Swedish Whisky | Whisky Lady

Every once and a while, a completely unexpected treat joins our whisky tastings – the Sangelstain expression from Isle of Lime distillery was a perfect example!

You won’t find this in any duty-free or even in your reasonably well-stocked whisky store. So far, it is only available in Sweden’s Liquor stores – Systembolaget – and that too if you are lucky to catch a limited expression!

The Isle of Lime Distillery was established in 2012 in Gotland – an island on the far eastern part of Sweden. They use barley from local farms and produce five expressions -from unpeated (like the one we tried) to peated.

So what did we think?

Isle of Lime Sangelstain 46.3%

Nose – Delicious from the start! Really summery – warm and inviting. Fruity and fresh, amber perfume, vanilla sponge cake… as it opened up further the oak base became more prominent, topped by jasmine… over time it shifted with pine needles or spruce transporting us to a verdant forest
Palate – Fresh wood, spice…nice buttery mouthfeel, countered with green peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, cloves with orange rind and marmalade… this may sound Christmasy yet was still summery
Finish – Carried on with similar elements – equally pleasing… at one point we thought it was a bit nutty, another a hint of anise

As we sipped, the nose remained joyful…. it was enchanting summer dram prompting us to think of wandering in a fresh forest peppered with flowers.

This was exactly the kind of whisky to get one in the “mood” for an enjoyable evening… light, refreshing, inviting and far too enjoyable!

I came back to it and enjoyed its mellow character – yet with enough substance on the palate to keep it interesting. I’d happily like to explore more from this distillery.

What do the folks at Isle of Lime have to say about this expression? Rather a lot!

SANGELSTAIN – A SOLID TREASURE

On a remote field on the northern part of the limestone island Gotland, lies a hidden anomaly.
A large phonolite stone, transported by the hands of gods to this alien place far from its volcanic origin.
So this stone was worshipped for having extraordinary powers. And if you hit it with a stone, it sang. That’s how it got its name Sangelstain – Gotlandic for clinkstone. Pour this fifth edition of Isle of Lime, and listen to the clink of your glasses and let it resonate through your body as you toast a friend.
The sound of the Sangelstain belongs to this mild malt whisky, stored and matured in oak casks giving it a unique character.

For official tasting notes:

Colour – Deep Copper
Nose – Fruity, oily, prunes and thyme
Palate – Fresh jam, salty, lively with a little licorice
Finish – Medium long with a sweet, vinous and peppery mouthfeel

BARLEY AND CASKS
TYPE OF BARLEY: Propina Tipple ekologiskt odlat på Gotland
FARMS: Halner gård, Bro och Sigdes gård, Rone
MATLTING: Mältas på Sigdes gård i Rone, Gotland. Malten röks med torv under nio timmar
WATER: Gotlandic hard water
YEAST: Torr jäst för Maltwhisky. DistilaMax MW
CASKS: Bourbon barrel, American oak medium, American oak char. Sherry hogshead och Ungersk Ek
CASK SIZES: 96, 200 och 250 liters fat
CASK FILLING DATES: 2014-2015
BOTTLING: 2021 April

And if you are really a whisky geek? They even share the barrels used – Sangelstain!

Bottom line? We loved it and found it a perfect way to kick off our Scandi evening.

We continued with:

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Just what is up with these distinctive delicious whiskies from Sweden?

From Sweden, Spirit of Hven is a family owned distillery on the island of Hven, on the straight between Denmark and Sweden. Tycho’s Star is named as a tribute to a famous Hven islander – astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601).

Spirit of Hven Tycho’s Star 41.8%

Nose – Wow! Hickory bacon, leather, really nice on the nose, spice, apples, hickory wood, smoke, juniper, honey, vanilla, milk chocolate and mocha
Palate – Great very full mouthfeel, chewy yet not in the least bit harsh, some rich dark fruit, pepper, sweet cinnamon, toffee, nuts, delicious!
Finish – Bacony sweet, walnut bitter, with a soft herbal hickory tail on a revisit found chocolate orange zest

It was a pleasure to try this whisky. These days, we tend to find whiskies below 43% watery yet the ‘full’ character of Tycho’s Star gave the impression of a higher strength without the additional alcohol. That shared, none of us were tempted to add even a drop of water.

Comments included “This is like a full meal deal – big mac with fries!” and “I want to have this with steak” clearly reflecting its ‘meaty’ character and yet “It is somehow light in its heaviness.”

We also found it surprisingly well balanced and avoided the obvious ‘this is too young’ type whisky edges.

Don’t let the rich colour fool you into thinking there is caramel. Tycho’s Star is organic certified without carbon- or chill filtering, no colouring or additives.

Apparently this particular whisky is made from a mash bill of chocolate malt, heavy peated malt and pale ale – bringing together caramel chocolate, leather and grassy base notes.

And the casks? The casks are 58.20% heavy char Quercus Muehlenbergii from Missouri, 33.44% heavy toast Quercus Petraea from Allier and 8.36% medium toast Quercus Robur from Bourgogne. Pretty precise details from the distillery!

While our whisky lady contributor did not bring the case, there was mention of leather straps and we loved the dark wax drips down the beaker style bottle. So certainly got ‘thumbs up’ for packaging too!

While considered ‘entry level’ and absolutely in the affordable category (approx $55 for 50cl), this one certainly left us wanting to explore more!

What they have to say:

The whisky has dark, almost mystical notes of leather and liquorice, embraced by a round scent of ripe plums. All this is elevated and refreshed by fragrances of apple and elderflowers. Newly harvested hay and honeydew meadows give a soft finish.

What others have to say:

We are seriously starting to have a Swedish whisky fan club starting here in Mumbai! It helps that we have one Swedish whisky lady who can periodically feed our growing interest… can’t wait to see what she brings back from her latest trip.

Other whiskies sampled in September’s Whisky Ladies session included:

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