Friday

Arriving about an hour after opening, we didn’t expect the queue to be as long as it was - circling most of the lobby of the hotel. Luckily they let the visitors with pre-ordered tickets in without having to queue!

The middle of the room was Cask Norway’s stand, and we ended up starting with a really nice Teeling sample, aged in beer barrels. Teeling Galway Bay working sample wasn’t reviewed, as experience says that the first taste of the day is impossible to judge. After this, we headed for the Daracha stand, as it’s one we’ve been really missing at the other festivals – tickets for Saturday’s master class with Amrut were already bought! At the Daracha table we were greeted by a representative from Amrut in India, who served up the second sample of the day (after making sure that it wouldn’t be on the master class the following day), a nice Amrut Doub le Cask; it managed to be smooth and round while at the same time having a spicy kick Amrut Double Cask with a round flavour followed by a huge hit of spices ⁷⁄₁₀.

We had spotted some Japanese whiskies as we came in, and found that there was a possibility to get a sample of Ichiro’s Hanyu Final Vintage (15), the last whisky distilled at the Hanyu distillery before they closed. Spices and the unmistakable floral tones of Japanese mizunara oak, and a score of ⁸⁄₁₀.

Stig Bareksten looks like a man just about to offer you some moonshine he made yesterday at his shack outside town. He offered us some moonshine he made the day before at his distillery outside town – it had to be tried! While the nose was less than fantastic ²⁄₁₀, the taste showed promise ⁷⁄₁₀. It was rough and wild, and will need several years on a barrel before you can call it a whisky.

The general rule is that the spirit has to be stored 3 years on a barrel before it can be called whisky.

After this a rather random sampling of whiskies was tried, no real plan, just ambling from table to table. On the Daracha stand, Wemyss Malts Lemon Cheesecake 1988 had grains, with a blend of citrus, caramel and red apple ⁸⁄₁₀; Wemyss is a relatively uncharted territory for us.

The regular Tullamore Dew is probably not the most interesting whiskey, but it’s very inoffensive, so Tullamore Dew 14 was tried, with delicious fresh and light herbs ⁹⁄₁₀.

A lot of independent bottlings followed, and one that never got tried in [Oslo](http://halvfull.no/article/owf2016_part1/ was Chieftain’s Glen Spey, which had a bit of a raw nose, but the flavour was excellent ⁸⁄₁₀.

From the tasted whiskies, the ones from Adelphi, Berrys’, Chieftain’s, Provenance and Old Particular are released by independent bottlers, buying individual casks from distilleries and releasing them under their own brand — unique releases that often give different notes than what’s considered the style of that distillery.

Berrys’ Glen Keith 1993 huge flavour, lasting forever ¹²⁄₁₀
Armorik Maitre de Chai 2015 ⁸⁄₁₀
Berrys’ Glengoyne 2000 had deliciously balanced tannins, and was less sweet than expected from Glengoyne, with a huge taste ¹¹⁄₁₀
Berrys’ Arran 1997
Berrys’ Bunnahabhain 1989 ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Michter’s Small Batch
Akashi 5 Single Cask
Spirit of Hven Seven Stars No. 3 Phecda
Adelphi Bruichladdich 2003 for Terminus Whiskybar
Connemara Single Malt
BenRiach 1995 19 for The Tasting Room
Kilkerran 12
Eiktyrne Nyf�dt Maris Otter
Arran 18

The festival had a lot of people — some just concentrating on the beer part of the festival, others, like us, just concentrating on the whisky part…and probably some trying both.

Saturday

Glenglassaugh 30 is a festival staple, and if that’s not an extremely good whisky, it’s time to head home, hang up your whisky reviewer hat, and start reviewing drying paint.

Amrut Master Class

Amrut Single Cask Borubon
Amrut Kadhambam
Amrut Rye
Amrut Fusion
Amrut 12 Greedy Angels

The “Angel’s Share” is the amount of whisky evaporating from the barrel each year — in the humid heat of India, half the barrel has evaporated after 12 years, hence “greedy angels”.

The Glover by Adelphi
Amrut Raj Igala
Mortlach 18
Caol Ila Cask 2475
Adelphi Glen Elgin 20
Finn Dubh
Mackmyra Vinterdr�m
Glendronach Single Cask 1991 24 years

At Bergen whisky festival, like in Oslo, every 2cl sample is bought with one or more paper tokens — however, while tokens in Oslo cost 25kr each, each token is 10kr in Bergen, as there’s also a beer festival at the same time, with cheaper samples. The general price of each sample when converted to NOK is about the same as Oslo — fairly cheap, and comparable to the bottle price at Vinmonopolet divided into 2cl samples with few exceptions.