Eld Vatten Svenska champagne cask

This is a rare find. It's a 4-year-old from Sweden's now defunct Grythyttan distillery, with casks acquired by the Swedish bottler Eld Vatten. This one has a slight peat level of 15ppm and aged entirely in ex-champagne barrels. With only about 350 bottles released, it's quite scarce considering its origin from a closed distillery. Last night, I had some friends over and poured this blind (label hidden) alongside about 3 Trader Joe red wines (each around $4, also with labels removed). The TJ wines were finished by everyone. This, however, was only appreciated by a whiskey enthusiast. She (yes, a woman) guessed it was a 10-15 year old Springbank. Her reasoning was sound – there's a certain dusty, old library aroma with a hint of sulfur. The taste is smoky, with honey and red apples. There's a slight herbal finish, reminiscent of thyme and rosemary. Truly unique. It's definitely not a beginner's whiskey. It's distinct, unlike anything else. She enjoyed it enough to finish half the bottle and asked to take the rest home.