I walked into a whisky store in ’s-Hertogenbosch: De Koning, great chance you Dutchies know him already. And it was like entering a gold mine. Dusty bottles, discontinued bottles, bottles of forgotten ages, fresh new bottles, but what most stood out: a whole ‘cage’ of Springbank goodness.

I asked owner Rob if there was a Springbank-lover in the room, he smiled and said: “How did you notice?”. After I put a ‘95 GlenDronach Single Cask and a Glenlivet Nadurra 16 on the counter, I wanted to buy one more bottle, within a reasonable price range (my wife was with me, she keeps me focussed on not losing myself in buying everything I see). Rob told me to try this year’s bottling of Hazelburn 13yo Oloroso Cask Matured, and so it happened…

The Oloroso cask doesn’t overshadow the true triple distilled spirit, which is great. Hazelburn with another layer on top, beautifully integrated into one tasty whisky. I gave it a 90, which in my book stands for: one you should always have in stock. Have you tried it, or considering to?