Sideburn or Burnside? In any case two whiskies produced by William Grant & Sons. The base component is probably Balvenie. First we have one of the last Whisky Sponge releases, a marriage of a 1992 2nd fill barrel and a 1993 1st fill barrel, bottled at cask strength.
Sideburn 31 yo 1992+1993 (51,4%, Decadent Drinks 2024, bourbon barrels, 404 btl.)
Nose: beehive galore. Waxy purity, along with light honey, some wildflowers. Peaches, yellow apples and mirabelles. Then tin boxes, broken branches and slightly tense hints of chalk and weissbier. Richer notes of vanilla custard and ripe pineapple in the background. Whiffs of star anise and bergamot too. Close to the official profile.
Mouth: nicely creamy, with a fruit cocktail on syrup. Apricots, quinces, pears. Then more towards lemons (with zest) and greengages. Very refreshing. Then a little white pepper and clove oil, along with green tea.
Finish: long, with more tea, green fruits and fresh herbs.
This has a classic beehive-y and creamy profile, showing both the warmer side and a fresher zesty side. Good complexity from two well-paired casks. Overall very high quality. Sold out from Decadent Drinks but still available from TyndrumWhisky or The Whisky Exchange for instance.
We’re pairing this to a Burnside 1994 released in Taiwan. Whisky AGE bought a whole batch of these casks and released them in different ranges over the years (Whisky Blues and others).
Burnside 28 yo 1994 (48%, Whisky AGE 2022, hogshead #5135, 224 btl.)
Nose: slightly greener and tighter, with more Granny Smith and plenty of floral notes. Almond, floral honey, whiffs of beeswax, fresh wood shavings and mild white pepper. Banana skin, citron liqueur and lemon meringue. Lots of quinces and a hint of mineral oils.
Mouth: more green fruits such as apples, melons, greengages and bananas. Lemon peels and suble wax, with green tea and green spice. Then plenty of flowery touches. Some cardamom towards the end.
Finish: medium length, by now you know which colour. There’s a subtle herbal woodiness along with maltier notes and a hint of coconut.
Equally refreshing but perhaps a tad less complex, missing some of the warmer honeyed side. Mixing two casks is a trick that the Whisky Sponge masters like no other. Score: 88/100