Hans Reisetbauer 7 Year Old Single Malt Whisky

Hans Reisetbauer is widely considered the world's finest producer of fruit eau-de-vie, and in 1995 he planted four hectares of barley on his farm in Axberg, Upper Austria, to find out what that same obsessive precision would do to whisky. The answer arrived in 2002, and it was unmistakably Austrian: 100% organic, estate-grown barley — the farm's conversion to organic certification was led by his son Hansi Jr. — malted and fermented on site for a long 70 hours, double distilled in a Christian Carl copper pot still built to Hans's own design to capture an unusually high share of the original aroma. Then the departure: instead of ex-bourbon or sherry, the spirit matures a minimum of seven years in casks from two of Austria's greatest winemakers, Heinz Velich and the Kracher family, that previously held Chardonnay and Trockenbeerenauslese — the botrytized dessert wine that's Austria's answer to Sauternes. Bottled at 43% ABV. Expect red apple skin, fennel, honey, dry hay, wet clay, and dill on the nose, opening into apples and cinnamon with clove, white pepper, and a hint of mint, finishing dry on black tea and peanut. Reviewers call it a genuine roller coaster — honey, floral, caramel, and berry notes that whisky drinkers aren't used to, less herbal than the 12 Year, and in a class entirely of its own. Not a Scotch imitation. Something else.

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