One of the mainstays of Mackmyra’s core whiskies in its 25 years has been its peated release: Svensk Rök.
The name translates to “Swedish Smoke” and is known to have a particularly Scandinavian profile due to the addition of juniper and other vegetation to the peat fire when drying their malted barley. This is a traditional seasoning method used in the country and the first time it has been adopted into whisky making!
This smoked barley goes to make Mackmyra’s “peated” base spirit, whilst the non-peated barley is distilled to make their “elegant” base spirit. The two styles are then matured across numerous casks and the Svensk Rök is made up of the following combination:
81% Ex-bourbon (various cask sizes, all peated)
17% American Oak (200L, elegant)
1% Swedish Oak (100L, elegant)
1% Oloroso (128L, elegant)
Mackmyra have always steered away from having age statements on their whiskies in favour of focussing on flavour over tenure. The exact recipe for Svensk Rök is then bottled at the house favourite of 46.1% ABV with its natural colour and without chill-filtration. The 70cl bottles are currently available at an RRP around £60 GBP.
Nose
We’re röking and rolling from the get go! Peat smoke leads the way with a fairly sweet and vegetal type of smoke. Once it has settled there a gentle fruity notes beneath such as ripe pears, apples and some deliciously dark scandi berry sweetness – rounded off a touch of vanilla. There is then a final menthol clearing of the nostrils.
Taste
The smoke flavour arrives first but is quickly followed by a more recognisable orchard fruit fruitiness and sharpness. A distinctive citrus and malt set of flavours remains me of lemon-y biscuits. The soft texture and light body helps with a toffee-like sweetness and transition from those fruits back to the signature Mackmyra peat notes. With time the vegetal peat becomes the more noticeable profile with touches of wood smoke and its sooty remains.
Finish
Citrus, vanilla, and peat fade on out in unison. For all the smoke notes, it is a final sweet malt flavour that remains.
Verdict
Clean, vibrant, and smoky. The slight citrus notes and freshness makes this basically the Swedish answer to Caol Ila with a Swedish/juniper twist. There are enough additional non-smoky influences going on for this to not just be about the smoke, albeit it is indeed the smoke/Rök that takes centre stage.
As tends to happen with tastings, it was only after reading that they use juniper and other herbs in the smoking process that those flavours became more evident. What the smoke also seems to do is provide this menthol-like freshness that cleans the palate after itself and leaves a touch of sweet malt. It’s not an overly sooty or ash-like peat smoke, and those herbal notes are there too.
Overall, a decent light peated sipper that doesn’t need to be kept to the darker colder wintry months to be brought out. Would easily sit alongside a barbecue as a nightcap.
Ek vs Rök
Last week, I posted about the Svensk Ek as the two now form the main elements of the Mackmyra core range. Having now tried them side by side, of the two, I’d say that the Rök has the more distinctive Swedish/scandinavian experience to it, despite what the richer oak notes of the Svensk Ek brings. The Rök is more straight forward and focussed on the smoke whilst the Ek is more balanced overall with sweet and spice. Being quite familiar with their Brukswhisky, I would say that these two build on the signature house style and profile of the Brukswhisky and then deliver the predominant named feature of each. I can see why they are marketed together albeit the Brukswhisky is now in their “Limited” camp.
M
Sample disclosure: This is a miniature bottle that I bought as part of an online tasting pack from Mackmyra. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whisky, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
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