🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

So far, none of the Alriks has really disappointed me and this one does the opposite. Reminiscent of the Early Bird, which I also found great, and even more of the Ruska ripening in the 4.5l PX barrel. Great whisky!

COLOUR: deep dark amber (without dye) - "The ALRIK" is the premium series by Glen Els (now Elsburn) in a small edition (here: 145 bottles) - good German whisky - unfortunately the taste is not quite as good as the smell, since it flattens out a bit, but still great aromas - very tasty but at 150€ (in relation to the quality for the price) definitely far too high

This Alrik convinces me in terms of aroma and is therefore not a failure within the Alriks. Smoked ham, beech wood smoke, dried fruit, lots of sweetness in the mouth, mocha, chocolate hazelnut, lots of oak. What bothers me here is a fairly strong alcohol, even with the second dram it burns despite only 53%. It needs a lot of water to tame the fire, unfortunately the aroma drowns as a result. Blatant devaluation, otherwise 88/89 points would have been possible in the mouth. This is perhaps the weakest handfilled that I was allowed to taste.

The new ALRIK Handfilled of the Harz hammer mill is PX maturing in direct tradition of other, very popular Heavily Woodsmoked bottlings. Called: 'First Try' (2012), 'Early Bird' (2013) and Ruska (2015). As usual, there is no information about the age, which makes the handfilled, like every ALRIK, a NAS by definition. Too bad, especially since Glen Els, by the way, mostly very transparent and precise deals with the information on the labels. But maybe a little simple elementary school math will help us to narrow down the age a bit. Our handfilled here, the distillery makes no secret, comes from the same distillation batch as the three aforementioned ALRIKs Edition 1912. Relevant to the age-related classification is thus in particular the 'First Try', because the highly decorated small batch was at the time of bottling, inclusive very short maturity, three years and a few weeks old, so to speak just whisky, as was heard in those days in the distillery. It should therefore be after Adam Riese to a distillate from 2008/2009. Since the Handfilled was drawn on bottle in May 2018, this limits the age range to 8-10 years. Full 10 years have for the small distillery, as well as for others also, of course, a special meaning, as you may recognize as the effort to the 'X'. I would logically exclude here accordingly, because the handfilled came without active advertising, yes without notice and not even in the meantime, black box. Until someone convinced me wiser of the opposite, it is so handfilled in my eyes to an 8-9 year old single malt. Sounds promising. But aging, especially with smoky malts, is not all that well known. Let's continue. I take the successful Ruska for comparison and for flavor calibration. Eye / nose Visually a rich, brownish-dark malt. Looks pretty strong, so no artificial caramel. In the nose then the surprise. The handfilled is very different from the Ruska. Different than any other ALRIK that I've tasted so far. He seems to the Ruska already in the nose clearly angular, edged, I would almost say brute, although he also brings dry fruits such as raisins and sweetness. Gunpowder, right? Is there a trace of sulfur to discover or is it a sherry-wood impact? When I think back to an elegant mid-winter, the difference becomes immediately even more blatant. The typical campfire smoke noticeable, but recedes further back than in some earlier quality. The longer I think about it, the nose arouses a very special, quite familiar and generally somewhat dirty association. Do I have to try ...! palate Another short trip. Striking is the relatively high alcohol content of the bottling. With 53% ABV he is about the same with the much younger 'First Try' six years ago. He seems to have lost significantly less alcohol in the butt than the first try in the hoggies. The ALRIK Handfilled works its way through the mouth as powerfully as little as possible, and looks very creamy. The impression from the nose is confirmed, I can hardly believe it. Campbeltown ?! Springbank ?! On the one hand, the heavy, sweetish PX aromas, such as raisins and high-percentage chocolate, which already hinted in the nose, on the other hand reinforced leather, coffee (set), gunpowder, almost salty spice, wood notes. As an unobtrusive, constant companion over all phases of enjoyment proves the ALRIK smoke. Almost seamless, he goes over to the finish. Finish / Conclusion Laaanges powerful finish. A wonderful multilayered, a bit far-filthy conglomerate, which makes it extremely wide on the palate and tongue - and stands for now. Blindly, I almost suspected that Kavalan had already been done in the smithy and that the Harzer distillate, after ripening in the big sherry butch, if not in an ardbeg, was stored in a juggling or longrow barrel. I like it very much! For me the handfilled is a very special ALRIK, better yet, more exciting than the Ruska. I once realized in a previous review that the sweet, soft PX echo of many Elsen is almost a typical character of the Harzer Malts. This one is different - but exceptions confirm the rule. Further notes / reviews on Facebook at: #Maltkanzlei

... a rewarding product of chance, that during my visit to the distillery this freshly bottled Alrik stood and was even available for purchase. I have not really been a fan of German whisky so far, but this one is great and has changed my attitude in the matter of the game. The Alrik The Handfilled is a harmonious premium product with a fine texture, sweet-dirty, but well-balanced sherry aromas, exceptional smoky notes, perfectly integrated alcohol and terrific aftertaste. Respect...

Joy after a long time about a new Alrik bottling! This one is limited and as barrel this time the excellent combination of 2/3 PX and 1/3 Oloroso Butts which are converted into small 50 liter Firkins are used, so who is already a fan of the Dirty Pedro, Blackrunner, Ipsa Scientsia, etc. - now finally the Alrik from it. Unfortunately, the Alriks do not carry the age but those who know these Firkin fillings know that they have mostly stored them for around 5 years. Nose: The alcohol is clearly noticeable and more powerful than the previous Alrik bottlings but the intiensive fruit after cherry, nutty raisins are there and a little bit earthy with tobacco but as usual very intense - yes there is an Alrik in the glass but the smoke does not come as strong as usual and surprise, somewhat musty notes. Taste: Powerful onset of alc. what makes him edgier. As usual, it is taste-rich, soft, round, oily, nutty and has a nice spicy note. But then musty sherry ???????? this is new and makes it special and interesting, subtly reminding of burned fireworks, but where is the smoke? Comes only in the departure really, for Alrik rather reserved ???? cold ash smoke! The finish is ever again, as usual, he comes back a few times even if you have eaten in between. Conclusion: Beautifully varied Malt, first the strong Alc, then the noble taste up to the smoky finish - I love that! Especially the eternal leaving but in comparison with other Alrik the smoke is rather weak. The recognition character is unique due to the slight musty sulfur note. Great Malt - Alrik! but different.

Blind-tasting a sample reduced to approx. 46%: a very nice malt. That is exactly the intensity of smokiness that enriches a malt instead of "choking it". The hearty yet restrained maritime nature of the smoke makes you think of malts from Campbeltown, the first association is longrow. The sweet fruits and those Instead of the PX Sherry Firkin used here, sharp vanilla could also have passed as a rum influence or a sweet wine barrel, the oak influence is in any case quite reserved, as is the alcohol (in this blind sample reduced to 46%).

Intense liquid smoked bacon at the beginning and chocolate which then goes with more sips in the direction of dark, full-bodied dark chocolate that stays forever. Just great that stuff! The empty glass still exudes the smell of smoked ham forever.