Seven Seals - multiple review

Seven Seals are worth keeping an eye on. That's the easiest way to put it.

They are a distillery nestled in Switzerland, are doing things differently, and are starting to make a mark.

They think differently, are pioneering, innovative, inventive, and unique. The company states that the whisky industry will have to find innovative alternatives in the future to meet the demand of sherry casks, and Seven Seals say they maintain the quality of whisky production through innovation – and they take it one step further. They proudly announce on their website that the Seven Seals method is (drum roll...):

Finishing: Ennoblement × Celerity + Quality = 7S

Whatever that means, they do have a unique approach that is closely guarded secret, and it does have an impact on the whisky that they are producing.

7 whiskies are included in this review...

Age of Leo – Triple Wood Sherry Finish

49.7%

Appearance: Deep amber verging on dark walnut. Long oily legs.

Nose: Immediate aromatic and fruity fumes meet the nose. Sour fruits, poached pear, nuts & caramel. It then becomes more aromatic.

Palate: Sweetness with a woody-bite appears on the tongue and moves to a more liquorice twirl. The sweetness increases on the swallow and there’s a custard tone with a nuttiness.

Finish: Medium. Sweet moving to dry. Warming and mouth coating.

Conclusion: It does seem quite youthful and excited, but it’s amazingly drinkable. I’d be happy to reach for another glass of this.

Age of Pisces - Triple Wood Sherry Finish

49.7%

Appearance: Deep Mahogany. Fast & thin oily legs.

Nose: Sherry and stewed fruits, blackcurrant jam, and fruit jelly sweets.

Palate: Deep notes of Sherry with an aromatic sweetness. Black cherries appear, followed by gentle warming of white pepper and drying oakiness. A handful of sweaty raisins with a little more warming spice appear in the mouth. The drying woodiness returns at the end.

Finish: Medium-long with a sweetened woody dryness. The longer it’s held in the mouth, the oilier it appears to be.

Conclusion: Very drinkable with a clear sherried influence across the nose, taste, and finish. And the ABV is bang-on.

Age of Sagittarius - Triple Wood Sherry Finish

49.7%

Appearance: Deep amber, verging on walnut. Thin oily legs.

Nose: Lots of sherried fumes mingle with sour fruit. The fruit is very prominent, with stewed pears and apples simmering in a pan with some caramel sauce on the side.

Palate: Drier than the nose suggests. There’s sherry-sweetness with a gentle chili-tingle, some dustiness (which I love in a whisky – Kavalan single casks have this in abundance). Again, the youth is there, but there’s a lot of body in this whisky.

Finish: Medium-long with lots of custard notes.

Conclusion: Quite an interesting whisky with lots of unexpected flavours.

Sherry Wood Finish - Triple Wood Sherry Finish

58.7%

Appearance: Rich amber. A ring of beads sits before turning into thin oily legs.

Nose: Baked apples, vanilla, oak shavings, ‘fruit salad’ sweets, and nuts. Very gentle & tame alcohol on the nose given the high ABV.

Palate: Lots of lovely sweetness with spice, oil, and sweet dough. A little dry & bitter at the end.

Finish: Long with a peppery tingle. Liquorice appears right at the end.

Conclusion: Really good. I suspect it might be relatively young, but it’s big & bold.

Sherry Wood Finish

46%

Appearance: Medium amber. Thin, fast legs.

Nose: Dried cherries and nuts. A slight acetone tone that moves to sherried spirit with some oakiness. Like the Age of Leo, it seems quite youthful but is very easy to drink.

Palate: Sweet and young, but well-rounded. An oaky-bite moves to fruity sweetness with some more drying tannins towards the end.

Finish: Medium that leaves a drying sweetness on the tongue

Conclusion: A very easy drinker that is very reminiscent of an Irish style of whiskey.

Lucerne Whisky Shop Filling – Double Wood Sherry Finish

Peated. 58.7%

Appearance: Medium amber. Thin oily legs.

Nose: Honey-covered nuts, sherry, dried grass, and an incredibly faint note pf peat.

Palate: Lovely sweetness with nuts, gentle peat (but the peat really is very faint), sherried oiliness, and gentle warmth.

Finish: Long & oily with nuts, honey, gentle peat smoke, and some oak.

Conclusion: I love this. Worth hunting down a bottle.

“Experimental” - Triple Wood Sherry Finish

49.7%

Appearance: Dark walnut with long & slow lazy legs.

Nose: Deep sherry and peat. Sweet-smoked bacon, maple syrup-drizzled pancakes, simmering sour cherries.

Palate: Sweet and tart with a richness of sherry. A really nice balance of peat that doesn’t dominate the sherry or appear timid. It’s a good harmony. Another sip continues with the tartness that then moves to more of a bitter-bite.

Finish: Medium-long. Sweetness stays on the tongue with a nice level of peatiness. It then moves to more bitter/burnt sugar notes (like you get on a crème brûlée)

Conclusion: If the bitter-wood note was a little less dominating, I’d be buying a case of this. But as it’s labeled as “experimental”, this would suggest they may continue tweaking and perfecting this one.