Agitator is a name we haven’t had before. This Swedish distillery released its first whisky in 2021 – check their website for more information. It handles things with a very open mind, often different from other brands. Think energy-smart vacuum distillation at low pressure, extremely long fermentations, low filling ABV and uncommon casks. Overall the focus is on developing new flavours instead of trying to mimic Scotch or other examples. So far they only have a limited range of whiskies, such as the standard Agitator Single Malt or Agitator Rök from ex-Islay and chestnut casks.
It’s interesting to see The Whisky Jury endorse such a new name with two casks at once. It must mean the distillery is worth discovering. On our tasting table we have one unpeated 2019 vintage and one peated 2020.
Both are matured in wave stave casks – another innovative idea. The staves of these toasted and lightly charred barrels have a wave curvature on the inside of the barrel, which increases the surface area by about 20%. For more insight in these highly extractive casks, check this article from the producer.
Agitator 5 yo 2019 (58,4%, The Whisky Jury 2024, unpeated, first-fill wave stave cask #1024, 185 btl.)
Nose: fresh citrus at first, with hints of green apple and juniper, even a hint of rhubarb pastry. Then vanilla and a good dose of oak shavings. Hints of flour, buttery dough and oatmeal. Maybe a whiff of nail polish in the background, but it doesn’t interfere in any way. The overall freshness is nice, even though the complexity is quite limited.
Mouth: citrus again (lemons), with fresh herbs, ginger and plenty of cereals. More juniper and other hints of gin botanicals for that matter. Plain oak and bay leaf as well. Green apple with a salty edge. Pleasantly dry, there’s hardly any vanilla sweetness now.
Finish: medium, on cereals, white pepper.
While fairly uncomplicated at this age, it is also fairly drinkable. Especially the citrusy brightness and herbal accents are nice features. The wood is present but I couldn’t say it leaves a unique fingerprint. Now available from different TWJ partners.
Agitator 4 yo 2019 (58,1%, The Whisky Jury 2024, peated, first-fill wave stave cask #2058, 247 btl.)
Nose: a nice herbal peatiness, but quite subdued. The label says 40ppm (Port Charlotte, more or less) but that’s not what we’re picking up. Warm ashes and acrid smoke, with vanilla and wood chips again. Some pastry notes.
Mouth: smokier, but still not as intense as expected. Instead it focuses on sharp juniper and cardamom, with white pepper and a berry sourness. Salted walnut. Something mildly industrial too, between diesel and coffee. Plenty of lemon peels, with some grapefruit bitterness.
Finish: medium, with herbal peat and a certain acrid, resinous edge.
Again good whisky for the age. It doesn’t give the excitement that I tend to get from Thy whisky for instance, and it’s not as typically ‘Nordic’ either, but a positive experience nonetheless. Now let’s see whether time can give this more integration and identity. A name to keep in mind. Score: 83/100