The finish is on the short side, especially once the sweet and fruity elements fade. A slight bitter and metallic edge appears and this lingers on alongside some delicate baking spices and a faint vegetal note. I’m often asked by my non-whisky friends why I visit so many distilleries. Surely, they say “….they’re all exactly the same, haven’t you seen it all many times before?”. Well, in technical sense yes – water, barley and yeast = whisky – and the processes of mashing, fermentation and distillation are common across all distilleries in their essence. But, it’s the differences – some incredibly subtle – at each and every stage of the whisky making process which result in marked variances of the end liquid. The minutiae of the processes operated across different distilleries * are* different. And they’re important. A change here, or a change there will have a dramatic effect on the flavour and character of the eventual whisky. To the uninitiated it’s easy to understand why things might look the same, but under the hood, there’s a reason why whiskies are different. It may not be a massive price jump but it is a jump nonetheless, and when you consider that Springbank and Ardbeg, the two nearest in price are bottled un-chill-filtered at 46%, while Fettercairn is diluted to 40%, the difference looks all the more dramatic. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.

Fettercairn distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Ramsay, owner of the Fasque Estate beneath the foothills of the Grampian Mountains. Following the Excise act of 1823, Ramsay converted an old Corn Mill on his land into a distillery but was sadly unable to make a success of it. By 1829 he had lost his fortune and his estate, distillery included, was sold to the Gladstone Family. As opposed to being an entirely different beast, this PX finished Fettercairn clearly presents similarities to its standard 12 year old cousin. The underlying character of malty, yeasty, fruitiness is present and correct – and it’s still interesting – offering more stimulation than many run-of-the mill 12 year old bottlings. But, whether the Pedro Ximenez finish has actually elevated the experience is, to my palate, open to question.

Fettercairn 12 Details

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The Fettercairn Distillery has some serious history behind it. The business was founded in 1824 by Sir Alexander Ramsay, one of the Scottish landowners who campaigned to license Scotch Whiskey distillation. He was also one of the first to apply for a licence, which he applied to Fettercairn. Interestingly, Ramsay employed illegal whiskey makers to be his first stillmen. He understood that it was they who had the skills and experience needed to make his dream a reality. The 12 year old Scotch from Fettercairn has been matured in American white oak, ex-bourbon casks before being bottled at 40% ABV. Nose: nicely fruity, with nectarine and tinned pineapple. Not too much vanilla. Hints of meadow flowers and mint. Behind this bright side there is also a hint of roasted nuts, veggies and a light meaty touch.

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Mouth: rather weak (unsurprisingly) but pleasantly rounded. Oranges, Panettone cake, candied ginger and vanilla custard again. Soft clove and herbs, now also a slightly rough oaky touch. Metallic hints. A bit of creamy mocha too.Nose: Fettercairn yeastiness meets sweet sherry. Orange peels, juice and marmalade (there’s a lot of orange here) sit with golden syrup and dehydrated mango slices. Malty loaves and oven-baked buns are joined by dusty spices – cinnamon and allspice - whilst ripe berries (cranberry and strawberry), Eton Mess, stem ginger and crushed hazelnuts emphasise the influence of the PX finish. It’s sweet. Super sweet. Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). We may sell, license, transfer, assign or in any other way dispose of the Service (including Members) to any third party without any notification to you, e.g. (but without limitation) in connection with any reorganization, restructuring, merger or sale, or other transfer of assets. In 1830, Sir Alexander sold the distillery as well as Fasque Estate to Sir John Gladstone, father of William Ewart Gladstone who would be Prime Minister on four occasions over the course of the 19th century and, during which time, he would not only legalize the selling of bottled whisky to the public, but also scrap the Malt Tax.

This is a tasty whiskey for sure, but I’m not certain that it would be a go-to for me personally. For my part, I much prefer smoother, creamier whiskies, but this certainly has its virtues. Still, Fettercairn 12 is just a tiny bit too astringent for my palate. If you love that fruity, citrus blast, though I really think you’ll enjoy the 12 year old. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. B and B-: Good and above average. The best of the mass market whiskeys fit in this category, as do the bulk of the premium brands. A B- is three stars.There is a definite sweetness to the nose. The smoothness of milk chocolate and a dash of vanilla give way to more herbaceous tones. The coolness of mint pairs with just a hint of citrus. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us. Coming forward in time to the 1950s, Fettercairn’s staff was still looking for innovative ways to improve a standard they had been setting for over a hundred years. In the pursuit of making a purer expression of their spirit, Fettercairn learned that pouring water down the still cooled the copper. This in turn, increased condensation inside so only the lightest vapors could rise for collection. This discovery led to the creation of the cooling ring, a copper tube around the top of the still and continuously douses it with water. This unique method is still being used by the distillery today.