Sweden is a northern country and High Coast Distillery is on the outskirts there too, situated in Sörviken at 63ºN. That latitude served as the inspiration of the High Coast Sixty Three, where every element of the whisky and its making that could be rounded to that number was. It is peated single malt whisky peated to 63ppm, matured in 198 63 liter casks for 63 months (5+years), aged at 63 decimeters – roughly 20 feet – below ground. The first batch of this limited edition was bottled at 63ºF. Heck, the price of the grain in the Swedish currency was 6.3 krona per kilogram. The batch size was a 6300 liter wort and the average fermentation time was 63 hours. Even the cooper who made the barrels was born in 1963.
This whisky also came to us by an accident of sorts. We had ordered the High Coast Hav for use in our World Whisky Day 2022 tasting but somehow this bottle was put in the box to us instead. Forgive us, unnamed liquor merchant, if we never corrected this oversight with you. We did go back to buy the correct whisky again, however.
Distillery: High Coast
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 63%
Price: $149.99
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels
Location: Sörviken, Sweden
Nose: Peat, smoke, honey, pine
Palate: Butter, nutty, peat, burnt pumpernickel, jerky, coriander, black pepper, espresso
Finish: Peat, brine
Comments: Most of the above facts about the whisky (and more!) can be found on the website. The bottle in this review is from Batch 2.
Adam – I appreciate a good gimmick but am more concerned about what is in the bottle. Thankfully, the High Coast Sixty Three does not disappoint on the Swedish whisky front. This is a huge, bold whisky and is remarkably put together. Peat and smoke and a northerly sweetness of pine trees greet you on the nose. Once you get past the heat on the first few sips, it really is pretty manageable. With so many whiskies having a broad array of elements on the nose, it is very pleasant to find the opposite true here, where the palate expands from the few strong notes on the nose. This is not an Islay, though many might think it Islay-adjacent. Yet I would challenge readers to avoid that easy comparison because it is only as useful as saying bourbon is like a single malt scotch. Both are whiskies but further comparison is nonsensical. I love how the peat just gets out of the way of a butter, nut and spice combo that is like sitting down at a Christmas dinner before returning with a dash of brine at the end. What a bready sensation on the tongue, and completely unexpected. Simply spectacular.
Kate – It doesn’t seem like they charred their barrels so the taste is cleaner than from an Islay expression. A fresh campfire rather than fire that’s been going for hours. Fresh clean wood. I feel like you’re being led to all these flavors and smells, and you’re almost rushed from one element to the other. This is like a fresh bread pudding.
Bill – This is the proverbial shit. A big huge campfire that hits you straight up. The Sixty Three keeps evolving, a slow long evolution, something new new around every corner.
This is a good story from start to finish; it’s bookended.
Henry – A nose like an Islay peated malt – brine and char play strong supporting roles. The curtains of peat part right in the core of the palate to expose dark roasted malt, toasted pumpernickel, black pepper, and expresso before the peat rushes back in for the finish.
Ben – It took a bit to get through all the heat to find what was there. The burnt pumpernickel, and pumpernickel is my favorite bread, so this speaks to me. I love how much peat there is at the beginning and then comes back at the end. This is a good story from start to finish; it’s bookended.
