Isle of Fionia - Little Isle - Praise from a whisky blogger

Nyborg destilleri has over the past few years established a good reputation in Danish whisky. Despite this, until recently, I had never had the pleasure of tasting an expression from them. It was therefore a welcome surprise when I received a sample of: Isle of Fionia Little Isle.

Isle of Fionia - Little Isle 43%
- A beautiful organic whisky from Nyborg destilleri

Post by Luka Gottschalk

The whisky series ''Isle of Fionia'' is named after the old schooner ''Fionia'' that used to sail from Nyborg harbor. In this series you will find a wide variety of expressions, including sweet and fruity whisky, smoked whisky and everything in between.

Little Isle belongs to the sweet and spicy end of the scale, as it is aged in no less than 3 different casks, including a port wine cask, bourbon cask and an STR cask (stripped, toasted, re-charred).

This is an incredibly gentle and welcoming, but also complex whisky. The 3 casks have each given their own character and at the same time no cold filtration has been used. This combination often gives a solid profile to a whisky.

The color is a naturally beautiful and dark copper color that most likely comes from the port wine cask and the STR cask. Since an STR cask has been toasted and re-fired, it often gives a really nice color to the finished product.

The nose offers notes of dark chocolate, mint, hazelnuts and a gentle maritime touch. I would definitely say that the aroma is dominated by the port cask.

The palette builds on the good impression, with notes of red berry fruits, stone fruits, grapefruit, as well as dark core bread, brown sugar and again, mint. Here the 3 casks all make their contribution and give a really solid flavor profile.

The finish rounds off the expression very pleasantly with notes of honeydew melon, grapefruit, salted caramel and soft tannins. This whisky is said to be quite young, but despite this, the finish is soft and long.

Isle of Fionia Little Isle has been a great first impression of Nyborg destilleri for me and I had a genuine pleasure tasting and analyzing it. If I were to be critical of it, the only thing I would add is that a higher alcohol content would suit this whisky. Having said that, I have nothing but praise for Nyborg destilleri and I look forward to tasting what else they have to offer.