine. Herbaceous and herbal with notes of parsley, sage and thyme. The sherry casks chip in with notes of cherries, coffee & coffee beans, raspberry coulis and demerara sugar. This is said to be some 5 to 6 years old. This shows as there is a freshness and youthfulness to it, while you can also tell the quality of the casks is there as this is a very expressive nose indeed.
Palate
Soft bitterness on the arrival. Peppery and a bit prickly (the 50% ABV?) on a dry, medium-full body. Some salinity and treacle, and overall a bit closed. A drop of water makes a difference! Dried red fruits (plums, prunes and figs) and an increasing salinity/maritime note now with some dark chocolate and coffee in there as well. Less versatile compared to the nose, but still decent stuff.
Finish
Not very long, with a bit of bitterness going in a dry and salty echo.
Final thoughts
Maybe the nose was writing out checks the palate couldn’t all cash here, as this lacks a bit of maturity. The quality of the casks is there, but while they added flavor, they didn’t do enough in terms of depth imo. Maybe that’s down to a short finishing time, maybe that’s down to the location of the distillery – they are really quite close to the Arctic - perhaps it’s a bit of both. So overall this is a nice, albeit a slightly under matured whisky. Retailing at around €40-€50 seems pretty decent, although I did notice some of their new recent releases come in 50 cl bottles – naughty naughty! Having said all that: this is the 4th High Coast expression I’ve tried, and all have been quite decent. There’s character, flavour, quality and buckets of potential here, so I’m confident that over time they will be able to release some excellent whisky. Take note Scotland: the Wikings are coming. Again!
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