Fettercairn Warehouse 2 Batch No. 004

Warehouse 2 is a dunnage warehouse at Fettercairn that's home to some of the distillery's oldest casks, as well as some more experimental ones, with the latter utilised in creative ways for this range. While previous batches had fun with vasyma sherry, rye, rum and French wine casks, this fourth batch makes use of wire-brushed and recharred Hungarian oak German Pinot Noir casks! And yet, skilled whisky maker Gregg Glass used these Hungarian oak casks for just 6% of the total recipe here, with first-fill (74%) and second-fill (20%) ex-bourbon casks making up the majority. Nonetheless, they appear to contribute some red fruit and tannins, which combined with comparatively younger spirit than their core range (it's a 2014 vintage, although some older liquid has also been used) puts us partly in mind of an older style of Fettercairn. Balancing fruit and baking spice sweetness keeps everything in order, however.~ Master of Malt